On The Bridge December 23, 2010
Gesher Jewish Day School 16 Tevet, 5771
|
|
|
| Shabbat Shalom | |
שבת שלום
Candlelighting: 4:34pm
Shemot
שמות
Torah Portion: Exodus 1:1 - 6:1
Haftarah for Ashkenazim: Isaiah 27:6- 28:13; 19:22- 29:23
Haftarah for Sephardim: Jeremiah 1:1-2:3
Yasher Koach to today's Torah reader: Shoshana G.
|
|
|
| Greetings! | |
Actively acquiring new information is the meat and potatoes of the school year. Time off, which we will get a taste of now at Winter Break, is also an important part of the learning process. Think of it as a unique opportunity for students to digest. Time off allows for what has already been learned to be better absorbed and better consolidated into the students' ever growing constructs of understanding. Theoretically, when students return next year (i.e., in a week) they will be all the better able to add on additional facets to the cognitive frameworks which they are constructing for having recessed a while from actively expanding their cache of knowledge.
Active learning inputs over a School Vacation should be serendipitous. Not a scope-and-sequence kind of learning but a come-what-may kind of learning. The distinction is not between what's-good-for-you versus what's-not, but rather between what-you-must-have versus what-you-like. It's time to help kids put the pleasure in their pleasure reading.
Wishing everyone a wonderful Winter Break! Much fun in all that you do as a family. Let the kids read what tickles their fancy as they digest their first half of the school year.
Shabbat Shalom!
Zvi Schoenburg
Head of School
|
| Upcoming Events |
See our full calendar of events!
December 24-31 - Winter Vacation, School Closed
Office Hours: Dec. 27-30 8:30-3:30
December 28 - PTO Pump it Up Party!
January 3 - Back to School
January 8 - PTO Bingo Night
January 9 - Admissions Open House
January 14 - PTO Coffee, 8:30 a.m.
January 14 - Kitah Dalet Kabbalat Shabbat Siyum
January 17 - Martin Luther King Day, no school
January 18 - Board Meeting
|
|
|
|
| School News |
Rave Reviews for Shakespeare's Twelfth Night! What an extraordinary cast! I am sure the bard is beaming, wherever he may be! Mrs. Rosenblatt and her 5th grade troupe did a fantastic job of bringing Twelfth Night to life - it was a funny, exuberant, and authentic performance. Way to go, kitah hay! -Mrs. Gordon
Two thumbs up! What a wonderful and entertaining performance!
-Mrs. Oppenheim
It is always exciting to watch 5th graders turn into Shakespearean actors, and this year was no exception. The fifth grade's performance of "Twelfth Night" was wonderful! The actors enjoyed their parts and delivered their lines with understanding and high humor. Shakespeare would be amazed and proud!
-Mrs. Rosenblatt
Hot Lunch Reminder!
Reminder to parents- a new month (and year) is coming! Anyone ordering lunch online on a monthly basis should be forewarned!
2011-2012 Gesher Jewish Day School Calendar
The Board of Directors has reviewed the 2011-2012 Gesher Jewish Day School calendar. Click here to view next year's calendar.
Recess
We have worked hard to secure greater opportunities for outdoor play for our students, even in cold weather. Please be advised that students will have their recess outside unless weather is inclement (raining, snowing, or dangerously cold). Students must be appropriately dressed for outdoor recess - a good jacket, gloves, a hat, and long pants. Students who are not properly attired will have to stay indoors. We have added an additional recess space in the merkaz where board and card games will be available for students who elect not to brave the elements and/or prefer not to be in the gym on inclement days when that space can be noisy and crowded. We are committed to safe and regular playtime for all of our students.
Gesher Musicale!
Hey, parents, grandparents, family, teachers: do you sing or play an instrument? Are you a closet musician? Not any longer! Plan to join us on Wednesday, December 29th at 3pm for a "Gesher Musicale!" Bring your voice, dust off your clarinet, tune your violin! We will enjoy each other's company while making music together. There's a pianist in the house, so we have accompaniment. All levels welcome. Please RSVP to Debra Mendelson at dmendelson@gesher-jds.org. Let us know what instrument you play so that we can have appropriate music ready for everyone, and feel free to bring your own. We'll have light refreshments, too. Come on, it'll be fun! Promise!
