ICJA News

McCormick Foundation Media Grant
The Crown Prints student newspaper received a media grant from the McCormick Foundation Youth Media Technology Fund. The group will receive two digital cameras and nine audio recorders to improve the paper's photography and reporting. Congrats to Ms. Sheri Goldstein on winning the grant.

Boys Shabbaton
The 2010 Boys Shabbaton started out with davening on the buses as they made their way through heavy snow and the pre-dawn light towards the highway. Hours later, as the busses pulled into Cascade Mountain, a bright, cold, and clear day had dawned over the freshly snowed slopes. Hours later, the tired but exhilarated boys arrived at Perlstein Resort and Conference Center for their first meat meal of what would be a completely fleishig weekend.
    Each grade represented a country to compete in the Olympic "Meat" that was the central theme of the weekend. Each "Country" focused on the goal to "Go for the Sub," the gold medal of the weekend. For being the first grade to arrive at Kabbalat Shabbat, the freshmen were all awarded the "Romanian"  medallions-a small salami each. On Shabbat day, the sophomores won a Kishke each for attendance at Shacharit as did the five juniors who attended the Shabbaton. However, the seniors pulled ahead over the course of the weekend during the different activities, including the Torah Bowl and the ICJA Trivia Challenge, which included such sections as a word search and random facts about the school. Because of their performance, the Seniors were awarded the grand prize, a free trip to Subway on Wednesday morning for the "Filet Minyan."

National Board Certification
Congratulations to Mr. Josh Cooper on becoming certified with the National Board of Education. National Board Certification is part of the growing education reform movement that is advancing student learning, improving teaching and making schools better. Teachers who achieve National Board Certification have met high standards through study, expert evaluation, self-assessment and peer review. The process takes up to three years to complete. Mrs. Ruth Gleicher is also National Board Certified.

As part of a similar process, Mrs. Marsha Arons just completed Take One! from the National Board, a process which provides a standards-based approach for improving teaching practice and links student learning to effective instruction. Mrs. Arons had to prepare and submit one pre-selected video portfolio, which she can later transfer the score toward National Board candidacy.


New Israel Advocacy Course
We are thrilled to announce a new Israel advocacy course set to begin this spring for second semester seniors. Faced with the often-tense political climate on campus, one Academy alumni family recognized the need to arm high school graduates with Israel knowledge. The hope is that seniors will graduate with the essential tools to advocate for Israel once they arrive on campus. The Gorenstein family, who sent all of their children to ICJA, approached the school to initiate the course, committed funds and have been involved in the course's development and in raising more of the necessary funds. The family's efforts in developing the course are in memory of their father and grandfather, Sam Gorenstein, a"h. Under the direction of Carl Schrag--a journalist, teacher and Middle East analyst--and with the involvement of many local communal leaders, this unprecedented course will prove to be a fantastic opportunity for Academy seniors.