Ida Crown Jewish Academy mourns the passing of Chana Krupel, z"l, a cherished member of our 11th grade class, beloved daughter of Sharon and Eli Krupel.

The funeral in Israel will take place on Har Hamenuchot at approximately 7:30pm Israel time.

המקום ינחם אתכם בתוך שאר אבלי ציון וירושלים

Upcoming Events

• Wednesday, October 21, 2026 - 11th grade PSAT test

• Thursday, October 22, 2026 - Israel Advocacy Workshop for 12th Grade

• Sunday, October 25, 2026 - Israel College Fair (see flyer below for more information)

• Thursday, October 29 - Student and Faculty Vaccine Clinic @ICJA (Click here to download the vaccine consent form.)

• Wednesday, November 18, 2026 - ICJA Open House for 7th and 8th Grade Students and Parents 6:45pm - 9:15pm - Click here to register.

• Thursday, November 26 - Friday, November 27 - Thanksgiving Break - no classes

• Tuesday, December 1 - Freshmen and Sophomores visit to the Anne Frank Exhibit at MSI

• Wednesday, December 2 - Juniors and Seniors visit to the Anne Frank Exhibit at MSI

• Friday evening, December 4 - Shabbat, December 12 - Chanukah - school is IN SESSION

• Wednesday, December 23 - Sunday, January 3 - Winter Break - no classes

• Monday, January 4 - School Resumes

Click here to view the October lunch menu.

Click here to view the 2026-2027 cafeteria price list.

Follow ICJA on WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram to stay up to date with school happenings.

Students learned valuable lessons about defending Israel on college campuses and beyond.

On Thursday, seniors participated in an Israel advocacy workshop for "Leaders of the Future" with the American Jewish Committee (AJC), exploring ways to speak about Israel with knowledge and confidence.

Corey Minkoff, Assistant Director, Student Affairs, at the American Jewish Committee, taught students how to identify differences between legitimate criticism of Israel and antizionism, and strategies for discussing difficult topics about Israel. The workshop helped prepare seniors for conversations about Israel on college campuses and beyond.

Thank you to the AJC and ICJA's Israel Advocacy Club for arranging this important event.

Students competed to display their knowledge about Bnei Yisrael's travels in the desert.

Sophomores in Rabbi Binyomin Segal's Chumash class are learning Sefer Bemidbar. This week, they put their knowledge of Bnei Yisrael’s 40 years of travel in the desert to the test with a lively game of Jeopardy.

Competing in categories covering dates, events, and the names of stops along the journey, students reviewed their learning and enjoyed friendly competition and encouragement during the game.

Students enjoyed a pop up at Skokie Sports Park.

On Wednesday, students settling into their 8th period classes got a surprise: the first pop up of the year.

Two groups of students - first juniors and seniors, then freshmen and sophomores - enjoyed the beautiful sunshine as they walked to Skokie Sports Park on Oakton and enjoyed snacks, a golf driving range, and mini golf.

Thank you to Mrs. Alissa Zeffren, Rav Mordy Greenland, and all the staff who helped make this pop up such a fun event.

(Pictured above: freshman Keren Shyovitz, sophomore Ila Sklar, and freshmen Shayna Goldberg, Hindy Steinberg, Eliana Lifsics, and Abby Goldman)

Pictured above: senior Archer Gradstein

Pictured above: sophomores Meital Kalman and Ayla Needle

Pictured above: senior Ami Appel

Students ask: what affects medicine absorption?

What factors affect the body's ability to absorb medications? Students in Dr. Zoe Hoeppner's Science of Medicines elective recently performed a series of experiments to find out. Students disolved asprin, ibuprofrin, Advil, and other medications in a range of liquids, including water, lemon juice, bleach, and ginger ale, then recorded their observations.

This week, students took turns giving presentations on different factors that affected medications' dissolution, and speculated about how these factors influence the way that people absorb different types of medication and why.

Pictured above: senior Sophie Darlow discussing how and why viscosity affects dissolution and absorption

Pictured above: senior Julia Bitton explaining how and why temperature affects medicines' efficacy

Pictured above: senior Meira Schultz discussing how mixing and movement affect absorption and dissolution and why

Students are preparing to appear at ICJA's Open House for Prospective Students on November 18.

