IDA CROWN JEWISH ACADEMY

Upcoming Events


  • Friday, February 21 - Motzaei Shabbat, February 22 - ICGC Shabbaton



  • Friday, February 28 - Motzaei Shabbat, March 1 - ICBC Shabbaton


  • Tuesday, March 11 - Juniors take ACT in school - National Honors Society Induction 7pm


  • Wednesday, March 19 - ICJA Takes the Stage, Commemorating the Life of Batsheva Chaya Stadlan, z"l 7pm

Click here to view the ICJA Cafeteria's February Menu.

Gevurah b'Yisrael

Students organized a profound Yom Iyun on Thursday.

This Thursday, ICJA students from Israel and with connections to Israel, and members of the ICJA Israel Advocacy Club, organized a meaningful all-school Yom Iyun, focusing on the concept of Gevurah, especially during Israel's current war.


In the morning, students ran programs on Wounded Soldiers, Volunteerism, Soldiers, Children and Teens in War, as well as learning lessons about Jewish views of heroism.


Students listened to their peers' stories, learned about Israeli life over the past fifteen months, were challenged to ask themselves what they can do to strengthen Klal Yisrael, and expanded their Jewish learning. Thank you to students Avi Chen, Yair Elbaz, Jacob Friedman, Hailey Horowitz, Naama Horowitz, Emily Itzhaki, Ella Kakon, Devorah Kaplowitz, Ronit Kinar, Maya Lavi, Shira Lavi, Michael Metveyev, Jessica Michaeli, Zehava Piltz, Aliza Shyovitz, Hadar Simkovitch, Amalia Strosberg, Tali Weiss, and Yakira Wittlin, and to teachers Mrs. Lizi Martin and Mrs. Noa Nussbaum for organizing this meaningful event.


(Pictured above: junior Jessica Michaeli and senior Jacob Friedman leading a session on Volunteerism)

Pictured above: juniors Ben Rosenburg, Yair Bell, Natan Rine, and Jonah Strahlberg learning

Pictured above: juniors Mia Weiss, Esther Fretzin, and Alyssa Blumberg, and senior Dana Kalutsky learning

Pictured above: freshman and sophomore boys learning about Gevurah with Mrs. Lizi Martin

Pictured above: senior Ella Kakon and freshmen Ronit Kinar, Amalia Strosberg, and Emily Itzhaki during a session they led about Soldiers

Pictured above: sophomores Yair Elbaz and Yakira Wittlin leading a session about Wounded Soldiers

Pictured above: seniors Ella Perlman, Lea Ackerman, and Rachel Sommer learning

Students met with Mr. Micha Brief, whose brother Yona Brief H"YD, was wounded while saving people on October 7, 2023.

Following the morning's activities, students came together in the gym to hear from Mr. Micha Brief about his brother Yona Brief, H"YD, who was seriously wounded on October 7, 2023 while fighting in Kfar Azza and who passed way two months ago.


Mr. Brief described how his brother stayed strong while he was in the hospital for 14 months and, no matter what, he kept learning new things and reaching out to connect with other people. It was an inspirational and powerful lesson in gevurah - heroism - and a fitting conclusion to Thursday's Yom Iyun.

Pictured above: junior Josh Miller with Mr. Brief

Pictured above: Mr. Brief talking about his brother

Pictured above: junior Yedidya Bechhofer, freshman Bennett Kroll, junior Yehuda Goldstein, and Mr. Brief

Stand With Us Workshops

Students gained skills in combatting misinformation about Israel.

On Wednesday and Thursday this week, students gained valuable skills in speaking about Israel, countering anti-Israel prejudice, and fighting misinformation.



Ms. Hailey Stern, Midwest High School Regional Manager for Stand with Us, led freshmen and sophomores in an in-depth description of Israel's history, arming students with facts they can use when faced with inaccurate slurs about Israel.


Juniors and seniors learned to identify when criticism of Israel is antisemitic, and gained concrete skills in countering false narratives. Students then practiced responding to some common anti-Israel statements.


