We are pleased to announce this year's Tikkun Olam winner for Gesher's Annual Spring Gala: Candace Nachman.  We are thrilled she accepted the honor and will be joining us on March 27 to receive her award.

Many in the community nominated Candace.  The criteria on which we based our decision:

Gesher Guardian of the Bridge Event - Tikkun Olam Award 

The Gesher Guardian of the Bridge Tikkun Olam Award was established to recognize a Gesher Alumnus for the Mitzvot of Tzedakah and G'milut Hassadim (acts of loving-kindness).  The award is given to a former student who has applied the Jewish principles and values learned at Gesher to make a positive impact in the world.

Yasher Koach to Kitah Alef on their Siddur Ceremony!

After School Hebrew Class, Organized by 8th grade students!

Starting next Wednesday, we will have 8th grade students available to help students up through Kitah Gimel with homework, reading, speaking and practicing Hebrew from 3:30-4:15pm.  Please contact Graciela Granek if your child is interested in participating ggranek@gesher-jds.org. 

Kosher Wine in time for Pesach!

The Kremer and Stravitz families are, once again, organizing a large purchase of kosher wines in time for delivery before the Passover holiday.  We will be ordering a variety of select kosher wines that are not readily available in this area.  With enough volume, we can achieve a significant discount on each case and the savings will be passed on as a donation to Shomrei Gesher.  Typically the final prices for Gesher families are still better than any price we can get individually in the stores.  This is a unique opportunity to conveniently order quality kosher wines for Pesach and year-round, get a great deal on great wines, and help us raise funds for Gesher at the same time!

Anyone in the Gesher community is welcome to place an order - the deadline for orders will be in late February and delivery will be just before Pesach.  

For those who wish to preview the wine selection, we will be holding a private wine tasting on February 13, 2011 from 7:30 until 9:00 in the evening at the home of Marc and Lorraine Kremer in Oakton, VA.  In order to cover costs, participation in the wine tasting will be $18 per person, $36 per couple,checks made out and sent to Lorraine Fischer.  If you are interested in attending the wine tasting, RSVPs must be confirmed with Michelle Stravitz at mstravitz@verizon.net by February 6, 2009, and further details of the event will be sent to you via email.   If you cannot attend the tasting but might like to order wines, please contact Michelle and we will ensure that a listing is sent to you via email.

Spotlight on Gesher Students and Alumni!

Want to hear about current Gesher students doing amazing things in the community?  Wondering what those Gesher Alumni are up to?  Click here to view Gesher Students in the Spotlight, and click here to view the Gesher Alumni Page.  You may be able to find out who...

• danced in 11 performances of the Nutcracker
• volunteers with the Rockville Fire/EMS Department
• plays clarinet in the McLean Youth Orchestra
• is the next International Sh'licha for the International Board of B'nai B'rith Girls
• preformed in the Little Theatre of Alexandria's production of Oliver! 
• recently placed first all-around at the Commonwealth Cup Gymnastics Competition 
   

Parents who carpool to school:

We are planning for your transportation needs for next school year.  As always, we will work to do all we can to meet the needs of individual families, while maintaining an efficient route.  We would like to know if you anticipate using the bus or car service next year or would like to request service or suggest a bus stop.  Please email dmendelson@gesher-jds.org to let us know.  Thank you!

 Pictures:

Kitah Gimel during their Amidah Siyum.

Kitah Gimel during their Amidah Siyum.

Kitah Gimel boys.

Kitah Gimel students participate in an archaeological lesson at the Alexandria Archaeological Museum.

Ami F. and Maddie A. dress up at Gadsby's Tavern.

Middle school students make rocket ships out of film canisters during Interdisciplinary Week- Space Odyssey.

Jessica S. and Marllory A. with their rocket ship.

Middle school students make a small model of the planets.

Kitah Vav students look at plans for a colony on the moon at the            Udvar-Hazy Center.

Middle School students tour the Udvar-Hazy Center's space exhibits.

Want to learn more about our Vernal Pond?

In early March Fairfax is hosting a week-long Vernal Pond conference.  Gesher will be the site of one of the events.

At 8:00 PM on Saturday, March 12, Mike Hayslett will give a lecture here at Gesher and then lead us to our vernal pool.  Early spring is the season when the amphibians migrate to the pool to mate and lay eggs.  If we are lucky, we will see some of these very secretive animals and hear the loud and beautiful calls of the wood frogs and spring peepers.

Mr. Hayslett is the state's expert on vernal pools.  He is a professor at Sweet Briar College and the director of the Virginia Vernal Pools Program there.  He is also a wildlife biologist and conservation educator who has focused his career on amphibians and vernal pool wetlands.  No one knows more about this ecosystem than he does!  To have him come to Gesher to speak is a great opportunity.

