Ask Jack Hammer
Dear Jack Hammer:
Glad to hear we're on schedule for a fall 2007 opening. Can you tell us about some of the raw materials used to construct the new CJHS building?
Jack Hammer:
So far, we have poured 150 trucks or 1,200 cubic yards of cement. We have also used 375 tons of steel in the structure, which does not include miscellaneous metals or stairs.
We have some fantastic pictures of the current construction, and we can't wait to share them with you. Watch this space in the coming weeks to see what we've created with so much cement and steel!
Email your construction questions to jackhammer@cjhs.org.
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Yom HaAtzmaut
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Darfur Sleep-In
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E-News Deadline:
End of the day on Wednesdays
Material received after the deadline will be included in the next week's E-News.
E-News Hotline:
847-423-5960
Chicagoland Jewish High School creates a culture of academic excellence that inspires our children to think critically and achieve their full potential, while preparing them to live Judaism as responsible and involved citizens in the modern world. | |
Eight CJHS Juniors Among Highest National Scorers on 2006 PSAT
Last October, more than 1.4 million high school juniors across the U.S. took the 2006 PSAT, an abbreviated version of the SAT that serves as the screening test for the National Merit Scholarship Program, a nationwide competition for recognition and awards. The National Merit Scholarship Corporation recently notified the 50,000 students who scored highest nationwide on the October PSAT. CJHS is pleased to announce that among the students so honored are eight of the 25 members of the CJHS Class of 2008: Seth Berkman, Alex Fisher, Lilli Flink, Ari Frankel, Matthew Hass, Richard Kahn, Shai Kamin, and Joshua Warshawsky.
Next fall, the 16,000 highest scoring entrants will be notified that they have been selected as National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists. The remaining 34,000 students will be named Commended Students. Eligibility for semifinalist status is determined on a state-by-state basis, with the top one percent of scorers statewide qualifying. CJHS will offer the PSAT to next year's junior class on October 17, 2007. |
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CJHS Commemorates Yom HaZikaron...
CJHS students organized a moving ceremony to commemorate Yom HaZikaron, a day set aside to remember the fallen of Israel's army. The program began with a two-minute siren that prompted the entire community to stand in silence to honor the memory of those who lost their lives for the State of Israel. Following the siren, students read poems and stories that reflected some of the pain experienced by contemporary Israel in dealing with its losses. The CJHS choir, led by Ms. Gail Gottlieb, performed songs identified with the special day. The ceremony concluded with the singing of Hatikvah. Yasher koach to Shai Kamin and Lindsay Seidenberg for planning the ceremony, and to Ms. Batya Cohen for advising and assisting these students.
CJHS would also like to acknowledge students Eli Miller, Jacob Stoehr, and Josh Warshawsky, who participated in a special teen community Yom HaZikaron ceremony sponsored by all of the Jewish youth groups in the Chicago area. |
...and Celebrates Yom HaAtzmaut!
The CJHS community celebrated Yom Ha'atzmaut in style; students and faculty were decked out in blue and white and participated in a variety of educational and festive programs. The celebration began with special remarks by the Honorable Barukh Binah, the Consul General of Israel to the Midwest, during tefillah. Later in the day, the Yom Ha'atzmaut committee, led by Shai Kamin and Lindsay Seidenberg, organized a fabulous Yom Ha'atzmaut celebration. CJHS students were divided into three teams -- Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and Haifa -- and traveled a circuit of Israeli dancing, a delicious Israeli lunch from Taboun, and several carnival booths. (See pictures in the left column.)
Thank you to Josh Warshawsky for leading Israeli dancing, and to Elli Cohn, Lilli Flink, Ms. Cohen, Rena Forester, Ms. Caroline Musin, and Jessica Rosenberg for helping with the carnival. Thank you to the JCRC/Hillel Israel Initiative and JNF's Caravan For Democracy, in cooperation with Shorashim's Club Israel, for sponsoring lunch. Thanks also to Sofi Petchersky, Aliza Stein, and Shoshana Coven, Va'ad Israel members, Mr. Matan Ring, Ms. Dori Robinson, and Ms. Inez Altman for their assistance. Yasher koach to Rabbi Fryer for overseeing this entire endeavor. | |
 80+ Students Stay Up All Night to Save Darfur
Never Again? Turn Words into Action! Stop the Violence in Darfur!
Late on Saturday, April 21 and into the wee hours of Sunday morning, April 22, more than 80 CJHS students and their friends gathered for Jewish World Watch's Save Darfur Sleep-In. The Sleep-In was designed to raise awareness, engage in activism, raise money, and push the effort forward in Chicago and the global community to stop the genocide in Darfur.
