More than 50 CJHS alumni, faculty and staff reunited this past Sunday to bid a final farewell to our old CJHS home housed at Northwest Suburban Jewish Congregation before the synagogue closes its doors for good.  Members of the CJHS Alumni Committee coordinated the event, and flooded our old school's hallway lockers with hundreds of memorable school photos, giving alumni a virtual tour down memory lane.

After taking one final tour through the building, alumni remembered that with every end comes a new beginning. They rekindled old friendships, shared laughs while flipping through old yearbooks, and reminisced fondly over their good old days at CJHS.

In the concluding ceremony, faculty and staff presented each alum with his/her personalized paper plate award.
All who attended the reunion walked away with renewed friendships and full stomachs! CJHS and NSJC members shared their last meal together in the building: A specially prepared, fully loaded 30-foot party sub from kosher Subway!

Many thanks to our Alumni Event Planning Committee for putting together this exciting and memorable event!

Physics Expo 

How do plasma thrusters work?  Why are there dimples on a golf ball?  And how many balloons would it take to lift Schneidles into the air?  These questions and many more were answered at this year's annual Physics Expo.  Forty-five juniors and seniors from Mrs. Eliaser's three physics classes showcased a semester's worth of research in their chosen specialties with demonstrations, homemade films, and presentations.  Michael Phelps (a.k.a. Paz Abergel in a muscle suit) helped Sarah Scheinman explain the physics of swimming; Sara Schankerman, Danny Stamos, and Natalie Roytman explained the lasing mechanism of the common laser--and why, by all the laws of physics, Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker's light sabers should have repelled each other, and Han Solo should be quite dead, unless he can dodge at the speed of light.

With a record number of groups participating, the annual Best of Show award was almost impossible to select.  But Aliza Small, Joelle Swatez, and Adam Schneider's rip-roaring comedy, "The Physics of Disney's Up!" left the audience cheering as it explored the physics of flotation and flight--while preventing the hapless Schneidles from jumping off his roof with balloons tied around his waist.  (Don't try this at home, Dr. Small and Dr. Swatez warn, unless you have access to 30,000 balloons and several million dollars worth of helium!)  In an unprecedented three-way tie for runner up were Iszy Licht, Jonah Harris, and Jordy Shapiro's sports extravaganza "Curve Balls," Alex Krule, Gabe Rubin, and Lisa Wiznitzer's socio-physical analysis of MagLev, and Mark Weiss and Brett Riederman's ESPN-style documentary "The Physics of Golf."

Many thanks to all the non-physicists who helped out at this year's Physics Expo, including videographers, guest stars, assistant bakers, cheering siblings, and enthusiastic guests.  To guest judges Mr. Marchenko, YABA, Rabbi Barkan, and Mr. Frank, we hope you enjoyed the show!  A special shout-out goes to freshman guest Yoni Gabel, who sat through five hours of Physics Expo and was still clamoring for more!

On Friday May 14, six students from CJHS went to Solomon Schechter Middle School to run a program for the 6th graders about tikkun olam. The "Tikun Olam Fair" focused on different ways of changing the world. The 6th graders visited four stations, each of which was based on a Va'ad Tikun Olam club at CJHS.  The first station, based on Environmental Club, focused on the oil spill, recycling, and small things we can do to help the environment.  The second station, based on the Ark and Ark Book Club, talked about volunteering at homeless shelters and interacting with people who have experienced extreme poverty.  The third station, based on Interfaith Youth Core, was focused on dialogue with Muslims and Christians and how important it is for us to think through our prejudices and stereotypes.  The last station, based on STAND, focused the importance of educating ourselves on conflicts around the world and advocating for people who are denied basic human rights.

Thank you to Nina Kiken, Aviva Schwartz, Naseem Parsa, Benji Fleischacker, Jill Merrick, Noa Fleischacker, and Rabbi Barkan for planning and running this event, we received very positive feedback from the 6th grade teachers and hope to do more programs like this in the future!

Alumni Day in Spanish Class

Which of our splendid alumni was most shocked by his paper plate award that predicted him as Most Likely To Be Head of CJHS Someday?  (We'll give you a hint: he's not a nerd, he just plays one on stage!)

Students in the News 

A standing ovation goes to Nina Kiken, who was recently named a National Merit Scholar.  This tremendous academic achievement recognizes Nina's excellence, as well as providing financial aid for her upcoming career at Nothwestern University.  Many of Nina's classmates have also earned academic, talent-based, and community-service awards.  They are a source of neverending pride to our school.  Congratulations, Nina and the Class of 2010!

Congratulations are due to Dori Robinson, drama coach and administrative all-star, who recently received her masters in educational theater from New York University.  All of Ms. Robinson's former students and colleagues wish her well in her further adventures, and we can only envy the thousands of young people whom she will go on to inspire in performance studies and self-expression.

 

Greater Chicago Jewish Folk Arts Festival 

CJHS is looking for parents, students, teachers and board members to help promote our school at the Greater Chicago Jewish Folk Arts Festival.  This biennial event will be on Sunday, June 13, from 11 a.m. - 6 p.m. at the Cook County Forest Preserve (Oakton Street west of Lehigh).  Similar to years past, CJHS will have an information booth at the Organizational Fair.  This is an important opportunity for us to reach out to the 10,000+ participants who will be attending this year's event.  We're looking for volunteers to help manage the booth for one hour at a time.  You'll be asked to pass out information and talk to those interested in learning more about CJHS. 
 
Please email Rachel Spiro, rspiro@cjhs.org, with your availability.

Mazal Tov

Wonder why the voice on the CJHS switchboard has been sounding so cheery this week?  Join the staff, students, and delivery personnel of CJHS in congratulating front desk pointperson and former student activities director Caroline Musin on her recent engagement to Neil Berkowitz.  (Congratulations are also due to Neil, for graduating from law school and now having the time to propose!)  Many you enjoy many happy years together in your copious and well-stocked newlywed kitchen!

 

Matthew Silverman ('07): senior point guard, teflilah maven, Seymour in Little Shop of Horrors, Ernest in The Importance of Being Ernest, and all-around academic superstar, still can't believe his old school wants him back.  We'd better get that job offer in quickly, though: Matthew is graduating from the University of Maryland this December with a degree in government and politics, after which point he is making aliyah!

Baruch Dayan Emet 

Happy birthday to David Dworkin and Talia Stoehr. Many thanks to their families for sponsoring breakfast in their honor.  Thanks also to the generous soul who sponsored lunch for the school and our guests on Grandparents Day.