We celebrated Tu B’Shvat, the birthday of the trees, this week with joyful songs, meaningful art, and a festive seder 🌱
ROOTED in Jewish tradition and alive with creativity, our students connected learning, nature, and gratitude, PLANTING SEEDS of responsibility for the world they’re GROWING into.
ROOTED in Jewish tradition and alive with creativity, our students connected learning, nature, and gratitude, PLANTING SEEDS of responsibility for the world they’re GROWING into.
One word: Naches.
We could not be more proud of our sixth graders upon their completion of the B'tzalel Project, a Smith tradition of 31 years!
But this is just a sneak peek. ... Check back later this week to see the beautiful talitot and wall hangings the students created in this spiritual and creative journey that is the B'tzalel Project.
🚐 The Gesher Express is off!
We're excited to now offer transportation between St. Paul and our Minneapolis campus. Week 1 of rides was a success, making an exceptional Jewish education more accessible to families throughout our community.
We're grateful to partner with the Minnesota JCC as we bring Smith Jewish Academy closer to home for more Twin Cities families.
We're excited to now offer transportation between St. Paul and our Minneapolis campus. Week 1 of rides was a success, making an exceptional Jewish education more accessible to families throughout our community.
We're grateful to partner with the Minnesota JCC as we bring Smith Jewish Academy closer to home for more Twin Cities families.
THIS is what an SJA education looks like:
📚 Rigorous academics
💡 Creative problem-solving
👫 Students who think deeply and lead with purpose
Third graders dove deep into the study of sea lions and animal enrichment and engineered original enrichment solutions of their own. They presented their ideas with confidence and pride to school staff, then their parents, and finally a Minnesota Zoo representative as part of the ZOOMS STEM Design Challenge.
Best of luck to all of our third grade teams!
#smithja #STEM
📚 Rigorous academics
💡 Creative problem-solving
👫 Students who think deeply and lead with purpose
Third graders dove deep into the study of sea lions and animal enrichment and engineered original enrichment solutions of their own. They presented their ideas with confidence and pride to school staff, then their parents, and finally a Minnesota Zoo representative as part of the ZOOMS STEM Design Challenge.
Best of luck to all of our third grade teams!
#smithja #STEM
Oh my goodness, oh my goodness! The SJA seventh and eighth graders completed a successful run of Annie Jr.!
These incredible seventh and eighth graders put on more than a performance. Through our annual seventh and eighth grade play, students integrated visual arts, performing arts, and technology, all while building empathy, public speaking and practical skills, teamwork, and self-confidence.
And just like Annie, our students (and their families!) gain a found family here at Smith Jewish Academy.
Happy closing to the Annie Jr. cast and crew, faculty, and Graceful Monsters Educational Theatre Collective!
These incredible seventh and eighth graders put on more than a performance. Through our annual seventh and eighth grade play, students integrated visual arts, performing arts, and technology, all while building empathy, public speaking and practical skills, teamwork, and self-confidence.
And just like Annie, our students (and their families!) gain a found family here at Smith Jewish Academy.
Happy closing to the Annie Jr. cast and crew, faculty, and Graceful Monsters Educational Theatre Collective!
Curtain up! 🎭 Annie Jr. is starting now at Smith Jewish Academy, and we’re thrilled to welcome back some of our high school-aged alumni for dinner and a show.
It’s meaningful to see our graduates return to take their seats in the audience, reconnect, and cheer on the next generation of SJA performers. Once you’re part of the Smith community, you’re always part of the Smith community!
To our seventh and eighth graders: Break a leg! ☀
It’s meaningful to see our graduates return to take their seats in the audience, reconnect, and cheer on the next generation of SJA performers. Once you’re part of the Smith community, you’re always part of the Smith community!
To our seventh and eighth graders: Break a leg! ☀
📦 127 boxes packed
🍚 27,432 meals prepped
🧒 75 children fed a daily meal for a year
While school was closed for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, our community was very much in action.
On Monday, 50 Smith Jewish Academy students, parents, and teachers honored Dr. King’s legacy through the mitzvah of feeding the hungry, volunteering together at Feed My Starving Children.
