IHSA Regional Champions 5 Adar II, 5774
This Week at CJHS Boys' Basketball Championship Tigers in the News Alumni in the News Model U.N. Chumash Panel Middot Grant Parents in the News Wagner Institute A Taste of Torah Alumni Trivia
March 7, 2014
We Are the Champions!
Save the Date Friday, March 7 Saturday, March 8 Basketball Shabbaton in Ottawa, IL Tuesday, March 4 Sunday, March 9 Model U.N. Sunday, March 17 Shushan Purim COLOR: #007da1; FONT-SIZE: 8pt">Sunday, April 13 ACT at CJHS Monday, April 14 Sunday, April 27 Pesach Break
P.O. Corner The P.O. is pleased to continue the gift card "Gelt" program. This program is designed to help families earn money toward their children's junior year Panim program and/or the Senior Israel Experience. Faculty and staff can also buy Gelt to support programs provided for the school by the P.O. By buying things you ordinarily purchase anyway, you can earn money which will be credited to your family or class for designated school trips. Contact Sheri Sandrof at ssandrof@cjhs.org or call her at 847.324.3723.
P.O. Recomme nds Kol Isha: Voices of Women in the Bible Monday March 10, March 17, April 7, April 28, and May 12, 9:15- 11:30 a.m. at CJHS Award winning educators Dr. Betsy Katz and Fran Alpert are teaching a spring course open to the CJHS community! Topics include Esther and Ruth, Women in the Egypt Narrative, Women in the
Break out the rings, cups, and celebratory sparkling grape juice, because we are the champions for the second year in a row! Sports correspondent and power forward Isaac Johnston reports from the court, "For the first time in CJHS history, the basketball team has won back-to-back regional titles! Last Saturday night, we defeated Ida Crown 4538 for our third IHSA Regional Title. The balanced attack was led by senior Jeremy Goodman with 11 points, and every one of our starters scored! Christian Liberty Academy's gym was rocking with fans who braved the blizzard to witness history!" Tuesday night, we packed in the kosher pizzas, loaded up the fan buses, and hit the road--150 miles round trip for some of our devoted staff!-for the IHSA sectional semifinals! Stalwart sportcaster Shai Alima reported a Woody Allen contrast between the sedate and demure supporters of our Westminster Christian rivals, who went in expecting an easy win, and the thunderous cheering of the blue-and-white draped, facepainted, dancing Tiger crowd of raucous CJHS supporters, who came with their entire families to cheer our Tigers on to victory in the most extreme nail-biter of a game yet this year!
Book of Judges, Women in King David's Life, and Archeology and the Bible, and more! To register, please mail a $100 check made out to Betsy Katz, 744 Laurel Ave, Highland Park, 60035. Questions? Contact Betsy at bracha@comcast.net.
Model U.N. coach Dr. Auslander writes in from the Big Apple, where our decorated Model U.N. team has just encamped, "We landed early at LaGuardia and went straight to the Hilton, where Josh Aaronson, Maya Resnick, and Ariel Efergen immediately connected up to people at the game. We followed each breathless second of the final 2 minutes of the game--the whole M.U.N. team in the lobby of the Hilton. GO TIGERS!!!"
