Upcoming Events
Friday, March 15 - Freshman Fridayton
Monday, March 18 - Academy Sports Academy - boys 10-17 are invited to train with members of ICJA's award-winning Wrestling Team 5:45-7:15pm
Monday, March 18 - Boys' Baseball Tailgating with the Mechanchim @Caleb Field 6pm
Wednesday, March 20 - in-school SAT for juniors
Sunday, March 24 - Purim - purchase ICJA Purim e-cards here
Monday, March 25 - Shushan Purim (school in session)
Wednesday, March 27 - in-school PSAT for freshmen
Tuesday, April 2 - ICJA Takes the Stage girls' outing to see Peter Pan
Wednesday, April 3 - in-school PSAT for juniors
Sunday, April 7 - 18 Under 18 Awards Event
Tuesday, April 9 - Torah Awards Presentation
Thursday, April 11 - ICJA Takes the Stage, Commemorating the Life of Batsheva Chaya Stadlan, z"l, generously sponsored by The Ralla Klepak Foundation for Education in the Performing Arts - Click here to reserve your spot
Thursday, April 18 - Wednesday, May 1 - Pesach Break
Thursday, May 2 - Classes resume
Tuesday, May 7 - Grandparents' Day - Click here to reserve your Grandparent spot
Wednesday, May 15 - Oratory Fair, 6pm
Tuesday, June 4 - Thursday, June 6 - Senior Retreat
Sunday, June 9 - Graduation
Monday, June 17 - Edward A. Crown Scholarship Dinner honoring Eric Rothner (Crown Leadership Award), Leslie Wortman (Crown Service Award), and Chavee Gottlieb (Educator of the Year Award)
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Students began this week with Rosh Chodesh festivities. | |
On Monday morning, Rosh Chodesh Adar Bet, students enjoyed doughnuts after daavening. Later in the morning, senior boys danced around the school, singing Mi Shenichnas Adar and filling the school with ruach. | |
Pictured above: freshmen Ayelet Klein and Meir Schultz at breakfast | |
Pictured above: junior Koby Engel enjoying a Rosh Chodesh doughnut | |
Pictured above: juniors Meital Wittlin and Lauren Fensterheim | |
Pictured above: senior Yonah Rubin | |
Pictured above: Ben-Tzion Rine | |
Pictured above: senior Aryeh Neiger with Dr. Gavriel Brown | |
At lunchtime, girls joined in ICGC's Inspo Rosh Chodesh Chabura, led by freshmen Maayan Engel and Sarah Leonard, with help from sophomore Rivky Belsh. Their dvar Torah focused on similarities and differences between the months of Av and Adar.
While they learned, girls enjoyed delicious hamentaschen baked by sophomore Channie Gelerinter and freshmen Emunah Arnold, Meira Schultz, Mashie Perkins, and Baila Laber.
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ICJA Takes the Stage Artist in Residence | |
Girls learned and created with artist Nikki Sausen. | |
On Wednesday afternoon, ICJA girls came together to learn with artist Nikki Sausen of @paintwithmeinc, our artist in residence for ICJA Takes the Stage in memory of Batsheva Chaya Stadlan, z"l, generiously supported by the Ralla Klepak Foundation for Education in the Performing Arts.
The program began with a brief dvar Tora by senior Noa Gavant, who explained that Miriam and Jewish women brought tambourines with them when they left Egypt because they had emuna that Hashem would help them and they would have cause to celebrate with musical instruments, and that tambourines continue to be a symbol of emuna. Mrs. Sausen then led a fun and detailed workshop helping students paint scenes of Israel and other images on their own tambourines.
