Upcoming Events

• Friday, September 15 - Erev Rosh Hashana - no classes

• Monday, September 18 - Tzom Gedaliah - early dismissal

• Wednesday, September 20-21 - All School Retreat at Champ Chi - Click HERE to register. (If you require help with financing the retreat, please contact Mr. Michael London.)

• Friday, September 29 - Monday, October 9 - Sukkot break
• 
  
• Tuesday, October 10 - Classes resume

• Wednesday, October 18 - Junior PSAT in school (morning)

• Tuesday, October 24 - Yearbook picture day



• Friday, October 27 - Sophomore and junior Shabbaton

Learning Makkot, students discussed ways to determine whether a witness is false.

Seniors in Rabbi Yishai Bronner's Accelerated Talmud class are learning Masechet Makkot. This week, they learned Rambam's and the Tur's opinions and discussed instances in which a witness' testimony can be declared invalid in a court of law.

Senior Dory Marshall explained a few examples discussed in the text: "for instance, if a witness was with you at the time" they said they could see a crime, or "what if a supposed victim walks into a courtroom during a murder trial?"

Pictured above: Aryeh Neiger

Pictured above: Joey Levy

Pictured above: Adam Katz

Freshmen are exploring new ways to take notes.

Freshmen in Mrs. Rachel Polsky's Western Civilization class are learning about the Neolithic Revolution (when people formed larger agrarian societies) and spent time week discussing ways to take notes on their textbook's material.

To help students get use to the more rigorous note-taking that high school texts require, Mrs. Polsky provided students with outlines to fill in with information as they read, ensuring that each freshman succeeds in taking full notes.

Pictured above: Maya Kutliroff, Aryeh Lowenthal, Orli Lubin, and Hillel Lennon

Pictured above: Jacob Thomas, Yakira Wittlin, Ariella Titievsky, and Eliana Levitt

Pictured above: Bella Burstyn, Chaviva Campbell, Goldie Boyarskiy, and Livia Baronofsky

Students learned about ICJA's many clubs and signed up for new activities.

This Thursday during lunch, students had the chance to learn about ICJA's many clubs, hear from club members and leaders in person, and sign up for new activities.

Pictured above: senior Yonah Rubin

Pictured above: junior Eliana Levine and sophomore Devorah Kaplowitz

Pictured above: junior Ami Czako and seniors Jacob Friedman and Milo Benmelech

Pictured above: the crowd during 6th period lunch

Pictured above: juniors Dana Kalutsky and Lilac Marcus

Pictured above: seniors Noa Gavant, Ayelet Appel, and Taly Benzaquen

Students discussed an iconic painting - in Hebrew.

Students in Mrs. Shelley Stopek's junior and senior girls' Hebrew class spent time this week discussing Van Gogh's painting Bedroom in Arles, expanding their Hebrew vocabulary as they did so. Students analyzed the painting's colors, composition, subject matter and mood - all in Hebrew, in a wide range-ranging discussion.

Pictured above: juniors Yardana Schayer and Kaela Nagel

Pictured above: junior Rachel Freed

Pictured above: junior Emily Darlow and senior Taly Benzaquen

Parents got a taste of their students' schedules.

On Wednesday evening, parents got a taste of their students' schooldays at Simulated School Night. Following their students' schedules in shortened form, parents heard from teachers about their classes, reviewed syllabi, and were able to get a sense of what their students' daily routine is like.

Pictured above: Rabbi Matanky speaking about his accelerated girls' Gemara class

Pictured above: Mrs. Ayala Zimmerman addressing parents

Pictured above: Rabbi Louis Fliegelman speaking to parents about his freshman boys' Gemara class

Seniors discussed Victorian and contemporary views on beauty while reading Jane Eyre.

Seniors in Mrs. Michelle Prince's AP Literature class are reading Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre. This week, they read a scholarly article about the rage for phrenology (the study of appearance as a supposed key to one's inner character) in Victorian times. Students then divided into small groups to discuss the many ways these assumptions, as well as wider Victorian assumptions about beauty, are used, embraced, and at times discarded by Charlotte Bronte in the book.

Pictured above: Gabrielle Sander

Pictured above: Dory Marshall

Pictured above: Gabriella Zipperstein

Students embrace ICJA's passion for chess.

Throughout our school, chess boards beckon students to play during lunch and free periods. This week, a new class of ICJA students embraced ICJA's school-wide hobby, taking on teachers and fellow students in games of chess.

Pictured above: freshman William Moscovitch playing Rabbi Menachem Rosenbaum

Pictured above: freshmen Rose Matatya and Emuna Arnold enjoying a game

ICJA boys and their fathers davened at Congregation KINS last Sunday morning.

Many Sunday mornings, ICJA Talmud teacher Rabbi Louis Fliegelman arranges for boys 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 together afterwards.

Last Sunday, some students and some fathers davened at Congregation KINS in West Rogers Park. After davening they heard a devar Torah from KINS Associate Rabbi Rabbi Aaron Liebtag then shared breakfast and conversation.