The Holiday Kosher Baker: A Baking Workshop With Paula Shover Tuesday, March 11, 2014 - 7:45 p.m. at Beth Shalom Join a group of CJHS parents at Congregation Beth Shalom sisterhood program and learn the secrets of great kosher baking! Perfect for Purim! RSVP to po@cjhs.org and bring a $15 check made out to CBS Sisterhood. Learn more about Paula's amazing talents and her unique journey to become nationally known hip kosher baker at www.paulaspastry.com. Beth Shalom's address is 3433 Walters Ave, in Northbrook. The Young Women's Board of the Jewish United Fund Presents Spring Forward! Monday, March 17, 7:30 p.m. Doubletree Hotel, Skokie Join fellow Chicago area Jewish Day school moms as we learn the latest spring trends in home decor. Rebecca Pogonitz of GoGo Design Group will present tips on how to refresh your home with upcoming spring trends while Melissa Novack, LCSW and Co-Founder of Inpower, will share some insight into how to live healthier, happier, and overall more well balanced lives as we jump into spring. Any questions, contact Rachel Gruenberg, Liz Geifman or Diane Halivni. Registration is now open, so please register online by clicking here. JUF's Jewish Day School Night Tuesday, April 1, 2014 - 7:15 p.m
The Chicago SunTimes checks in, "CJ was forced to make the comeback after giving up an eightpoint lead in the third quarter. Facing a 43-39 deficit, junior Josh Newlander stroked a three from the corner with 8.6 seconds left to play. CJ was given a warning for illegally touching the ball, but it paid off, allowing the Tigers to set up their full-court defense." "The play before we set a screen for Josh [Newlander] for the three in the corner,'' Chicagoland Jewish coach Marty Dello told the newspaper. "This time we set up the same play, but we figured they would step out on Josh, so it was Jeremy's time. That was his third game-winner this year.''
Open to parents, teachers and board members. Dessert reception at The Holiday Inn North Shore 5300 W Touhy Ave, Skokie Featured speaker Dr. Rona Novick will address the issue of Bully, Bullied or Bystander: The Roles children Play. Dr. Novick is a nationally acclaimed expert on bullying and author of BRAVE the bullying prevention program for use in schools throughout the country. Watch for a reminder card coming shortly in the mail! Find the CJHS P.O. on Facebook here.
Community News and Events Mercaz USA Purim Campaign
You can make your presence felt in Israel, where our people need you most. Give light, gladness, joy and honor to the children and soldiers from the Masorti Congregations in Israel, including the Neve Hanna Children's Village in Kiryat Gat and the Mechina Program at Hannaton. Make your contribution to the AZM Purim Connection! Light up a child's face with a smile. Bring some light into their troubled world. Connect with the brave members of the IDF with a traditional Purim basket. Please donate now: $18 for a schoolchild's basket; $54 for a soldier's basket; $180 for an entire class of children; $360 for an IDF unit. All donations are tax deductible.
it!"
With only seconds to go, things looked pretty grim for the Tigers. Down by 4 points with 20 seconds left, the score leveled off at 42- 43. The mood was tense and even the Tiger mascot had stopped shaking its tail. Was this the end of our winning season? Live streaming cut out as the seconds ticked away, and fans for 800 miles let out a collective groan, but just as all seemed lost, the Tigers charged again! Sports correspondent Sari Mishell reports from the uproar in the stands, frantically tweeting updates to the snowbound stay-at-homes, "With 10 seconds left, we were still losing. Suddenly, Josh Newlander scored, and then Jeremy Goodman made a basket at the buzzer. It was amazing, and no one expected
The Sun Times continues, "[Goodman's] winning shot came with one second left against Westminster Christian.... It was the second time this year that Goodman, who scored 13 points, beat the Warriors on a lastsecond shot." CJHS emerged victorious with a final score of 44-43!
Take a minute and click here to donate to the AZM Purim Connection 2014. You can also send a check to AZM: 633 Third Avenue, 21st floor, New York, NY 10017. Please note on the check that the funds are for the special MERCAZsponsored Purim campaign.
Sounds of Faith
Ladies and gentlemen, fans of all ages, the CJHS Tigers are back in the Sweet 16! This will be our second consecutive run at the IHSA Sectional Championship! The excitement is running at fever pitch as we prepare for a rematch against the towering bastions of Mooseheart Child City and School, who last week gave the unconquerable Newark the thumping we've longed to deliver for two sectional seasons, and emerged victorious against our longtime rivals Chicago Hope. Game time is 8:00 p.m. motzei Shabbat in Serena, IL! Pack the car and pack the house: contact the Va'ad HaStudentim if you need a ride. What was that rallying cry that rocked the bleachers last year? Oh yes...
Anshe Emet Synagogue Sunday, April 6 3:00 - 5:00 p.m. Tickets are $20 per adult; $10 per child ages 10 - 18. Click here to purchase your tickets online or call Molly Schlemmer at 773.281.1423. Group sales (10% discount) available for 10 tickets or more.
