Upcoming Events

• Monday, February 17 - ATT In-Service Day - No Classes

• Wednesday, February 19 - ICJA Takes the Stage, Commemorating the Life of Batsheva Chaya Stadlan, z"l Learning Program 5th & 6th Periods

• Friday, February 21 - Motzaei Shabbat, February 22 - ICGC Shabbaton - Click here to reserve your spot (To discuss financial assistance, email Mr. Yona Bildner)



• Friday, February 28 - Motzaei Shabbat, March 1 - ICBC Shabbaton - Click here to reserve your spot (To discuss financial assistance, email Mr. Yona Bildner)

• Wednesday, March 5 - Sophomore pre-ACT in school

• Tuesday, March 11 - Junior ACT in school

• Tuesday, March 11 - National Honors Society Induction 7pm

• Friday, March 14 - Purim - no classes - Click here if you would like to order an Academy Associates Purim e-Card to send to family and friends

• Wednesday, March 19 - ICJA Takes the Stage, Commemorating the Life of Batsheva Chaya Stadlan, z"l 7pm - Click here to reserve your spot today (women and girls only)

• Wednesday, March 26 - Freshmen pre-ACT in school

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

Students learned about the heroism of Daniel Perez HY"D on Oct. 7.

This Thursday, ICJA welcomed Rabbi Doron Perez, Executive Chairman of World Mizrahi.

Rabbi Perez spoke about his son Daniel Perez HY"D, a platoon commander in the 7th Armored Brigade's 77th Battalion, who died on October 7, 2023, defending Kibbutz Nahal Oz.

Students heard about the fun athletic young man they might have been friends with, and how he acted heroically, trying to stop as many terrorists as possible from entering Israel. It was only after his death that his parents read his diary and learned that Daniel saw his mission in life as safeguarding the Jewish people.

Students worked on problems collaboratively.

Students in Mr. Allen Sears's Physics class tackled a series of equations measuring momentum this week. After breaking into small groups, each working on a different problem, students then took turns explaining their solutions to their peers and helping their fellow students solve them too.

Pictured above: junior Michael Matveyev and senior Ami Czeko solving a problem together

Pictured above: juniors Esther Fretzin and Lily Douek solving a problem together

Pictured above: junior Miriam Falk explaining her completed equation to the class

Sophomores discussed reasons Moshe was commanded to conduct a census.

Sophomores in Rabbi Daniel Fox's honors Chumash class are learning Sefer Bemidbar. This week, they learned Rashbam's, Rashi's, Ramban's and other commentators' views of reasons why Hashem commanded Moshe to count B'nai Yisrael.

Pictured above: Aryeh Lowenthal

Pictured above: Caleb Novick

Pictured above: Gabriel Nudman consults with Rabbi Fox

ICJA students took 1st place in this competition.

Yasher koach to sophomores Jacob Thomas and Caleb Novick on winning first prize in the Walders Jewish Innovators Challenge on Tuesday evening with their idea for a kli shlishi machine!

A video of Caleb's and Jacob's award-winning presentation can be viewed here to the video.

Walder Science is taking the winners on a trip to Florida next month to Nasa Space Center and meet a frum engineer there.

Students prepared to read Lord of the Flies.

Freshmen in Mrs. Hobbie's English class are beginning a new unit on Lord of the Flies. Before embarking on this challenging book, which describes a group of students stranded on a remote island after a plane crash, Mrs. Hobbie's students played a fun game to understand the characters' challenges.

Students broke into small groups and were told to imagine that they were stranded in a remote wilderness. Each group was given a list of twelve disparate items - steel wool, canvas, a can of Crisco, etc. - and tasked with ranking them in order of usefulness to their "stranded" group of friends. At the conclusion of class, students compared their notes and also heard how an elite military unit ranked these items and why.

Pictured above: Bennett Kroll, Coby Gordon, Lior Kirshner

Pictured above: Emmett Gelman, Talia Bajtner, Eli Comrov

Pictured above: Jordan Rich, Asher Segal, Emily Itzhaki, Akiva Joseph 

Why did Yocheved perform brit milah on her son?

Freshmen in Mrs. Lynn Kraft's Chumash class are learning Sefer Shemot. This week they consulted Rashi's and Rashbam's commentaries in relation to the moment Yocheved performed brit milah on her son.

Students discussed similarities between elements in this passage and other episodes in the Chumash to help understand the passage's complexities.

Pictured above: Ronit Kinar

Pictured above: Emily Adler

Pictured above: Dana Stein

Thank you ICJA parent Mrs. Lauren Weiss for speaking about AI.

This week, sophomores in Mrs. Marsha Arons's English classes welcomed ICJA parent Mrs. Lauren Weiss, VP of Sales at ANI International Inc.

Mrs. Weiss discussed ways that she and other professionals use Artificial Intelligence at work, and explained both the benefits and the risks of using AI in school and elsewhere.

Some memorable advice Mrs. Weiss has to offer students include "AI has a goal, not a soul," and "ChatGPT will lie - straight to your face."

Students visited their teachers' homes.

On Thursday, Tu B'Shevat, ICJA teachers opened their homes to students for gala Tu B'Shevat breakfasts, learning and games.

Thank you to our teachers for going the extra mile for our students and preparing beautiful, festive breakfasts and meaningful Tu B'Shevat activities for our students.