MAP is Coming
Registration has already begun on the winter session of MAP. There are so many quality classes being offered that it can be hard to choose. Tuesday's offerings are Sports Spectacular, Arts and Crafts and Mad Science for younger students, and Fencing or Jr. Jazzercise for the older ones. On Thursdays we have even more options. There are Puppetry, Mitzvah Mavens, Intro to Dance, and Brain Gymnastics for the K-3 set. Karate and the Friendship Club are good for all ages. For the older children there is something very new, a 90 minute class in Lego Robotics. Finally, on Mondays we are adding Basketball for all ages.
If your child is in ABC on Tues or Thurs, they get MAP as part of their registration. Please let us know which class(es) you and they prefer. Don't miss out on all these great opportunities for your child.
Click here for the full brochure with dates, prices, and a good description of each class, and contact Meredith (mparnes@gesher-jds.org) with your registration information.
Pictures:
 | Kitah Hay performs Shakespeare's Twelfth Night.
|
 | | Kitah Hay performs Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. |
 | Kitah Hay class picture after their performance of Twelfth Night.
|
| Gesher students enjoy a special Kabbalat Shabbat, organized by our PTO. |
 | | Kitah Dalet visits Mt. Vernon. |
 | | Sam and Jason lay a wreath at George Washington's tomb, a privilege often reserved for dignitaries. |
 | | Kitah Bet prepares for Pioneer Day! |
 | | Jackie makes butter during Pioneer Day. |
|
| A Message from Graciela Granek |
Gesher Chai (Living Bridge) Program
If you had been in Israel as a teen or an adult, I'm sure you cherish memories of the people you met in your trip, experiences you had with them, and perhaps you also developed long life relationships with some of them. The same happens to our students in their 8th grade Israel trip; they come back excited by their Israel experience, but their special highlights are always their encounters with Israeli teens.
This people-to-people encounter is at the core of our "Gesher Chai" (Living Bridge) initiative: through this program we provide a (bi-lingual!) forum where our 8th grade students and Israeli students their age can communicate their interests and commonalities as well as experience the ways in which their Jewish culture brings them together, regardless of their geographic distance.
Two summers ago, Maya Rose and I took part in the Gesher Chai (Living Bridge) program in Beit Shemesh, sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington and the Jewish Agency's Partnership 2000 program (Beit Shemesh-Mateh Yehuda and the Greater Washington area cohort). Our local delegation to Israel included educators from Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School and the Melvin J. Berman Hebrew Academy in Rockville, MD and Jewish Primary Day School (JPDS) in Washington DC.
The goal of the program is to build connections of friendship between schools in Israel and the Diaspora;,enabling educators and students to understand and appreciate the complexities of modern Jewish life in Israel and in Jewish communities around the word.
We have partnered our 8th graders with 8th grade at Hartuv Secondary school, located in kibbutz Tzora, near Beit Shemesh. We already had a few virtual exchanges with the Hartuv students that were a real eye opener both for our kids and the Israeli kids. We sent them a little clip for them to have a taste of Chanukah in the States, and this week we will send them another snapshot of the students' life at Gesher.
During the Israel experience trip to Israel our eighth grade students will spend a day with the Hartuv students! They are very excited to meet them face to face!
The Gesher Chai program also helps strengthen the connections between our local Jewish day schools, as we develop programs and events together for our students and teachers as well. We look forward to foster this cooperation.
Next month, a Beit Shemesh and Mateh Yehuda educators' delegation will visit schools in Washington. We will host the Hartuv delegation, and they will spend a day at Gesher on January 20, getting to know our students and teachers.
For more information on the Gesher Chai program, or if you want to help organizing the Hartuv educators visit to our area, please contact Maya Rose at mrose@gesher-jds.org or me at ggranek@gesher-jds.org.
|
| Development and Fundraising | |
Save the evening of March 27, 2011 for ALL THE MAGIC THAT IS GESHER!