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Pictured above: juniors Dana Kalutsky, Rachel Sommer, and Ella Kakon | |
Pictured above: freshmen Kinneret Finegold and Mia Saltzman | |
Pictured above: Keshet senior Emma Lookatch and juniors Leah Rina Brochin, Sarah Lipson, Hadar Simkovitch, Daria Lennon, and Allie Stein with Nikki Sausen | |
Pictured above: sophomores Jayden Perlman and Caley Gordon | |
Pictured above: sophomores Devorah Kaplowitz, Mina Brandes, Yaffa Hoberman, and Rivka Belsh | |
Pictured above: junior Tali Weiss | |
StandWithUs Israel Advocacy Training | |
ICJA students learned from Charlotte Korchak, StandWithUs's International Senior Educator. | |
On Monday, ICJA welcomed Charlotte Korchak, the International Senior Educator for StandWithUs, to ICJA. In a high-energy presentation to the entire student body, which was punctuated by applause, Ms. Korchak discussed Israeli politics and history and gave students tools to counter anti-Israel propaganda.
Among the points Ms. Korchak made are that students should remember we, the Jewish people, are originally from the Land of Israel and were displaced by others, that Jews are multiracial and are not "European colonialists", and that the best way to combat antisemitism is to be more Jewish.
Thank you junior Aliza Shyovitz, who is StandWithUs's Kenneth Leventhal High School Intern, for arranging this powerful program.
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Mrs. Tirza Kahan's AP Language and Composition Class | |
Students educated their peers about life in the 1920s. | |
As part of their preparation for reading The Great Gatsby, students in Mrs. Tirzah researched different aspects of the 1920s including prohibition, gangsters, antisemitism and racism, and celebrities from the era. This week they presented their research to their peers. | |
Pictured above: junior Lilac Marcus explaining the advent of processed food in the 1920s, particularly frozen foods | |
Pictured above: juniors Toby Burstyn and Avi Meyer discussing the rise and influence of tycoons such as Andrew Carnegie in the 1920s | |
Pictured above: junior Simona Fridberg explaining the various models and prices of cars offered by Ford, Chrysler and GM in the 1920s | |
Rabbi Daniel Fox's 11th Grade Boys' Chumash Class | |
Rabbi Fox asked students: what to say to a person who is considering converting to Judaism? | |
As juniors filed into Rabbi Daniel Fox's Chumash class this week, Rabbi Fox asked: what they would advise him, as a shul rabbi, to say to a person who says they want to convert to Judaism? This led to a wide-raging discussion, which students then tied into mefarshim they are learning on Sefer Shemot about reasons bnei Israel should value the Torah.
Students concluded that accepting the Torah is difficult, but that doing so is good for one's soul.
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Pictured above: Ronen Ginsberg and Avner Frazin | |
Pictured above: Avi Chen with Rabbi Fox | |
Pictured above: Meir Zayan with Rabbi Fox | |
National Honor Society, Torah Chapter | |
Yasher koach to our students who were inducted into the National Honor Society, Torah Chapter, this week. | |
On Tuesday evening, 33 seniors were inducted into the National Honor Society, Torah Chapter, at ICJA.
Yasher koach to: Ayelet Appel, Benjy Baranofsky, Julia Bellows, Millo Benmelech, Taly Benzaquen, Even Comrov, Aviva Dallal, Elana Druk, Jacob Friedman, Noa Gavant, Sam Gorenstein, Adam Katz, Gabe Klein, Ari Klein, Rotem Lavi, Joey Levy, Jed Marcus, Dory Marshall, Rena Neiger, Aryeh Neiger, Josh Paskoff, Sammy Polster, Joseph Rothner, Yonah Rubin, Gabi Sander, Ilana Schwartz, Bella Schwartz, Leeya Starck, Shayna Weinstein, Moshe Weisenberg, Leah Zelden, Gabi Zipperstein, and Jordana Zwelling.
Thank you to the evening's speakers: Taly Benzaquen, Noa Gavant, Joseph Rothner, Leah Zelden, Rena Neiger, Ayelet Appel, Evan Comrov, and Gabi Sander. Thank you to faculty advisor Mr. Phil Zbaraz and to Ms. Sheri Goldstein for helping with the evening's moving speeches.
