Hundreds of people gathered yesterday to dedicate the Larry Goodman Family Foundation Athletic Wing and Athletic Field at Chicagoland Jewish High School. Surrounded by an overwhelming sense of pride, school spirit, and an Olympic-style procession of our athletic teams, the community shared thanks and appreciation for Larry and Lillian Goodman and their generous gift to CJHS.
 
The event included performances by our students, including a moving cantata written by former CJHS Board member Jane Pickus; the cantata wove together themes of spirit, strength, resilience, and sport with quotations from biblical sources and historical figures.   The dedication of the Athletic Field concluded outside with guests filling the bleachers and cheering as the Goodmans cut the ribbon.  
 
The Honorable Orli Gil, Consul General of Israel to the Midwest, read a moving letter from the Prime Minister's Bureau congratulating the Goodmans on their contribution to CJHS.  "This gift has certainly provided a tremendous boost to Jewish education at a time when such learning is becoming more and more vital to the  well-being and the survival of the Jewish people."   Mr. Goodman responded with gratitude to the individuals who convinced him to lend his support to an institution that strengthens Jewish life and Jewish community.  "If you don't remember your history," Mr. Goodman told the students, "then history won't remember you. " 
 

 

A special thank you to the following people who made this dedication possible:

• Our jazz ensemble and a cappella groups for their performances
• Sign-A-Rama for the beautiful banners and ArtQuest for the plants
• Our stellar athletes, our visionary Athletic Director Tim Cohen, and the outstanding coaches
• Jane Pickus, who composed the lovely cantata
• Nina Harris, CJHS Board President, and the CJHS Board of Directors for their tireless work on behalf of the school
• Rabbi Ruven Barkan for his moving speech
• The Honorable Orli Gil, Consul General of Israel to the Midwest, for speaking about the importance of Jewish education
• The parent volunteers who helped make this event run so smoothly
• Parent Lauri Ferri for taking beautiful pictures and Dr. Gary Auslander for videotaping the ceremony
• CJE SeniorLife for providing delicious refreshments

CJHS has 18 interscholastic teams that compete with a wide variety of schools, and two teams will travel to tournament-based Shabbatonim for Jewish day schools this year.  While competing with Jewish high school students from across the country, our student-athletes will share the love of sport and form lasting friendships. Many of our teams have winning records while playing against much larger schools, and three CJHS graduates have played on college athletic teams.
 
Our athletic department has added new teams according to student initiative and interest; our state-of-of-the-art facilities include a regulation-size gymnasium, two athletic fields (including the Goodman Athletic Field), a fully-equipped fitness center, and spacious locker rooms.