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!
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🇮🇱 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.
Aliyah Chet had another great day with the Katzir School and celebrated a birthday! Yom huledet sameach/Happy birthday, Sylvia G. Aidan R. and Rina S. tell us all about it:
We started our day by meeting up with the Katzir School again, which was super fun! We had the chance to talk with them and see their school before heading out on a hike together at the Sataf. The hike was beautiful and such a great experience! Afterward, we enjoyed some lunch before separating for the afternoon.
Our class then visited Machon Ayalon, a really cool bullet factory, where we learned about the secret manufacturing of bullets between 1945 and 1948. Before heading back to the Katzir school, we made a quick stop to pick up some snacks. Everyone got a bunch of fun Israeli treats, making it a special and exciting experience!
To end the night, we headed back to have dinner and spent time hanging out with the Katzir students. We formed amazing bonds and new friendships that we will cherish forever. Sadly, we had to head back to the hotel for our last night. While we’re all sad to leave, we’re excited to make the most of our final day!
Day 8 of Aliyah Chet held an emotional juxtaposition: the lightness of meeting peers, the future of Israel, and the darkness of the hostage crisis — remembering those slain and those alive, those still captive and those freed.
Read Dalia D. and Delilah R.'s brief recap of the day, which included meeting eighth-grade students from the Katzir School in our sister city, Rechovot, and visiting Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, on the Heilicher Blog: hmjds.org/news-events/heilicher-blog.
Today's Aliyah Chet highlight was connecting with some of our alumni and b'not sherut in Israel! It brings us such naches (pride and joy) to see our alumni in Israel thriving, from high school students spending the semester in Israel to lone soldiers and those who have made or are making aliyah.
We enjoyed dinner together, and the alumni and b'not sherut told the students about their lives in Israel. The eighth graders got to ask them questions, such as: What do you miss from the U.S.? What‘s something about Israel you‘ve learned since coming/making aliyah that surprised you? What's some advice you'd give someone considering aliyah? What does your Hebrew sound like? And lastly, how did October 7 affect you?”
See more from Aliyah Chet Day 7 and what you missed from Shabbat on the Heilicher Blog: hmjds.org/news-events/heilicher-blog
Welcome, Adar! It's Rosh Chodesh Adar, the Head of the Month of Adar. The rabbinic saying goes, “When Adar begins, our joy increases,” so we marked the occasion with Funny Hat Day!
Shabbat shalom from Aliyah Chet! Myra B. and Eve S. share their last activities before heading into Shabbat:
Today was our fourth day in Israel. It was our first day waking up in Jerusalem, and it was a great experience. We started the day exploring the City of David, which was very meaningful because we learned a lot about him in Jewish Studies. It was interesting to see where it all happened in real life. Then we went to these underwater tunnels where, 3,000 years ago, people used to carry water to one another. It was a really cool experience because it’s not something you could see anywhere else.
After that, we took a tour under the Kotel, which was really interesting because we had never known so much about [the Western Wall Tunnel]. Some of us didn’t even know it was there, and we loved learning about its history, the many layers it has, the different stories that came from it, and why it was built there. Later tonight, we are going to return to the Kotel for a meaningful Kabbalat Shabbat experience.
