Our yearbooks were not only a sendoff into summer but a look back at all the amazing learning and fun from the past school year — from hands-on creativity and scientific exploration in the Makerspace to integrated Jewish and general academics and quality time spent together.

📢 Shout out to Benny G. for designing the yearbook cover in Ms. Thor’s graphic design class!

We are excited to announce morim shlichim (Israeli educator emissaries) will be joining Smith Jewish Academy! Avi and Sigi Biton will join our faculty as Hebrew and Jewish studies teachers, and their children will join our student body!

Check your inboxes or head to smithja.org/page/inside-the-pride to read more about this initiative and the Bitons as well as a new kindergarten scholarship and more in the latest issue of Inside the Pride.

We are also thrilled to celebrate our SJA alumni high school graduates! We are filled with such naches (pride) to see our 2026 seniors return to our halls as proud, confident, compassionate, and thoughtful young people. May they continue to grow as lifelong learners, grounded in Jewish values and prepared to lead, contribute, and make a meaningful impact in the world.

🎓 Mazal tov and kol hakavod to the Class of 2026! 🎓

As another school year comes to an end,
We thank you, PTO, for being such a friend.
For every volunteer hour, snack, and helping hand,
Your support has helped our school community stand.

One of our greatest joys is watching your children grow,
Learning, laughing, and gaining confidence as they go.
Becoming the best versions of themselves each day,
And making us proud in so many wonderful ways.

Thank you for your generosity, kindness, and care.
We couldn't do what we do without you there.
Wishing your families a summer filled with fun and sun,
Rest, renewal, and memories for everyone.

With Love and Thanks,
The Smith Faculty

Celebrating the year with 🌈 COLOR 🌈! Thank you to our parent volunteers and Booster for helping to create a joyful celebration of another successful year full of experiential learning, meaningful relationships, critical thinking, and growth.

As we look back on a year filled with discovery, leadership, and connection, we're grateful for the community that makes these experiences possible. Here's to a year well spent and a colorful future ahead!

And thank you to our event sponsors:

Premiere sponsor
💗Mint Orthodontics

Race Champion Sponsors:
❤️ AmeriStar Laser & Water Jet Cutting
🧡 Bravura Group P.C.
💛 Property Solutions & Services
💚 Wholesale Imprints

Friend of Smith:
💙 Hodroff-Epstein Memorial Chapels
💜 Open Door Financial Powered By Farther
🤍 Park State Bank

And with a beautiful Closing Ceremony, the 2026-2027 school year has come to an end!

One of the most meaningful traditions of the day is a reflection of how far our students have come. In a reversal of our Opening Ceremony, where eighth graders walk their kindergarten buddies under the chuppah, our kindergartners proudly escorted the seventh graders under the chuppah as they stepped into their new role as the school’s next leaders.

Moments like these capture the continuity, connection, and growth that define life at Smith Jewish Academy. As we celebrate another remarkable year of learning, friendship, and achievement, we look ahead with gratitude for all that has been accomplished and excitement for the journeys still to come. Have a great summer!

At Smith Jewish Academy, one of our core values is to be a mensch: We act with integrity, kindness, and empathy, fostering a culture of belonging where every individual is valued.

We practice this value every day and proudly celebrated Pride Month with a joyful community gathering: Pride Story Hour, with J-Pride and PJ Library. While our commitment to belonging extends throughout the year, this was a special opportunity to highlight LGBTQ+ stories and affirm the values that strengthen our community. Happy Pride!

Participation in the Minneapolis Institute of Art’s Art Adventure is a decades-long tradition for Smith Jewish Academy, started by art teacher Aimee Orkin. Last week, our K-4 students explored artworks on the theme of Artist’s Inspiration, a capstone to weeks of learning in the classroom.

This year’s trip was especially meaningful because it was the first time students visited the Harold and Mickey Smith Gallery of Jewish Arts and Culture as students of Harold and Mickey Smith Jewish Academy. More than that, it was Aimee’s final Art Adventure as she retires after 32 years!

Thank you to Aimee for over 30 years of taking students on adventures, leading the B’tzalel Project, and encouraging students to be curious, think critically, express themselves, and create!

🌏 Our kindergarten students took us around the world at their Festival of Nations program! 🌏

Students proudly displayed reports of their classroom learning about various countries and further showcased their learning with a musical program featuring songs from around the world in celebration of cultural diversity.

Starting right from kindergarten, Smith Jewish Academy encourages kids to be curious about the world around them and develop an appreciation for the diverse people, cultures, and perspectives that enrich our worldwide community.

