The entire Millel student body
gathers outside to celebrate
the groundbreaking.

Official!

Hillel students join in groundbreaking
for their new gym-theater.

Keri Guten Cohen
Story Development Editor

sea of yellow helmets
added to the festive
mood as students and
staff of Hillel Day School of
Metropolitan Detroit gathered
Oct. 11 for a groundbreaking cer-
emony for an expansion of its
Farmington Hills campus.
"The children are very excit-
ed," said Steve Freedman, head of
school. "They had fun and took a
tour to see what's going up.
Actually, they can peek through
as they go into school and can
watch the building go up."
Work began this summer on
the $4 million expansion that
will add a regulation-size gym,
dressing area, theater, conference
room, offices, a new lobby and
playing fields.
The new gym-theater will hold
800 seats — as opposed to the
current gym that can only handle
130 — so the school will be able

October 20 2005

to hold its graduations and big-
ger programs on campus.
Freedman expects the facilities
to be ready for students in the
fall of 2006.
Funds already are secured
through private donations, said
Terri Farber Roth, immediate
past president, who spearheaded
the project along with Ricky
Blumenstein, who chaired the
gym committee.
"We've raised more than $4
million and are still working to
raise a minimum of $5 million,
which will cover any costs to run
this facility," Roth said. "Not one
penny comes out of tuition. It's
very important. Our families pay
so much in tuition as it is —
Jewish education costs a lot of
money — that we did not want
to tax them any more.
"The building also is kicking
off our effort to build an endow-
ment at the school to hold down
the cost of education in the
future," Roth said. "It will all go

through the Goldman-Hermelin
Endowment, which is just shy of
$3 million. A third of our stu-
dents are on scholarship. The
more endowment we have, the
more kids we can educate."
Freedman and Roth agree the
school has needed a larger gym
for a long time. Currently, several
classes share the space during
gym classes, Roth said. In 1996, .
when an $11 million addition
was built, there wasn't money for
a larger gym or theater.
Roth calls the current project
Hillel's "last frontier of construc-
tion!'
"Our kids deserve if,' she said
simply. "They work hard academ-
ically and sports and theater are
part of their education. They will
grow in these areas as well. This
facility will reflect the wonderful
[sports] program and [theater]
department we have.
"It's very cool for the kids.
It's the right thing — and it's
time. ❑

Steve Freedman, head of Hillel Day School, student Zachary Resnick, 8,

of West Bloomfield and Rob Goodman, Hillel board president, do the

groundbreaking honors. Resnick was chosen randomly from Freedman's

weekly, "Gotch ya! Caught you being a mentsh" raffle.