Elementary School

Our elementary school has brought in Singapore Math and moved to the Marshall Cavendish Primary Mathematics Series because of its strong emphasis on skills and number sense and its alignment with our middle school curriculum.

In grades K-3, students and teachers have access to a cart of Chromebooks set up with Google Classroom, the G Suite for education, and age-appropriate technology websites and tools.

Gesher students in grades 4-8 have purchased Chromebooks or are using personal laptops to achieve a 1:1 ratio of devices. All Gesher students have access to a set of iPads which are loaded with a suite of educational and creative applications. These devices are used across the curriculum to enrich instruction, processing, and learning. Learn more about Gesher Technology.

Gesher’s Language Arts curriculum includes all the components of the Reading and Writing Workshops as well as the addition of our new Wilson Language Program.

This curriculum encompasses instruction in:

• Reading Comprehension

• Phonics/Grammar

• Language and Vocabulary

• Writing Instruction

• Oral Communication

We have introduced the Orff instructional method, which integrates music and movement. This method has significantly shifted the design of music classes, the middle school band program, and school musicals, and has enhanced students’ musical learning.

Music is central to a balanced curriculum. Children need to appreciate, understand, create, and critique products of the mind, voice, hand, and body. These products (musical experiences) serve to enhance the child’s sense of self-worth and dignity. The goal of the music program at Gesher JDS is for students to become skilled and enthusiastic music makers and composers, while developing appropriate concentration and cooperation skills that pave the way toward confidence and enjoyment. As a discipline, music has an exceptional potential to foster learning while having fun. A strong music program promotes and develops individual aesthetic potential. It transmits our cultural heritage while providing a sense of historical perspective.

In a world of constant exchange of information and diversity, it is important to prepare our students to become effective communicators and to increase their global perspective and cultural understanding. Gesher’s Hebrew program is driven by the belief that mastery of Hebrew will promote students’ understanding of their history, culture, and tradition, excite them about lifelong Jewish learning, foster a sense of belonging to the Jewish people, and cultivate strong ties with the State of Israel.

The multi-dimensional program focuses on four major communication skills – listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Student language acquisition is promoted through immersion in the target language and exposure to everything from classical Hebrew texts to Israeli music, and from historical documents to poetry and drama. In upper grades, lessons are centered on themes of interest to the children.