Upcoming Events

• Wednesday, September 6 - 12th grade parents' College Information Meeting 6:45pm

• Wednesday, September 6 - Simulated School Night 7:30pm

• Thursday, September 7 - Club Hub during lunch

• 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

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

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

• Wednesday, September 20-21 - All School Retreat at Champ Chi

• Tuesday, October 24 - Yearbook picture day



• Friday, October 27 - Sophomore and junior Shabbaton

Students enjoyed a sweet start to the school year

The 2023-4 school year got off to a sweet start on Monday, August 28. Following ruach-filled all-school davening, students enjoyed ice cream treats from an ice cream truck parked outside the school.

Thank you to ICJA Parents Academy Associates for sponsoring this fun way to begin another wonderful academic year.

Pictured above: freshmen and Jacob Thomas and Penina Goldman, and sophomore Yona Jones

Pictured above: seniors Adyra Jones and Aviva Dallal

Pictured above: freshman Meira Schultz

Pictured above: seniors Milo Benmelech, Joey Levy, Yonah Rubin, and Sam Gorenstein

Pictured above: seniors Nava Cohen and Gabrielle Sander

Pictured above: juniors Lauren Fensterheim, Sarah Lipson, Sarah Levitt, Meital Wittlin, and Nava Dreyster

Last Thursday, new students and their parents learned about ICJA, had fun, and enjoyed dinner with their peers.

On Thursday, August 24, new students and their parents enjoyed orientation sessions to help them get to know each other and learn about ICJA.

Freshmen and transfer students learned together, toured the building, ate dinner together, and enjoyed a fun painting class with ICJA mom Mrs. Rifi Bleichman '03. Meanwhile, parents of new students learned about ICJA's online portals, heard from Rabbi Matanky, and got to know each other over dinner.

Pictured above: freshman Megill Hameiri

Pictured above: freshman Livia Baronofsky

Pictured above: freshmen William Moscovitch and Ayden Mishkin

Students began creating simple programs to control electrical currents and turn lights on and off.

This week, students in Mr. Jonathan Keller's STEM: Introduction to Engineering Class hit the ground running, learning the basics of programming digital devices using Arduino software. Students practiced writing code that switched the colors on a LED light bulb, turned on and off a light, and changed battery feeds, altering the current feeding students LED light bulbs.

Pictured above: seniors Joseph Amrami and Nava Cohen

Pictured above: seniors Joey Levy and Hayden Gradstein

Pictured above: seniors Aryeh Neiger and Moshe Wiesenberg

Students discussed their year's plans and the role that effort plays in learning.

Freshmen in Rabbi Barak Cohen's Chumash class got to know one another better this week by sharing details about themselves, and by discussing what the most important qualities of learning are.

Rabbi Cohen shared a quote: It's okay to not know, but it's not okay to not try. Students discussed their year's syllabus and learning goals in light of these inspiring words.

Pictured above: Rose Matatya

Pictured above: students discussing the way they plan to learn now they're in high school

Pictured above: Orli Lubin and Talia Bielak

Students watched the Cubs beat the Brewers on Tuesday night - and formed a Maariv minyan at Wigley Field.

This year's expanded Mechanchim Boys' Programming got off to a great start this year as over 80 boys joined teachers and administrators at Wrigley Field Tuesday night, as the Cubs took on the Milwaukee Brewers. A highlight of the evening was the Maariv minyan that students made in the stands.

Watch out for more monthly fun events, as well as enhanced learning programming for ICGC's boys this year.

Juniors discussed a Midrash on Perek Aleph of Devarim.

Juniors in Rabbi Shmuel Oren's Honors Chumash class learned the first perek of Devarim this week, including a Midrash that Rashi discusses related to the white dew which covered mannah in the winlderness.

Students noted that this is the source of the custom of using a white Shabbat tablecloth and challah cover. Avi Meyer pointed out that some Jews have a custom of throwing rather than passing challah in order to better recall mannah.

Pictured above: Yitzchak Bock and Avi Meyer

Pictured above: Cobi Engel and Zev Margolin

Students enjoyed the first Pop-Up of the year.