Thank you to Stand with Us intern, senior Hadar Simkovich, and senior Aliza Shyovitz for arranging this valuable project.

Pictured above: senior Hadar Simkovich, freshmen Abigail Monteros, Molly Zayan, and Shira Kremer, Ms. Stern, and sophomore Chavi Campbell

Pictured above: juniors Jessica Michaeli and Caley Gordon role playing a dialogue with Ms. Stern

Pictured above: juniors Avi Zayan and Aaron Katz role playing a dialogue with Ms. Stern

Mr. Peter Sahyouni's 9th Grade Biology Class

Freshmen conducted a yeast and fermentation lab.

Is yeast capable of anaerobic fermentation? That was the question freshmen in Mr. Peter Sahyouni's Biology class were challenged to answer this week.


Students have been learning about anaerobic fermentation and how, while cellular respiration requires oxygen to power the electron transport chain in the mitochondria, many organisms have adapted to survive under conditions where oxygen is not available; they do this by doing anaerobic fermentation.


To prove this, students conducted an experiment, creating test tubes with a yeast and sugar mixture and test tubes with a control substance (either only yeast or only sugar). They then fixed balloons over the tops of the test tubes, and watched as the yeast mixture produced CO2, filling the balloons. Afterwards, students wrote up their observations in lab reports.


(Pictured above: Elisheva Sudin, Asher Segal, Emmett Gelman, Coby Gordon, and Aaron Gelb)

Pictured above: Dana Stein and Zachary Kupietzky

Pictured above: Jordan Rich, Binyamin Friedman, and Menachem Steinberg

Pictured above: Emily Adler and Amalia Strosberg

Mrs. Orit Marmel's 12th Grade Girls' Honors Hebrew Class

Students created Hebrew-language movies.

Senior girls in Mrs. Orit Marmel’s Hebrew class recently read מעשה העז, the powerful Hebrew-language story by Nobel Prize-winning author Shai Agnon.


This week, students shared Hebrew-language movies they created retelling the story in their own unique ways.

Pictured above: Lilac Marcus and Leah Rina Brochin

Pictured above: Sarah Lipson and Allie Stein

Pictured above: Lea Ackerman and Daria Lennon

Celebrating Hostages' Release

Students removed posters of eight hostages this week.

Students rejoiced this week as eight hostages were released from Gaza. Students removed hostage posters of Watchara Sriaoun, Pongsak Thaenna, Sathian Suwannakham, Surasak Rumnao, Bannawat Saethao, Agam Berger, Arbel Yehoud, and Gadi Moses.


May all the remaining hostages be released soon.


(Pictured here: seniors Ami Weiss, Zehava Piltz, and Sarah Lipson taking down posters)

ICGC Rosh Chodesh Chaburah

Girls learned about Rosh Chodesh Shevat.

Yasher koach to juniors Yaffa Hoberman and Devorah Kaplowitz (pictured here) for leading an inspirational Rosh Chodesh Chaburah on Thursday.


Students who attended enjoyed a pizza lunch while learning about the different ways the Torah marks new beginnings, including Tu B'Shevat, the new years for trees, which takes place in the middle of Shevat.

Pictured above: freshmen Ronit Kinar and Avigayil Loebmann

Pictured above: seniors Nava Dreytser, Leah Rina Brochin, and Rachel Freed

Student to Student

Students presented to 500 students this week.

Members of Student to Student presented to about 500 students at Naperville High School this Thursday, educating fellow high school students about Judaism, the Jewish life cycle, Jewish practice, and ties to Israel.


Yasher koach to student presenters Tali Weiss, Rivky Belsh, Yehuda Goldstein, Toby Burstyn, Daria Lennon, Mina Brandes, and Emily Darlow.

18 Under 18

Yasher Kochecha to senior Hadar Simkovich.

Springboard Chicago has named senior Hadar Simkovich one of its 2025 "18 Under 18" honorees for her high school leadership experiences and her work planning girls' education projects.


Join the JUF and its honorees for a Teen Leadership Celebration on May 4, 6-8pm, at Pinstripes in Northbrook.


