Akiva Hebrew Day School

When the school year ends, staff and 250 students of Akiva Hebrew
Day School will bid farewell to the Lathrup Village building they've
occupied since 1980. And their principal isn't too sad to see the old

building closed.
"It puts us in a Jewish community and we can be a real communi-
ty school," said Rabbi Karmi Gross, Akiva's principal since 1996.
"The move is on course, and we're set to go on July 12. All that's left
to do there is the finishing touches, like painting and carpeting."
The new building is located in the former Congregation Beth
Achim on 12 Mile Road, between Lahser and Evergreen. The school
will have 21 classrooms — all wired to the Internet — science and
computer labs, a kitchen, a lunchroom, office space and a chapel. The
main sanctuary will remain intact and will be used for all-school pro-

grams.
"The new school affords us the ability to do more extracurricular
activities that we can't do here," Gross said. "If we wanted to do a
weekend Shabbaton here, where would we house all the kids?
"A student's learning attitude is determined by the environment.
On some days, it gets very hot upstairs because we don't have air con-
ditioning there. The new school gives us a first-class environment.
The kids will be spoiled by this."
What the new building doesn't have is a gy , mnasium, although
plans in Gross' office show it as a likely addition — once a $500,000
donor is found to sponsor it.
The new building will allow Akiva to rebuild enrollment to the
300 it had in earlier years, according to Gross.
He said the school will be getting eight new teachers as part of
Torah MiTzion, the Diaspora Zionist Kollel program. Four husband-
and-wife pairs are coming from Israel to teach at Akiva for half the
day and will learn Talmud at , the Kollel, located on Lincoln in O
Park, for the other half. They will live in apartments as part of the
Southfield community.
"This will give us a mass infusion of new teachers," said Gross,
who points to the new building as a big reason Akiva can accommo-
date this program.

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1

MONT ° " 7
BLANC

RAYMOND WEIL

GENEVE

Watches

Akiva Hebrew
Day School head-
master Rabbi Karmi
Gross

GUCCI

In Crosswinds Plaza

Corner of Orchard Lake Rood
And Lone Pine Road

248.539.1181

— Swiss Mdcle1:1',1101Ps —
Since".. 1904

LONGINES

Maurice Lacroix

Detroit Jewish News

6/4
1999

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