Upcoming Events

• Monday, May 15 - "Academy Sports Academy," a weekly workshop for boys ages 10-17 at ICJA (see flyer below for more details) - 5:45-7:15pm

• Tuesday, May 16 and Thursday, May 18 - Boys' Night Seder @Skokie Kollel - 8pm (This a biweekly, recurring activity when school is in session.)



• Tuesday, May 16 - CIJE Innovation Fair @ICJA (see flyer below)

• Thursday, May 18 - Father-Son Pre-Shavuot Night Seder for 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th grade boys @ICJA (See flyer below for more details.)

• Friday, May 19 - Yom Yerushalayim

• Sunday, May 21 - Concert for Women and Girls with Israeli Singing Sensation Inbar Tabib '95 - 7:30pm (There is no charge but registration is required - click here to register.)

• Sunday, May 21 - Tuesday, May 23 - Columbus Baseball Tournament

• Friday, May 26 - Saturday, May 27 - Shavuot Break

• Monday, May 28 - Memorial Day (no school)

• Thursday, May 30 - Thursday, June 1 - Senior Retreat - click here to sign up (To discuss financial assistance for this event, please email Michael London, mlondon@icja.org.)

• Sunday, June 4 - Graduation - 1pm

• Monday, June 12 - Edward A. Crown Scholarship Dinner - click here to register

ICJA students celebrated Lag B'Omer on Tuesday with a special lunchtime, filled with outdoor games, a gala BBQ lunch, bonfires, music, and s'mores!

On Tuesday, students celebrated Lag B'Omer with an action-backed double lunch hour.

We lucked out with beautiful Spring weather, as students listened to music outside, enjoyed bonfires and s'mores (pictured here), and enjoyed outdoor games.

Thank you to Rabbi Binyomin Segal for grilling our grand Lag B'Omer BBQ lunch. Thank you to Mrs. Alissa Zeffren for organizing the day's fun events.

Pictured above: freshmen Macks Kroll, Akiva Wolkenfeld, and Eli Fretzin

Pictured above: sophomores Sarah Lipson, Hadar Simkovich, Sarah Levitt, Eliana Levine, Yardena Schayer, Kaela Nagel, Zahava Piltz, and Tali Weiss

Pictured above: sophomores Aidan Zukerman, Ezra Comrov, and Avner Frazin

Boys celebrated a siyum on Shas Mishna.

On Tuesday, ICJA boys celebrated a siyum on Shas Mishna. Seniors Yaakov David and Gideon Miller began learning Mishnayot together last year during breakfasts at ICJA. This week, they made a siyum on Shas Mishna, the entirety of the Mishna - Yasher koach!

Following the siyum, boys danced, then enjoyed a special BBQ ribs buffet, cooked by Rabbi Binyomin Segal.

At the celebration, Mechanech Rabbi Menachem Rosenbaum a new optional program of learning a portion of Mishna each day during breakfast; the following morning, several boys began learning with him.

Pictured above: seniors Gideon Miller and Yaakov David

Pictured above: Rabbi Menachem Rosenbaum announcing the new learning program

The founder and director of "Jew in the City" spent time with ICJA girls here at school on Monday.

On Monday this week, Ida Crown Girls' Club (ICGC) brought a special visitor to our school: Allison Josephs, who founded and continues to direct Jew in the City, an organization dedicated to educating people about Orthodox Judaism, to improving the way Orthodox Jews are depicted in movies and on TV, and to solving pressing issues within the Jewish community.

Ms. Josephs inspired our students at this all-girls school-wide event, explaining her professional and spiritual journey, and encouraging girls to follow their passions. Ms. Josephs also discussed the myriad ways people can impact the world, telling our students: "You don't need to be in the limelight to make a difference. Making a quiet difference is often even more powerful." After speaking and taking questions from our students, Ms. Josephs stayed for lunch, continuing her conversation with students.

ICGC is generously sponsored by a grant from the Walder Foundation.

Thank you to Board President Julie Thomas for helping facilitate this major event.

On Monday night, over 65 girls celebrated Lag B'Omer with bonfires, divrei Torah, food, and song.

Monday night, over 65 girls attended Ida Crown Girls' Club's Lag B'Omer festivities, sharing divrei Torah, enjoying snacks, and engaging in fun singing.

ICJA's Girls' Soccer Team qualified for the Regional Championship for the first time, after beating RZ!

Wednesday night, May 10, saw a hard-fought battle between ICJA and RZ on RZ's home turf, which went into overtime.

In the first half of overtime, sophomore Daria Lennon scored, assisted by sophomore Talia Linzer. In the second half of the overtime, RZ got a goal to send the game into a penalty shootout. In the penalty shootout, sophomore Ella Perlman scored the first shot. Junior Rena Neiger, our goalie, saved four penalties, which left the game winning penalty up to junior Jordana Zwelling, which she capitalized to send Ida Crown to their first Regional Championship! 

Come cheer the Aces on Friday before Shabbat, at 3pm at RZ, as the Aces face off against Woodland's Academy.

Above: junior Jordana Zwelling's winning penalty

On Wednesday night, student contributors to Charlotte's Web presented their work.

On Wednesday night, May 10, students and parents came together for the annual Charlotte's Web Live Performance. Contributors to this year's edition of ICJA's award-winning literary magazine, Charlotte's Web, displayed artwork and read their poetry and prose works.

Thank you to English teacher and Charlotte's Web faculty advisor Mrs. Marsha Arons for making this evening a great success.

Pictured above: artwork that appears in this year's edition of Charlotte's Web

Pictured above: sophomore Aliza Shyovitz reading aloud her essay "Freedom at the Falls"

On Thursday evening, seniors in Mrs. Sheri Goldstein's Public Speaking Class came together with their peers and parents to perform spoken pieces they prepared.