On Thursday morning, students were surprised to see carnival games set up outside school for our first Pop-Up of the year. Pop-Ups are fun surprises held occasionally throughout the year which allow students to take a brief break and enjoy creative activities.

Each grade had a chance to spend a class period in the beautiful weather outside, playing games and enjoying snow cones with their friends.

Pictured above: freshmen Masha Perkins, Maayan Engel, and Yakira Wittlin

Pictured above: sophomores Yair Bell, Miriam Falk, Lily Douek, Ariella Pullin, and Josh Miller

Pictured above: freshmen Bentzion Beiles and Ayden Starck

Pictured above: juniors Aidan Zukerman and Avi Meyer

Pictured above: senior Shuli Falk enjoying a snowcone

Pictured above: juniors Sarah Lipson, Tali Weiss, Kaela Nagel, and Zehava Piltz

Students began creating architectural models.

This week, students in Dr. Gavriel Brown's Architecture Class learned that architects begin their plans by creating interative massing models: simple shapes that allow architects to visualize what their designs would look like and make easy changes and adjustments.

Students began building their own models out of foam of the buildings that they will eventually design.

Pictured above: seniors Leeya Starck and Leah Zelden

Pictured above: Rotem Lavi and Gabrielle Sander

Pictured above: Elana Druk and Ayelet Appel

On Thursday night, students enjoyed a pizza dinner and pool party with Ida Crown Girls Club (ICGC).

Ida Crown Girls' Club (ICGC) held their first event of the year on Thursday evening this week: a gala pizza dinner and pool party in Highland Park. Over 90 students took part in this ruach-filled event.

Thank you to the Walder Foundation for supporting ICGC's amazing events.

Pictured above: seniors Jordana Zwelling, Dana Kalutsky, and Daria Lennon, junior Simona Fridberg, and senior Rachel Sommer

Welcome to the ICJA Class of 2024!

• September 19, 2023: Yeshiva University 8am

For more information about upcoming college visits, contact Ms. Susan Weiss, Director of College Guidance sweiss@icja.org (773) 973-1450 x438.

We caught up with ICJA's newest Talmud and Tanach teacher and asked him to tell us a bit about himself.

Talmud and Tanach teacher Rabbi Barak Cohen joined the ICJA family this year. We caught up with him and asked him a bit about himself.

Where did you grow up and go to school?

I grew up in the Quad Cities and attended University of Iowa. Later on, I learned at the Mir Yeshiva in Jerusalem and received semicha there.

What did you do before coming to Chicago?

For eight years, I was the rabbi of a shul in Sydney, Australia. I also served as head of Judaic studies at Jewish K-12 school there. Later on, we lived in Vancouver, Canada, where I worked as head of school at a Jewish school.

Where do you live now?

I live in Chicago now with my wife Rachel and our children Eliana (17), Shai (11), and Odeyah (6).

How did you decide to become a teacher?

I got into chinuch when I was a pulpit rabbi in Australia. We needed to build up a community and we needed a school! I created a frum track in the local Jewish community school. I eventually got my master's in education.

Do you have any hobbies?

I like to play basketball. I also enjoy board games and hiking.

How are you finding ICJA?

It's an amazing environment with great kids!

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

We were on sabbatical last year and my family and I travelled! We spent six months in Israel, then six months living in an RV touring the United States and homeschooling our kids.

This week's sponsors include:

The week of Monday, the 11th of Elul, through Friday, the 15th of Elul, 5783, August 28-September 1, 2023, by the Landes family, in loving memory of David J. Landes, z''l (Class of '73) to commemorate his 4th yahrzeit on the 13th of Elul

Monday, the 11th of Elul, 5783, August 28, 2023, by Anonymous, in loving memory of Joe Rabinowitz, z''l, ברוך יוסף בן אבא שמואל

Thursday, the 14th of Elul, 5783, August 31, 2023, by Anonymous, In honor of the teachers and staff who do a wonderful job supporting and educating our children

Friday, the 15th of Elul, 5783, September 1, 2023 by Anonymous, in memory of Miriam and Milton Saltzman z''l, George and Lillian Kranzler z"l, Dr. Jeffery K. Kranzler z"l, and Dr. Leonard I. Kranzler z"l, on the occasion of their yahrzeits

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.

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.