Ten-Pin Tigers Kick Off Year
The 17-member Bowling Team bowls twice weekly at the Brunswick Zone in Deerfield in preparation for interscholastic competition.  The team hosted an experienced Stevenson team on Thursday, and has upcoming contests against Deerfield, Vernon Hills, and Gordon Tech.  Both novice and more experienced team members have seen their averages improve over time. For his accomplishments as a two-year member of the Bowling Team, Matt Levin has been named "Athlete of the Week." 

In nominating Matt, coach Dr. Gary Auslander gives two reasons:  "First, on his improved ability which is directly related to his capacity and willingness to learn and change. I have had long talks with Matt about his mechanics... This year and particularly within the last couple of weeks there has been a dramatic turnaround. Matt asked me to go with him to buy a new ball. He also told me he was going to try out my suggestions, which he did. On the first day back after buying a new ball last Thursday, Matt bowled his highest average score of 139 with the new ball and the new approach. He is really looking good, and he is thrilled with the change and development."  Congratulations, Matt, and keep up the great work.

Men's Basketball
The Men's Basketball Team is in its second week of competition and off to a great start.  The Junior Varsity team is undefeated, with wins over Yeshiva, St. Gregory, and New Jerusalem Baptist Church.  The Varsity team, which has had a very tough early schedule, had tough losses against Yeshiva, St. Gregory, and New Jerusalem, and a decisive win over Waldorf.  Wish the varsity squad "good luck" as the team travels to Memphis on Thursday to compete in the eight-team Cooper Yeshiva tournament. To listen live to all the tournament games and to view scores and stats via the Internet, log on at www.cooperinvitational.com.

Women's Basketball
The Lady Tigers have had a very challenging schedule in the first three weeks of the season, but have improved every game.  With several tough losses to much larger schools, the women's basketball team had a decisive win over New Jerusalem on Tuesday.  The team has high expectations when it plays St. Martin de Porre and Hinsdale Adventist in the next week.

Jeremy is committed to raising at least $3,600 for Chai Lifeline. Please contribute by visiting Jeremy's personal Team Lifeline page.

 

 

On Tuesday, November 25, CJHS turned out for its first annual chemistry show.  Mrs. Ann Levinson and Mr. Ron Urick, assisted by the members of the AP Chemistry class, spent a merry forty minutes blowing things up and turning them bright colors for the viewing pleasure of the student body.  Student and faculty volunteers were invited up to guess at the physical and chemical changes about to occur; volunteers were chosen based on their ability to be calm under pressure, have steady hands, or in the case of Mr. Scher--who was splattered with acid-base indicator and hosed down with a fire extinguisher to remove the stains--a good sense of humor.  The demonstration concluded with a rendition of Tchaikovsky's 1812 overture with exploding hydrogen balloons, a perfect end to an exciting morning.

 

Dance the night away at Winter Wonderland on Saturday, December 6 from 8:00 - 10:30 p.m.  Tickets are $15 at the door. Jewish guests from other schools must be signed up in advance with Ms. Musin.  Contact Elli Cohn or Ms. Musin for more information.

 

More than a dozen CJHS alumni stopped by to say hello on Wednesday November 26.  Members of the class of  2007 took their first tours of the Deerfield campus, having been in Israel during our opening year.  Five or six alumni came by for tefillah and offered words of wisdom to our current underclassmen, urging them to enjoy their time in high school and glean all that they can from the rich environment around them.

"I'm sure you're all sick of hearing this, but you are the ambassadors of the Jewish community," grinned one Yale freshman shamefacedly.  "Like it or not, it's true.  I'm one of two Jewish guys on my floor, and the others all come up to me and ask, 'What does Judaism say about this issue?'  I try to explain to them that Judaism embraces a lot of different perspectives and sects, and they're like, 'Yeah, we know, but what does Judaism say?'"

"I'm the only Jewish person that most of my friends know," another freshman at Southern Illinois pointed out.  "I get that same kind of thing all the time."

"Take advantage of close relationships with teachers," advised a Michigan sophomore.  "It won't be like this in college.  You'll be in lectures with two or three hundred people and the prof won't know who you are.  Take advantage of the teachers here who really care about you."

