More than 90 parents and community members had the opportunity to experience famous kosher chef and CJHS parent Laura Frankel at the Parent Organization's Kosher Slow Cooker event on Tuesday, December 1. The dining hall was beautifully arranged with burgundy linens from Windy City Linens and flowers from Art Quest. Tables were set with pita in Chinese cups and various sauces for everyone to taste with their tagine.

 

Chef Laura demonstrated her lamb tagine recipe and provided dozens of cooking tips and tricks for dealing with salt, garlic, knives and much more. The lamb tagine can be found in her new cookbook, Jewish Slow Cooker Recipes.

 

While guests feasted, Chef Laura demonstrated her chocolate mousse recipe. The evening ended with sales of cookbooks, which were happily signed by Chef Laura, who is the Executive Chef at Wolfgang Puck's kosher catering business at Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies.

 

The Parent Organization raised $2700 with this event, and Jason Wiznitzer ('06) won the raffle for the slow cooker at the end of the night. For more information about the Parent Organization, please contact Melissa Spellman at mrsmetalsguy@aol.com.

Congratulations to our Lady Tigers, who took fifth place over Community Hebrew Academy of Toronto in the Weiner Tournament, sponsored by Beth Tfiloh Community Day School of Baltimore.  Word from the coaches is that they are improving with each game!  Many thanks to Rabbi Ben-Avraham for chaperoning our team for the Shabbaton. 

Nineteen members of the Class of 2010 have been named Illinois State Scholars.  This is quite an accomplishment for a class of 39 seniors.  This award is given through the Illinois Student Assistance Commission and the State of Illinois.  Our recipients include Max Abecassis, Sam Aisen, Daniel Eisenberg, Ari Eisenstadt, Noa Fleischacker, Zach Kamin, Nina Kiken, Kate Kupferberg, Jamie Levin, Matthew Levin, Jacob Rabinowitz, Brett Riederman, Aviva Schwartz, Aliza Shapiro, Louis Shekhtman, Rebecca Silverman, Sammy Simon, Leo Spornstarr, and Talia Stoehr.  Congratulations, seniors!

 Project Egg Drop  

There is a song of victory, and it goes, "Na, na, na, na na na, na NA!" -- at least according to the line of juniors conga-dancing down the hall last Tuesday in celebration of a successful physics experiment. Impromptu victory dances, group hugs, and raucous cheering accompanied this year's classic exercise in physics design, as students used structures built from straws and  paper to protect their raw eggs from falls of more than 20 feet.  The most successful containers used reinforced cylinders or cones as crumple zones to absorb the force of the egg's landing, as per the impulse-momentum theorem which the students are studying.  This year's classes boasted a phenomenal success rate, with almost 70% of the containers delivering unscathed eggs to the landing zone.  Watch the excitement here and listen to one group's musical saga here. 

  

 

This fall, 63 colleges and Israel programs have sent representatives to CJHS to meet with students and the College Counseling staff.  This is a sizeable increase from the 47 that visited last fall.  Several colleges are visiting for the first time, including Wesleyan University, University of Massachusetts-Amherst, Eckerd College, Macalester College, Colorado College, University of Vermont and Butler University.

According to College Counselor Ellen J. Rostker, several colleges commented that they scheduled a visit because of the quality they were seeing from our applicants.  After their visit, several representatives expressed delight with the quality of the questions asked by our students and remarked that they planned to return to CJHS to recruit in future years.

EMTs in Training 

 

Senior Nina Kiken and sophomore Benji Fleischacker performed with the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra on Sunday, November 22 at Orchestra Hall in Chicago, playing works by Stravinsky, Adams, Shostakovich and Liszt.   The hall was packed with music lovers, family and friends, including faculty members Mr. Dale Griffith, Coach Bob Cogan, and Dr. Gary Auslander.  The CYSO is in its 63rd season and has achieved international recognition for its excellence and innovation in orchestral training.  Many of the Orchestra's alumni play in over 40 orchestras around the world, including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.  CJHS is honored to have two of its students as members of such a fine organization.

 

In another corner of Chicagoland, sophomore Jeff Budweg is profiled in the November 27 issue of the Chicago Jewish News, as a high-ranking member of the city's only Jewish Boy Scout troop.  Jeff earned the Etz Chayim badge for excellence in Torah study, the highest award in Jewish scouting.  Read all about it here.

CJHS juniors and their parents will attend a meeting about College Counseling on Wednesday, December 9, in the Shapiro Dining Hall.  We will discuss a variety of topics, including the college research and application process, testing, gap years, and a timeline for the next three semesters.  Parents will now learn about "The Family Connection" of Naviance, a dynamic online program for college research and data management.  If anyone cannot attend this important meeting, they should contact Merle Spielman at 847.324.3748 or mspielman@cjhs.org.

Attention: Prospective Families 

December 15 is the Early Decision Deadline.  This is the last chance to save $500 your student's first year tuition!  Submit an application for admission here.  Questions?  Contact Rachel Spiro, Director of Admissions, rspiro@cjhs.org or 847.324.3706.
 
Save the Date - The Explore Test

CJHS is offering the Explore Test at no cost on Sunday, December 13 and Sunday, January 10.  Test scores need to be submitted as part of the application process.  Only freshman applicants are eligible for taking the test at CJHS.  Register by this Wednesday, December 9 for the December date.  Contact Michele at magbodza@cjhs.org or 847.324.3710.

Get out your leather jackets and poodle skirts!  Grease has come to CJHS! Pick up your audition materials at the Fine Arts bulletin board on the second floor.  Auditions are this Wednesday!

 

The answer given at the basketball game was the Bier family, including Esther Bier ('09), now in Israel with Habonim Dror, Daniel Bier ('06), now at Ohio State University, and their elder sister Ms. Sarah Bier, former teacher of Judaic Studies and now a proud new mother.  This week, we ask, WHICH OTHER CURRENT FAMILY?

It is with sadness that we announce the passing of Lillian Goodman, one of our major supporters.  Charitable contributions in Lillian's memory can be made to the Greater Chicago Food Depository or the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center.

Hamakom Yinachem Etchem B'toch Sh'ar Avalei Tziyon V'Yerushalayim.
May God's presence comfort the Goodman family among the other mourners of Zion and Jerusalem.

Happy birthday to Kate Kupferberg.  Many thanks to her family for sponsoring breakfast in their honor.