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Our Legacy, Your Story: AHS Alumni Community

Our alumni know that AHS lays the foundation for a proud Jewish education! We feel a deep sense of pride in our graduates. Our alumni have felt the ruach in our hallways, and have been given the foundation of strong Jewish values and principles. We are so proud to have generational alumni who are dedicated in support of an AHS education.

Whether it’s been a few years or many years since you studied at our school, you are always a part of the AHS family!

After Graduation:

High School

Graduates from Associated are prepared to be confident, successful learners and leaders.

Around 90% of our students go on to Jewish high schools (chiefly TanenbaumCHAT and Bnei Akiva Schools). Our administrators and teachers help to guide our students to ensure smooth transitions into high school and beyond.

Colleges and Universities:

Associated graduates continue on to many different colleges and universities.

Some universities include: Waterloo, Western, Queen’s, Laurier, McGill, McMaster,  U of T, York, Schulich School of Business, Dalhousie, University of Ottawa, University of Guelph, UBC, Bar Ilan University, Stanford University, Harvard and YU

Alumni Spotlight

We want to celebrate your accomplishments! Share your stories with us and you might be featured in our Alumni Spotlight.

Update your information

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Do you have photos of the years you attended AHS? Send them to alumni@ahschools.com

Smachot V’Chadashot:

We like to share stories of Alumni successes. Please share your personal or professional milestones with us at alumni@ahschools.com

Testimonials

Miles Halberstadt ‘51

Dr. Seymour “Epi”
Epstein ‘60

Rabbi Dr. Martin
Lockshin ‘64

Karl Skorecki ‘67

Michal Ilana
Freedhoff ‘83

Alexander
Shnaider ‘83

Sharrona Pearl ’91

Meira Maierovitz
Drazin ‘88

Click on the photo to see the testimonial

Make a Gift

Donate Now

We are excited for you to know about our new Blocks Campaign, officially launched in January 2025 – a lasting way to celebrate your journey at AHS. We know that your AHS years have left a lasting impact on you – and now it’s your chance to leave a lasting impact on the school.

Much like in coding, each block is essential to creating something greater – each one represents a story, a memory, a contribution to the unique makeup of our school community. By purchasing a personalized block, you help build the foundation for AHS’s future. This outdoor installation will stand as a tribute to the values and traditions that connect us all, while shaping the next generation.

Each coding block will remain on the facade of the school for 10 years, and you can choose which campus will display your block’s recognition.

Click here to learn more and to purchase your block.

117 years of Jewish education
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    Dr. Karl Skorecki, the only son of Holocaust survivors, was born and educated in Toronto, excelling academically and graduating with the highest grades in Ontario in 1971.

    Influenced by his teachers at AHS (then the Neptune Campus), he developed a deep connection to Jewish values, Hebrew, and Zionism.

    After earning his MD from the University of Toronto in 1977 and completing postgraduate training at Harvard, he became a leading nephrologist and academic, serving at institutions in Toronto and later in Israel.

    In 1995, Karl and his family moved to Israel. He joined Rambam Medical Center and the Technion in Haifa, where he led advancements in nephrology, stem cell research, and human genetics. His groundbreaking studies include tracing Jewish population genetics and identifying genetic markers causing predisposition to kidney disease in African ancestry populations, aiming to develop precise prevention and treatment. He has mentored over 60 students, published 300 papers, and authored key medical texts.

    An advocate for Israeli academia, Skorecki played a pivotal role in countering academic boycotts, including influencing a special issue of The Lancet on health in Israel.

    Recognized with numerous research and teaching awards, he continues to serve on advisory boards and contribute to global scientific dialogue. With his wife Linda, he has five children and 20 grandchildren, all residing in Haifa.

    Prof. Skorecki fondly recounts how the foundation that was laid at AHS fostered a love of scientific inquiry and Jewish history. It provided a sound basis for his research initiatives and discoveries.

    Michal Ilana Freedhoff is the Assistant Administrator for the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP).  Prior to that, she joined EPA as the Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator for OCSSP in January 2021.