Guided by Jewish values and inspired by Dr. King’s vision of service and justice, our families are living out the belief that a day on is more powerful than a day off, turning compassion into concrete action and strengthening our shared responsibility to one another.
🍚 27,432 meals prepped
🧒 75 children fed a daily meal for a year
While school was closed for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, our community was very much in action.
On Monday, 50 Smith Jewish Academy students, parents, and teachers honored Dr. King’s legacy through the mitzvah of feeding the hungry, volunteering together at Feed My Starving Children.
Guided by Jewish values and inspired by Dr. King’s vision of service and justice, our families are living out the belief that a day on is more powerful than a day off, turning compassion into concrete action and strengthening our shared responsibility to one another.
Today we honor the life and legacy of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., answering his call to lead with compassion, courage, and responsibility to one another.
Ahead of the long weekend, our students marked the day with meaningful learning and hands-on service, turning values into action:
💌 Creating cards for isolated seniors through Friends & Co
🥧 Writing notes to accompany Sweet Potato Comfort Pie deliveries for those facing challenging times
🥪 Preparing 1,000 sandwiches for neighbors in need through The Sandwich Project
Rooted in Jewish values and inspired by Dr. King’s vision, our students learned that service is not a moment — it’s a way of living. When young people are invited to care deeply and act boldly, they help repair the world, tikkun olam, one small act at a time.
Ahead of the long weekend, our students marked the day with meaningful learning and hands-on service, turning values into action:
💌 Creating cards for isolated seniors through Friends & Co
🥧 Writing notes to accompany Sweet Potato Comfort Pie deliveries for those facing challenging times
🥪 Preparing 1,000 sandwiches for neighbors in need through The Sandwich Project
Rooted in Jewish values and inspired by Dr. King’s vision, our students learned that service is not a moment — it’s a way of living. When young people are invited to care deeply and act boldly, they help repair the world, tikkun olam, one small act at a time.
Learning from within our community. 🎨
Fifth graders welcomed SJA parent and artist Sarah Weinman, who shared her portrait art and spoke about her journey as an artist. Moments like this reflect the strength of our diverse, talented community and the joy of learning from one another.
🏀 A great moment for SJA Athletics: All four basketball teams won their most recent games! As we reach the midpoint of the season, we’re celebrating the hard work and growth that define our athletics program, where students compete, learn teamwork, and build confidence and resilience across a variety of team sports. 🏀⚽🥏
We loved welcoming pre-K students from Beth El Aleph Preschool to Smith last month — and watching students explore, ask questions, and experience what makes our community so special. Moments like these capture the heart of Smith: a vibrant Jewish day school where every child is known, celebrated, and encouraged to grow.
At Smith, students engage in rigorous academics and rich Jewish learning within a caring, joyful community. As one parent beautifully shared, “I just want to say how grateful I am for this school, this community, and all that we are together.” That sense of gratitude and belonging is something we hear again and again.
If you’re curious about what a Smith education could look like for your child, we invite you to visit, tour, and see it for yourself. We’d love to welcome you into our community.
At Smith, students engage in rigorous academics and rich Jewish learning within a caring, joyful community. As one parent beautifully shared, “I just want to say how grateful I am for this school, this community, and all that we are together.” That sense of gratitude and belonging is something we hear again and again.
If you’re curious about what a Smith education could look like for your child, we invite you to visit, tour, and see it for yourself. We’d love to welcome you into our community.
Learning comes alive when it’s personal. As part of their study of Native American peoples, our second graders welcomed Mr. Seth, who shared his family history and connections to the Ho-Chunk Nation.
Students learned about powwows, lacrosse, traditional and modern Ho-Chunk culture, and Mr. Seth's family tree, deepening their understanding and respect for living cultures and lived history.
Take a sneak peek at one of our favorite SJA traditions — the B'tzalel Project 🎨 Our sixth graders are putting the final touches on their talitot (prayer shawls), to be presented later this month.
