By: Jodi Hirsch Rein and Jennifer Scher Gesher Jewish Day School, we did it! Let’s all take a collective deep breath. Count with me; breath in 1….2…..3….Happy Summer! We did this together, our whole community. Our teachers, our students, our parents, and our community at large. Thank you for getting us to this moment! Let […]
By: Jodi Hirsch Rein, Gesher JDS Principal Teachers do the most holy work and change the lives of children each and every day. The impact that Gesher teachers are having right now on our students is incredible. With the abrupt transition to a digital learning environment, our teachers have demonstrated flexibility and resilience as they […]
Dear Gesher Community, The seder is a ritual that invokes memory and attachment. This year, the space between us is scary. It is odd and at odds with our memories and expectations for ritual behavior. But with the space between us, anything is possible: to grow without gathering, to connect without congregating, to create […]
By Philip Blumenthal President, Gesher JDS Board of Trustees Gesher community, These are trying times. The entire world is enduring challenges and pressures that most of us could never have imagined. All of us have seen significant disruption to our routines, while many of us are concerned about the health of loved ones and […]
This past week, I attended the AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee) conference. 18,000 Americans representing a variety of political affiliations, races, religions, and backgrounds came together from both sides of the aisle to advocate for a strong relationship between Israel and the United States. I attend AIPAC each year because it is important for […]
By: Amy Pernick, Director of Admissions The late-winter and early-spring seasons are exceptionally busy times for the Gesher JDS admissions office as new applications are coming in, classroom visits for prospective students are scheduled and faculty are given the first opportunity to meet the new students eager to join our Kehilat Gesher (Gesher Community) next […]
This week we read the Torah portion that describes Noah’s Ark and the flood, which is a popular story most of us haven’t looked at closely since childhood. Another popular story from the same portion has to do with the Tower of Babel, which is traditionally read with the moral of the story: If you […]
I often find that friends and colleagues I speak to during the summer assume that either I am not working right now (because I am in the Education field) or that I am working but that not much is going on. In fact, that perception is so widespread that even many faculty members don’t understand […]
We’ve had an amazing academic year here at Gesher JDS! We were re-accredited by the Virginia Association of Independent Schools (VAIS), we honored educators at our 36th Anniversary Gala, and our students and educators made great strides along our ongoing path towards increased organizational and educational excellence. Most recently, we were proud to graduate an […]
As we close the 36th anniversary year next week, I’d like to share my remarks from our annual meeting this past Monday. They focus primarily on accomplishments made by our professional team as we moved forward according to goals and strategies laid out in our Annual Plan – the first year of our new 5-year […]