On The Bridge December 1, 2011
Gesher Jewish Day School 5 Kislev, 5772
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| Shabbat Shalom | |
שבת שלום
Candlelighting: 4:30pm
Vayetzei
ויצא
Torah Portion: Genesis 28:10 - 32:3
Haftarah for Ashkenazim: Hosea 12:13 - 14:10
Haftarah for Sephardim:
Hosea 11:7 - 12:12
Yasher Koach to today's Torah readers: Jacob S., Ben L, and Jack S.
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| Greetings! | |
In this week's Torah portion, VaYetze, our forefather Yaakov (Jacob) lays down with only a rock for a pillow and has a vision of a ladder leading up to heaven with angels descending and ascending on it. When he awakes, he famously observes," אכן יש ה' במקום הזה ואנוכי לא ידעתי" - "Surely, the Lord is present in this place- and I did not know it" (28:16).
The place was the same place before and after Jacob went to sleep there and dreamt his dream. The change that occurred occurred in Yaakov himself. Often we go through our lives oblivious to the spiritual element of what is going. Part of a Jewish day school education - part of Torah study- is to become sensitive to the dimension of holiness both around us and within us.
How do you do that? What does a spirituality curriculum look like? It's not our daily tefillah (prayers) alone. A spirituality curriculum would consist of structured lessons and experiences which purposely advance the development of the following traits in our students (per Rachael Kessler in The Soul of Education: Helping Students Find Connection, Compassion and Character at School): the yearning for deep connection, the longing for silence, the search for meaning and purpose, the hunger for joy and delight, the creative drive, the urge for transcendence and the need for initiation. I can think of many iterations of these elements in a K-8 Gesher education- spirituality is a big part of the value added when you give your children a Jewish day school education.
Shabbat Shalom!
Dr. Zvi Schoenburg
Head of School
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Upcoming Events
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See our full calendar of events!
December 9- Noon Dismissal, Faculty Meeting
December 14-15- 5th Grade Presents Shakespeare!
December 21- Chanukah Family Celebration, featuring the Chanukah Musical: Fiddler on the Roof and the Tzedek (Righteousness) Fair
December 23- January 2- Winter Break, No School
January 3- School resumes
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School News
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Hot Lunch Reminder!
It is a new month- those who order hot lunch, please remember to sign up for December!
School Photos
Photo emails have been sent out from Freed Photographers. Please contact Meredith if you did not receive an email.
Introducing Andrea LoBalbo!
Mrs. LoBalbo, MSW, of JSSA will be filling in for Mrs. Strouse as Gesher's interim Guidance Counselor from January through the end of March, 2012, when Mrs. Strouse is away on maternity leave. Mrs. L will be visiting Gesher on Friday, December 9th to meet parents and students! Parents, please join us from 8:30am- 9:00 am for coffee and a chance to personally meet Mrs. L! All students will get the opportunity to meet her later in the morning. We are very excited to have Mrs. L join us at Gesher!
Gesher Showcase
Click here to view work from our students on our Gesher Showcase website! Yasher koach to all of our hard working creative students!
Community Connections Week
Please join us at the Jewish Federation's Community Connections Week as we make calls to our community to help raise $1 million for the Federation's Annual Campaign. In addition to supporting Gesher financially, the Federation provides support for critical programs and services in our community, in Israel and around the world.
Gesher parents and board members have always been very active in Super Sunday. This new event replaces Super Sunday and gives us the opportunity to ask our community to join us in the mitzvah of tzedakah.
Please join us at the JCCNV on Monday, Dec. 5, 6:30-9:30pm. To register, please go to http://www.shalomdc.org/page.aspx?id=211678. Be sure to indicate that you are participating on behalf of an agency and on the drop-down menu select Gesher Jewish Day School as the name of the group.
Sincerely,
Miriam Berkowitz, President
Zvi Schoenburg, Head of School
Pictures:
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Kitah Hay student Max S. works with his grandfather during Gesher's Grandparents/VIP Day.
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Kitah Bet student Eli B. works on an assignment with his grandparents during Gesher's Grandparent/VIP Day!
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Kitah Hay student Molly G. poses for a picture with her mother and grandmother during Gesher's Grandparents/VIP Day!
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Kitah Dalet student Sam G. deciphers a sentence written in braille with his grandmother during Gesher's Grandparents/VIP Day.
