Last week in the e-news, CJHS welcomed our 15 new faculty and staff members. Now we’d like to extend a warm welcome to our 39 new students and their families. Our new students include 29 freshmen, four sophomores, and six juniors. They come from Solomon Schechter, local public schools, and other local Jewish day schools. One student moved here from Louisville, Kentucky, and one student from Milwaukee is being hosted by a current CJHS family. This brings our total student enrollment to 111!

On the first day of school, freshmen participated in a new program called Get On Track: A Pathway to Success at CJHS, designed to ease the transition to high school for CJHS’s largest freshman class to date. Eleven members of our faculty and staff led workshops and sessions in this innovative program that provided new students with a wealth of information to make their high school experience a success.

Freshmen also benefited from CJHS’s new Peer Helpers program. Prior to the start of school, ten juniors and seniors participated in a two-day workshop led by CJHS social worker Gary Auslander and Dr. Penina Frankel. During New Student Orientation, the Peer Helpers met with freshmen in small groups to welcome them to the CJHS community and to address questions or concerns about high school and life at CJHS. All in all, it was a terrific start to what is sure to be a great year!

Each year, the CJHS College Counseling Department sponsors numerous visits from college admissions offices. These visits are designed to help students navigate the college landscape. At this time, representatives from the following colleges and universities have scheduled visits to CJHS: Emory University, Purdue University, Oberlin College, Skidmore College, Vassar College, American University, University of Connecticut, Grinnell College, Michigan State University, Washington University, Amherst College, Drake University, Barnard College, Brandeis University, Lawrence University, McGill University, and Ohio State University.

Please check the CJHS Online Calendar for the exact dates and times of each visit. This is most easily accomplished by selecting only the College Counseling calendar and viewing in list or table mode.*

Sign-up sheets for college visits are in a binder outside the office of Mr. Bruce Scher, Academic Dean/Director of College Counseling. Students must sign up no later than 24 hours before a scheduled visit. Updates will be posted as additional schools schedule visits.

CJHS is proud that more than half of its students participate in team sports. Under the direction of Mr. Tim Cohen, CJHS athletic director, the athletic program continues to expand based on student needs and interests. This year, by popular demand, CJHS has added soccer and cross-country to its current roster of team sports that also features men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s tennis, dance and ultimate frisbee. CJHS is proud of its no-cut policy—as long as students attend and participate in practices, they are welcome to join the sports team of their choice.

The 20-member coed cross-country team practiced every day in the week before school started in the natural splendor of Harms Woods. During the balance of the season, the team will hold practices after school and on Sunday mornings at Harms Woods. The first meet of the season, the Niles West Invitational, is scheduled for Tuesday, September 5 at Niles West. Men’s Basketball Head Coach Shaoul and Women’s Basketball Head Coach Davis strongly encourage prospective team members to run cross- country as conditioning preparation for the basketball season.

The women’s tennis team, under the direction of Coach Finfer, practices twice each week in Highland Park and has an exciting seven-match schedule. The first match is on Tuesday, September 12 at Glenbrook North.

The coed soccer team, under the expert leadership of Head Coach Rabbi Barkan, will work on skills and scrimmage every Monday and Thursday during the season.

While fall sports have just begun, it’s never too early to think about basketball. Those interested in joining either the women’s basketball or men’s basketball teams are requested to attend a “shoot-around” on Wednesday, September 13 at Hillel Torah. Women should be there 6:30-8:00 pm; men are scheduled for 8:00-9:30 pm.

If you have questions about CJHS’s athletic program, please contact Mr. Cohen at tcohen@cjhs.org.

CJHS faculty and staff met for four days of pre- service meetings during the week of August 21. Dr. Schaffner presented his goals for the year in the areas of communication, systems and planning. The faculty studied differentiated instruction together and had discussions about school policies. The days provided an excellent opportunity for our new teachers to get to know our returning teachers. It also set the tone for the new school year.

The CJHS Bike Club is sponsoring an 18-mile ride, aptly named Bike Chai, on Sunday, September 17 to benefit Magen David Adom. The ride will begin in Highwood and traverse through Lake Forest, Lake Bluff, and the Great Lakes Naval Hospital before turning around and heading back to Highwood. If you are a biker, please join us and bring friends and family. Registration forms and waivers can be obtained from the Bike Club student chair, Esther Lowe, or from the club’s advisor, Dr. Gary Auslander (847-324-3707, drauslander@cjhs.org). If you do not bike but would like to volunteer, please contact Dr. Auslander.

Talented CJHS students will have the chance to audition for the school’s first-ever CJHS Idol! Although Simon, Paula, and Randy are not able to serve as judges, it is sure to be an exciting event! Auditions will take place during lunch on the last two Tuesdays and Thursdays of September. Sign up for an audition slot on the Fine Arts bulletin board outside the TRC. The show will take place on November 19 and 20 at Beth Hillel Congregation B’nai Emunah in Wilmette. For more information, please speak to Mrs. Gail Gottlieb.

Congratulations to the following members of the CJHS faculty who either attended or led a workshop this summer:

Judaic Studies
Rabbi Robyn Fryer participated in a workshop on curriculum development at the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem. She was able to visit our students who were in Israel on a variety of programs including Ramah Seminar and Bronfman Youth Fellowships. She also visited CJHS student Sandy Johnston who was volunteering on an archeological dig.