Students in ICJA's Concert Band and Advanced Concert Band classes are preparing for their first concert, at the Open House for Prospective Students next month.

Boys are working on mastering pieces by the classic American rock group Redbone, while girls are learning Should I Stay or Should I Go by The Clash.

Pictured above: sophomore Idan Khmelnitsky

Pictured above: sophomores Jacob Leonard, Levi Weiss, Dov Finkel, and Ayden Frankel

Pictured above: sophomore Ephraim Volkov

Pictured above: sophomore Nechama Troppe

Pictured above: freshman Eliana Glenner

Pictured above: sophomore Isabella Navakas

Lady Running Aces Win Conference Championship.

Yasher kochachen to the Girls' Cross-Country team for winning their Conference Championship last Thursday evening.

Special mazal tov to our All-Conference members, Talia Bielak, Avital Segal, Maddy Goltz, Ronit Kinar, Eliana Levitt, Ava Ehrlich, and Rinat Dreytser, and to our amazing coaches, Mrs. Dana Hunter and Dr. David Shyovitz.

Boys Running Aces are Conference Championship Runners-Up.

Yasher koach to the Boys Running Aces, who were Conference Championship Runners-Up last Thursday.

Special Mazal Tov to All-Conference members Menachem Steinberg and Ari Shyovitz.

Boys Soccer achieves their best-ever season finish.

Yasher koach to the Aces Boys Soccer Team on finishing in the Top Four of their Conference; this was the best finish in Ida Crown history.

A special Yasher Koach to Ayden Mishkin and team captain William Moscovitch on earning All-Conference honors.

60 boys took part in ICBC's 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament

Last Motzaei Shabbat, 60 boys came out to Ida Crown for Ida Crown Boys' Club's (ICBC’s) 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament. The evening was filled with energy, friendly competition, and plenty of excitement on the court.

A special thank-you to our Mechanchim, Rabbi Menachem Rosenbaum, Rabbi Mayer Simcha Stromer, and Rav Mordy Greenland, for planning this exciting evening.

Thank you to all the boys who participated and everyone who helped make the tournament such a success. It was a great night of basketball, camaraderie, and school spirit.

Over 50 students, parents, and community members learned about careers in medicine with JOWMA.

On Monday, ICJA hosted over 50 students, parents, and community members for the Jewish Orthodox Women's Medical Association's (JOWMA’s) Careers in Medicine evening.

Students explored sleep medicine, first aid and CPR, physiatry, and geriatrics through hands-on activities led by medical professionals. The evening concluded with a physician panel moderated by JOWMA’s director of education, Dr. Jennie Berkovich, which included ICJA parents Dr. Bayla Benjamin and Dr. Naomi Fogel.

Panelists shared their career journeys and answered questions about preparing for medical careers, choosing specialties, and making aliyah. We were pleased to bring this opportunity to our campus, connecting students with physicians who can offer guidance as they explore their futures.

Thank you to JOWMA and the Walder Foundation for sponsoring this wonderful event.

Pictured above: sophomores Isabella Navakas, Yaffa Benjamin, and Eden Salvadori

Pictured above: students and parents listening to medical professionals describe their work

Pictured above: sophomore Eve Novick learning about first aid from EMT Karli Salinger '05

This week, ICJA Librarian Mrs. Debbie Steinberg highlights one of our Learning Commons holdings.

This week’s recommendation is one of my favorites: An Officer and a Spy by Robert Harris. I enjoy books about espionage, and this one is really suspenseful.

It's about a detective investigating the Dreyfus Affair, so it has a connection to Jewish history. It also describes the beginnings of modern counterespionage agencies, which is really interesting.

This book is fast paced; I personally think it would make a great movie!

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 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.

Student Council ICJA Swag

Student Council-designed ICJA swag is now available! Click on the button below to order!

Join our Alumni Facebook Group

Our “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 alumus/a, 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.

Calling all 3^rd – 12^th grade students attending an ATT school! It’s time for the Pogrund Family Essay and Judaic Artwork Contests! Demonstrate your writing and/or art skills as you explore a Judaic topic. Winners receive a $50.00 check. Deadline for art/essay submission is Wednesday, January 13, 2027. FOR ESSAY/ARTWORK RULES AND GUIDELINES, visit www.att.org → For Students or call ATT at 773-973-2828 

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.