Upcoming Events

• Friday, November 15 - Sophomore / Junior Friday-ton

• Sunday, November 17 - Israeli University Fair @Bernard Weinger JCC 3:30-5pm

• Monday, November 18 - All-School assembly with Rabbi Leo Dee

• Wednesday, November 20 - Open House for prospective students and their families 6:45 pm (Click here to register)

• Thursday, November 21 - Chesed Day

• Sunday, November 24 - Virtual Seminary Fair (see flyer at bottom of newsletter)

• Thursday, November 28 - Friday, November 29 - Thanksgiving Break

• Thursday, November 28 - ICBC father son Thanksgiving, breakfast, and shiur @Skokie Kollel 9am

Click here to view ICJA's November lunch menu schedule.

Students experimented to discover the identity of unlabeled solids.

Students in Mr. Jonathan Keller's AP Chemistry class have been learning about different types of chemical bonding, including covalent, ionic, and metallic bonds.

This week, they used their knowledge of the relationship between chemical bonding types and the properties of substances to determine the identity of "mystery" solids (aluminum, silicon, and other items).

Students first tested properties of four known chemicals by testing their solubility in water and in hexane, their melting points, and their conductivity in different situations. They then performed the same experiments on substances that were not identified, making educated guesses about their compositions.

(Pictured above: Mr. Keller demonstrating the known substances students tested)

Pictured above: juniors Eli Fretzin and Devora Kaplowitz

Pictured above: junior Macks Kroll, sophomore Jacob Thomas, and junior Yaffa Hoberman

Pictured above: senior Aliza Shyovitz and junior Natan Miller

Students gave presentations on Shlomo ibn Gabirol's poem שאל׳ יפהפיה.

Seniors in Mrs. Orit Marmel's honors Hebrew class have been reading the poem שאל׳ יפהפיה by Shlomo ibn Gabirol (below). This week, they took turns giving Hebrew-language presentations of cartoons illustrating the imagery in each different lines of the poem. While students explained their projects, their peers took notes in Hebrew.

שאלי יפיפיה מה תשאלי מני

שער אשר נסגר

בארק בריק אלחמא מן פוק מנצר

שמע האל ענני בתפלה

הנה מה טוב ומה נעים

אם ננעלו דלתי נדיבים

אילת חן בגלות תסמכני

ספרי תמה תמימה ספרי

אשאל אלהי יגאלה שבויים

ישקף אלהים ממעון קדשו

לבבי יחשקה עפרה לשכלי החלו

אבדא בתוחיד רבי סר קלבי

והללויה אהלל לאלי שהוא מגיני ועזרי

שלום לבוא שבת

Pictured above: Leah Rina Brochin and Lilac Marcus

Pictured above: Sarah Lipson

Pictured above: Lauren Fensterheim and Allie Stein

What were the hallmarks of empires in the Classical era?

Freshmen in Mrs. Rachel Polsky's World History class wrapped up their unit on the Classical era this week with a wide-ranging discussion and review of the Persian, Greek, and Roman empires. Students discussed the geography of each empire, its leadership, and the trade and international relations between the empires.

Pictured above: Emma Elkaim

Pictured above: Yair Dreytser

Pictured above: Eliana Stolberg

Juniors discussed King Rehoboam.

When Jeroabam and others asked King Rehoboam to ease the conditions of his rule, what was the king's answer?

Juniors in Rabbi Shmuel Oren's Navi class are learning Sefer Melachim Alef. This week they took turns reading and discussing the events concerning King Rehoboam.

Pictured above: Daniel Allswang

Pictured above: Moshe Nedwin

Pictured above: Eli Gelb and Aaron Katz

Students learned about Snell's Law, explaining the refraction of rainbows, from Rabbi Zev Drutman.

Seniors in Mrs. Beth Pogonitz's Chumash class are learning Parshat Noah, including the differing views of many mefarshim about the significance of the rainbow as a symbol of Hashem's commitment not to destroy the world again through a flood.

This week, students heard a guest lecture from Rabbi Zev Drutman, who described Snell's Law, which explains the science behind why and how rainbows appear as they do.

Students begin each day by learning the Chofetz Chaim.

Sophomores in Rabbi Shmuel Kurtz's honors Gemara class begin each day by learning a segment of the Chofetz Chaim's teachings about preventing lashon hara.

This week, students examined the rules pertaining to listening to others say lashon hara.

Pictured above: Nathan Rothner

Pictured above: Megill Hameiri

Pictured above: Noah Ehrlich

Freshman girls discussed and learned about friendship.

Freshmen girls continued their year-long homeroom program this week when they engaged in a fun social and learning event.

Students started out with "speed conversations" in which they discussed different topics with different people for one or two minutes at a time (pictured). Students then learned Jewish sources about friendship with chevrotot, and enjoyed a gala coffee bar together.

Thank you to our Mechanchot for organizing this meaningful and fun event.