Click here to see all our wonderful honorees!
Please help us find our 2010-11 Tikun Olam Alumni Winner! Nominations are being accepted now through DEC 31, 2010. Please submit two brief paragraphs describing the work and life of an alumni deserving of our annual Tikun Olam honor- we're looking for someone who is making the world a better place! Email your nominations to Rebekah Dickinson: rdickinson@gesher-jds.org. The winner will be announced the first week in January.
Giant Food Bonus Cards
Please register your Giant Food card. Giant cards need to be registered each fall. Gesher will earn cash from Giant Food every time you shop at Giant and use your card. This even includes Peapod purchases. So please register your card now. Our school number is 02238. See more grocery stores you can register with on Gesher's website.
|
Gesher Green
|
Gesher Green in the winter
We are busily planning a variety of outdoor activities so we'll be especially ready when the weather warms up. And now that we've passed the shortest day of the year, spring can't be that far away!
This week Mr. Gensler and Ms. Leckert met with Dann Sklarew. He is a professor at GMU who teaches both graduate and undergraduate classes in ecology and sustainability. We discussed the possibility of working together on environmental projects. Some ongoing projects Gesher could use help with include working on the trail through the woods, and our sustainability committees. However, if any of his students have ideas of their own, we would love to work with them on projects that also benefit Gesher.
Speaking of our sustainability committees, we have one already in place and another on the way. Our adult committee has met several times. We are in the process of evaluating our "carbon footprint" and working on ways to reduce it. Beginning in January, a student committee of 2nd-5th graders will meet during lunch and recess on Thursdays. This "Eco-Brigade" will choose one of eight topics to analyze. Their choices include energy, water use, outdoor activities or greening the school grounds. We will conduct an audit to see where we are, then come up with ideas to improve.
Learning with the Yogi Bear movie
There is a new movie in the theatres for the holidays called Yogi Bear. This movie actually has an official education partner, the National Wildlife Federation. The hope, according to Carey Stanton, NWF's senior director for education, is "...(to) motivate people of all ages to get outside in their favorite park and use our online resources to learn about the natural world." To that end, they have set up several websites to help families connect with nature.
- Go to www.nwf.org/yogi to find an activity guide related to the movie.
- At www.beoutthere.org there are ideas for connecting to nature and making it an automatic part of everyday life. This site also has a report on how time spent outside helps children become high-performance learners and score higher on standardized tests.
- You can find parks in your neighborhood at www.nwf.org/naturefind.
It may be cold out there right now, but there is still a lot to see and learn in winter. Take advantage of the break from the regular school routine to spend some time outdoors. Also, keep these sites to find places to go and things to do once spring returns.
|
| Admissions News |
Next Admissions Open House- Tell your friends!
Sun, Jan 9 from 10-11:30a (child care available in the Gesher gym for the Sunday Tour)
Refer a Friend Program
Help build enrollment for the 2011-2012 school year and save on next year's tuition through our Refer a Friend Program!
|
| Head, Heart and Hand | |
An Easy Mitzvah
Do you shop at Whole Foods? If you do, here is an easy way to help those in need.
On January 5th the Whole Foods in Fair Lakes will donate 5% of all their sales to Food for Others. Food for Others (www.foodforothers.org) is the largest food pantry here in Fairfax. (Ironically, it is located on Prosperity Ave!) They help tens of thousands of low income families in several ways.
- They provide emergency food to families who get referred by clergy or social workers up to 6 times a year.
- They can also provide food through grants from the US Department of Agriculture up to 12 times per year.
- They have street corner delivery of food at 15 sites throughout the Northern VA area, where they give food to anyone who comes for aid.
- Finally, they provide bulk distributions of food to more than 30 other charitable organizations that support soup kitchens, homeless shelters, and deliveries to the elderly, as well as church and community center pantries.