Pictured above: sophomore girls at the home of Mrs. Ayala Zimmerman

Pictured above: freshman and sophomore boys at Rabbi Daniel Fox's home

Pictured above: freshman girls at the home of Mrs. Rachel Polsky

Students heard from Mrs. Suzy Nussbaum and supported Sharsheret's Pink Day.

Wednesday was Sharsheret's Pink Day, and ICJA girls came to school wearing pink. Seniors Sarah Lipson and Eliana Levine manned a table during breakfast, handing out donuts and literature about Sharsheret's lifesaving work.

At the beginning of ICGC's lunchtime Chabura, students learned about Sharsheret and heard from Mrs. Suzy Nussbaum, ICJA's Director of Admissions, about how Sharsheret supported her on her own health journey.

The Wrestling Aces enjoyed a spiritual Shabbat together before a regional tournament.

(Pictured here: sophomore Ayden Starck)

Last Friday afternoon, the ICJA Wrestling Team trekked to a hotel on Mannheim Road in Schiller Park for their annual pre-regional tournament Shabbaton. The wrestlers took their food and a Sefer Torah along with them.

After Havdalah, the team traveled to Walther Christian High School in Melrose Park for the Class 1A Regional Tournament. The Aces entered ten wrestlers, and seven of them placed against challenging competition.

A trio of wrestlers made it to the finals, led by Senior Avi Chen (138). Chen held a narrow lead until surrendering a last-minute takedown to his opponent from Nazareth Academy. The match ended with a score of 7-4, and Chen claimed a well-deserved silver medal. Also claiming silver medals were Senior Moshe Tarshish (165) and Sophomore Ayden Starck (215). Both lost to wrestlers ranked in the state.

Senior Aidan Zukerman (144) fought back from a semifinal upset to claim a bronze medal. Sophomore Caleb Novick (106), Senior Jacob Friedman (150), and Sophomore Levi Madoff (157) distinguished themselves with 4th place finishes.

The Aces finished in 6th place overall but were in contention for a third-place team finish for much of the competition.

The team travels on Thursday to the Wittenberg National Championships in Paramus, New Jersey next weekend. 

Pictured above: senior Moshe Tarshish

Pictured above: senior Aidan Zukerman

Pictured above: senior Avi Chen

Students meet during breakfast twice a week.

ICJA's new (this year) Daf Yomi Club meets bi-weekly during breakfast. Students enjoy breakfast together and discuss what they're learning each week.

This week was no exception, as our students gathered to discuss the day's Daf and share enthusiasm and support for one another.

Yasher koach to all our students who are engaged in this extra learning!

Freshmen and their relatives davened together last Sunday at the home of ICJA grandfather Mr. Israel Starck.

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, they davened at the home of Jewish hero and ICJA grandfather Mr. Israel Starck. After Shacharit, students heard from Mr. Starck who encouraged them to continue learning Torah and performing mitzvot and told them the moving story about how tefillin saved his life. After he was liberated from a Nazi concentration camp, Allied soldiers offered the starving prisoners nonkosher food. Mr. Starck chose to first wait in line to put on tefillin. Doing so saved his life, as the freed prisoners who ate their fill tragically died, unable to digest normal meals after so long without nutrition. Thank you, Mr. Starck, for hosting and inspiring our students.



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

This week's learning dedications include:

Friday, the 16 of Shevat, 5785, February 14, 2025, in loving memory of

our mother on her first Yahrzeit, Linda Rose Wolfson-Steinberg, לאה רחל בת אזריאל אברהם, by her children and grandchildren: Shayna, Larry, Kira Garfield, Aliza, Elazar, Peppi Weiner, Zev, Sapir, and Lotem Steinberg

Thursday, the 15 of Shevat, 5785, February 13, 2025, in loving memory of David Lennon , דוד זליג בן שרה והלל, ז׳׳ל, by the Lennon & Meisel Families

Tuesday, the 13 of Shevat, 5785, February 11, 2025, in memory of Birdie Garfinkel, ברכה ביילא בת צבי הירש הכהן, by her loving family: Tzivia Garfinkel, Ilana Blumberg ('88), Jonathan Blumberg ('90), Rayli (Berger) Blumberg ('94), Naomi Blumberg ('94), Jessica Blumberg ('16), Emily Blumberg ('18), Will Blumberg ('22), and Alyssa Blumberg ('26)

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 ever-smiling Administrative Assistant, Ms Gabrielle Bledsoe.

Ms. Gabrielle Bledsoe welcomes students and visitors alike to Ida Crown with a smile This week we caught up with her and asked her a few questions about herself.

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

I grew up in Chicago and attended Lane Tech High School. Today I live in the Albany Park neighborhood of Chicago with my mother and my brother Peter.

What do you enjoy about Ida Crown?

I like working with the front desk team! I also like that there's always something going on; it's never boring here! And I like the students a lot - we get along very well.

What's a favorite ICJA memory of yours?

Hands down, when Rabbi Matanky dressed up as Big Bird on Purim!

Do you have any hobbies?

I like reading a lot, especially Science Fiction books. I also enjoy playing video games.

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

Yes, I'm engaged! My fiancé, Trevor, is a special education teacher in a CPS elementary school. We haven't set a date for our wedding yet.

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!

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!

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.

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.