IDA CROWN JEWISH ACADEMY
Upcoming Events

  • Thursday, February 10 - ICGC Event 7pm. (Sign up here.)

  • Thursday, February 10 - Hillel Torah North Suburban Day School visit to ICJA

  • Motzei Shabbat, February 12 - 3on3 Tournament, 9-10:30pm (Sign up here.)

  • Wednesday, February 16 - ICJA Mishmar for boys in 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th grades 8:15pm

  • Sunday, February 20 - Tabachim Club Event - Online Private Cooking Lesson with Zelda's Catering - 1pm (See flyer below to sign up.)

  • Thursday, March 3 - ICJA Ann Rita Schwartz, z"l Chesed Day 

  • Shabbat, March 18-19 - Senior Shabbaton

  • Shabbat, April 8-9 - ICGC Shabbaton

  • Tuesday, April 26 - In-School SAT Test for all juniors (no charge)
To Review ICJA's COVID protocols (updated Dec. 30, 2021) - Click here
Two Juniors Win Literary Prizes,
as Does Charlotte's Web
Yaasher Kochachen to Juniors Charlie Ernstein and Michal Bechhofer, and to Mrs. Marsha Arons,
Charlotte's Web faculty advisor.
Charlotte's Web, the Literary Magazine of ICJA, won two awards this year. Last week, it won First place in its category from the American Scholastic Writing Awards.

This week, Charlotte's Web was selected to receive the rank of Excellent in the 2021 NCTE Recognizing Excellence in Art and Literary Magazines (REALM) program, placing it in the top 6% of all literary magazines.

Charlotte's Web is generously supported by the Susan and Joseph Ament Fund.
Two ICJA juniors were honored by the American Scholastic Writing Awards this week:

Charlie Ernstein (pictured above left) received the Golden Key award.

Michal Bechhofer (pictured above right) received an Honorable Mention, Midwest Region.
Senior Boys Varsity Basketball Night
The Aces won on a night dedicated to
celebrating the team's seniors.
On Monday evening January 31st, ICJA played Holy Trinity in one of the last home games of the year. At halftime, we honored the senior boys on the varsity team. Parents and grandparents came to watch the game and join in the celebrations.

Sophomore Yonah Rubin made the evening even more special by creating a two minute introductory video for the event, as well as highlight videos for each player. Senior Noam Weissman also helped create these meaningful videos.

Yasher koach to all the seniors on the team for a great season: Yoni Arnet, Noam Braun, Joey Cohen, Eitan Comrov, Ariel Kahnrose, Jonah Matanky, Jon Okner, Matthew Schreiber, and Jonathan Thomas on a great season.

Yasher koach to Coach Dr. Jonathan Rich for leading them.
Pictured above left: senior Jonah Matanky and his parents.

Pictured above right: senior Noam Braun and his parents.

(Both photos taken by sophomore Yona Rubin)
Senior Wrestling Night
ICJA Wrestlers honored the team's seniors this week.
ICJA's wrestling team concluded their season on Tuesday, February 1, 2022, competing against St. Viator. Several Aces triumphed in the match: junior captain Menachem Reed, sophomore Ari Klein, sophomore Gabriel Klein, freshman Avner Frazin, junior Moshe Osgood, sophomore Benny Lowenthal, freshman Avi Chen, junior captain Avi Zeller, and sophomore Millo Benmelech all emerged victorious from their bouts.

During the evening, seniors Aryeh Schwartz and Chuck Moscovitch were honored for their career accomplishments.

The Aces next travel to Walther Christian in Melrose Park for the IHSA Regionals on Motzei Shabbat. As has been the custom, the tournament is specially moved away from Shabbat so that the Aces can participate. The wrestlers will conducted their own Shabbaton in a hotel near the tournament site.  
Pictured left: junior captain Avi Zeller after winning on Tuesday night

Pictured above: sophomore Gabriel Klein after his win on Tuesday
Mrs. Friedman's 10th Grade Honors Chumash Class
Students gained new insights into Sotah.
In Mrs. Friedman's 10th Grade Honors Chumash class, students chose projects to illustrate the concept of the sotah trial in the Torah. This group of students decided to act it out in a play, complete with props and costumes.

"We are recreating the sotah trial - it helps us understand the process of sotah," sophomore Jacob Friedman explained.

