Upcoming Events

• Friday, November 11 - End of First Quarter

• Friday, November 11 - Sophomore-Junior Fridayton (see flyer below for more information; click here to sign up)

• Monday, November 14 - Grading Day - No Classes

• Thursday, November 16 - Prospective Students Open House (see flyer below for more information; click here to register)

• Sunday, November 13 - Parent Teacher Conferences

• Sunday, November 27 - ICJA Israel reunion, Jerusalem (see flyer below for more information; click here to sign up)

• Monday, November 28 - Junior Family College Orientation Meeting



• Friday, December 2 - Saturday, December 3 - Senior Shabbaton

Over a dozen seminaries and Israel learning programs participated in ICJA's Seminary Fair this week, the only annual Seminary Fair in the Midwest.

On Tuesday, November 8, junior and senior girls heard from representatives and teachers of over a dozen seminaries and learning programs. Students learned with seminary teachers, asked questions, heard about seminary life, and Zoomed with current students.

Pictured above, students and some parents listening to a shiur by Rabbi David Katz, Dean of Michlelet Mevaseret Yerushalayim

Pictured above: students having a Zoom meeting with current students at Midreshet Moriah as part of their presentation

Pictured above: junior Julia Benditzon listening to a presentation

Pictured above: senor Gabrielle Rosenzweig listening to a presentation

Students are learning Gittin, and discussed laws that pertain inside and outside of the Land of Israel.

In Rabbi Menachem Rosenbaum's junior boys' Accelerated Talmud class, students are learning Gittin. This week, they learned a machloket over what territories are considered part of the Land of Israel for for laws governing shemita, the sale of slaves, and other issues.

Pictured above: Jed Marcus

Pictured above: Aryeh Neiger

Former ICJA parent Ms. Margo Kahnrose

visited ICJA to discuss online privacy,

data collection and data ownership.

This week, Ms. Margo Kahnrose, an ICJA alumna, former ICJA parent, and the Chief Marketing Officer for Skai, a data, insights and marketing technology company, shared her expertise with students in Dr. Gavriel Brown's New Media and Communication class.

"Everything you do online has left a breadcrumb trail," Ms. Kahnrose explained, before delving into details about how companies track user data and discussing with students the ethical and legal issues involved in online marketing.

After learning Shmuel Alef 2, students created inventive "menus" to reflect parts of the perek

- then cooked parts of their menus in ICJA's kitchen.

Sophomores in Mrs. Olivia Friedman's Navi class have been learning 1 Samuel 2. As their final project for the unit, they designed creative menus: each element connects to a different idea from the perek. The menus also contain a QR code which leads users to learn more about the symbolism behind each appetizer, entree, beverage or dessert.

This week, some students came together to bake items from their menus in school, then served these creative treats to their classmates the following day as they explained the symbolism behind the foods.

Pictured above: Rivka Weinstein, Rachel Sommer, Dana Kalutsky, Sarah Levitt, Kaela Nagel, Yardana Schayer, Eliya Sander and Simcha Seruya preparing to bake

Pictured above: Rivka Weinstein's and Kaela Nagel's menu

Pictured above: Eliya Sander's and Dana Kalutsky's menu

Last Friday, November 4, girls participated

in a pre-Shabbat ruach event sponsored byICGC's Inspiration Board.

Last Friday morning, ICGC's Inspire Board ensured that female students had the opportunity to get into the pre-Shabbat swing, enjoying delicious homemade cholent and brownies, singing, socializing, and listening to divrei Torah together.

ICGC is generously supported by a grant from The Walder Foundation.

ICJA's Mechanchim run two mishmarim each week,

Monday and Thursday nights, 8pm at the Skokie Kollel.

Pictured above: senior Gabe Simon and Rabbi Mayer Simcha Stromer preparing the cholent for Thursday night mishmar.

Last Sunday, some students and their fathers davened at Ohel Shalom Torah Center in Chicago

Last Sunday morning, some students and their fathers from Rabbi Louis Fliegelman's freshman boys' Talmud class davened together at Ohel Shalom. Aaron Katz and Rabbi Fliegelman had the opportunity to daven Birkat Kohanim.

Afterwards, over breakfast, Rabbi Daniel L. Raccah shared insights on the development of Sephardic and Ashkenazic Jewish law, over breakfast.

Pictured above: Mr. Jeremy Rine, freshman Natan Rine, Rabbi Fliegelman, freshman Aaron Katz and Mr. Lev Katz

Students in Mrs. Alise Gold's junior Navi class learned Devarim using a fun "Speed Learning" technique.

Juniors in Mrs. Alise Gold's Navi class are learning Perek Daled of Devarim. This week, they experimented with a creative "Speed Learning" activity: some students sat in a circle, then the rest of the students rotated around them learning different sections of the perek. Every few minutes, the outer circle rotated, and the girls continued their learning with a new chavruta.

Pictured above: Julia Benditzon and Nava Cohen learning together

Pictured above: Elana Druk and Taly Benzaquen learning together

Students created a beautiful mosaic illustrating

Ramban's view that the 7 Days of Creation

foreshadowe all of human history.

This week, sophomores in Mrs. Kochava Yitzhak's AJSP (Advanced Jewish Studies Program) invited sophomores in Rabbi Mayer Simcha Stromer's sophomore girls' Talmud class into their classroom to reveal a surprise piece of artwork.