The night began with a drumming circle, led by Rabbi Menachem Cohen of the Mitziut Jewish Community. The evening also featured a verbal jam; a concert with Forte, the blues-rock band that features Chris Forte, CJHS music teacher, and Rob Davis, CJHS's women's basketball coach; inspirational remarks on the importance of activism from Rabbi Asher Lopatin of Anshe Sholom B'nai Israel; and a performance by HBO Def poet Kevin Coval.
Throughout the Sleep-In, students took part in the following activities:
q Calling the offices of senators and congressmen, urging their representatives to take action on Darfur.
q Taking pictures of themselves for the 400,000 Faces movement
q Signing a petition
q Buying magnets and t-shirts
q Writing letters
q Making posters to hang up around the community
During the evening, students also had the opportunity to watch and discuss the movie Hotel Rwanda and participate in a yoga session. Right before sunrise they went outside to daven Shacharit. The event ended with an open mic reflection and breakfast.
Thank you to Ms. Caroline Musin, Mr. Bruce Scher, Ms. Gabrielle Lensch, Ms. Dori Robinson, Ms. Sharna Marcus, and Ms. Marina Gitlin for chaperoning the event, and to Rabbi Ruven Barkan for advising CJHS's Jewish World Watch chapter. Yasher koach to the leaders of CJHS's Jewish World Watch chapter for planning and carrying out this tremendously successful event! |
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News from the Admissions Office
CJHS Welcomes The Class of 2011
Members of the CJHS class of 2011 were treated to a late afternoon of bowling and pizza, hosted by CJHS freshmen and sophomores on April 25 at the Wilmette Bowling Alley. The event was a great opportunity for the incoming students to get to know each other and mingle with current CJHS students. Thank you to Beth Hillel Congregation B'nai Emunah and Rabbi Michael Mishkin for helping to underwrite the bowling party. Thanks also to Margaret Cohn, Elisa Lupovitch, and Michelle Seidenberg, all CJHS Recruitment Committee members, for planning this terrific program.
Coffee, Questions, and AnswersCJHS invites seventh grade parents to a Coffee, Questions and Answers program on Tuesday, May 8 at the home of Elisa and Steven Lupovitch in Evanston. Learn about our commitment to academic excellence, our integrated curriculum, our distinguished faculty, and our active student life. Please RSVP to the Lupovitch family by May 4 or contact Rachel Spiro, Director of Admissions, 847-324-3706. |
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Jewish History News
Freshmen Complete Unit on Sephardic Jewry and Delve into Ashkenazic Jewry
Jewish History I students recently culminated a unit on Sephardic Jewry during the Golden Age and began their study of early Ashkenazic Jewry with an investigation of their family trees. Most students discovered that their great-grandparents or great-great-grandparents came from Poland or Russia; however, other countries included Austria, Belarus, Czechoslovakia, Germany, Hungary, Iran, Israel, Italy, Kurdistan, Latvia, Lithuania, Morocco, Romania, and the Ukraine. In the coming weeks, the students will study Rashi's contributions to Jewish history and how Ashkenazic Jews struggled to succeed in the face of anti-Semitism.
Sophomores to Enter Essays in Holland and Knight Holocaust Remembrance Project
On April 30, Jewish History II students entered essays into the Holland and Knight Holocaust Remembrance Project. The 2007 Writing Prompt asked students to analyze why it is so vital that the remembrance, history and lessons of the Holocaust be passed to a new generation, and to suggest what they could do to combat and prevent prejudice, discrimination and violence in our world today.
"Through this project, CJHS students gained valuable research skills, such as discerning credible web sites and utilizing primary sources to prove their theses," said history teacher Ms. Sharna Marcus.
Writing topics included:
q Photography as resistance
q Persecution of homosexuals during the Holocaust and today
q The Jewish identity of the children of Holocaust survivors
q The lack of American media coverage of the Holocaust
q Anti-Semitism and youth today
q Genocide in Europe during the 40s, and in Rwanda and Darfur today
q Deception in Terezin and in present day tragedies
q The American Jewish response to the Holocaust
q How medical ethics have been shaped by the Nazi experiments
q Anti-Semitism in Russia during the Holocaust and today
q The effect on a society that loses its children
q Education and Culture in the Ghettos and Concentration Camps
q How the Holocaust shaped international law
q The history of Holocaust survivors as speakers against genocide
q The qualities of a righteous gentile
q What can be learned about PTSD from Holocaust survivors
q Propaganda during the Holocaust and today
q Deniers of Genocide
q Violence against women during the Holocaust and today
q How survivors of genocide cope
Winners of the contest will be announced on June 1. Thank you to CJHS librarian Ms. Sharon Chefitz for her tremendous assistance with this important research and writing project.