Space is limited for this event, and naturalists from around Northern VA will want to come.  However, we are opening the registration to Gesher families first!  If you and your family would like to come, please RSVP to jleckert@gesher-jds.org.

Check it out!

If you go to Google maps, (http://maps.google.com) and type in our address (4800 Mattie Moore Ct) you will get a great "bird's eye view" of the campus and building.  If you go to the maximum magnification, you can see the courtyard with its rough outline of the state of Israel.  It looks great!

Oy, What Would Tiger Mom Think?

 
After long snow days, school cancellations and cabin fever reaching its peak, my oldest son invited me to play one of his "apps" that he discovered on his iPod Touch. I surprised myself and accepted his offer to play in the virtual world of FARM STORY.
 
As I stare out my windows of whiteness and icicles, it is refreshing to enter the Farm Story world as a novice and be given a plot of rich land to plow and sow. I am allotted a small budget to purchase seeds and plant my produce: fruits, flowers, veggies, grains and trees. I begin with a simple square and choose strawberries, carrots and corn. The seeds begin to sprout and the plants begin to grow. Strawberries to start...they only take a few minutes and you can actually watch them slowly peek through the soil and evolve into a green plant. Maybe it's my Iowa upbringing, but I was astonished at how satisfying it was to actually pick or "collect" the fruit and see the little gold coins fluttering in the sky.
 
Soon I began to visit the "neighbors" farms...other people playing the virtual game, and see some fabulous landscapes. From the dull gray skies of Fairfax County, I could travel to faraway lands and visit orchards filled with cherry blossoms, apple and orange trees. Flower gardens in full bloom, featuring my favorite spring bulbs, tulips and irises along with marigolds, daisies, pansies and sunflowers.

But, I have to say, that the most astonishing revelation was when I visited my son's own personal farm. He is a boy with many strengths and a strong personality with an unfortunate weakness for organization at times. Homework papers are usually forgotten or lost. His locker is usually home to these lost or forgotten items and his bedroom is the typical unmade bed and baseball cards scattered to and fro. However, the first time I "watered" his farm I had to do a double check to make sure it was actually his site. His plot of land was organized into quarters. A section for trees, two sections for crops and a section for farm animals all neat in a row! Cows lined up next to sheep, along with pigs and hens. I could not believe it. There wasn't a square out of place. Every plot was watered, seeded and sowed.
 
After the homework, the reading and the chores are all complete, I have to say that it is nice to find a place to escape where you can at least feel like you and your child can have a creative bond. By stepping into the Farm Story world with my son, not only did I learn that I myself enjoyed the de-stressing magic of touchscreen technology, but that my son could show me a new side of himself  and that what he strives for with great frustrations in real life he can attain in his virtual world.

Upcoming Events!
 

Save the date for the next PTO Coffee, March 11 - "Mom? Dad? Can I get a Facebook page?" Learning to navigate the Internet safely for your child with Officer Twombly of the FCPD.

Gesher Used Book Sale: Save your books for our 3rd annual used book sale. Collection begins in March.

Mishloach Manot -- ordering, assembly and delivery (co-chairs Michelle Nash and Naomi Hutchins -- we will be looking for volunteers)

Purim Carnival-details to come...another opportunity for volunteers.

For an overview of PTO events, and/or to volunteer to help out and have some fun, go to the Gesher homepage, click on "My Gesher" and then "Volunteer Sign-Up".

Does your child collect stamps or is s/he interested in doing so? Much of the money the USPS makes comes from stamp collectors. Starting this year, the USPS will mark all first-class stamps with the word 'Forever' instead of with the price of the stamp.. About 70 designs will be released. The first is the Lunar New Year: Year of the Rabbit stamp. A set of Disney/Pixar character stamps will go on sale on August 19.

Yasher Koach to Gesher Alumni Aryeh K.,  Anastasia N., Naomi P. and their families on their upcoming high school graduation at Charles E. Smith JDS.  We are proud of our alumni, congratulate them on having completed their studies and wish them well in Israel.

In memory of Kenneth Barnett

            Judy Seidman

In memory of Lawrence Locke

            BJ and Allon Shiff  

Ingrid and Zvi Schoenburg

In honor of baby Max

            Eva and Howard Sloan

            BJ and Allon Shiff

            Michelle and Steven Stravitz

For the speedy recover of Liz Maer

            Michelle and Steven Stravitz

In honor of Dottie Bennett's Birthday!

            Ingrid and Zvi Schoenburg

 
Crumbs kosher bakery opened up in Arlington! 

Join Women's Philanthropy at The Sisterhood of Success, a reception for Northern Virginia Women, Thursday, February 10, 2011.

Olam Tikvah Sisterhood invites the community to an afternoon of Food, Fashion & Fun!

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.