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Kitah Bet student Josh s. poses with his grandmother during Grandparents/VIP Day.
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| Gesher Green | |
Two recycling opportunities!
Gesher Green has found 2 more great ways to easily help the planet by taking plastic items out of the landfill and putting them to good use through reusing and recycling.
- Do you have old plastic gift cards from stores in the area? Give them to Ms. Wolin. Her artistic daughter is turning them into lovely original earrings. This is an example of "reuse" which is even better than "recycling." Of course, if you are looking for unique earrings, Ms. Wolin will be happy to show you the latest collection!
- Mrs. Leckert can now also collect old markers for recycling, along with the dried out or used up glue sticks. She can take any kind of markers: Crayola, Sharpies, Expos, even old pens and mechanical pencils. The company that takes them back will also pay for them. So you can lower your trash volume, help the environment, and raise money for Gesher all at the same time! It doesn't get much better than that!
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| Head, Heart and Hand |
Grandparents/VIP Day Head, Heart and Hand activities!
Last week was an eventful week and we had a lot to be thankful for. Not only were we fortunate enough to have many grandparents spending some time in our classrooms but we got to show many other special guests what goes on in our classrooms on a daily basis. In the spirit of thanksgiving, each class participated in an activity relating to our Head, Heart, and Hand theme.
Gan
The children of the Gan did a fabulous job with their theme of Welcoming Guests. To do that, they made Thanksgiving cards for each visitor, decorated a welcome poster and baked special muffins, which they served along with other brunch treats. They also worked on a project together with their grandparent or VIP.
Kitah Alef
The first grade made bird feeders as part of their mitzvah project- Kindness to Animals. The feeders were made out of pine cones that were covered with peanut butter and rolled in bird seed. The children were encouraged to take the feeders home and hang them on a tree. We are anxiously awaiting the pictures that the students are going to take of them. Keep your eyes open for those to come!
Kitah Bet
Second graders went over the theme of Friendship and Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. The grandparents then shared what their grandchild could do to make them happy and the children shared what their grandparent could do to make them happy. They then had a contest to see how many words they could make out of the word Thanksgiving. It was quite a challenge and so much fun. They came up with 65 words!
Kitah Gimel
In third grade the students made placemats for the Ronald McDonald House. The placemats had winter scenes on them. Since they could not visit the sick (Bikur Cholim) in person, they chose to visit them with their works of art/projects to help out and virtually be there.
Kitah Hay
The fifth grade has been discussing the meaning of their theme "How wondrous are G-d's creations". The students came up with 12 words associated with the theme, including: patience, group home, assistance, tolerance and handicapped. With the guests, each student selected one of the words and together they wrote and illustrated an acrostic poem. They brought out the thesauruses and dictionaries, pencils and colored pencils, and got creative!
Kitah Vav
The sixth grade has been working on their Adopt a Village program with Free The Children. As a class, they are trying to raise $5,000 in order to bring a clean water system to a village in Kenya. With their guests, the 6th grade examined how much water a typical American uses in a day and after many filled soda bottles realized that we all probably use way more water than we thought. They then tried to figure out how to spend a day using only 15L of water. After a few challenges, they were surprised to find out that people considered "lacking water" survive on less than 5L a day.
Kitah Zayin and Kitah Chet
The seventh and eighth grade participated with our VIPs in a lesson from their on-going Tzedek unit. Tzedek (righteousness), from the Kodesh class, looks at issues of poverty in our community. Jewish tradition demands a level of responsibility for one another for the good of society. Students focused on the relationship between an individual family's needs and what a community at large can do to ensure its support. In this activity, the students were divided into groups with their VIPs spread out to offer guidance and worked with a scenario of a family living as the working poor. Just above the poverty line to receive federal aid, the family in question still could not provide for themselves. In groups, we struggled to itemize an appropriate budget for the family based on financial restrictions and differing costs of living. The activity brought novice and veteran minds together to puzzle through tough questions, and realize how much we have to offer one another!