Students have been studying Ramban's view that each day of Creation corresponds to a millennium of history. When the girls pulled down a curtain hanging on the wall, they revealed a mosaic depicting the 7 Days of Creation and how each day corresponds to a period of history. Students explained their work, then took questions from their classmates about their project.

Pictured above: AJSP students explaining the symbolism of their artwork

Pictured above: Mrs. Yitzhak's 10th grade AJSP class with their mural

On Wednesday, November 9, over 50 students took part in an educational event to learn about eating disorders.

On Wednesday, November 9, Erika's Lighthouse, ICJA's mental health awareness club, sponsored a popular event over 5th and 6th periods that educated students about eating disorders.

Kristen Anderson, Alex Bayer and Sara Desai of the Chicago Center for Evidence Based Treatment for an excellent presentation. If you would like to see the slides they used, click here to see their PowerPoint presentation. 

This week, students planned life in "Sennettova," a Medieval Feudal Society.

Freshmen in Ms. Susan Sennett's and Rabbi Zev Drutman's Concepts Western Civilization class have been learning about how life functioned in the Middle Ages, and this week they got a personal taste of what life would have been like then.

"I am a Germanic lord," Ms. Sennett told her class, before explaining how her kingdom was structured and assigning students to be her barons, vassals and other roles. Students then brainstormed what life would have been like in these positions.

Pictured above: Ms. Sennett as leader of Sennettova

Pictured above: Jessica Michaeli discussing history with Ms. Sennett

Beloved coach Ezra Jaffee announced his retirement.

Last month, longtime Cross Country Coach Ezra Jaffe announced his retirement after leading the ICJA Running Aces Boys and Girls for 14 years. He was one of the founders of cross country at the Academy. With roster sizes ranging each season, Ezra has positively impacted hundreds of athletes at ICJA. 

There are many highlights of his tenure. A few notable ones include the 2018 Sweep at the Chicago Prep Conference Meet with the girls' and boys' teams dominating. Also, Ezra petitioned to the IHSA to move regionals to a different day to allow our runners to participate. All other cross country meets in the state series are on Saturday, but with Ezra's dedication and vision, the ICJA cross country team has been able to run in three regional meets on Friday afternoon. While the ICJA season ends with the regional meet, each year the Running Aces have qualified to advance to the next state series meet.  

Dana Hunter, who's coached alongside Ezra the past ten years, noted "It has been a pleasure to coach with Ezra. He is a great leader, runner, and friend. I am looking forward to maintaining his vision for our Cross Country team. As Coach Ezra says, 'Legs, Lungs, and Heart and a Personal Record too (PR)'."

Thank you, Ezra, for your commitment to ICJA Athletics the past 14 years. You will be greatly missed! We hope to see you in the future cheering on our Running Aces!

Click here to watch Coach Jaffe's end-of-season video about the 2022-3 Cross Country season.

Ms. Sheri Goldstein is ICJA's English Department Chair. She also teaches AP English and English Seminar.

This week we caught up with Ms. Goldstein

and asked her a few questions about herself.

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

I grew up in Rogers Park and married my high school sweetheart.  Today we live in Skokie.

How did you decide to become an English teacher?

Since I loved high school and literature, becoming an English teacher was a perfect match for me, and ICJA has been my home since 1986.  

What do you love most about teaching at ICJA?

So much about ICJA is praiseworthy: the supportive administrator, the excellent faculty, the best support staff, and most importantly, the students who step into my classroom ready to learn. I love when I reconnect with former students and see a glimpse of their successes. A teacher touches the future by being present five days a week in the classroom and in the hallways.  

Do you have any hobbies?

My day starts hyper early with a 30 minute swim, a close reading of the WSJ, and lesson planning. 

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

And I am blessed with four grandchildren, the joy of life.  

• Lev Hatorah - November 15, 5th period
• Atzmona Otzem - November 15, breakfast
• Orayta - November 16, 5th/6th periods
• Derech Eitz Chaim - November 16, breakfast
• TVA - November 18, breakfast
• Mevaseret - November 28, 5th/6th periods
• Shaalvim - December 7, 5th/6th periods
• Hakotel - December 12th, 5th/6th periods
• Mechina Keshet Yehuda - December 14, breakfast

Monday, the 13th of Cheshvan, 5783, November 7, 2022, Rosi Lennon, Will and Shari Lennon and Family, Josh and Tova Lennon and Family, and Marc and Emily Lennon and Family, in loving memory of Fred and Doris Goldsmith,

Uri Shraga ben Yehuda Dovid and Raisel Dina bat Yosef.



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.

Be sure to pick up your updated ICJA Learning Commons passwords to access books and journals online!

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.

Charlotte's Web is funded by a grant from The Susan and Joseph Ament Fund.

Student Internship Opportunities

The YU Torah Mitzion Kollel is looking to hire 2 interns: one to help with program logistics and general office work and one for technology.

Program Logistics Intern

Responsibilities include: grocery shopping for events, ordering food for events, and stuffing envelopes for mailings. The work will be on an as needed basis, generally requiring no more than 2 hours on any given week.

Intern will report directly to the Director of Operations, who will meet with the intern periodically to explain assignments.  

Intern must have access to a vehicle.

Technology intern

Responsibilities include: Editing Audio and video clips, uploading media to Youtube and Podcasts, possibly some data entry. This position will include approximately 1 hour of tasks per week.

Intern will report directly to the Director of Operations, who will meet with the intern periodically to explain assignments.  

Familiarity with any form of editing software a plus but not required.

For more information or to apply, please contact Tracy Schultz, Director of Operations, admin@torahchicago.org

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.