Rumbula's Echo
"We be-lieve that we will WIN!" Tigers in the News!
Holocaust Film Work-in-Progress Screening with CJHS Connection Rumbula's Echo is a new documentary that shows how a huge mass shooting of the Holocaust changed a family, a country and our world today. The internationally filmed documentary includes several stories with a local connection. Among those featured are Glenview survivor Sia Hertsberg, U of C professor emeritus Edward Anders and Chicago's Lieber family. The film opens with the genealogy search for a CJHS student's namesake, which also plays into the ending of the movie. The documentary's central event is the mass shooting of 25,000 Jews in two days in the Rumbula forest in Latvia. The film, which is still being finished, has been test screening "rough cut" material to international acclaim. A Chicago work-in-progress screening is being presented Sunday March 23, 11 am to 1 pm, at the Claudia Cassidy Theater, 77 W. Randolph. Afterwards, survivor Sia Hertsberg and filmmaker Mitchell Lieber will answer questions, moderated by Loyola Holocaust professor Dr Elliot Lefkovitz. Advance tickets only. This event is presented with the assistance of the Illinois Humanities Council. Click here for more details.
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Sponsor Breakfast What's better than a birthday celebration with friends? Celebrate your student's birthday or other milestone with a special breakfast at CJHS.
They remember what happened last year, and the major media outlets are following our glory run! "Goodman good man at end as Chicagoland Jewish ousts Westminster Christian!" the Chicago Sun-Times sports desk reports. Reporter Dan Ruane quotes senior Jeremy Goodman, surprised at how open he was on his winning play, and reports, "His winning shot came with one second left against Westminster Christian and allowed the Tigers to advance to Friday night's championship game." (Actually, they've moved the game to motzei Shabbat for us, but the media feed never seems to notice that until our "Pray, Then Play" Shabbaton is already in full swing!) Ruane also lamented the absence of star players Sam Carini on the Westminster side and our own thunderbolt senior Avidan Halivni, both out with injuries or illness. Read all the extras right here in our rivals' hometown paper, the Elgin Courier News!
For a donation of $180 (10x chai), bagels, cream cheese, and orange juice will be served to everyone. Announcements will be made in Tefillah and in the dining hall, and the occasion will also be listed in our weekly E-News and on the school announcement board. If you have any questions, please call 847.324.3713 or email dzidman@cjhs.org. Order forms are available online here.
Quick Links Our Website
Can't make it to the sectional championship Saturday night? You can still share in the excitement! Gather a group of friends and watch the game live here. We want to know you're watching so send pictures and videos of you and your friends enjoying the game to tseymour@cjhs.org for your chance to be featured on CJHS' social media pages!
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Tiger Alumni in the News Former CJHS Tigers manager Aaron Freeman ('12) is making headlines as a sports writer downstate. Bradley University's student newspaper received seven Illinois College Press Association
awards, one for sports co-editor Aaron Freeman, plus an honorable mention for General Excellence by a publication. Well done, Aaron!
Alumni Trivia As our much-decorated team earns more accolades in the international community, who were the first CJHS M.U.N. representatives to win official Awards of Merit at the New York conference? Where are they now? (Hint: one's in St. Louis and the other is in public service!)
Model U.N. Lands in New York
Wheels up! The 2014 Model U.N. team arrived in New York in a haze of snow and fog. Our 23 stalwart delegates thawed out with kosher bagels and live feeds of the basketball celebrations as they prepared for opening ceremonies. Wednesday kicked off the conference with 3,000 other students from around the world. Thursday was spent in plenary meetings at the German consulate, whereafter our delegates got to work on resolutions, developing drafts which are being presented to rest of their committees. Today, they are hard at work finalizing their decisions to help Somalia, Afghanistan, the Ivory Coast, and other world hot spots, to address issues of statelessness, mental health and pediatric health, air pollution, workers' rights, and child welfare. Shabbat shalom, delegates!
