AMOS & CELIA HEILICHER MINNEAPOLIS JEWISH DAY SCHOOL

MN State Rep. Visits Grade 7

MN State Rep. Visits Grade 7

Seventh-grade students researched and wrote essays on Minnesota issues and presented their ideas to Minnesota State Representative Cheryl Youakim on Monday, February 14. She listened, asked questions, and gave advice to the presenters. Then, she had a Q&A session with the students, helping them to understand the role state representatives play in helping Minnesota be a great state to live. Student Revaya D. wrote about the experience:

This past Monday, we had the pleasure of meeting Representative Youakim on Zoom. Normally, seventh graders would have gone to "Youth Day at the Capitol," where we would have gotten to share our research papers that we have written with others. But this year because of COVID, we did it online instead.

After writing our papers, we split into groups based on our topics. During the meeting, after introducing ourselves, three of our five groups presented their ideas. The first group that went was Maya K. and me, talking about animal treatment in zoos. Then Hannah L. and Aiden B. went, and they talked about changing the Minnesota flag. Lastly, Sky L., Abe P.S., and Benny Z. spoke about raising police funding and changing police training.

What was so interesting about it, though, was that no matter what the topic was, even if it wasn't her area of expertise, Representative Youakim knew all about it. She was able to tell us what laws already existed, what bills were yet to come, and what else we could do to help out with our topic. Afterwards, we got to ask her all sorts of questions about her work and life.

One of the questions was about what she felt the most proud of. She answered that she had spent around three years working on a bill to support on-call firefighters, and, because of that accomplishment, she was presented with two honorary axes, one for her and one for her to present to the firefighters. I must say, the ax was pretty cool. It was a very interesting Zoom call that I will always remember.

More Posts

Jackie Smith testifies at Minnesota House meeting

On Thursday, March 2, on behalf of the Minnesota Association of Independent Schools, Director of General Studies Jackie Smith testified in front of the Minnesota House of Representatives Education Finance Committee in support of a bill that would expand state funding for mental health support in independent schools like Heilicher.

Leah Shapiro and Debate it Forward campers in front of The Adler Planetarium

Heilicher alum Leah Shapiro (Heilicher ’08) is redefining debate — what it looks like, what it sounds like, and, most importantly, who can participate. She created My Voice Matters, a debate camp with programs for pre-K through tenth-grade students, with the concept that all children deserve to be heard and feel empowered to share their ideas.

poster board with photos of students preparing for the event

Heilicher's fifth grade planned a mitzvah day and brought together 170+ people, collected 180+ food items for donation, and made 200 mitzvah bags for those in need. They raised $453 to distribute to Sharsheret cancer research, Hadassah children's hospitals, and the Animal Humane Society. Fifth-grade student Mia M. shared her experience working on the event.