3️⃣0️⃣ years of the B'tzalel Project brings us to our 2025 sixth graders’ talitot! Today the Heilicher sixth graders presented on their middot (virtues) studies and the process of creating their prayer shawls. We are excited for the students to wear their unique talitot in good health.

Shabbat shalom! Thank you to the local clergy who have come to do special Kabbalat Shabbat learning with our middle schoolers. These pictures are from our second rotation of clergy visitors.

Weather cut the sixth-grade Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center trip short, but they were able to pack a lot of fun and learning into their second day, from completing a ropes course to performing in a weather play and, ironically, giving weather forecasts and more.

🎓 MJDS/Heilicher Classes of 1991-2024, We Want to Hear From You! 🎓 Why reconnect? ✔ Be the first to hear about alumni events and reunions. ✔ Stay connected to old classmates and teachers. ✔ Get exclusive updates about Heilicher and our growing alumni network. ✔ Receive a gift card! 🎁 Every alum who completes our upcoming alumni survey will get a gift card — plus, they’ll be entered into a drawing for an even bigger prize! 📩 Send your contact info to krosenberg@hmjds.org. Parents, siblings, and friends — know an alum? Send us their email so they don’t miss out!

Sixth grade's first day at Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center is full of great views of nature — with a little snow ❄️ and just a touch of spring green 🌿

May the lord protect and defend you ... Shabbat shalom from the Fiddler on the Roof cast and crew!

Curtains up! Here are a few preview photos of the Heilicher production of Fiddler on the Roof Jr. A limited number of tickets will still be available at the door for Sunday's 2 p.m. performance. To our seventh and eighth graders — break a leg!

Here's a sneak peek at sixth grade's talitot (prayer shawls) as they complete the final touch of tying tzitzit! Soon they'll each have a beautiful ritual object they can use for years to come, as Jewish adults.

There were a lot of great finds at this year’s Scholastic Book Fair! If you didn’t see your favorite book or couldn't make it to the book fair, you can shop online through Monday, March 30. The online store has 3,000+ items, and 25% of every purchase benefits Heilicher! https://shop.scholastic.com/parent-ecommerce/parent-store.html

At the second-grade curriculum night earlier this month, parents got to join their children for some interactive stations that showcased the concepts students have learned about in class. They played Hebrew matching games and math problem-solving games, coded with ScratchJr on iPads, and participated in engineering challenges, such as building a tower out of index cards that is strong enough to support a metal can.

🎻 A fiddler on the roof sounds crazy, no? 🎻 Well not at Heilicher! Come see our seventh- and eighth-grade production of Fiddler on the Roof Jr.! You can see the classic musical at Heilicher Thursday, March 27, and Sunday, March 30. Get your tickets at hmjds.org/news-events/fiddler

We are thrilled to share the incredible success of Aliyah Chet, Heilicher’s first-ever eighth-grade trip to Israel! For 10 impactful days, our students embarked on a journey filled with learning, adventure, and meaningful connections, deepening their understanding of Jewish history, culture, and identity. We offer our deepest gratitude to Nancy and Robert Schostak and family for their lead gift to establish Aliyah Chet. We also give a special thank you all the supporters who donated toward the trip and professional development for Israel education. Read more about the impact of the trip in addition to a list of our supporters. You can support too — to make Aliyah Chet possible for years to come. 🇮🇱 Donate at hmjds.org/donate

It may not be Teacher Appreciation Week yet, but we have to shout out our amazing and shticky faculty and staff! On Friday they put on a fun and musical Purim spiel to close out our Purim festivities.

Check out some of our students’ and teachers’ Purim costumes! Head over to Facebook to see more costumes and share yours in the comments. Thank you to the faculty, staff, guest clergy, and parents who helped make today both fun and educational. Happy Purim!

Chag Purim sameach! Happy Purim! Spirit Week has been full of fun dress-up themes, all leading up to tomorrow's Purim celebrations. We had Animal Day, Inside Out Day, School Colors Day, and Royals Day — one class even wrote royal decrees!

Some of our students were in Washington, D.C., and joined Senator Tina Smith for one of her "Coffee With Tina" conversation sessions for visiting Minnesotans. What a great opportunity to learn firsthand from an elected official and make connections to their social studies curriculum!

Congratulations to all the Heilicher basketball players on a fun and competitive season! 🏀 Special shoutout to the 5-6 orange team on an UNDEFEATED season 🏀 We’re looking forward to the final basketball game this week: students vs. faculty and staff! These cool action shots by Steve Teener are from the final home game earlier this month — the 7-8 girls basketball team played The Blake School.

The TRADITION of Heilicher’s seventh- and eighth-grade play continues with Fiddler on the Roof Jr.! 🎻 Come see the classic show Thursday, March 27, and Sunday, March 30. Get your tickets at hmjds.org/news-events/fiddler

Welcome home, Aliyah Chet! 🇮🇱🇺🇸🇮🇱🇺🇸🇮🇱🇺🇸🇮🇱🇺🇸🇮🇱🇺🇸🇮🇱🇺🇸

🇮🇱 L'hitraot, Israel! See you later! 🇮🇱 Aliyah Chet packed their last day with a graffiti tour in the Florentine neighborhood in Tel Aviv; an encounter with darkness (simulation of blindness) at the Israel Children's Museum; a dance party starting at Dizengoff Center, a major mall in Tel Aviv, and ending up on the street; and finally a closing dinner at Dr. Shakshuka in Jaffa.