    Michal went to Associated in the late 1970s, and recalls how at the time, the boys were required to take Shop and the girls were required to take Home Ec. Michal’s late mother (also a graduate of Associated) was outraged and protested until they changed the policy to require everyone to take both classes. She keeps her terribly constructed wooden letter opener, on her desk in her office,  as a small but symbolic reminder of the opportunities many had  because an earlier generation paved the way for future generations.

    Dr. Freedhoff has more than 25 years of government experience. She began her Congressional service in 1996 in then-Congressman Ed Markey’s office as a Congressional Science and Engineering fellow after receiving a Ph.D. in physical chemistry at the University of Rochester.

    With environmental expertise spanning a range of policy areas, her legislative work includes the 2016 reauthorization of the Toxic Substances Control Act, as well as the 2019 legislation to address PFAS contamination, the fuel economy provisions in the 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act, and a law requiring the creation of an online database of potential consumer product safety defects.

    Dr. Freedhoff recounts how Associated laid the foundation to her schooling. This led to a high school for the performing arts, which led to a Ph.D. in chemistry, to writing laws in the U.S. Congress, and now to a Senate-confirmed role leading an office of about 1,100 people. “Embrace the twists and turns, enjoy the adrenaline, and don’t be afraid to follow your own personal paths with joy.”

    Meira Maierovitz Drazin is an award-winning author and freelance writer. She has published dozens of articles about parenting and topics of Jewish interest. Meira is a strong advocate for both formal and informal Jewish education, and has served in professional and lay leadership positions in Jewish non-profits. Meira studied literature at Barnard College and has an MA in English and Comparative Literature from Columbia University.

    Meira’s debut children’s novel, Honey and Me (Scholastic 2022), is a coming-of-age story about a girl going through Grade 6 in the shadow of her fearless best friend. Geared for ages 8 to 12, it is a moving and funny story set in an observant Jewish community and has garnered both mainstream and Jewish awards and accolades.

    Meira recalls, “It’s hard to overstate how my time at AHS (Nursery through Grade 8!) became a jumping off point for the fictional Jewish day school—and world—of Honey and Me: from a major plot point featuring a charismatic teacher inspired by a popular AHS Junior High English teacher, to small details like naming a character (the candyman at shul) in homage to my Grade 6 Judaic Studies teacher, to a key theme woven throughout about the significance of names inspired by my Grade 1 teacher. While Honey and Me is not autobiographical, it references my own experiences growing up in Toronto and going to Associated Hebrew Schools with fond memories.”

    Miles Halberstadt was the first lawyer out of the Jewish Education System to practice law in Ontario. Graduating from Osgoode Law school with honours in 1965, he achieved his LLB degree and in 1966 was called to the Bar with honours. Miles opened a private practice specializing in criminal law. In 1977, he was appointed Queen’s Counsel, the first QC out of the Jewish Day School System in Ontario. He was granted “Specialist in Criminal Law” by the law society in 1986, and was granted the designation of Notary Public by the province of Ontario.

    While practicing law, he devoted his time to several Jewish institutions, including serving as Chairman of the Israel Bonds Lawyer Division, as President of Mizrachi from 1978-1980, as Chairman of the Canadian Zionist Organization from 1989-1982, and on shul boards.

    In 2009, Miles was accepted into the University of Toronto in the graduate school of the Faculty of Near and Middle Eastern Studies. He majored in Biblical Hebrew, Aramaic, and the Dead Sea Scrolls, graduating in 2012 with a Master of Arts.

    Miles retired from law in 2012, but has continued to be actively involved in teaching, researching and giving shiurim.

    Miles attended Associated Hebrew Day Schools (then called Toronto Hebrew Day School) from Kindergarten until High School. Miles recalls how “It was the first test in Toronto for a Hebrew Day School.” Miles remembers how he cherished his studies at AHS, which he still does to this day.

    Miles is a multi-generational alumnus – his children and his grandchildren have also attended AHS. Miles married his high school sweetheart Dorothy, and together they have 3 children, 13 grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.