Chumash Panel: Revelation Rabbi Belgrad's Chumash class has been studying revelation, teasing out different threads and identifying different issues of narrative and theology. On Monday Rabbi Silver, Ms. Steinberg, Ms. GleicherBloom and Rabbi Robkin presented their beliefs about the origin of the Torah, the relative roles played by God and our ancestors in creating it, and the importance and authority that it holds for them today. Interestingly, the class found that denominational affiliation didn't always determine/reflect beliefs about Torah; Rabbi Belgrad reports, "Many of us found common beliefs and approaches despite denominational differences. The students were clearly engaged by the presentations and asked thoughtful questions after the presentations."
Tikkun HaMiddot Grant
CJHS has been awarded the Tikkun HaMiddot (Character Formation) Grant from the Institute for Jewish Spirituality. With the generous support of the John Templeton Foundation, the Institute has parceled out small grants to twenty eight Jewish communities across the US to explore whether the traditional Jewish language and practice of Tikkun
HaMiddot can transform lives and relationships, and create lasting systemic change within an institution. Under the auspices of the grant, Rabbi Feinsmith explains, "Last week I had the unique and inspiring opportunity to attend the initial training session in Newark, NJ with our own Rabbi Zach Silver and two of our student leaders, Jonah Glick-Unterman (11th grade) and Aviva Hirsch (10th grade). Together we prayed, studied Torah, meditated, and practiced a mindfulness-based approach to the traditional Jewish spiritual practice of Tikkun HaMiddot with leaders from communities across the denominational spectrum. We also articulated and shared our vision for effectively and methodically implementing a systematic curriculum of ten traits in our school community during the course of the next year and half. Our students were absolutely brilliant embodiments of the traits we were exploring, displaying self-confidence, gratitude, humility, patience, curiosity, respect, poise, and a remarkable aspiration to impact their community for the better. Countless colleagues from other institutions shared how inspired they were by our students, many expressing a sense of renewed hope in the promise of our youth to breathe new life into Jewish practice." In reflecting on the impact of the retreat, Jonah Glick-Unterman wrote: "The environment of openness and trust at the retreat allowed for profound personal insights. Hearing rabbis and admired leaders of communities speak about their own struggles with middot underscored my belief that we all have work to do. Every human, from Moshe to myself, must continually develop his or her character." Aviva Hirsch shared the following: "The retreat was a spiritually and psychologically compelling experience. Through meditative practices and constructive dialogue, I grasped a somewhat unsettling truth--that as human beings, we are constantly and often times subconsciously judging. We discussed how judgment hinders our ability to discern from a rational, intelligent foundation. This self-deluding tendency consequently impacts our relationships with ourselves and others. However, judgment can positively contribute to our identities, as it offers a sense of distinction and individuality within our community. The real struggle is noticing whether initial judgments arise carelessly, or whether they are supported with cognizance. For the remainder of this year, we will collectively and systemically explore how to immerse our CJHS community into the study of middot in order to attain a healthier, more supportive environment." Now that the initial training has been completed, the work of personal ethical cultivation and systemic growth begins in earnest. This coming Monday, a small group of faculty and administrators will assemble for the first time to study, practice, and strengthen one another as we take on the ongoing work of Tikkun HaMiddot together. Last Friday in tefillah, we invited students to participate in a small group that will mirror the work of the faculty and administration. A large cadre of students signed up. We are proud to announce that participating faculty, administration, and students will serve on a task force to develop a strategic plan for bringing the program to as many facets of CJHS culture as possible in the 2014-2015 school year, and to sustain the program beyond the conclusion of the grant cycle. We look forward to the holy work of shaping our school into a community where the Jewish values that we learn about in the classroom become fully manifest in the fabric of our day-to-day interactions and relationships. If you are interested in learning more about the program and the traits we will be working to cultivate, click here.
Parents in the News Highland Park artist Lilach Schrag, mother of CJHS junior Jonathan Schrag and alumni Ron Schrag ('09) and Adam Schrag ('12) is celebrating a gallery opening with her new exhibit, "Ineffable Mundane." Read all about it in the Chiacgo Tribune here.
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