Pictured left: Jacob Friedman and Jed Marcus

Pictured below: Sammy Polster, Joey Levy, Jacob Friedman and Jed Marcus
Mrs. Yitzhak's 9th Grade Bible Class
Students discussed the 8th Egyptian plague - locusts - and learned about people eating locusts today.
Students in Mrs. Yitzhak's Freshman Girls Bible class are learning about the makah - plague - of locusts in ancient Egypt.

"Imagine that you are sleeping on top of a lawnmower - you'd go out of your mind from the noise," Mrs. Yitzhak explained. That was something like this plague: one way it harmed the Egyptians was by creating intense, loud noise from swarms of locusts.

Swarms of locusts also caused famine. "There was no food during the plague, so the Egyptians ate the grasshoppers," explained Maytal Needle (pictured right)

Students then were treated to a video describing the way a real-life restaurant is preparing locusts to eat today. "I hope you've already had your breakfast," Mrs. Yitzhak said before starting the film.
Rabbi Fliegelman's Freshman Boys Talmud Sunday Morning Learning at Congregation Or Torah
Last week, some students in Rabbi Fliegelman's Freshman boys Talmud class gathered to daaven, eat breakfast,
and share insights they learned in class.
On Sunday morning, January 30, 2022, some of the students in Rabbi Fliegelman's Freshman boys Talmud class, along with their relatives, gathered at Congregation Or Torah.

They davened Shacharit and share insights of Torah learning that they learned in their classroom.

Pictured: Ezra Comrov with his father, Gabe Aberman with his father, Ami Weiss with his father, and Jacob Friedman with his grandfather Steve Erenberg.
Mr. Sears's Conceptual Physics Class
Students tested materials for electronic resistance.
Students in Mr. Sears's Conceptual Physics class are learning about series versus parallel connections in electricity.

"Our conceptual physics class got a little bit carried away during an experiment to test how much resistance a wire has compared with a lightbulb.

Students noticed that adding more wires to the circuit didn’t really affect the current going through the battery. So they tried to figure out how many wires they could connect and get a roughly 20% reduction in current." - Mr. Sears

They found that it took about 50 wires connected end to end to achieve the desired 20% reduction in electrical current.

Pictured: juniors Adiel Seruya, Moshe Drutman, Jordyn Baker, Rachel Adar, Dena Simon, and Zach Miller
Rosh Chodesh Adar Aleph Pop-Up
Students enjoyed a fun basketball pop-up on
Wednesday, February 2, Rosh Chodesh Adar Aleph.
One highlight of the morning was when the senior girls and senior boys went head to head in a game of knockout.

With girls outnumbered by boys at the pop-up, Rabbi Matanky promised a pizza lunch to the senior girls if they won.

The senior girls did win. Shoutout to Dini Robinson, who scored the winning basket.

Thank you to our Faculty Coordinators Rabbi Yoni Fox and Mrs. Alissa Zeffren for organizing this wonderful event!
Pictured in the video above: freshmen Cobi Engel and Avi Meyer.

Pictured in video left: juniors Emma Felix and Jordyn Baker
Pictured left: seniors Yolie Starck, Sophie Fretzin and Kayla Well

Pictured above: freshman boys getting ready to play
Rabbi Fliegelman's "Decisions" Class for Juniors
This week, Rabbi Fliegelman began his "Decisions" class for ICJA juniors to introduce them to the college application process.
"Decisions" is a 6-week course that helps ICJA juniors learn about the college admissions process. The course is mandatory for all ICJA juniors.

Students learn what questions to ask as they look at colleges and begin to think about the elements of a successful college application.

The first week's assignment was to begin thinking about how to build an "activity resume" listing their high school activities and interests. "How are you going to enhance their campus?" Rabbi Fliegelman advised students to think as they construct their activity resumes.
Ms. Sennett's Western Civilization Class
The class put King Charles I on trial - and voted
against the 17th Century English monarch.
On Thursday, February 3, Ms. Sennett's Western Civilization class put Charles I on trial.

The prosecution, led by Aliza Shyovitz, wanted Charles executed for his crimes against his people. The defense, led by Yossi Burstyn, argued that as a divine right ruler his power could not be limited by man.

"While the defense made excellent arguments in favor of the divine right of kings, the prosecution’s argument that since the Magna Carta a ruler cannot tax his subject without Parliament’s consent won the day.... " - Ms. Sennett

Pictured below left: freshman Daria Lennon is King Charles I and freshman Aliza Shyovitz is the lead prosecutor in the trial.