    Sharrona Pearl ‘91 is the Andrews Chair of Interdisciplinary Studies in The John V. Roach Honors College at TCU. A historian and theorist of the face and body, Pearl earned her PhD from Harvard University in 2005. Pearl’s most recent book is Mask, published with Bloomsbury Academic in 2024.

    She also recently published Do I Know You? From Face Blindness to Super Recognition (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2023) following Face/On: Face Transplants and the Ethics of the Other (University of Chicago Press, 2017) and About Faces: Physiognomy in Nineteenth-Century Britain (Harvard University Press, 2010). Pearl maintains an active freelance practice, with bylines in The Washington Post, The Conversation, Real Life Magazine, Aeon, Wellcome Collection, Tablet, Lilith, Kveller, and other publications available on her website.

    Sharonna recalls her experience at Associated (referenced in the introduction to Mask). “AHS nurtured my love of learning and deep community to building Jewish community. I am so grateful for the education and support I received.”

    Dr. Epstein has been active in every aspect of Jewish education, formal and informal. From 1973 to 1978, he was an assistant professor at McGill University, where he directed the Jewish Teacher Training Program of Montreal.

    In 1981, Dr. Epstein moved to Morocco to become the educational consultant for the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee in Casablanca. During his eighteen years of JDC work, he was active in Morocco, Western Europe, and the Former Soviet Union. He served the JDC as Director of Jewish Education and was responsible for community development in Siberia, Russia.

    For the ten years from 1999 to 2009, Epi was the director of Toronto’s Board of Jewish Education at the UJA Federation. In 2009, his first book, From Couscous to Kasha: Reporting From the Field of Jewish Community Work, was published by Urim Publications. The Esther Scroll: The Author’s Tale was published by Mosaic Press in 2019. Dr. Epstein recalls how he graduated from Grade Nine at AHS in 1960. “There was no CHAT yet, so I ended up in a public high school. It immediately became apparent how special my ten years at Associated were. The single most important element at AHS was Ivrit b’Ivrit. That fluency influenced all of my further education beyond high school. And it was the cornerstone of my ultimate career in Jewish education.”

    Epi consults in the field of Jewish education and community planning. He and his wife Cheryl have two children, Yoni and Sarit.

    Rabbi Dr. Martin Lockshin is Professor Emeritus of Jewish Studies at York University. His work centers on the great medieval Bible commentators, particularly Rabbi Samuel ben Meir (Rashbam). Rabbi Lockshin has translated Rashbam’s commentary on the Pentateuch into English. His explanations of Rashbam’s comments on the Pentateuch form the bulk of his English volumes (Rabbi Samuel ben Meir’s Commentary on Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy) and of his Hebrew volumes (Peirush ha-Rashbam al ha-Torah).

    Lockshin recalls one of his earliest memories at AHS of not understanding what was going on in class,  as his previous school had not taught Ivrit B’ivrit. He remembers learning in depth at AHS—he was taught to read Hebrew and read Biblical texts in the original. “There weren’t that many Jewish Day Schools in Toronto at that point, and a relatively small percentage of young Jewish people in Toronto were getting a day school education,” recalls Rabbi Lockshin. “There is a much higher percentage now – but there was a sense that AHS was training the best and the brightest. It was exciting for me, learning with a lot of very bright young people my age.”

    Rabbi Lockshin holds a PhD from Brandeis University and rabbinical ordination from his studies at Yeshivat Mercaz HaRav Kook in Israel. He currently lives in Jerusalem.

    After graduating from York University with a degree in economics, Alexander Shnaider ‘83 co-founded the Midland Group in the early 90’s. Their ventures have spanned steel manufacturing, mining, real estate development, and international investments.

    Beyond business, he has invested in sports, including ownership of the Jordan Grand Prix Formula One team and Israel’s Maccabi Tel Aviv Football Club.

    Philanthropy remains close to his heart, with contributions to healthcare and Jewish community initiatives in Canada, Israel and the U.S.

    “A strong Jewish education is the foundation that empowers us to lead with purpose, build resilient communities, and pass our values to the next generation.”