Gesher already supports Food for Others through our Student Council and PTO food collections. Now is a chance to support them "free of charge," simply by shopping at Whole Foods on Jan. 5th.
|
| PTO | |
Thank you very much to Naama Ende for organizing the Mishpachat Gesher (PTO) Family Kabbalat Shabbat last week. The children had a wonderful time laughing, singing and clapping during the performance by Mark Novak and Renee Brachfeld: Songs and Stories from the Jewish Tradition.
Looking to keep your kids entertained during winter break? Mishpachat Gesher (PTO) has the answer!
Let your children bounce, climb and slide with their Gesher friends in Grades K-4 at Pump It Up - The Inflatable Party Zone in Manassas on Tuesday, December 28, 1:15 - 3:00 pm. Siblings welcome but must be at least 2 years old and 34" tall to play on the inflatables. Cost is $10 per child. Socks and a signed waiver required to play. A designated adult must be responsible for each child. Register and pay online now. Questions? Contact Amy Friedman at amyafriedman@gmail.com.
SAVE THE DATES:
- January 8: PTO Family Bingo Night returns!
- January 14: PTO Coffee at 8:45 am. Our annual discussion about Sex and Health: "What You need To Know About Your Growing Adolescent" with Ms. Strouse, Mr. Scott, and Mrs. Yungshten.
Save those Box Tops over winter break. Collection continues in January.
The PTO wishes all Gesher families, faculty and staff a safe and enjoyable winter break, and a Happy, Healthy, Peaceful 2011.
|
Caring Community
|
Mazel tov to Shoshana G. on her Bat-Mitzvah.
|
| Mitzvah Coupon Donations |
Mitzvah Coupon donations can now be made on-line through our secure website, www.gesher-jds.org. Simply log in and click on the Donate link at the top of our homepage.
In honor of Shoshana G.'s Bat Mitzvah
Miriam and Jeffrey Berkowitz
Ann Bennett
The Cast, Crew and Producers of The Odd Potato
Ann Bennett
In honor of Avi S.'s Bar Mitzvah
Ann Bennett
In honor of Ben E.'s Bar Mitzvah
Ann Bennett
In honor of Debra Mendelson and Adina Ackerman
Julie and Eric Akawie
In memory of Kenneth Barnett
Michelle and David Malet
In honor of Liz Maer
Shelley Adler
In honor of Earl and Louise Hodin's Dinner with a Twist
Barbara Holleb
|
| Community Announcements |
Wizards Jewish Heritage Night
Tuesday, January 11, 7 p.m. at the Verizon Center.
The Wizards will take on the Kings, featuring Israeli-born player Omri Casspi. Discount tickets available for the Jewish community! Sponsored by the Partnership for Jewish Life and Learning, Gesher Jewish Day School, and 23 other local Jewish organizations. For event details, click here or visit www.pjll.org A group from Gesher is being organized by Rob Goldberg and David Goldstein. To purchase tickets, log on to www.washingtonwizards.com/JHN and use special offer code JHN. Questions? Contact Jordan Schwartz at 202-292-1974 or email jschwartz@monumentalsports.com
Calling All High School Gesher Alumni! Hebrew Teen Club Launches!
When: Sundays, starting January 16th and meeting every other Sunday for 10 weeks (last class is May 22). Exact time TBA.
What: Want to continue speaking Hebrew in a fun, informal setting?
Then join the Hebrew Club and talk for an hour (first 1/2 hour have a nosh) with other teens IN HEBREW. Young Israeli discussion leader will be the guide. No homework but a willingness to speak Hebrew, suggest topics, and be discussion leader. Please pass the word on!
Cost: Depending on # of students $75-100 for 10 sessions, max 8 Club members.
Where: 1st meeting at the Braverman's in Fairfax
For more info/express interest: Contact Amy Melnick-Scharf, melnickscharf@yahoo.com, 703-425-7750 or Robin Braverman, r_braverman@acs.org, 703-250-1333.