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Mr. Jonathan Keller's 11th Grade Physics Class | |
Every student in Mr. Jonathan Keller's class beat the egg drop challenge this week. | |
What factors can save an egg from exploding as it crashes into the ground? Students in Mr. Jonathan Keller's Physics class experimented with different methods of reducing the physical forces that act on eggs as they fall. This week, they held their final egg drop. Every single student won, with no eggs so much as cracking after their falls. | |
Pictured above: Zahava Piltz and Moshe Tarshish using a balloon parachute and 8 pieces of paper surrounding their egg | |
Pictured above: Kaela Nagel and Ariela Bielak using straws and a parachute to slow down the speed of their egg | |
Pictured above: Nina Ripstein and Avi Chen with the four balloons they used to slow down the speed of their falling egg | |
Two Finalists in Prestigious Writing Contest | |
Yasher kochachen to senior Ella Perlman and alumna Charli Ernstein '23! | |
Yasher kochachen to senior Ella Perlman and alumna Charli Ernstein '23 on being named finalists by the highly competitive DePaul’s Blue Book: Best American High School Writing 2023! Ella won this honor for her poem Owner's Manual; Charli won for her poem Abuelita Who.
Both prizewinning poems appeared in the 2023 edition of Charlotte's Web.
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Pictured above: senior Ella Perlman | |
Pictured above: Charli Ernstein '23 | |
Mrs. Shelly Stopek's 10th Grade Boys' Hebrew Class | |
Seniors gained new Hebrew vocabulary to discuss AI. | |
Each week, freshmen in Mrs. Shelly Stopek's Hebrew class read articles and discuss a different issue in Hebrew, gaining fluency in new areas of the language in the process. This week, students discussed the growing role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the film industry. Yasher koach to these students for tackling such a difficult topic in Hebrew! | |
Pictured above: Ayden Starck | |
Pictured above: Asher Gadd | |
Pictured above: Gabriel Nudman | |
Dr. Gavriel Brown's New Media Class | |
Students discussed the role stocks and bonds play in new media and other enterprises. | |
This week, students in Dr. Gavriel Brown's New Media Class were given a challenge: they are starting a business and have to raise $125,000 for an initial investment. What options do they have? Students discussed financing, and learned about the role that stocks and bonds play in getting new media and other ventures off the ground. | |
Pictured above: Dr. Brown challenging the class to brainstorm ways to fundraise | |
Pictured above: Ben-Tzion Rine and Jakob Wortman | |
Pictured above: Jacob Pick and Rami Ripstein | |
Mrs. Beth Pogonitz's 9th Grade Biology Class | |
Students performed an experiment about the distribution of alleles controlling the genotype of skin tone. | |
Freshmen in Mrs. Beth Pogonitz's Biology class are learn about alleles, copies of genes that influence hereditary characteristics. This week they performed an experiment mimicking the role that alleles play in determining skin tone.
Taking random markers, representing alleles, from two different sources, representing both mother's and father's DNA, students then counted out how much of each different type of allele they selected, and determined what type of skin tone would result from that combination. Students then repeated this process over and over, determining the varying skin tones of an extended hypothetical "family".
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Pictured above: Baila Laber and Nathan Rothner | |
Pictured above: Bentzion Beiles and Yair Elbaz | |
Pictured above: Ayden Mishkin and Asher Gadd | |
This Week's Learning Dedications | |
This week's learning dedications include: | |
Thursday, the 4th of Adar Bet, March 14, 2024, by Dana, Eddie, Isaac ('21) and Gabriella ('24) Zipperstein, in loving memory of Harriet Friener Beck, z''l, ג׳ אדר, Reuben Friener, z''l, ד׳ אדר, Henrietta Friener, z''l, ט׳ אדר, and Gertrude Beck, z''l, י׳ אדר
Friday, the 5th of Adar Bet, 5784, March 15, 2024, by Howie Perlstein ('86), in memory of Helen Perlstein, z"l, שרה הינדא בת מאיר יוסף, in commemoration of her Yahrtzeit which is observed on ז' אדר
If you would like to sponsor a Day of Learning, please contact our Director of Development, Deva Zwelling, at (773) 973-1450 ext. 115, or dzwelling@icja.org.