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| Admissions | |
Stay in touch with Gesher through Facebook and our new Twitter Feed on our homepage at www.gesher-jds.org
Annual PJ Party with Morah Melanie- Saturday, Dec 17th at 6pm
The PJ Party is a family program that starts with Havdallah and includes a story and learning about bedtime the Jewish way! Come to Gesher in your PJs and bring one of your special furry sleeping friends with you (of the stuffed variety!) Enjoy hot cocoa, cookies and some crafts just in time for Chanukah! This is an ideal time to invite friends with young children who may be thinking about the Gan for their child. RSVP to the Admissions Office, dmendelson@gesher-jds.org or 703-962-9216. If you are able to volunteer that evening, please let Debra know!
Community Family Fun Mitzvah Day at Gesher!
SAVE THE DATE for Family Fun Mitzvah Day on Sunday, March 25 from 1-4pm. Enjoy the funky sounds of the Mama Doni Band LIVE and participate in a number of community service projects that will be geared for families with young children. What a great way to celebrate our 30th anniversary year by helping others! If you are interested in participating in the Family Fun Mitzvah Day planning committee and/or volunteering that day, we need you!
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The Mama Doni Band!
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| Development and Fundraising | |
Gesher's 30th Anniversary Spring Gala!
In six months, the Gesher community of families and supporters will celebrate at our 30th Anniversary Spring Gala, on May 20 at Olam Tikvah. We are receiving beautiful and meaningful greetings from parents, grandparents, community supporters and alumni for our 30th Anniversary Heirloom Book. Special pricing for everyone is in effect until December 15, so please email Rebekah for your simple form to complete your greeting. We are receiving Mazal Tov wishes on our 30th, special congratulations to our Teacher and Staff honorees (Sharon Rosenblatt, Esther Uscher, Judy Gabel and Meredith Parnes), and sweet messages from grandparents. All children will receive greetings from their parents and grandparents.
Grandparens/VIP Day
Grandparents/VIP Day 2011 was another Gesher success story. We welcomed over 200 grandparents, VIPs, cousins, neighbors, aunts, uncles, and friends to have breakfast to "Thanks-a-Latte" our Shomrei Gesher supporters, and to congratulate our Grandparents of the Year: Cantor Aaron and Shoshanah Marcus, and our VIP of the Year: Paul Frommer.
After our program, we shared the day with our guests for a glimmer of our students' Gesher experience. Since Gesher weaves Jewish values and Tikkun Olam into the curriculum, we showcased our Head, Heart and Hand programs for each grade, illustrating the connections with education, recognition, acceptance of others, and the inherent responsibility on all of us to make the world a better place to live.
Comments? Suggestions? We love feedback. Please contact Rebekah anytime at rdickinson@gesher-jds.org or 703.962.9209.
Scrip Shopping for Chanukah!!
Stop in the office and pick up grocery scrip. You'll need groceries anyway -- so why not help out Gesher too? We automatically get a % from local grocers when you make your purchase with Scrip.
IN STOCK RIGHT NOW:
Whole Foods
Giant
Shoppers Food
Safeway
KosherMart
Pay for these NOW in the office by cash or check and shop!!
If you didn't purchase other SCRIP from Gesher during our first-ever Credit Card Blitz, you can still get some of the in-stock scrip in the office. Or, order online for our next order.
Visit http://www.shopwithscrip.com/Shop/default.aspx
Email your co-chairs for more information or stop at the office.
Alison Wilks: wilks1111@hotmail.com
Wendy Fischer: wendy_fischer@cox.net
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| 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 Mollie S.'s Bat Mitzvah Vicki and Simon Fishman In honor of Allison G.'s Bat Mitzvah Vicki and Simon Fishman In honor of Jake N.'s Bar Mitzvah Vicki and Simon Fishman In memory of Charlie Goldberg, lifelong friend and battery mate Iris and Biff Henley In honor of Michelle M.'s Bat Mitzvah Esther and Andrew Uscher In honor of Aiden S.'s Bat Mitzvah Judy and Jon Gabel
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| Caring Community | |
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!
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| Community Announcements | |
Please click on the links below to view each flyer.
The Washington Jewish Week is now available for purchase from the newsstand in the office for $1
Teens Philanthropy Programs in NoVA
Festival of Lights, at Olam Tikvah
Olam Tikvah Hanukah Bazaar
Quiz night to benefit Gan Israel Pre-School
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.
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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,
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Gesher Jewish Day School
4800 Mattie Moore Court
Fairfax, VA 22030
phone: (703) 978-9789
fax: (703)978-2668
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Address or Email Changes
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