You can meet our new Director of General Studies in the latest issue of Inside the Pride! Check your inboxes (or smithja.org/page/inside-the-pride) to meet Nathan Meyer, reflect on a successful annual benefit, and hear why the Biel family chooses Smith Jewish Academy.

Shabbat shalom!

How often does the author of the book you’re reading come to visit your classroom??? Third grade students had a special opportunity to meet Dori Weinstein, SJA alumni parent and author of the Jewish middle grade series YaYa & YoYo. She spoke with students about the book and the writing process and answered thoughtful questions from our readers. Even more exciting, she is incorporating one of the students’ ideas into her next book! 📘 With the book Sliding Into the New Year and Dori's visit, our students can see themselves in the stories they read and as creative thinkers!

At today’s annual meeting we honored our teachers and staff who have been giving their hearts to Smith Jewish Academy for five, 10, 20, 25, and 30 years, as well as those who will be leaving at the end of this year.

We’ll honor them in another post, but today we also welcomed a new board of trustees and celebrated this year’s accomplishments while looking ahead to exciting new things for next year, from a cascading schedule and more leveling to a new director of general studies and new teachers, including morim schlichim (Israeli teachers)!

These new initiatives and community members will help us further our vision of building a vibrant Jewish community dedicated to experiential learning, meaningful connections, and critical thinking.

We are immensely proud of our SJA eighth graders who presented their capstone projects, the culmination of weeks of thoughtful research, mentor meetings, and meaningful hard work. Each student explored a social justice issue they feel passionate about, sharing their learning, insights, and ideas for change with peers, teachers, and families.

These projects reflect more than academic achievement — they showcase confident communicators, critical thinkers, and compassionate leaders prepared to engage thoughtfully with the world around them. We love seeing our soon-to-be Smith graduates speak with such eloquence, purpose, and passion, proving they are well-prepared for high school and beyond!

Kol hakavod to the eighth grade class of 2026!

Fifth grade visited the Walker Art Center Minneapolis Sculpture Garden today, culminating their study of sculptures, sculptors, and sculpture gardens through the exploration of and interaction with the garden's large-scale artwork.

At Smith Jewish Academy, learning comes to life through experiences that encourage students to think deeply, engage creatively, and connect classroom learning to the wider world around them.

One of the highlights from the eighth grade trip to Florida was volunteering at Give Kids The World. They helped families with critically ill children enjoy their vacations by helping with dinner service, serving food, bussing tables, and helping kids carry their trays.

Some students said that being a part of helping these families facing hardship find joy was even more magical than Epcot. Mia M. shared a reflection on the experience of building loving-kindness and community:

"[We volunteered] at Give Kids the World where each eighth grader experienced something truly eye-opening. It was an incredible, meaningful opportunity and I am very glad that I was able to participate in it. It really gave me a new perspective on how much people’s lives differ, and how different our lives are from theirs. It was amazing to be able to help so many people, even in the smallest ways. I loved making people smile and laugh, and seeing their joy despite their situations. It was so inspiring and empowering to see people connecting in this way and how everyone continues to give their children the best time possible. Volunteering can sometimes not be the most fun but I was honestly able to have a great time by interacting and joking with not only my friends, but the children and family members at Give Children The World. I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Once again, I am extremely grateful for the experience and know I am going to remember it forever."

What better way to learn about the natural world than out in it! During sixth grade's stay at Osprey Wilds Environmental Learning Center, students climbed 20 feet above the ground on the high ropes course and also worked together to build shelters and fires in a survival class.

Students encouraged one another and confidently stepped out of their comfort zones on the ropes course and explored resilience, teamwork, leadership, and problem-solving with the hands-on learning of survival class, all while learning about sustainability, ecosystems, and the world around them.

Saba Eliezer VeHaGezer (Grandpa Eliezer and the Carrot) tells the story of how only through teamwork can Saba Eliezer harvest his giant carrot. First grade took this lesson to heart, sharing the story with us at Kabbalat Shabbat but also working together to learn lines in Hebrew and English, build confidence on stage, and creatively present their play — all through collaboration. Shabbat shalom.

Sixth grade is up north at Osprey Wilds Environmental Learning Center, immersed in hands-on learning in nature. One of their activities included collecting and identifying macroinvertebrates to help them understand water quality and the important role our lakes, rivers, and streams play in sustaining life.

Through exploration, observation, and scientific inquiry and discovery, students are deepening their understanding of environmental stewardship while experiencing the outdoors firsthand in this annual environmental learning center trip.