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ICJA Prospective Student Video | |
Watch "Connect with ICJA," our newest video for prospective students - and share it with people you know who'd like to learn more about ICJA! | |
ICJA Seniors Israel Mission Video | |
Watch this moving video documenting some of the volunteer activities our seniors participated in during their month-long Mission to Israel! | |
ICJA Dean Rabbi Leonard Matanky has released an e-book containing his letters to parents during the ICJA Senior Mission, plus additional reflections and divrei Torah.
Click HERE to download Missions: The First 100 Days of the Gaza War by Rabbi L. Matanky.
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Learning Commons Passwords | |
In addition to many thousands of physical books and journals, ICJA's Learning Commons contains tens of thousands of online books, journal articles and other resources, including subscriptions to newspapers such as The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, the Encyclopedia Britannica, and more. Students are able to access these resources through our portal.
Please stop by our librarian Mrs. Steinberg's desk in the Learning Commons or email her at librarian@icja.org her to pick up your updated passwords to access our online material. ICJA's subscriptions are available at icja.libguides.com/home.
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Enter to win $1,000 for Reviewing ICJA | |
Review ICJA on Niche.com and enter a sweepstakes. | |
Help let people know how fabulous ICJA is! Whether you're a parent, student, teacher, or alumnus/alumna, the popular school ranking website Niche.com wants to hear from you. Plus, every person who reviews ICJA (or any other school) is automatically entered into a monthly $1,000 sweepstakes by Niche.com. For more information and to leave a review, click here. | |
Send Your School News to the ICJA Newsletter | |
Do you have school-related news you'd like to see in this newsletter? Let us know! | |
If you have exciting ICJA-related news to share about classes, sports, clubs, or other projects, please tell us! Send news items and/or photos to Dr. Yvette Miller, Director of Communications at ymiller@icja.org. Your items can enhance our newsletter and ICJA's social media presence. | |
Sign up for the Fridayton HERE and submit payment (if paying by credit card) HERE. To discuss financial assistance, email Michael London. | |
Announcing ICCC: Ida Crown Cycling Club! | |
Join our New Alumni Facebook Group
We are excited to announce that we have a new private Facebook group called “ICJA Official Alumni Page.” It is a space for alumni from all graduating years to join. We will periodically post alumni reunions, events, fundraising opportunities, information about ICJA today, and news.
We are proud to have some families with us for four generations. If you are an alum, please join the group HERE and be sure to share the link with your family, friends, and fellow graduates. You can also share this link: https://www.facebook.com/share/UeTsqg16DDx4JHGK/?mibextid=hubsqH. Thanks for staying connected to ICJA!
Please reach out to Ilana Levy at ilevy@icja.org if you have any questions about this new effort.
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ICJA ISRAEL CONNECT:
Connecting ICJA Alumni in Israel
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The first ICJA Israel Connect directory is out. | |
Last summer, ICJA gave its Class of '23 alumni the second edition of our directory listing ICJA alumni who live in Israel and have graciously offered to open their homes to recent ICJA grads who are currently spending a gap year in Israel.
Thank you to the many alumni who have reached out to us, offering to host.
The directory was sent out to the emails of '22 grads that we have on file. If you have any questions or would like to update our contact information to help recent ICJA grads obtain a copy, please contact Dr. Yvette Miller, ICJA Director of Communications, at ymiller@icja.org.
We are still taking submissions from alumni who are willing to host, to include in future copies of this directory. Please contact Dr. Miller to be included.
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Inspiring bnei and bnot Torah to thrive in the modern world
ICJA is an affiliate of the Associated Talmud Torahs and a partner with JUF in serving our community.
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Ida Crown Jewish Academy
8233 Central Park Avenue
Skokie, Illinois 60076
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