Pictured below right: freshmen Yossi Burstyn and Daria Lennon
Dr. Brown's Architectural Design Class
Students took a field trip to view a nearby house that's being remodeled by an ICJA alumnus.
On Thursday, February 3, students in Dr. Brown's Architectural Design course got to experience real-world architectural decisions when they visited a house that is being renovated by ICJA alumnus Jason Amrani (ICJA Class of 2000), owner of Chase Properties & Investments LLC.

Jason walked the students through the renovation project and talked about the differences between ranches, split levels, and traditional Georgian residential architecture. He also showed students architectural blueprints and talked about how looks at spaces and big building projects. Jason has agreed to welcome the students back later on to see how the project is progessing.
ICGC Board Members Welcome ICJA Board Member and Past President Miki Jona Schreiber
Mrs. Schreiber taught ICGC's board members how to run a successful board meeting.
This year, the ICGC board formed three different committees to focus on different leadership skills over the course of the year: planning and organization; delegating requirements; and problem solving.

This week, the planning and organization subcommittee held a lunchtime meeting with Mrs. Schreiber to learn about how to run a successful board meeting.
Pictured above: Mrs. Miki Jona Schrieber with freshman Daria Lennon, senior Laura Bellows, sophomore Nava Cohen, and Junior Adina Margolin

Pictured left: Mrs. Schreiber running the lunchtime meeting.

(Note: masks were removed for purposes of eating and drinking only, for less than 15 minutes.)
Mrs. Kahan's Pre-AP 10th Grade English Class
Learning about quilting to better understand a short story.
Mrs. Kahan's 10th grade pre-AP English class is reading the short story "Everyday Use" by Alice Walker, about a family that is divided over who should inherit a family heirloom quilt.

In order to help students understand just why quilts can be so valuable, Mrs. Kahan's cousin Preeva Adler Tramiel, who is a quilter in California, prepared a presentation about quilting, which she delivered via Zoom.

"Now the students understand the work that goes into making a quilt," Mrs. Kahan explained.
Practicing for ICJA Takes the Stage
Choir practice started this week for the Springtime show.
Students began choir practice this week for ICJA Takes the Stage, a gala Springtime event that gives students the chance to plan all aspects of this major event, and to showcase their many talents.

This week's choir practice focused on perfecting the song Hashem Yimloch.

Pictured here: ICJA Takes the Stage advisor Talia Molotsky, freshman Aliza Shyovitz and sophomore Jordana Zwelling.

ICJA Takes is sponsored by The Ralla Klepak Foundation for Education in the Performing Arts.
Mr. Sears and ICJA Alumni Publish 2 Papers
After years of work, two physics papers were published this week.
One paper took three years to complete; another took five. After countless edits and revisions, two physics papers written by Mr. Sears and ICJA alumni were finally published this week in The Physics Teacher.

Back in 2017, ICJA physics teacher Mr. Allen Sears led a group of students studying the eclipse that year and its effect on cosmic ray activity. Students spent a week taking measurements in Missouri, where the eclipse was total. The following year, Mr. Sears led another student team in further research on muons at Fermilab National Accelerator Laboratory. Both groups presented their results at meetings of the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT), and submitted papers to AAPT's journal, The Physics Teacher.

The two papers are now on the journal's website. Solar Eclipse and Cosmic Ray Flux can be read here. Beyond the Classroom: Profiling Muon Flux in Relation to Overburden in Fermilab's MINOS Tunnel can be read here.

Pictured at a 2018 conference above: Jacob Miller '20, Max Miller '20, Benny Grey '21, and Mr. Sears. Pictured below: Mr. Sears, Jacob Miller '20, Tamar Dallal '19, Masha Matten '19, and Ezra Schur '19 (along with two adult researchers) in Missouri in 2017
Rabbi Binyomin Segal Learning New Skills to Help Upgrade ICJA's Tech
Rabbi Segal attended the first in person Future of Education Technology Conference (FETC) in two years.
Rabbi Binyomin Segal met with educational technology experts from around the country when he attended the FETC Conference in Florida this week.

