Yeshiva High School - Gesher Yearbook (Atlanta, GA)

Page 10 text:

A message from our president . . . Our school is continuing its growth both in numbers of students and quality of edu- cation. We can boast of a staff which is dedicated and extremely well qualified. The future looks bright for the Yeshiva. In order to attain the goals which the Ye- shiva set out to reach, we need the contin- ued cooperation of the parents, students, and the community. We desire to develop a graduate who is comfortable and knowl- edgeable in the secular and Torah world in which he or she will live, and a graduate who can gain admittance to the finest col- leges in the country and be firm and secure in his religious and cultural heritage. One should not have to be subordinated to the other. Our students represent a broad spectrum of backgrounds. Russian and Iranian new- comers are well represented at the school. Some have had little or no Hebraic back- ground. We have students from strictly ob- servant homes as well as those from less observant homes. We feel that the school can have an influence on all of our students sufficient to guide them along the path of halacha, both in knowledge and deed. The studies made recently by Jewish communal organizations prove that Jewish education is the cornerstone for the future cohesiveness of our people. The leaders in Israel concur with these findings. We have our obligations to see to it that the Yeshiva High School of Atlanta shines as a beacon of Torah ideals and goals for our entire community. Mr. George Kaplan

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A message from our principal . . . Student life at Yeshiva is different this year. In addition to another large eighth grade class, we have many new students in the upper grades as well, in particular from Iran and Russia. Moreover, the separate classes for boys and girls have contributed to the intensification of our school ' s aca- demic program. There is more emphasis on learning and more seriousness in the class- room. Most students seem to prefer the ar- rangement and the administration and fac- ulty certainly do. The recent changes at Yeshiva reinforce our notion of what our prime purpose is; namely, to give our students the highest quality secular and Judaic education. If we succeed in this, we will have achieved a lot. It is unrealistic to think that each student will receive all that is offered to him spiritu- ally and intellectually at Yeshiva, but still we have this dream. We sincerely want all Ye- shiva students to be exemplars of Torah liv- ing to the community; moreover, we want them to be conversant with the cultural heritage of Western Civilization. For these things to happen, students must work hard, they must exert effort. Fulfilling these ex- pectations is not going to occur if students apply themselves casually to their studies. We will achieve our goal only if students develop the maturity to realize that the re- wards of education will eventually come if one perseveres in the midst of adversity, if one does not succumb to momentary difficulties. My best wishes are extended to our se- niors this year who, each in their own per- sonal way, have triumphed over adversity and charted a path of personal achieve- ment for their own future Sincerely, Herbert J. Cohen Rabbi Herbert J. Cohen

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Educate a child According to his way