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

• Nishmat - Oct. 23, during 6th
• Baer Miriam - Oct. 31, during 6th
• Midreshet Harova - Nov. 2, during 6th
• Midreshet Lev HaTorah - Nov. 6 during 6th
• Aish Gesher - Tuesday, Nov. 7 during 6th
• Midreshet Lindenbaum - Nov. 7 during 6th
• Machon Maayan - Nov. 8 during 6th
• Midreshet Moriah - Nov. 8 during 6th
• Midreshet Torat Chesed - Nov. 9 during 6th
• Sha'alvim for Women - Nov. 9 during 6th
• Midreshet Torah Va'avodah - Nov. 14 during breakfast
• MMY - Nov. 14 during 6th
• Midreshet Amit - Nov. 14 during 6th
• Migdal Oz - Nov. 15 during 6th
• Tiferet - Nov. 15 during 6th
• Amudim - Nov. 20 during 6th

For more information about upcoming seminary visits, please contact Mrs. Lynn Kraft, lkraft@icja.org.

• Lamdeini High School Summer Program - Nov. 7 during breakfast
• Bar Ilan - Nov. 8 during breakfast

• Brandeis University - Sept. 11
• University of Illinois - Sept. 12
• Loyola University Chicago - Sept. 13
• University of Chicago - Sept. 14
• Washington University St. Louis - Sept. 18
• Yeshiva University- gym presentation/interviews - Sept. 19
• Drexel University - Sept. 28
• Reichman University - Oct. 10
• University of Maryland - Oct. 11
• SUNY Binghamton - Oct. 12
• Indiana University Oct. 25
• Hebrew University of Jerusalem - Nov. 2
• Bar Ilan University - Virtual visit - Nov. 9

For more information about upcoming college visits, contact Ms. Susan Weiss, Director of College Guidance sweiss@icja.org (773) 973-1450 x121.

We caught up with ICJA's new Director of Academic Services and asked her to tell us a bit about himself.

This week we caught up with Mrs. Marisa Loebmann '04, ICJA's new Director of Academic Services, and asked her a bit about herself.

Where did you grow up and go to school, and where do you live now?

I grew up in Lincolnwood and attended Ida Crown!

Now I live in West Rogers Park with my husband Alan '03 and my children, Avigayil, who's 13 years old, and Yael, Hadar, and Moshe, who are all 10 years old - they're triplets!

How did you decide to go into Jewish education?

I was very inspired by my teachers at ICJA, and I wanted to similarly inspire and motivate students.

I taught Tanach here at ICJA, then went back to school and got my master's degree in special education. (That was while my triplets were little!) Most recently, I worked as a case manager at Arie Crown. I'm excited to be back at ICJA now.

Do you have any hobbies?

I read a lot, primarily non-fiction and historical fiction.

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

We have an adorable little rescue dog named Eva.

This week's sponsors include:

Tuesday, the 19th of Elul, 5783, September 5, 2023, by Sara, Mitchell, Yaffa '26, Merav, and Kayla Hoberman, in loving memory of Mr. Jerome Gordon, z''l,

יהודה בן חנן, ז’’ל, in honor of his yahrzeit on the 19th of Elul

Wednesday, the 20th of Elul, 5783, September 6, 2023, by Larry Teren, in the merit of a Refuah Sheleima for those who are not well

Thursday, the 21st of Elul, 5783, September 7, 2023, by Susan Stein and Jeff and Sima Neiger and family, in loving memory of Howard Stein, z”l, הירש יעקב בן אהרן, on the occasion of his first yahrzeit 

For more information or to sponsor a day of learning, please contact our Director of Development, Deva Zwelling, at (773) 973-1450 ext. 115, or dzwelling@icja.org.

Watch our Open House video

for prospective students - and share it with people you know who'd like to learn more about ICJA!

Founded in 1942, ICJA is 80 years old this year. Please enjoy this 80th Anniversary Video which looks back on eight decades of excellence, close bonds, and memories.

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.

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.

ICJA Erika's Lighthouse Mental Health Awareness Club is excited to announce its kickoff event. We'll be having Rabbi Mayer Simcha Stromer speak on the topic of "From Anxiety to Awe: Embracing Mental Health While Approaching the Yamim Noraim." The presentation will run twice, once during 5th and once during 6th on Wednesday, September 13th. Please sign up at this link to let us know you will be attending so we know how many chicken poppers to order! 

LESS THAN 2 WEEKS LEFT TO SUBMIT YOUR NOMINATION for the HARTMAN FAMILY FOUNDATION EDUCATOR OF THE YEAR AWARDS! 

Help Our Community Recognize an Exceptional Educator! Visit www.att.org to complete a User Friendly, Online Nomination Form, download a paper nomination form, and see rules. Call 773-973-2828 for more information. Nomination submission deadline: Wednesday, September 20, 2023, by 5pm.

Last summer, ICJA gave its Class of '22 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.