Thanks to the Minneapolis Jewish Federation’s Education Bridge, HMJDS has a wonderfully rich and longstanding partnership with the Mul Gilad School on Kibbutz Ashdot Ya’acov Yihud and Gan Shaked at Kibbutz Afikim.

Education Bridge, established in 2000, enables HMJDS students and families to share meaningful curricular experiences and cultural exchanges with “real people” in the Sovev Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) region of Israel, in order to discover the traditional values that bind us as global citizens.  In addition, the program hopes to ensure a shared identity among Jews around the world, while developing new pathways to communicate the diverse cultural and spiritual foundations and respect for diversity that are present in our societies.

Over the last several years, many HMJDS teachers have traveled to Israel to meet with Israeli teacher partners and visa versa.  Faculties enjoy touring each others’ schools, serving as guest teachers, and are always warmly welcomed into their partner teachers’ homes and communities.  These in-person exchanges have provided wonderful studying and brainstorming opportunities to develop quality interactions and projects for both Minneapolis and Israeli students.  In between visits, teachers plan together via phone, e-mail and videoconference.

Representatives from HMJDS will travel to Israel in winter 2008 for the Partnership 2000 annual mifgash (gathering community of Jewish intellectuals). In the meantime, plans for the 2008-09 school year Partnership 2000 activities include High Holy Days/Jewish New Year greetings exchanges at all grade levels.  Cards, stories, art, tapes, photos and more will be sent to and from HMJDS and Israeli students.  With each grade level, projects get more complex and give students the opportunity to practice their respective second language skills.

Highlights from 2007-08 Partnership 2000 curriculum included:

• Joint live videoconferences at all grade levels.
• Grade K-8 students at both schools engaged in a variety of joint curricular exchanges focusing on celebrating Israel’s 60th anniversary.
• Kindergartners made Hebrew videos for one another and exchanged family stories and pictures via class albums.
• Grade 1-2 students engaged in guessing games of artifacts native with their international classmates’ cultures.
• Students in grade three and four composed and exchanged personal identification letters and collages of different native foliage, and Israel @ 60 puzzles.
• Fifth and sixth graders created and shared family tree compellation books with each other.  Accompanying the trees were wishes and “stories” about family ties and journies to Israel.
• Grade 7 and 8 students created and shared megillat haverim (friendship scrolls).

Many HMJDS families have been fortunate to visit our partner schools on recent trips to Israel.  These family visits provide face to face connections for children that have been corresponding over the last few years.  According to one HMJDS parent, “Our visit to Mul Gilad was very powerful and meaningful.  The Israeli students ran up to all members of our family and greeted us so warmly.  It was clear that they already felt a connection to the students from HMJDS through the videoconferences and other exchanges that have occurred over the past few years.  Thanks to Education Bridge, and the work of HMJDS, we could really feel the reciprocal connections with the children and faculty at Mul Gilad and see how strong relationships and idea-sharing between the children and the schools will benefit both communities.  The day at Mul Gilad was definitely one of the highlights of our trip to Israel.”

For more information on Education Bridge click here.