The 6th grade participated in a lively, interactive (and sometimes messy) 3-day workshop last week, which introduced them to the concept of social entrepreneurship. The workshop was designed and led by Henrik Scheel from Startup Experience, and integrates Jewish values, including Tikkun Olam (repairing the world), Achrayut (social responsibility) and Manhigut (leadership) into the curriculum. With Henrik, students learned lots of new vocabulary and concepts (including trough of sorrow, failing fast, and the Lean Startup Method), heard about the latest innovative (and disastrous!) startups, and participated in numerous collaborative design thinking challenges. Working in small groups to begin creating their own startup company, teams "painstormed" an issue they wanted to tackle, wrote problem statements and a product summary, defined who their customers might be, designed a prototype of their product, and then prepared and delivered a mini "Shark Tank" style pitch to a panel of adults who gave them feedback about their proposals. For the next two months, the 6th graders will continue to learn from social entrepreneurs in our community and will work to refine their business ideas. This mind-opening project will culminate later in March with a Demo Day for our community - watch for your invitation! In the meantime, check out some pics from the experience HERE.