חג שמח!

School News

Thursday MAP classes

The Fall classes that occur on Tuesdays are well underway.  But the Thursday classes won't begin until after Simchat Torah on Oct. 27.  And this is the excellent line-up of classes!

• Tzedakah Superheroes (K-3) Mrs. Cohen will show our youngest students how to do acts of tzedakah (charitable good deads).  From making cards for patients in nursing homes to preparing food for the homeless, children will learn how good it feels to do nice things for others.
• Bringing Puppets to Life (K-3) Sandy Feulner of Puppets and More is returning to teach the children how to make puppets and how to perform with them.  Sandy has been a professional puppeteer for over 25 years.
• Intro to Dance (K-3) Gesher's own Dana Schwartz will lead this class.  It will include sessions in ballet, tap, jazz, and more.  Mrs. Schwartz has been dancing since she was the age of these students!
• Mad Science (K-4)This is a nationally franchised program that gets children doing experiments and thinking scientifically.  Each week the children also get something to experiment with at home.  The theme for this session is "Funky Forces".
• Sports Spectacular (K-4)Overtime Sports is back to lead this popular class.  Students will play different games each week.  Children will also work on teamwork, sportsmanship and fitness. They always leave sweating and smiling!
• Karate (K-6) Coach Chris from Kaizen Karate will continue teaching this popular martial arts discipline.  Along with kicks and punches, he teaches respect, motivation and self-confidence.  New and returning students welcome.
• Pottery (2-6) Jimmy of Jimmy Potter's Workshop will show the children how to make lovely creations from clay.  They will learn several different techniques.  He brings all the materials.
• Competitive Robotics (3-6) Fairfax Collegiate teaches children to make robots from Legos.  Then they learn to program computers to make their creations move.  Activities include races, obstacle courses, mazes and combat.  No experience necessary! Note: this class lasts 90 minutes

Many classes have size limits, so if your child is interested, please let us know now.

Sukkot ~ Gesher Green Style

Sukkot is a holiday that celebrates the human connection to the great outdoors.  So it is a perfect time to take our students outside for a Gesher Green activity!  This year our celebration focused on the sukkah (hut) as shelter.

Creating a kosher sukkah like the ones we may see in synagogues or our own homes connects us to our history and also to a sense of G-d. When the Israelites were creating the original sukkot, they were wandering in the desert and needed protection from the elements.  So those first sukkot were shelters.  Also, when we first entered the Promised Land, most people were farmers.  Their farmlands were often far from their homes in the villages.  During harvest time (which corresponded with the Sukkot holiday) many people would live in small huts to be near their fields. Even well before Moshe or the Exodus, Avraham is said to have rushed to build shelters for visitors traveling on their way to give them hospitality!

So the Gesher Green activity focused on the sukkah as a shelter. We wanted our children to enjoy making shelters for many kinds of creatures! The youngest children (grades K-2) built sukkot for bugs.  Children in grades 3-5 created ones for small animals.  Next week the middle school will build personal shelters in the woods.  It was wonderful to get outside with the children in this beautiful fall weather, and watch them create their sukkot!

Pictures:

Kitah Alef students Dalia F. and Molly B. work on their Sukkah for bugs.

Kitah Bet students Leah L. and Bryn G. pose with their Sukkah.

Kitah Dalet students Ahava F., Ellie M., and Lars R. build a Sukkah for small animals.

Kitah Hay students Molly G. and Abby D. build a Sukkah for small animals.

Stay in touch with Gesher through Facebook and our new Twitter Feed on our homepage at  www.gesher-jds.org  

The Admissions Department will host preschoolers for a Gesher Green outdoor program on Monday Oct 17 and Tuesday Oct 18.  Volunteers are needed to assist with the program each morning from 10:00 - 11:30.  The following preschools will be participating:  NVHC, RUJEC, OTPS, Gan Israel, Adat Reyim, and Agudas Achim preschools.  If you'd like to help out either (or both) mornings, please contact Debra at dmendelson@gesher-jds.org or call 703-962-9216.

Volunteers are also needed during the coming months to reach out to prospective families. If you are willing to host a family for a Shabbat meal or call a prospective family to answer any questions they may have, please let Admissions know.  In addition, the Refer-a- Friend Tuition reduction program is again available.  Word of mouth is our most important recruitment tool.  Share your experiences with others to help build our enrollment.  We are very proud of our students, school and program and we know you are too!  For more information on Refer-a-Friend, contact Debra in the Admissions office.

Admissions Open House Dates

Wednesday, Nov 9 @ 9:30

Gesher Admissions Fall calendar in full swing.  Lots going on at Gesher and beyond!   

Oct 17  Gesher Green preschool program - Hosting NVHC preschool and RUJEC preschool (Sha'are Shalom)

Oct 17  Olam Tikvah Preschool Sukkah Dinner - Craft Table

Oct 18  Gesher Green preschool program - Hosting Agudas Achim preschool

Oct 27  Gesher Parlor Meeting in Alexandria - Hosted by the Alberts

Nov 6    Gesher Parlor Meeting in Fairfax - Hosted by the Schwartz Rosens

Nov 6    Gesher co-sponsors Character Breakfast at the JCCNV

Nov 7    Alexandria Preschool Fair

Nov 9    Admissions Open House

We need volunteers to assist at many of the above outreach activities.  Please contact Debra soon if you can help - dmendelson@gesher-jds.org.

Have you received the Summer Gesher Gazette?  If not, please email Rebekah and we'll be sure to mail one to you.  

Save the evening of May 20, 2012 for our 30^th Anniversary Spring Gala!

Please help us find our 2011-12 Tikun Olam Alumni Winner!  Nominations are being accepted now through DEC 31, 2011.  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 in January.

Gesher Fleece Jackets  

Special 30th anniversary purple Gesher fleeces are now for sale for only $25!!  Limited quantity and sizes available on a first come first serve basis!  Please see Rebekah Dickinson for more information or email rdickinson@gesher-jds.org. 

Update on Gesher SCRIP!

Place your orders for scrip! A new array of merchant scrip is now available in the office! Plus you can always shop for more online and still give Gesher credit. To get started, go to create account. You'll need the following code to designate Gesher as the associated account: 1E9L8BCD9484. Once that's done, you can place your order at www.shopwithscrip.com and bring your check for payment to the office.

We now have the following cards in stock:

-Giant Food

-Whole Foods

-Safeway

-Shoppers

-KosherMart

-Starbucks

-Bed Bath & Beyond

-Barnes & Noble

-iTunes

-Macy's

-LLBean

Our next order will be placed November 10^th, so make sure you have your   

order AND payment to the office BY that date so that we may process your  

order speedily.

That's it! Buy some soon to do your Rosh Hashanah and Break-Fast shopping!! Keep looking for additional information about the SCRIP program coming soon!!

In memory of Sandy Rabinowitz (z"l)

            Michelle and Paul Nash

            Jeanne and Mark Leckert

Visit Jconnect.org! 

Jconnect.org is the one place where you can go to find information on everything Jewish in the Greater Washington community. This new community site features a robust community calendar that's easy to navigate for both posters and users. Please check the website often as the site is ever-changing!  

The Washington Jewish Week is now available for purchase from the newsstand in the office for $1

JCC's BASE newsletter for October  

The Fairfax Kollel offers a new session of classes  

Open Door: India.Arie and Idan Raichel Presented by Strathmore

Join Boy Scouts   

Israeli Fold Dance Workshop and Marathon  

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.