Upcoming Events

• Monday, September 1 - Labor Day (no classes)

• Wednesday, September 3 - Daf Yomi Siyum - All School Davening for Shacharit

• Wednesday, September 3 - Ida Crown Boys' Club (ICBC) Opening Event: Dinner and trip to Wrigley Field to watch the Cubs vs Oakland A's - Buses depart 5:45pm and return approx10pm - Click here to sign up. (Sponsored by the Alt and Miller families in memory of George S. Alt, z"l)

• Wednesday, September 10 - Early dismissal 4:30 - Simulated School Night / Senior Parent Meeting

• Thursday, September 11 - Club Hub in the Cafeteria 5th & 6th Periods

• Wednesday, September 17 - Thursday, September 18 - All-School Retreat @Camp Chi

• Monday, September 22 - Erev Rosh Hashana (no classes)

• Tuesday, September 23 - Wednesday, September 24 - Rosh Hashana

• Thursday, September 25 - Tzom Gedalia (early dismissal 2:30pm)

• Wednesday, October 1 - Erev Yom Kippur (no classes)

• Thursday, October 2 - Yom Kippur

• Monday, October 6 - Wednesday, October 15 - Sukkot Break

• Thursday, October 16 - Classes Resume

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

Students began the school year by welcoming ICJA's newsest Sefer Torah.

Our first day of school began with a gala Hachnasat Sefer Torah celebration. Thank you, Irwin ’66 and Deedie ’68 (Dorothy) Gold, for donating a Sefer Torah in memory of your parents, Rabbi William and Rose Gold, and Kievie and Pearl Hirsch.

Click here to read more about this wonderful event.

Mr. Irwin Gold '66 holding the Sefer Torah

Girls dancing during the celebration

Boys dancing during the celebration

Students celebrated Rosh Chodesh with a doughnut breakfast.

Following the Hachnasat Sefer Torah on Monday morning, students enjoyed a doughnut breakfast in honor of Rosh Chodesh Elul - with candy provided by the Gold family.

Freshmen Yaffa Benjamin and Molly Fogel

Sophomores Lior Kirschner and Avi Friedman

Freshmen Daniella Sommer, Hava Rubin, and Maddy Goltz

Welcome to our 70-Plus New Students and Families!

On Thursday, August 21, ICJA welcomed over 70 new students and their families to New Student and New Parent orientations.

Click here to read more.

The ICJA Class of 2029

Freshmen Adela Schwartz, Yaffa Benjamin, and Molly Fogel with Senior Leader Esther Fretzin

Freshmen Itai Levy and Abie Rosenburg

Freshmen Ron Lev Hameiri, Levi Weiss, Isaac Kaplowitz, Judah Friedman, Ayden Frankel, Eyal Dekalo, and Yonah Goldman

Freshmen Girls in a Mechanchot Session

Parents at the New Parents' Dinner

Sophomores are learning Sefer Vayikra.

Sophomores in Mrs. Beth Pogonitz's honors Chumash class hit the ground running this week, diving into Rashi's, Ramban's, Rav Soloveitchik's, and others' thoughts on Sefer Vayikra.

Emily Adler and Sarah Leah Carlson

Ronit Kinar and Miriam Linzer

Michal Belsh

Students collaborated as they reviewed biology terms

Freshmen in Mr. Peter Sahyouni's Biology class spent this week memorizing core biology terms for use in experiments later this year. Students teamed up in partnerships in class to learn and review these crucial concepts and definitions.

Shulamit Stopek and Orli Neiger

Jacob Leonard and Dov Finkel

Kira Neiger and Isaac Kaplowitz

Freshmen are creating a timeline of Jewish history.

(Pictured here: Maydon Mosbacher and Netanya Frazin consulting a timeline of Jewish history)

Freshmen in Mrs. Rachel Polsky's Navi class created a classroom illustrated of Jewish history this week.

Students researched and drew pictures of key moments in Jewish history, consulting a large timeline for guidance. The resulting art will decorate their classroom throughout the coming year.

Hava Rubin and Orli Nagel

Maytal Kohanchi and Isabella Mashiach

Netanya Frazin and Jessica Fiedler

Seniors are learning Masechet Chagiga.

Seniors in Rabbi Yishai Broner's Gemara class this week visited ICJA's Beit Midrash to learn.

They covered the topic of teruah, parsing different levels of purity and impurity in types of food that was given to the Cohanim.

(Pictured here: Avi Zayan and Yediya Bechhofer)

Yehuda Goldstein and Natan Miller

Ami Gavant and Michael Matveyev

Jack Marshall and Ezra Mauer

Students enjoyed a surprise Pop-Up Thursday Morning.

On Thursday morning, students arrived at school to find a fun surprise: the first Pop-Up of the year. Pop-Ups are fun activities which take place a few times throughout the year and give students a chance to relax and have fun outside of regular school activities.

This week's Pop-Up featured bubble soccer, music, inflatable games, and popcorn. Thank you to our Student Activity Coordinators Mrs. Alisa Zeffren and Mr. Mordy Greenland for arranging this fun morning.

Click here to view more pictures.