Seniors in Ms. Sheri Goldstein's Public Speaking class capped their year by delivering original speeches on different aspects of their high school experiences.

In speech after speech, students told funny, touching stories about teachers who made a difference in their lives or activities that helped them grow and learn more about themselves.

Pictured above: Adi Seruya delivering his speech "Thank You, Mr. Harris," explaining how Associate Dean Daniel Harris has provided support, feedback, and a sympathetic ear to Adi throughout his four years at Ida Crown.

Pictured above: Carmel Schreiber delivering a speech about the positive impact that English Teacher Mrs. Tirza Kahan has made in her life

Pictured above: Charlie Singer delivering a speech about the support and feedback that Hebrew teacher Mrs. Shelley Stopek has provided him throughout his time at ICJA

Last Sunday, freshman boys and their fathers were invited to daven together at Telshe Yeshiva.

Last Sunday, students and family gathered at Telshe (also known as Tells) Yeshiva, where they enjoyed davening then breakfast and learning together.

Pictured above: Boaz Stopek with his father Mr. Jonathan Stopek and his younger brothers; Natan Rine with his father Mr. Yudi Rine; Rabbi Shmuel Yeshaya Keller, the Rosh Yeshiva of Telshe Yeshiva; Josh Miller with his father Mr. David Miller; Avi Rubin with his father Dr. Robert Rubin and his brother, ICJA junior Jonah Rubin; Gabriel Boches and his father Mr. Jeremy Boshes;, Aaron Katz; and Eli Gelb with his father Dr. Mike Gelb

Students raced remote-controlled cars they programmed and built from scratch.

Students in Mr. Jonathan Keller's STEM Engineering class have been building remote-controlled cars and programming them using arduino software. This week, the entire class conducted a race to see whose cars could complete a complicated driving course first.

Pictured above: seniors Charli Ernstein, Andrew Bersson, and Gabrielle Rosenzweig racing one another

Pictured above: seniors Daniel Carl, Avi Zeller, and Mosh Drutman racing their cars against each other

Pictured above: seniors Charlie Singer and Yonatan Nudman pitting their cars against each other

Students drew parallels with contemporary life as they learned Sefer Yirmiyahu.

This week, juniors in Mrs. Lynn Kraft's concepts Navi class began learning Perek Vav in Sefer Yirmayahu, discussing b'nei Yisrael's response to Yirmayahu's harsh rebukes. Students noted that Yirmayahu warning to b'nei Yisrael not to sin at home and then behave piously in public resonates today.

In fact, students learned, the contemporary term "den of thieves" comes from this section in Yirmayahu, when Yirmayahu rhetorically asks whether sinners want to turn the Beit Hamikdash into a "den of thieves" by congretating there after they sinned.

Pictured above: students asking questions as they learned b'chavruta

Pictured above: Nava Cohen

Students recorded themselves learning Gemara.

Freshmen in Rabbi Louis Fliegelman's are learning Brachot. This week, students recorded themselves reading the text smoothly, reflecting their many months of practice.

Pictured above: Noah Lehrfield

Pictured above: Benny Kalman

Pictured above: Max Gorenstein

This week, sophomore boys in Rabbi Joel Gutstein's Talmud class had the chance to perform Birkat Ilanot.

On Thursday morning this week, May 11, sophomores in Rabbi Joel Gutstein's Talmud class took a trip to their Rabbi's house in order to perform Birkat HaIlanot, making a bracha on the first flowering fruit tree they've seen this year.

Following Birkat HaIlanot (Blessing the Trees), students enjoyed a home-cooked pancake breakfast at Rabbi Gutstein's house, where they continued learning.

Students took an architectural boat tour of Chicago, viewing many of the architectural features they've learned about this year.

On Thursday, May 11, students in Dr. Gavriel Brown's Architecture class took a field trip downtown to learn about Chicago's architecture on a boat tour along the Chicago River. Students were able to view many of the architectural features they've been learning about in class and gain a deeper understanding of hthey interact with the cityscape in real life.

Pictured above: seniors Yaakov David, Caleb Gutstein, and Sam Gurvich, in the background, looking at buildings

Pictured above: the class posing outside the embarkation point

Sixteen ICJA juniors were honored in this year's Letters About Literature state-wide awards!

Yasher koach to the sixteen ICJA juniors who received awards in this year's state-wide Letters About Literature competition!

Finalists included:

Shuli Falk, Jacob Friedman, Hayden Gradstein, Adam Katz, Dory Marshall, Arney Neiger, Rena Neiger, Aiden Novick, Yonah Rubim, Jordana Zwelling, and Noa Gavant

Semifinalists included:

Rotem Lavi and Jed Marcus

Honorable Mentions included:

Taly Benzaquen, Bella Schwartz, and Shayna Weinstein

We're accepting donations of gently-used uniform items at the front desk.

We are collecting gently-used ICJA uniform items for our Uniform Exchange. This program allows students to purchase low-cost used uniform clothing, raising money for ICJA's Parent Academy Associates, and eliminating waste and the amount of clothing that goes into landfills.

If you would like to donate, please bring your gently used items to the front office. Thank you.

Watch this year's 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.

Watch Rabbi Berel Wein's '50 inspiring remarks at the ICJA Israel Reunion, Jerusalem, November 2022!

Watch highlights of our inspiring Israel Reunion, Jerusalem, November 2022!

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.

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.

The Associated Talmud Torahs of Chicago invites the community to its Evening with the Stars. Join the ATT as it presents student awards at its Awards Presentation and Annual Meeting, on Wednesday evening, May 17, 2023, at Ida Crown Jewish Academy, 8233 Central Park Avenue, Skokie. The program will begin at 7:15 pm. For more information, call the ATT: 773-973-2828.

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.