Upcoming Events

• Wednesday, September 11 - ICJA Simulated School Night, New Parent Orientation, and Senior Class Parents Meeting

• Thursday, September 12 - Club Hub during 5th and 6th

• Friday, September 13 - All-school assembly with Hadas Lowenstern, whose husband was killed in Gaza as he rescued wounded soldiers

• September 18-19, 2024 - All School Retreat @ Camp CHI (Please click HERE to sign up and HERE to pay for the retreat. Financial assistance is available; please contact Mr. Yona Bildner to discuss this.)

Students celebrated Rosh Chodesh Elul.

As students returned to school on Tuesday, they celebrated Rosh Chodesh Elul with all-school davening, followed by a special doughnut breakfast.

Pictured above: doughuts before they were all gone

Pictured above: sophomores Zahava Volkov and Goldie Boyarskiy

Pictured above: freshman Evan Jones and juniors Adin Jones

Students heard from two Israeli speakers this week.

On Tuesday morning after Shacharit, students watched a video (pictured above) of the hesped that Rachel Goldberg Polin '87 delivered Monday at the funeral of her son, Hersh Goldberg Polin HY"D.

Later on Tuesday afternoon students heard a moving presentation by Ariella Ruback, who was an IDF border observer on October 7th, was stationed less than three minutes from the border with Gaza. She described how she survived the October 7th massacre and talked about her fellow soldiers.

Nearly 100 students attended ICBC's Kickoff Event.

On Tuesday evening, nearly 100 students travelled to Wrigley Field after school for Ida Crown Boys' Club's (ICBC's) first field trip of the year. Even though the Cubs lost to the Pirates, students enjoyed an evening of fun and camaraderie. Students also enjoyed picnic dinners they'd brought and davened Maariv together at Wrigley Field.

Thank you to ICJA Mechanchim Rabbi Mayer Simcha Stromer and Rabbi Menachem Rosenbaum for organizing the outing, and to the faculty and administrators who chaperoned this fun event.

Pictured above: sophomore Caleb Novick

Pictured above: juniors Jack Marshall, Zachary Fogel, Aiden Rich, Ben Rosenburg, Noam Hellman, and Ezra Mauer

Pictured above: senior Meir Zayan with Cubs mascot Clark

Students discussed their feelings about Israel during this tumultous week.

This week juniors in Mrs. Noa Nussbaum's honors Chumash class spoke about their feelings about Israel, particularly in light of recent events and the speakers they heard in school on Tuesday.

Mrs. Nussbaum shared her own experiences in Israel this summer, including her husband being called up recently. Students then took turns adding to a chart on the board which reflected on how immediate they feel news from Israel is compared with other items taking place in their daily lives.

Students found that they all felt that Israel is "near" to them all the time and discussed why this is and how they cope with news, both good and bad.

Pictured above: students discussing their feelings about israel

Pictured above: Penina Benjamin and Elisheva Deangelis

Pictured above: Rivki Belsh

Students are mastering Geometric Sequences - and also celebrated a birthday this week.

Students in Mrs. Marlene Wasserstrom's Algebra II / Trigonometry class are in the midst of reviewing Geometric Sequences and Geometric Series. On Wednesday, they took time out to sing Happy Birthday to Mrs. Wasserstrom, who has taught at ICJA for over 50 years and celebrated her birthday with students in her classes this week.

Pictured above: juniors Aaron Katz and Michael Matveyev

Pictured above: juniors Jessica Michaeli and Caley Gordon

Pictured above: juniors Ezra Mauer and Noah Lehrfield with Mrs. Wasserstrom

Students learned in ICGC Inspo Board's first Rosh Chodesh Chabura of the year.

On Wednesday, nearly fifty girls attended Ida Crown Girls' Club's Inspo Board's first Rosh Choesh Chabura of the year. Students enjoyed a complimentary pizza lunch while they discussed the deeper meaning of L’Dodi Hashem Ori, said throughout Elul. Yasher koach to seniors Zehava Piltz and Allie Stein for leading this insightful program.

Students are crafting personal essays.

Seniors in Mrs. Arons’s Creative Writing class are working on personal projects that can form the bases of college application essays. Each student is composing an examination of a moment in their life which illustrates a positive attribute they possess. Compositions describe instances of great meaning inside and outside of school and are a great way for students to practice creative writing and self-reflection.

Pictured above: Meir Zayan

Rachel Freed, Leah Rina Brochin, and Shei Beiles

Pictured above: Mrs. Arons critiquing students' work

The Aces began last Sunday's game with a prayer for Israeli hostages.