Tizmoret A-Capella group from Queens College
Agudas Achim is hosting the fabulous Jewish A-Cappella group on Wed., Jan. 19 at 6:00 p.m. The cost is $5/person, free for Agudas Achim religious school students. Click here for more information, or contact Elisheva Dienstfrey at edienstfrey@agudasachim-va.org or at 703-998-6460.
Musical Soiree
You are cordially invited to an evening of music featuring young soloists who as winners of their state competitions will be competing in Music Teachers National Divisional Competitions in January 2011. The featured soloists include clarinetist James Moon and pianists Bryan Ho, Ryo Kaneko and Kimberly Ho. Please join us at Tyson's Corner on December 27th at 7:00 p.m.
Tyson's Steinway Gallery
December 27, 2010
7:00 p.m.
The concert will be held in the store between Radio Shack and Kenneth Cole. Enter through Macy's Level 1 and turn right. The stores are on your right. (The Steinway Piano Gallery at Tyson's Corner has recently relocated to a site adjacent to Lord and Taylor on the lower level. The concert is not being held in the showroom, but in their recently vacated former location.)
Music will include the Copland and Mozart Clarinet Concertos, Prokofiev Toccata, Op. 11, Schumann's Abegg Variations, Liszt Hungarian Rhapsody #12, Scriabin Fantasy, Op. 28, Barber Piano Sonata.
American Hebrew Academy Honor Society
The American Hebrew Academy Honor Society is an international honor society for 8th and 9th gradeJewish students who have demonstrated excellence in the fields of academics, Jewish studies, athletics, the arts, and tikkun olam. Once accepted into the Society, members are invited to convene for a Leadership Shabbaton which takes place each year on the campus of the American Hebrew Academy, a pluralistic Jewish college prep boarding high school located in Greensboro, NC. Please note that students who are nominated and accepted in the Honor Society do not have to attend the American Hebrew Academy.
If members of the Honor Society are interested in attending the Academy, they may be awarded up to $20,000 a year towards the cost of tuition. You can learn more about the Honor Society and how to nominate incredible students by clicking here. The deadline for nominations is January 10, 2011.
Habonim Dror Camp Moshava
Habonim Dror Camp Moshava is a unique camping experience filled with leadership development, Jewish celebration, social justice and love of Israel. Close to home in beautiful Harford County, Maryland. For young people entering 3-10th grade. Questions? Call 800-454-2205, visit our website www.CampMosh.org, or email Tammy@campmosh.org.
Join Us for an Open House. Click here for more information!
Sunday, January 9, 2011, 4 p.m.
at the home of the Falk family
305 Adams Ave.
Alexandria, VA 22031
JCCNV during Gesher Vacation
Looking for something fun for the kids during school breaks? The JCCNV now offers Winter and Spring Camps for school-age children. All the excitement of a summer camp experience is now brought to you throughout the year! Our program, guided by Jewish values, is bursting with indoor and outdoor activities, swimming, cooking, arts and crafts, field trips and more!
Visit this link for more detailed information and the registration information. http://www.jccnv.org/documents/Base-Vacation-Day%28JCCNV%29.pdf Please contact Nori White, Director of School Age Services and Camp at noriw@jccnv.org or 703-537-3041 with any questions.
The Jewish Federation Wants to Help! If you are in need of financial
assistance at t his time, or if you know anyone in the community who
is in need, please do not hesitate to contact the Jewish Federation's Warm Line at 1-866-950-4AID.
|
|
|
We welcome your inquiries. To schedule a tour, or for more information about admissions or making a donation to Gesher Jewish Day School, please contact us at (703)978-9789.
Sincerely,
|
Gesher Jewish Day School
4800 Mattie Moore Court
Fairfax, VA 22030
phone: (703) 978-9789
fax: (703)978-2668
|
|
|
Address or Email Changes
If you have changes to your email or mailing address, please send them to mparnes@gesher-jds.org so we can update your information. If you wish to be removed from the "On the Bridge" e-letter distribution list, please do not use the "SafeUnsubscribe" link below unless you wish to be removed from all email correspondence from Gesher Jewish Day School.
| |
|
|