Freshman Ozzie Zeffren

Girls playing bubble soccer

Playing an inflatable game

Mechanchim and Mechanchot visited with students.

On Wednesday, ICJA's Mechanchot - Mrs. Lynn Kraft, Mrs. Ayala Zimmerman, and Mrs. Alise Gold - ran a fun lunchtime yogurt parfait bar in the Cafeteria.

Students stopped by, sampled some of the sweet treats, and shmoozed with each other and with our Mechanchot. It was a fun way to reconnect after the summer and - for our freshmen - to meet our Mechanchot and other students.

Also on Wednesday, our Mechanchim - Rabbi Mayer Simcha Stromer, Rabbi Menachem Rosenbaum, and Mr. Mordy Greenland - hosted pizza lunches during 5th and 6th periods for all the freshmen boys.

Freshmen played games, chatted, and got to know their new classmates and ICJA's Mechanchim in a fun, low-key environment.

ICJA's Mahjong Club started up again last Sunday.

ICJA's Mahjong Club started up again this week, playing with seniors at Park Plaza.

The Mahjong Club is always looking for new members. Click here to read more.

Welcoming "Jack and Minda's Garden"

Have you noticed the new garden being built in front of our school?

ICJA’s new “Jack and Minda’s Garden,” dedicated in memory of Dr. Jack and Minda Jaffe, is a beautiful new space on campus where students can relax, enjoy lunch, and spend time together.

Thank you to the Jaffee family for this beautiful addition to our campus.

Students Prevailed in the Tough Mudder Competition.

On Sunday, August 24, ICJA’s Cross Country team travelled to Rockford IL for the 10th annual Tough Mudder Chicago, running a 10 mile, 20-obstacle race.

Coach David Shyovitz noted: “Can’t overstate how impressive it was to see kids, of different ages and fitness backgrounds, work together and cheer each other on – and to help and encourage other participants at the race. A real Kiddush hashem, and serious nachas for the coaches."

Click here to read more about this event.

Students before the Tough Mudder

Students following the Tough Mudder

ICJA Triumphed Over the Summer at the NSDA Finals.

ICJA’s new Debate Team is starting up again! 

In June, ICJA students competed in the National Speech and Debate Association Finals in Des Moines. ICJA junior and team co-captain Eliana Frankel (pictured here) reached the National Speech and Debate Tournament Qualifier and team Coach Ben Schneider won Best Coach Award.

Click here to read more.

Students enjoyed a beautiful kickoff event.

On Wednesday evening, Ida Crown Girls' Club (ICGC) held its kickoff event downtown. Girls boarded buses at ICJA after school and travelled down to Navy Pier where they had a beautiful sunset boat tour of Chicago's skyline. This fun event culminated in watching fireworks over Navy Pier.

Thank you to our Mechanchot Mrs. Lynn Kraft, Mrs. Ayala Zimmerman, and Mrs. Alise Gold; Mrs. Chavee Gottlieb; and the ICGC Board for organizing this gala inaugural evening.

ICGC is generously supported by the Walder Foundation.

Freshmen boys and their relatives daven in a different Chicago-area shul each Sunday.

On Sunday, August 24, incoming freshmen boys and their relatives gathered together at Congregation Or Torah in Skokie for Shachacharit, learning, and breakfast.

This weekly program is run by award-winning Tanach teacher and freshman boys' rebbe Rabbi Louis Fliegelman.

Click here to read more about these weekly visits.

This week we caught up with ICJA's new Director of Student Services and asked her a few questions about herself.

Mrs. Rebecca Bromberg, MSW, LCSW, is ICJA's new Director of Student Services. Her office is located just off the Cafeteria: all students are welcome to stop by with any concerns or questions, or just to say hello.

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

I grew up in St. Louis. Today I live in Skokie with my husband Yehuda, who is a nurse practitioner, our son Effy, who's five, and our daughter Olivia, who's three. Both of our kids are currently students at Hillel Torah.

Where did you work before coming to ICJA?

I previously worked at a JCFS therapeutic day school.

How did you decide to go into school social work?

I always enjoyed being with young people. I really enjoy being in school environments, working with teachers and other support systems to make school the best possible environment for students. I think schools are very happy places to be.

What do you enjoy about ICJA so far?

Everything! I think it's a super welcoming and warm community. I like that people smile at each other in the hallways and when they see each other both inside and outside of schools. Everyone seems to care about one another.

Do you have any hobbies?

Yes - I enjoy running.

What advice do you have for students?

Enjoy your high school years! Enjoy being with your friends, and take advantage of all the opportunities ICJA has, like clubs and extracurricular events. Try to focus on those fun things instead of the stressors.

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

I enjoy discovering new coffee shops and like to find different places to go. I usually order plain coffee, though I enjoy anything with caffeine.

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!

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.

BIG NEWS FOR 2026! Hartman Family Foundation Educator of the Year Award amounts have increased! - Now accepting nominations! Help our community recognize an exceptional educator! Visit The Hartman Family Foundation Educator of the Year Award (att.org) to complete a user friendly, online nomination form, download a paper nomination form, and see rules, or call 773-973-2828 for more information. Nomination submission deadline: Tuesday, September 16, 2025, by 5:00 p.m.

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.