Open your copy of the Chicago Jewish News for a fantastic cover story about CJHS! Highlights include a description of Head of School Mrs. Roslyn Stein’s commitment to excellence throughout the last six years, a taste of daily life at school, a description of how the school came into being, and plans for our new building in Deerfield.

Click here to read the CJN article: http://www.chicagojewishnews.com/cover.jsp#203581

CJHS Welcomes Seventh Graders to Experience High School

Seventh graders are invited to visit CJHS during the morning of Thursday, May 11. Students will be able to sit in on classes and tour the school. Solomon Schechter Middle School students will be given an excused absence; a bus will transport students to and from SSMS to CJHS. RSVP to Rachel Spiro, Admissions Director, 847-324-3706 or rspiro@cjhs.org, or parents can also RSVP to the SSMS office. (A permission slip must be signed in order to take the bus.)

CJHS Observes Yom HaShoah

The CJHS community observed Yom HaShoah with a special ceremony during Tefillah on Tuesday, April 26. Our tekes (ceremony) focused on six men and women who survived the Shoah and are still contributing to society today. We honored Nobel laureates Walter Kohn and Elie Wiesel, Rabbi Helga Newmark (the first female Shoah survivor to be ordained), Israeli author Aharon Appelfeld, Talmudist Rabbi David Weiss Halivni and 2006 March of the Living Chair Anita Ekstein.

Thank you to Aaron Magid, Jason Wiznitzer, Esther Bier, Donna Abisdris, Daniel Peaceman, Jeremy Cogan, Michael Brunwasser and Rabbis Barkan, Fryer, and Goldberg for participating. Yasher koach to Rabbi Fryer and Ms. Dickman, who organized the program.

Day of Silence Brings About Discussion

Twenty-four students and five faculty members participated in the Day of Silence, a grassroots national initiative protesting the discrimination and harassment experienced by lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students in U.S. schools. CJHS students were among 500,000 students in 4,000 schools nationwide to participate in the Day of Silence. Yasher koach to Jenn Hipps, Ashley Silver, and Mr. Blumenthal for organizing this event.

CJHS Seniors Will Wash Cars for Prom Funds

In an effort to subsidize the cost of Junior/Senior Prom, the senior class will be holding a car wash on Friday, May 5 from 1:30-3 :00 p.m. at the school. Get your car washed and help support the prom. Cars will cost $15, and SUVs will cost $20. If you have any questions, please see Ms. Bierman or Ashley Silver.

Junior Class to Attend Chicago Rally

The junior class will attend the Rally to Stop Genocide at the Federal Plaza (Dearborn and Adams) on Monday, May 1 at 4:30 p.m. The rally is sponsored by the Jewish Community Relations Council of the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago.

Click here for more rally information.

Spring Athletics

What beautiful weather we had this week to enjoy spring sports at CJHS. Fourteen students (and one teacher) played coed ultimate frisbee on Monday. Players worked on their frisbee-tossing technique while getting an "ultimate" workout. The team plays twice weekly for the next four weeks.

The men’s tennis team continued its season by winning a match on Wednesday against Loyola Academy. This is the first time we have played Loyola. On Thursday, we played a match against New Trier. Results were not available at press time.

CJHS Community Active in Million Voices For Darfur Campaign

On April 30, a rally will be held on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. to lobby our government to take stronger action in opposing the genocide in Darfur. Several CJHS students, faculty, and families are attending the rally. Since February 2003, the Sudanese government's genocidal campaign in Darfur has claimed over 400,000 lives and driven two million people from their homes. The Jewish community is mobilizing to stop the genocide in Darfur because we know that "never again" must not be an empty slogan, and that there is much more the United States can do to save Darfur.

The Million Voices for Darfur postcard campaign is an effort to collect one million signatures on print and electronic postcards urging President Bush to take action. Darfur activists will come together and deliver these signatures at the Save Darfur: Rally to Stop Genocide on April 30 in Washington, D.C. To find out more, sign up for the rally and send a Million Voices postcard, go to www.ajws.org/darfur. For further information about the rally, e-mail darfur@ajws.org.

Athletic Banquet--RSVP Now!

The Annual Athletic Banquet on May 11 promises to be an exciting event for everyone. This is for anyone who played on a CJHS athletic team --women's tennis, men's basketball, women's basketball, dance team, men's tennis, and ultimate frisbee -- and their families and friends. The banquet, which begins at 6:30 p.m. at CJHS, will feature keynote speaker David Haugh, a Chicago Tribune sportswriter and Comcast sports commentator. In addition, there will be an athletic video premiere (edited by sophomore Ari Glasser), a dance team performance, jazz band performance, awards presentations, and a delicious dinner. See Ms. Musin for tickets (cmusin@cjhs.org or 847-423-5960), and please RSVP and pay by Friday, May 5.

Click here for an athletic banquet flier.