"I feel that our success (in online learning) during Covid was due to having national resources to draw on." - Rabbi Segal

This week, Rabbi Segal met with Apple executives to learn about new programs for IPads and met with experts in Canvas, the educational technology platform that ICJA will be switching to from Haiku next year. (Rabbi Segal provided this picture of a lunchtime meeting with fellow educational technology experts.)
Spotlight on Student to Student
This week we caught up with Mrs. Alissa Zeffren,
Student to Student Chicagoland Director, to ask her about this popular program.
How did Student to Student get its start at ICJA?
I was the chaperone and faculty mentor for the Ida Crown students at national NCSY's JUMP conference in the 2018-9 school year.

The timing of the conference that year was just weeks after the tragic shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh.

The focus of the conference was on empowering the teens to make an impact in their communities in the areas of Jewish education and/or Jewish advocacy. Due to the recent shooting, the students and I felt it was necessary to find a way to tackle antisemitism in a meaningful and hands-on way. They didn't just want to talk about antisemitism and raise awareness, they wanted to actively do something about it as teens.

As the students discussed the possibilities of what they could do to combat antisemitism in their own communities, I was reminded of the JCRC's Student to Student program based in St. Louis, which my husband participated in growing up.

We reached out to the program director in St. Louis to find out whether it was possible to bring the Student to Student program to Chicago and to run the program out of Ida Crown. The timing could not have been better, because the St. Louis Student to Student had just received a grant the previous year to begin expanding to new cities. 
 
How does Student to Student work?
We recruit and train Jewish high school teens from Orthodox, Reform, and Conservative backgrounds to present about Judaism in public and parochial high school classrooms with low to no Jewish population.

Jewish teens present in groups of 4-5 on topics such as the Jewish life cycle, Shabbat, Kashrut, Holocaust and antisemitism, and Israel. The presentations are engaging and interactive, with Q & A throughout. 

Student to Student creates positive face-to-face educational experiences about Judaism, combats antisemitism, and empowers Jewish teens as leaders. 
 
How has Student to Student grown?
We first launched the Ida Crown Student to Student program in spring of 2019 with 30 participants and four partnering schools. That year, we reached close to 400 teens in the classrooms.

Today, B"H, we have 80 participants and we are in close to 15 schools. By the end of February, we will have presented to nearly 1,500 teens in the classrooms this year alone. 
 
What's your biggest challenge?
Recruiting more teens outside of Ida Crown and recruiting new schools to present to!
 
How does Student to Student affect the teens who take part?
Presenters feel like they are on the front lines, creating positive relationships and experiences to help confront antisemitism.

The students develop the language and tools to have meaningful conversations about Judaism and to celebrate what they believe and practice to teens with low exposure to Jews and what it means to be Jewish. 
 
What feedback have you received?
We've received overwhelmingly positive feedback from our student presenters and the classroom teachers who have hosted Student to Student presentations. One alumna, who's now at Brandeis, recently shared that her involvement in Student to Student gave her the skills to be able to explain Judaism to her non-Jewish roommates, classmates, and professors. 
 
One of our partnering teachers at Naperville North shared that on his Comparative Religion course final, many of his students share that the most memorable and meaningful part of the course was when they heard from our presenters. 
 
After every presentation we send an exit survey to students in the audience, and some of the most frequent comments that the students make is how engaging, interesting, and inspiring the presentations are, and they appreciate the chance to hear from teens their own age about how Judaism impact their lives. Many have said they were shocked to hear that Jewish teens today continue to experience antisemitism. 
 
What are some of your best memories from Student to Student?
The most notable moments and memories are when the presenters connect with the student audience through the informal questions and answers. The audiences are always impressed with our students' openness and candor in answering all of their questions.

It is also special when the students in the audience want to share back with our presenters about their own lives and faiths. At our last set of presentations, one student in the audience shared that his grandmother was also a Holocaust survivor. And of course, the mock wedding during the discussion of the Jewish life cycle is always a crowd favorite! 