Teacher to Attend Workshop on Jewish History Education at NYU
Ms. Sharna Marcus, CJHS History and English teacher, is one of only 30 Jewish educators nationwide to receive a full scholarship and stipend from the Center for Online Judaic Studies to attend its week-long summer workshop at New York University, "The Future of the Past: Digital Imaging, the Internet, and Jewish History Education."
Ms. Marcus wrote a proposal to develop a dynamic portal of Holocaust web sites to assist students and educators to find reliable and credible information about the genocide. From July 8-12, she will receive instruction from Holocaust scholars and technology experts, with the goal of completing a project during the 2007-08 school year.
In addition to COJS, Ms. Marcus wishes to thank her students and Ms. Sharon Chefitz for inspiring her to spend time on the lengthy application. She is also grateful to Ms. Karen Harris, History Department Consultant, for helping her to complete the application, and to Rachel Tessler Lopatin, Jewish educator, for bringing this program to her attention.
Kol HaKavod, Ms. Marcus! |
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Students Host Debate Tournament
CJHS hosted New Trier and Glenbrook North students at a debate tournament on Tuesday, April 24. The debate focused on the role of the U.N. in the world and whether the group should violate national sovereignty to protect global human rights. Yasher koach to Joel Pachefsky and Jeremy Hulkower for winning their first career debates and to Eli Miller for sweeping both of his debates. |
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From the College Counseling Office
AP Exam Update
During the weeks of May 7 and May 14, 36 CJHS students will take 91 AP Exams covering 11 subject areas (up from 55 exams taken last year). Students should consult this page on the College Board website to find out what to bring and what not to bring on exam day. Students taking Calculus AB, Calculus BC, or Chemistry exams will need an AP-authorized calculator. See this link for calculator details. Please remember that neither cell phones nor food are permitted in the exam room.
ACT Update The ACT will be given at CJHS one more time this school year, on Sunday, June 10. The regular registration deadline is May 4, 2007. Please note that students must show a current, official photo ID to be admitted to the test session. Click here for details on acceptable forms of identification. Remember that only certain calculator models may be used during the ACT Mathematics test; click here for details on permitted and prohibited calculators. |
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Student Body Amends Constitution
Last week, the student body voted on a number of amendments to the Va'ad (student government) constitution. According to the constitution, a review of the document is required at least every two years in order to ensure that the constitution is well-designed and relevant to the Va'ad and the student body. While reviewing the constitution, Va'ad members looked for the best ways to create change given the consistent growth of the student body. The chief proposed amendment centered on restructuring the Va'ad to better serve the student body. All of the amendments received well over the 2/3 majority vote required in order to pass.
"As an outgoing senior and a member of the Va'ad for the past two years, I am extremely excited and grateful to have been part of this process," said Matthew Silverman, Va'ad President. "Although I will graduate next month, seeing so many students interested and involved in the process of amending the Constitution reminded me why I joined the Va'ad in the first place. I am confident that by passing these amendments, the student body has taken a huge step forward, which will allow all future Va'adot to become even more effective in representing the student body."
Thank you to Matthew Silverman, Ari Glasser, Geoff Levin, Rachel Braun, Hannah Miller, and Ms. Caroline Musin for the hours of thought and work that they put into this process and throughout the whole year. |
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Save the Date!
The annual CJHS Spring Athletics Banquet will be held on Wednesday, May 16 from 7:30-9:00 p.m. at Moriah Congregation in Deerfield. This anticipated event recognizes the accomplishments of our student-athletes and is open to all CJHS athletic team participants from all seasons, family members, and friends. The Sports Banquet includes a keynote speaker, multi-media presentation of the year's athletic highlights, special student recognition awards, and a delicious dessert reception. Tickets are $5 per person. Invitations will be mailed shortly.
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Walk With Israel
Join CJHS students, faculty, parents, and community members as we walk together on Israel Solidarity Day. This year, we are pleased to join our Deerfield neighbors in the North Suburban Walk. To learn more about the Walk and sign up, please go to www.juf.org/walk. Information is also available at school; the Israel Solidarity Day poster is located in the entrance of the building right next to Dr. Schaffner's office.
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Students Prepare to Bike the Drive
The CJHS Bike Club is gearing up for their biggest ride of the year. Every Memorial Day, the City of Chicago closes Lake Shore Drive to accommodate over 18,000 riders in Bike the Drive. Whether you want to ride 15 miles or 30 miles, you can join in this exciting event with CJHS students, parents, and faculty. The entrance fee is $35, and the Bike Club will also raise money for Jewish World Watch. If you are interested in participating, please contact Esther Lowe or Dr. Auslander. | |
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