Science
Mrs. Shira Eliaser attended a workshop regarding AP Physics at Loyola University.
Mrs. Ann Levinson taught a week-long workshop for AP Chemistry teachers at Loyola University.

History
Mr. Harvey Gross attended a workshop regarding AP U.S. History at Northwestern University.
Ms. Sharna Marcus led a birthright israel trip.

Fine Arts
Ms. Dori Robinson took a class in playwriting at Chicago Dramatists.
Mrs. Marla Snyder attended a class on Religion and Identity in American Jewish Literature at Spertus Institute for Jewish Studies. She also taught a class entitled “Watercolor for Those Who Don’t Think They Can” at the Art Center of Highland Park.

Modern Language
Ms. Ela Moskovich attended a conference in Leadership in Hebrew Teaching (Part 3) at Hebrew College in Boston.

Mathematics
Ms. Marina Gitlin attended a conference on Discovering Geometry in Oakland, California and took a class in abstract algebra at DePaul University.

Administration
Ms. Inez Altman, Executive Director, spent two weeks with Volunteers for Israel.

In addition, many faculty members traveled and took courses in other areas of interest.

Ms. Caroline Musin, Student Activities Coordinator, had a condensed version of her graduate school thesis, “The Lay/Professional Partnership: Working Toward a Congregational Model,” published in the spring issue of the NAASE Journal, a publication of the North American Association of Synagogue Executives, the professional organization for executive directors in Conservative congregations.

Over the summer, CJHS seniors Ruthie Eisenberg, Sandy Johnston, and Aaron Magid participated in a ten-day seminar as part of their Write On For Israel experience. Write On For Israel is a program of JUF NEWS, CFJE, and JCRC for outstanding Jewish teens, and their experience was featured on Israel National TV on July 2. Watch the segment by clicking on “Israeli Salad #139” on the playlist. Upon his return from Israel, Sandy Johnston spoke with a reporter for the North Side edition of the Pioneer Press. The article is no longer available online.

In addition, on June 27, senior Aaron Magid was among many teens quoted in a Jerusalem Post article about Write On For Israel. Read the article by clicking here.

The Rothschilds To Be Performed
Northwest Suburban Jewish Congregation proudly presents The Rothschilds, an award-winning musical starring Bernie Dean. The musical will take place on Sunday, September 10 at 8:00 p.m. at NSJC, 7800 W. Lyons Street, Morton Grove. A $25 contribution is requested.

Mazal tov to…

• Dr. Auslander and his family on the birth of their first grandson, Meir Yosef.
• Mrs. Jean Meadows and her family on the birth of their granddaughter, Mira Lily.
• Ms. Laura Blumenthal on her engagement this summer.
• Rabbi Reni Dickman on her wedding.
• Ms. Sarah Bier and the entire Handelsman/Bier family on her wedding.
• Dr. Schaffner and his wife, Alene, on the wedding of their son, Benjamin. Ten days later, Dr. and Mrs. Schaffner celebrated their 35th wedding anniversary.
• Ms. Gabrielle Lensch on the recent wedding of her sister.

We are saddened to inform you of the passing this summer of Mr. Sklar's sister and Geoff Levin’s grandmother. May their memories be for a blessing.

It is with sadness that we announce the passing of Avraham Zano, the father of Ms. Yaffa Lahat, who has joined our faculty in the Modern Language Department. Funeral services and shiva took place in Israel, where Mr. Zano resided. Ms. Lahat returned to CJHS on September 5, following shiva.

CJHS mourns the passing of Tikva Frymer-Kensky, who died on Thursday after a courageous four-year battle with cancer. The funeral took place on Sunday. Rabbi Kensky, Meira, and Eitan will observe shiva at their home, 438 Lavergne in Wilmette. Shiva began Sunday, September 3 and will continue through Friday, September 8 at 2:00pm. The shiva/minyan schedule is as follows:

Shacharit (Monday-Friday) 7:15 a.m.
Mincha (Monday-Thursday) 5:30 p.m.
Family Time (No visitors please) 6:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m.
Maariv (Sunday-Thursday) 7:45 p.m. (visiting until 9:30 p.m.)

Thank you to the Sufrin family for sponsoring breakfast on Friday, September 1, in honor of Nat’s 18th birthday.

If you would like to sponsor breakfast in honor of a student’s birthday (or any occasion), please contact Ms. Joan Waxman at jwaxman@cjhs.org or 847-324- 3711. The students love the recognition, and the bagels are great, too!

We began tefillot this year by asking each student and faculty member to consider developing a specific goal for tefillah and to email it to Rabbi Ruven Barkan. The response has been overwhelming. Students and faculty members have expressed a strong desire to deepen their own understanding of tefillah. The work undertaken to achieve these tefillah goals will no doubt cause the bonds of our community to deepen and enhance the overall tefillah experience at CJHS.

Last week, Elli Cohn, Avi Coven, Rachel Binstock, Aaron Magid, Matthew Hass, and Avra Shapiro led tefillah. Alan Bukingolts read Torah. David Weltman, Esther Lowe, Geoff Levin, and Jenn Hipps blew the shofar. Eli Miller gave a summary of the week’s parashah.