Veshinantam Levanecha

Freshmen and their relatives davened together last Sunday at Congregation Lubavitch Chabad of Skokie.

Many Sunday mornings, ICJA's freshmen boys' rebbe, Rabbi Louis Fliegelman, arranges for students and their fathers (and grandfathers and 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 Lubavitch Chabad of Skokie.



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

Wrestling Senior Night

The Wrestling Aces celebrated their seniors this week.

On Wednesday night, the Wrestling Team celebrated Senior Night and recognized the achievements of its five seniors: Avi Chen, Avner Frazin, Jacob Friedman, Moshe Tarshish, and Aidan Zukerman (pictured here).


Following the brief ceremony, the Aces took to the mats against New Trier High School. Friedman, Tarshish, and Zukerman led the way with decisive victories in their final home matches. Chen lost 8-9 in a tense match. Sophomore Megill Hameiri (120), Sophomore Levi Madoff (157), and Freshman Eitan Spolter (150) also added wins against the visiting Trevians.


With their regular season concluded, the Aces will commence preparations for the regional tournament on Saturday night, February 8 at Walther Christian in Melrose Park. 

Spotlight on Mrs. Debbie Steinberg

This week we caught up with ICJA's Director of the Learning Commons and asked her a few questions about herself.

Mrs. Debbie Steinberg '96 is ICJA's Director of the Learning Commons, also known as our school's Librarian. This week we caught up with Mrs. Steinberg and asked her a few questions about herself.


Where did you grow up? And where do you live now?

I grew up in Skokie and attended ICJA. I was in the class of 1996, which was a great class.


Today I live in West Rogers Park with my husband Jordan and our dog Brownie. She's a "Chiweenie," a cross between a dachshund and a Chihuahua.


What are some of your favorite memories of attending Ida Crown?

I have several really good memories. One is my little lunch group: we used to sit outside the Beit Midrash in the old building. About four of us would with sit with our backs up against the wall and eat and talk.


I have particularly fond memories of Rabbi Michael Myers. He was Dean then. I had so much respect for all of my teachers that when I joined the faculty here, I could not call them by their first names.


How did you decide to go into Library Science?

It was a wonderful way to combine things that are important to me. My undergraduate degree is in Education, and I knew I wanted to be in the education world. I also love books. Going into Library Science was a clear step for me. I did a master's degree in it and I've worked for ICJA for twenty years now.


What do you enjoy about working at ICJA?

I'm really proud of our Learning Commons for several reasons. Physically, the space is designed so well; it creates unplanned, informal, collaborative moments. The space allows for exactly what needs to happen in the 21st Century. Most of our resources - about 70% - are online. Our school enables our students to connect with our online resources so well, from the setup of our Wi-Fi to being a one-on-one school where each student has an iPad.


I love working with students. Sometimes students come to me on their own when they've reached a sticking point with their research. Several teachers have also required students to meet with me so I can help them to learn and grow as researchers. This allows me to meet each student where they are as researchers and push them forward. I recommend journals and books and explain the way to find and access them.


What do you do when you're not at Ida Crown?

I like community theater. Recently I was the narrator in Yachad's production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat; that was my dream role. This year, I'm performing with Yachad again in their performance of The Wizard of Oz.


I'm also a diabetes prevention specialist. I work with people to change their habits and prevent pre-diabetes from becoming fullblown diabetes.


How many books are in ICJA's Learning Commons?

Over 9,000! I'm constantly going through them to make sure they're up to date. We have even more resources online.

New ICJA Prospective Student Video

Watch "Oh the Places You'll Go," our 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 last year's seniors participated in during their month-long Mission to Israel 2023-4!

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.

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.

School Announcements

Click here to sign up and become a FAN today!
Click here to join the Academy Associates

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.

Community Announcements

ICJA ISRAEL CONNECT:

Connecting ICJA Alumni in Israel

The first ICJA Israel Connect directory is out.

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.

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.


Ida Crown Jewish Academy
8233 Central Park Avenue
Skokie, Illinois 60076

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