This annual sixth grade project takes students on a meaningful and personal spiritual journey as they prepare for their b'nei mitzvah through the arts and study of middot (virtues).
This annual sixth grade project takes students on a meaningful and personal spiritual journey as they prepare for their b'nei mitzvah through the arts and study of middot (virtues).
Kol hakavod to SJA siblings Mila (Grade 6) and Ezra (Class of '25), who each received Honorable Mention in the inaugural L’Dor V’Dor Essay Prize.
This recognition is a powerful example of what Smith students do so well: think critically, write thoughtfully, and engage meaningfully with Jewish tradition, family history, and lived experience.
Read their essays and more news from Smith Jewish Academy in the December Inside the Pride! Go to smithja.org/page/inside-the-pride
We’re proud to welcome Abby Schmulewitz back home to Smith Jewish Academy as our director of admissions!
A graduate of SJA, Abby brings both professional expertise and lived understanding of what makes this community so meaningful — an education that pairs academic excellence with meaningful Jewish life, and a place where every child is truly known.
“I am looking forward to sharing with the community why SJA is such a special place and welcoming families into our community.”
If you’re exploring a Smith education for your child or simply want to connect, Abby would love to hear from you. Head to our website to read about Abby and to reach out.
A graduate of SJA, Abby brings both professional expertise and lived understanding of what makes this community so meaningful — an education that pairs academic excellence with meaningful Jewish life, and a place where every child is truly known.
“I am looking forward to sharing with the community why SJA is such a special place and welcoming families into our community.”
If you’re exploring a Smith education for your child or simply want to connect, Abby would love to hear from you. Head to our website to read about Abby and to reach out.
Before break, third grade made its annual trip to the Minnesota Zoo to gather firsthand insights for their own engineering project: a competition to make an enrichment for the zoo's sea lions.
Through this work, students see themselves as scientists and problem-solvers — and learn that their ideas can support real animal needs.
Leapin' lizards! Smith Jewish Academy is putting on Annie Jr.!
Come see our seventh and eighth grade Stars to Be in Annie, Jr. on Thursday, January 22, and Sunday, January 25.
🎟️ Get your tickets at smithja.org/page/annie 🎟️
Come see our seventh and eighth grade Stars to Be in Annie, Jr. on Thursday, January 22, and Sunday, January 25.
🎟️ Get your tickets at smithja.org/page/annie 🎟️
This year you gave us so many reasons to cheer, celebrate, and feel naches (pride)! Which of these amazing moments was your favorite?
🦁 A. After celebrating 40 years as a school and community, we became Harold and Mickey Smith Jewish Academy!
🥇B. Our students won in both local and international STEM competitions — first place in the Cosmic Leap Foundation Space Colony Competition and third place in the Minnesota Zoo ZOOMS STEM Design Challenge!
🇮🇱 C. SJA sent its inaugural eighth grade trip to Israel: Aliyah Chet!
🎉 D. We celebrated many holidays, from Purim to Yom ha-Atzmaut and Simchat Torah!
There are so many moments to choose from we couldn’t list them all. Happy New Year, and here's to more successes in 2026!
🦁 A. After celebrating 40 years as a school and community, we became Harold and Mickey Smith Jewish Academy!
🥇B. Our students won in both local and international STEM competitions — first place in the Cosmic Leap Foundation Space Colony Competition and third place in the Minnesota Zoo ZOOMS STEM Design Challenge!
🇮🇱 C. SJA sent its inaugural eighth grade trip to Israel: Aliyah Chet!
🎉 D. We celebrated many holidays, from Purim to Yom ha-Atzmaut and Simchat Torah!
There are so many moments to choose from we couldn’t list them all. Happy New Year, and here's to more successes in 2026!
Once a lion, always a lion! 🦁
Smith alumni and students shared the court, the competition, and the joy at our third alumni-students basketball game. We love to see our alumni lead on the court just as they do in life — with confidence and character.
Happy holidays! The Smith choir performed in the IDS Center Holidays Under Glass Music Concert Series, a beautiful opportunity to showcase our students and spread joy and music in the community.