Student to Student is always looking for new students to sign up. If you know of any Jewish teens from anywhere in the Chicago area who would like to take part, please send them the link here for an interest form to fill out.
This Week's Learning Dedications
This week's sponsors included:
Monday, the 29th of Shevat, January 31, 2022 through Friday, February 4, the 3rd of Adar 1, by Barbara and George Hanus, in memory of John Hanus, z"l, in commemoration of his 54th yahrtzeit, which is observed on Rosh Chodesh Adar 1

Monday, the 29th of Shevat, January 31, 2022, by Sharon and Seymour Gertz, in memory of Doris Rosenberg, z"l , דבורה אסתר בת דוד, ז"ל

Tuesday, the 30th of Shevat, February 1, 2022, by Deva, Josh, Jacob (ICJA '15), Madison, Avidgor Yisrael, Ariella (ICJA '17), Zeke (ICJA '21), and Jordana (ICJA '24) Zwelling in memory of Irwin Schlass, Yisrael ben Avraham Abba, z"l, on his 17th yahrzeit

Wednesday, Rosh Chodesh Adar 1, February 2, 2022, by the David family in honor of Shira David (ICJA '21)'s Aliyah

Thursday, the 2nd of Adar 1, February 3, 2022, by the Ebert family, in the merit of a complete and speedy recovery for Henel Tova bas Temma Basya. Refuah shlaima.


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 Home Games on the
Zaidy Robert Berezin z"l Court Cam
Watch home games live-streamed on ICJA's
The Zaidy Robert Berezin, z"l Court Cam, generously donated by the Schwartz family, allows ICJA fans to live-stream home games.

Upcoming Home Games include:

  • Monday, February 7 - Boys JV Basketball play Christ the King at 6:15pm
  • Monday, February 7 - Boys Varsity play Christ the King at 7:45pm

Upcoming Away Games:

  • Motzei Shabbat, February 5 - ICJA Wrestlers vs Walther Christian at Melrose Park (IHSA Wrestling Regional Tournament) at 7pm
  • Motzei Shabbat, February 5 - Boys JV Basketball play Rochelle Zell at 7:30pm
  • Motzei Shabbat, February 5 - Boys Varsity Basketball plays Rochelle Zell at 9pm
Thank You ICJA Maintenance Staff
Thank you to our maintenance staff for enabling ICJA to run despite this week's heavy snowfall.
Throughout the heavy snow this week, our maintenance staff made sure that ICJA's parking lot and walkways were plowed - and also spent hours cleaning up the mess from snow and salt indoors.

Thank you to Building Engineer Daniel McCarthy, Casey Krezelok (pictured left) and Delroy Malcolm (pictured right).
School Events and Annoucements
Watch the "Discover ICJA" Video Here
Enjoy the "Discover ICJA" video -
& share it to help people learn more about our school.
Introducing ICJA Bar Association for Alumni
Introducing ICJA Bar Association: a way for ICJA alumni
who are lawyers to form informal connections.
ICJA ISRAEL CONNECT:
Connecting ICJA Alumni in Israel
The first ICJA Israel Connect directory is out.
Over Chanukah, ICJA gave its Class of '21 alumni a Chanukah gift: a brand-new directory that lists ICJA alumni who live in Israel and have graciously offered to open their homes to recent ICJA '21 grads who are currently spending a gap year in Israel this year.

Thank you to the many alumni who have reached out to us, offering to host.

The directory was sent out to the emails of '21 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.
Community Bulletins
There’s still time to express yourself!

Enter the Pogrund Family Essay and Judaic Artwork Contests!

Deadline: Thursday, January 27, 2022

Use your creative skills to explore a Judaic topic via the written word or art.

  • Eligible participants: 3rd – 12th grade students attending an ATT school

  • Prize: $50.00 check for each winner

  • For essay / artwork rules and guidelines, , visit www.att.org → Student Programs or call ATT at 773-973-2828.
Yachad Chicago’s Ralla Klepak Performing Arts Program is proud to present an all-inclusive performance of Disney’s Newsies for women of the community.

In this show, you will see individuals of all abilities, ages, and gender given the opportunity to share the stage and shine equally FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER IN CHICAGO!

Join us on Sunday March 6 at 2:00 pm or Wednesday March 9 at 6 pm at Cahn Auditorium (600 Emerson St., Evanston IL 60201).

Thank you to the Ralla Klepak Foundation for Education in the Performing Arts for making this production possible. For more information visit: https://yachadnewsies.brownpapertickets.com/ or contact Lori Cooper at Cooperl@ou.org.
Support ICJA when you shop on Amazon - Here's How
Win-win! You can support Ida Crown Jewish Academy, while shopping via Smile.Amazon.com
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.


Ida Crown Jewish Academy
8233 Central Park Avenue
Skokie, Illinois 60076