Chicagoland Jewish High School Hosts Its First Annual CJHS Team Building Day

Summer Staff Development

Modern Language Department Adds a New Spanish Book to the Curriculum
Se�ora Brejcha, Spanish teacher and Se�ora Linda, Modern Language Department Chair, prepared for the inclusion of a new Spanish I textbook, �Avancemos! in the CJHS curriculum. The new series, which will be added to the Spanish curriculum one year at a time, comes with new and exciting ancillary materials and power point presentations that will be used with the recently acquired smart board in the third floor Spanish classroom.

Jewish History Conference at NYU
Mr. Griffith, English and History Department Chair, joined Mrs. Tobin, Mr. Gross, and Rabbi Goldberg, Director of Religious Life, at a conference about the teaching of Jewish history in Jewish high schools at New York University from July 6-10. The conference included presentations on current scholarship in the study of Jewish history and workshops on secondary school curriculum for the teaching of Jewish history. The work that began at NYU will continue throughout the year and enhance the integration of Jewish history into our history curriculum.

CJHS Science Department at Loyola University
Mr. Taylor, Biology teacher, attended a week workshop at Loyola University on AP Biology in July. Mrs. Levinson, Science Department Chair, conducted workshops at Loyola University on AP Chemistry in June and in July.

CJHS Hosts Solomon Schechter Day School Association Seminars
On June 23 and 24, CJHS hosted a two-day conference for member schools of the Solomon Schechter Day School Association. The conference was chaired by Dr. Elaine Cohen, the Associate Director of United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism's Department of Education and included presentations by Dr. Jon Levisohn of Brandeis University, Rabbi Shawn Simon Hazzani of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College and Rabbi Bob Abramson, Director of USCJ's Department of Education. Participants focused upon the expansion of rabbinic positions in Schechter schools and a day-long deliberation about the teaching of rabbinics. Our own Rabbi Elliot Goldberg, Director of Religious Life, presented a session about the role of the Rabbi in the formation of religious policy, and, with Benjamin Mann of the Solomon Schechter School of Manhattan, facilitated a discussion about underlying assumptions and current practice in Schechter schools.

Studies at the Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem
Caroline Musin, Student Activities Director, studied at the Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem from June 29 until July 17. This experience provided her with a renewed appreciation for our tradition, a greater sense of facility with Judaic texts, and a more nuanced understanding of the learning undertaken by our students and faculty each and every day. Ms. Musin received a Legacy Heritage Communal Fellowship to study at the Conservative Yeshiva.