"Pay attention in Modern Jewish Thought," quipped a returning student.  "It's the most important thing you'll ever study.  And don't tell Rabbi Goldberg I said that!"

"The Hillel at my school doesn't have all that many people, so every person counts," noted another student.  "A few of us tried to put up a sukkah and the rabbi made me responsible for making sure that the sukkah was kosher.  Me!"  He paused for grins, acknowledging his lack of religious involvement in high school. "So of course, I facebooked [one of my CJHS friends] and had him quote me all the halachot and stuff."

"You will never have friends like this again," an Indiana freshman told the school.  "You'll have friends in college, and they'll be great friends, but not like these.  The people in my class... we're in touch constantly.  We see each other on campus, we see each other in Israel.  We're still here for each other even after we've all moved on.  And we always will be."

 

 

 

The Man in the Argyle Sweater Vest 

On Monday, November 23, CJHS turned out in style to show our appreciation for the Man in the Argyle Sweater Vest.  Students and staff alike donned identical t-shirts emblazoned with a sweater vest and tie; some sported huge buttons proclaiming, "Argyle isn't for everyone, and neither am I!"  Mr. Bruce Scher, the well-beloved college counselor and dean of CJHS, whose endless good nature and inexhaustible collection of sweater vests have endeared him to all, was completely baffled at this apparently spontaneous outpouring of affection.

 

Sponsors for this program were mysteriously elusive; neither the Bruce Scher Appreciation Society nor the Yellow Submarine Prank Monkey Committee claimed responsibility for the event.  An anonymous benefactor sponsored breakfast for "Argyle Day," and one unopened box of sweater-vest T's was found next to a stack of library books and a video about health, but otherwise the instigators remain cloaked in shadow.

 

Those wishing to show their love and support for Mr. Bruce Scher can donate to Erika's Lighthouse, a local charity that combats teen depression and suicide.

Tony Frank invites CJHS parents of each grade level to join him at a series of group meetings where, over coffee and a light breakfast, there will be an opportunity to engage in informal conversation about matters of interest to you concerning your children and their experience at CJHS. Dr. Schaffner, Rabbi Goldberg and Mr. Scher will also be in attendance at the meetings, which will begin at 7:15 a.m. on the following dates:
 
     Wednesday, Dec. 10........Junior parents
     Thursday, Dec. 18............Senior parents
 
Meetings will conclude at 8 a.m., at which time we invite you to join us for our morning minyan.
 
Please RSVP to Maria Pani at mpani@cjhs.org if you think you will be able to attend. We look forward to seeing you! 

We are pleased to announce that sixteen members of the CJHS Class of 2009 have been honored as 2008-2009 Illinois State Scholars, a group of outstanding Illinois high school seniors chosen by the Illinois Student Assistance Commission based on their ACT scores and class rank. The 2008-2009 CJHS State Scholars are Victor Abecassis, Jordana Abisdris, Karen Avidar, Rachel Binstock, Rachel Braun, Sydni Cole, Yael Derman, Rebecca Gore, Francesca Hirschfeld, Brett Kopin, Ariel Levitt, Hannah Rosenbaum, Avra Shapiro, Daniel Silver, Aaron Weinberg, and Nicole Wiznitzer.

 

CJHS welcomes back HooShir, Indiana University's Jewish a capella group.  The collegiates performed a selection of Jewish and popular music over lunch on Friday, November 21.  Thanks to Mr. Scher for coordinating the performance.  We look forward to continuing our relationship with Jewish campus groups.

Sponsored Breakfasts 

 
Thanks to the families of Eliana Fisher, Victoria Aron, Noa and Benji Fleischacker, and Kate Kupferberg for sponsoring breakfast in their honor.  Happy birthday to Victoria and Kate.

Yasher koach to Lisa Wiznitzer, Benji Fleischacker, Rena Forester, Eliana Fisher, Matt Levin, Ariel Stoltz, Hannah Miller, Shoshana Coven and Ari Eisenstadt for leading davening at CJHS this week; also to Sammy Simon and Benji Fleischacker for reading Torah.