Last Sunday, the Aces played Fasman Yeshiva High School, winning 4-3.

Before the game began, and in light of the terrible news from Israel Motzai Shabbat, the team paused to say Tehillim before the game. Senior Aidan Zukerman led players and fans in davening for the remaining hostages.

It was a somber start to the game and helped students connect with Israel and each other and klal Yisrael.

Freshmen are learning Masechet Brachot.

Freshmen in Rabbi Louis Fliegelman's Talmud class are learning Masechet Brachot.

This week students learned about times one must say the Shema, and discussed why saying the Shema is an obligation.

Pictured above: David Carlsen

Pictured above: Mijael Mora

Pictured above: Aaron Gelb

Freshmen boys enjoyed a lunch with Rabbi Menachem Rosenbaum and with "Doc Phil" Zbaraz.

On Thursday, freshman boys with 6th period lunch enjoyed a fun group lunch together and with Mechanech Rabbi Menachem Rosenbaum and Director of Student Social Services Mr. Phil Zbaraz, LCPC ("Doc Phil).

Boys ate pizza and enjoyed getting to know one another outside the classroom during this second week of school.

(Pictured above: Binyamin Friedman with Rabbi Rosenbaum)

Pictured above: Andrew Burgher, Lior Kirschner, Akiva Mishkin, and Coby Gordon

Pictured above: Zachary Kupietzky and Yair Dreytser

Pictured above: Menachem Dukes and Yoni Hellman

Sophomores observed chemical reactions.

Sophomores in Mr. Jonathan Keller's Concept chemistry got to experience the four signs of a chemical reaction this week by reacting Sodium Bicarbonate (baking soda), Calcium Chloride, Phenol Red, and water.

When mixed together, the chemicals changed color and temperature, and exhibited bubbling and solid transformation. Students then had to deduce which chemicals created a given chemical reaction by reacting separately with any two chemicals. Students wrote up their findings and described how they used the scientific method to identify cause and effect by using independent and dependent variables. 

(Pictured above: Sarah Cherney, Shira Lavi, and Sophie Rine)

Freshmen and their relatives davened together last Sunday at Bais Chaim Dovid Corner Minyan in Lincolnwood.

Many Sunday mornings, ICJA's freshmen boys' rebbe, Rabbi Louis Fliegelman, arranges for students and their fathers (or grandfathers or other relatives) to meet at a different Chicago-area shul to daven Shacharit together and enjoy breakfast and learning.

Last Sunday, in the first event of the schoolyear, they gathered at Bais Chaim Dovid Corner Minyan in Lincolnwood.



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

This week's learning dedications include:

Tuesday, 29 Av - Friday, 3 Elul, 5784, September 2 - September 6, 2024, by Anonymous, as a week of learning in memory of Hersh Goldberg Polin

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 English teacher Mrs. Tirza Kahan.

English teacher Mrs. Tirza Kahan is a beloved fixture here at Ida Crown. This week, we caught up with Mrs. Kahan and asked her a few questions about herself.

Where did you grow up and go to school?

I grew up in the Bronx and attended Beis Yaakov, then went to Yeshiva University High School for Girls. I earned my BA and MA at City College of New York.

Since then, I've taken Professional Development classes at many interesting places, including The New York Times, the Folger Shakespeare Library, and the Art Insitute of Chicago.

What brought you to Chicago?

My husband Samuel is an economist and came here for work 41 years ago. We live in West Rogers Park, and raised our three children here: Jonathan, Zahava, and Zippora '97.

How did you decide to go into education?

I always wanted to be a teacher. I like learning from my students. The day I stop learning from my students is the day I retire.

What do you love about working here at Ida Crown?

The students! I also love the warm atmosphere here. I really enjoy it when my students come back and visit after they graduate, so that I get to know the rest of the story: what they've been doing since high school.

Can you describe some favorite Ida Crown memories?

I remember the speech my daughter gave at the National Honor Society induction, when she thanked me. That was a wonderful moment. I also love celebrating Yom HaAtzmaut here in school.

What hobbies do you enjoy?

I like to read a lot, both fiction and non-fiction. I enjoy reading murder mysteries. I also crochet. My favorite hobby, though, is helping my grandchildren with their homework!

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!

Watch this moving video documenting some of the volunteer activities our seniors participated in during their month-long Mission to Israel!

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.

Please click HERE to sign up and HERE to pay for the retreat. Financial assistance is available; please contact Mr. Yona Bildner to discuss aid.

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.