Students Plan to Attend Kinnus

This weekend, thirty CJHS students (and many incoming freshmen) will attend Kinnus, CHUSY Region's annual spring convention. Among those thirty, three are outgoing officers: Jacob Shapiro, Executive/Israel Affairs Vice President; Eli Miller, Religion/Education Vice President; and Daniel Peaceman, Social Action/Tikun Olam Vice President. Kol Hakavod to Jacob, Eli, and Daniel on their commitment and accomplishments.

On Friday, April 28, the 2006-2007 CHUSY Regional Executive Board will be elected, and two CJHS students are among the candidates. Eli Miller is running for CHUSY President, and Joshua Warshawsky is running for CHUSY Membership/Kadima Vice President. Good luck to Eli and Josh!

Join us at the Annual CJHS Parent Organization Lag B’Omer Picnic

The Parent Organization cordially invites you to the Annual Lag B’Omer Picnic on Sunday, May 21, 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at Laramie Park in Skokie (Sherwin and Niles Center Road, behind the Holiday Inn on Touhy). The picnic will feature food, games, and a parent/child ultimate frisbee march. The cost is $20 per family, and is free for incoming and prospective families. Please RSVP by May 17 to Kim Frankel at kim.frankel@schechter.org or Sandy Levin at levusgro@aol.com.

Sophomore to be Featured on NPR Program

CJHS sophomore Richard Kahn will perform with the Fasttrack Trio (pianist Richard Kahn, flautist Abraham Noda, and cellist Zuren Hsueh) on From the Top, the National Public Radio series that showcases the nation's best young classical musicians. This weekly one-hour program includes performances by several pre-collegiate individuals and ensembles along with interviews and skits about the performers' musical and non-musical interests. (Richard discussed the musical aspects of chanting Torah during his interview.) The live concert taping takes place next Tuesday, May 2, at 8:00 p.m. at Hemmens Theatre in Elgin. If you’d like to attend, tickets can be purchased by calling the theatre box office, 847-888-4000. The show will be broadcast locally on Sunday, October 8 at 7:00 p.m.

Mr. Urick is Mr. Wizard

Mr. Ron Urick, CJHS chemistry teacher, gave a "Mr. Wizard Chemistry" presentation at Crystal Lake Montessori School Middle School on April 19, 2006. The ninety-minute series of chemistry demonstrations included interesting explosions, combustions, light displays, and colorful reactions.

The demonstrations were well-received and Mr. Urick hopes his presentation stimulated future interest in the realm of science and chemistry. He shares these same demonstrations with our CJHS scholars as they proceed through their chemistry course.

Crocheting Club and Va'ad Vogue Plan Delivery

On Friday, May 5, representatives of the Crocheting Club and the Va'ad Vogue will deliver their handmade hats and bracelets to Children's Memorial Hospital. One more parent volunteer is needed to drive 4-5 students to the hospital immediately following classes at 1:30 and bring them back to CJHS or the Highland Park/Northbrook area by 4:30. Please contact Rabbi Fryer at 847-423-5962 or RabbiFryer@cjhs.org if you can help with this mitzvah.

ARK Volunteers

Yasher Koach to Abby Landis, Michael Brunwasser, Sandy Johnston and Mrs. Snyder, art teacher, for volunteering at the ARK on April 26.

New Email for Faculty and Staff

CJHS has changed email providers, and faculty and staff can now be reached @cjhs.org. All faculty and staff email addresses are firstinitiallastname@cjhs.org, with the exception of rabbis (rabbilastname@cjhs.org) and Ph.D.s (drlastname@cjhs.org).

Got summer?

Can you believe that summer is almost here? What are you going to do this summer? If you don’t already have plans, see Ms. Marcus in the College Counseling office, or email her at smarcus@cjhs.org. She can give you some great ideas.

Breakfast Sponsorships Available

If you would like to sponsor breakfast in honor of a student's birthday (or any occasion), please contact Joan Waxman at jwaxman@cjhs.org or Sara Coven at penguinema@napcoltd.net. The students love the recognition, and the bagels are great, too!

Baruch Dayan HaEmet

We regret to inform you of the death of Eugene Kohn, father of Deb (Arnie) Landis, and grandfather of junior Abby Landis. The funeral was held during Pesach and shiva was observed in Highland Park.

We regret to inform you of the death of Minette Redman Coven, grandmother of CJHS science teacher Ms. Lesley Redman.

Religious Life at CJHS

This week, Hannah Rosenbaum, Matthew Silverman, Avi Coven, Seth Berkman, Abby Landis, Brian Pogrund, Nicole Wiznitzer, and Jason Wiznitzer led tefillah. Josh Warshawsky read Torah, and Ms. Musin introduced the Torah reading.

On Friday, during a staff development day, Rabbi Barkan, Rabbi Fryer, and Ms. Jacobson-Maisels led tefillah. Rabbi Goldberg read Torah.

This week’s parashah is Tazria-Metzora. Candlelighting is at 7:27 today. Shabbat shalom!

Read the parashah, the haftarah, and a JTS commentary.