Freshmen and their relatives davened together last Sunday at Ohel Shalom.

Many Sunday mornings, ICJA's freshmen boys' rebbe, Rabbi Louis Fliegelman, arranges for students and their fathers (or grandfathers or other relatives) to meet at a different Chicago-area shul to daven Shacharit together and enjoy breakfast and learning.

Last Sunday, students davened together at Ohel Shalom Torah Center and learned about Sephardi customs and davening.



For more information about the Veshinantam Levanecha program, email Rabbi Louis Fliegelman at lfliegelman@icja.org.

ICJA is looking for a girls' basketball and girls soccer coach.

ICJA is looking for a girl's JV basketball head coach. The season runs from November 3 thru mid-February. It's a three day per week commitment. You can find the schedule on the ICJA website. Please reach out to athletic director Brittany Peters at bpeters@icja.org with any interest. 

We are also in need of a girls' varsity soccer head coach for the spring season. This is also a 3 day per week commitment. The season runs from the beginning of March thru mid-May. Anyone interested can also reach out to athletic director Brittany Peters at bpeters@icja.org.

Give-Get is available.

This week's learning dedications include:

Wednesday, the 12 of Cheshvan, 5785, November 13, 2024, in loving memory of our parents and grandparents, Uri Shraga ben Yehuda Dovid and

Raizel Dina bat Yosef, who through their emunah, resilience and strength were able to build a family and community out of the ashes of the communities in Germany, by the Lennon Family, the Silton Family, the Friedman family, and the Martin Family

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.

This week we caught up with ICJA's popular science and math teacher and asked him a few questions about himself.

Students enjoy Mr. Jonathan Keller's STEM Engineering, AP Chemistry, and other classes. This week we asked Mr. Keller a few questions about himself.

(Pictured here, Mr. Keller with junior Yehuda Goldstein)

Where did you grow up and go to school?

I grew up in Toronto and went to a public high school there called York Mills. Afterwards, I attended the University of Waterloo where I majored in Chemistry with a minor in Physics. Later on, I completed another degree in Education.

Why did you move to Chicago?

We moved here after my wife Lisa was accepted to law school in Chicago. We've lived here since 2005.

Where do you live?

I live in Highland Park with my wife and our three kids: Kira, who's 14; Maya, who's 12; and Nate, who's nine.

How did you decide to go into education?

I really like talking about science and chemistry. Having my own lab to do my own experiments in and to do other fun stuff in sounded great!

For years, I worked in industry. I was a quality control chemist at Abbott. I also worked at other companies including Regis and Baxter. Those jobs involved long hours alone with machines, doing the same experiments over and over again. I thought: imagine if instead of doing this I could do chemistry experiments and talk about them all day long!

I got my teaching degree and have been working here at ICJA since 2010.

What do you love about ICJA?

I love the kids. I like the community. I've become way more knowledgeable about and involved in my Judaism since I've been here.

What's a favorite ICJA memory?

There are so many. I really enjoy the chemistry "magic" show that my AP Chemistry class puts on for Keshet students each Spring.

Do you have any hobbies?

My whole family really enjoys playing tennis. I also used to do triathlons.

Is there anything that most people don't know about you that you'd like to share here?

Yes, my daughter Maya is currently ranked 201st in tennis in the United States!

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!

Watch this moving video documenting some of the volunteer activities our seniors participated in during their month-long Mission to Israel!

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.

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.

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.

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.

Dear NILI Community,

I am excited to announce the launch of the NILI Teens Leadership Fellows Program, a unique opportunity for high school girls to grow as leaders within the Jewish community. This program is designed to inspire and empower young women to discover their individual strengths, passions, and goals while building leadership skills to make a meaningful impact.

Program Highlights

• Fellows Application Now Open: All high school age girls are welcome to apply. 
• Selection Process: The inaugural cohort of Leadership Fellows will be selected by a NILI committee.
• Monthly Leadership Sessions: Fellows will meet once a month to learn together, develop leadership skills, hear from guest speakers, and create impact projects in the community.
• Certificate of Completion: In June, we will honor the cohort’s achievements with a special certificate celebration.

First Meeting: Sunday, December 1st

Application Deadline: November 20th

To apply, please click the button below.

I encourage all high school girls who are interested in this leadership opportunity to apply! 

Sincerely,

Alissa Zeffren

NILI Director 

Calling all 3^rd – 12^th grade students attending an ATT school! It’s time for the Pogrund Family Essay and Judaic Artwork Contests! Demonstrate your writing and/or art skills as you explore a Judaic topic. Winners receive a $50.00 check. Deadline for art/essay submission is Wednesday, January 15, 2025. FOR ESSAY/ARTWORK RULES AND GUIDELINES, visit www.att.org → For Students or call ATT at 773-973-2828 

Last summer, ICJA gave its Class of '24 alumni the third 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.

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.