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10 Kislev 5781

November 26, 2020

Dear ICJA Family:

I have been informed that Rabbi Yoni Fox, a Judaic Studies teacher and mechanech at our school, has just tested positive for COVID-19. Rabbi Fox’s symptoms are mild and he is feeling fine. We wish him a refuah shlaima.

Because Rabbi Fox and his family followed our protocols he has not been in school since November 19th when a family member began to experience symptoms. Accordingly, our Medical Committee has advised us that his situation does not pose any risk to our school community.

While this news is concerning, it also serves as as a reminder of the importance of compliance with all recommended COVID-related guidelines, especially over this Thanksgiving weekend.

Please stay home if you were contact with a COVID positive individual or if you or a family member develop flu-like symptoms. Remember that the best form of protection from COVID is the three W’s – WEAR a mask, WASH your hands, WATCH your distance.

As always, feel free to reach out to me with any questions you may have. Have a safe Thanksgiving weekend!

Sincerely,

LAM 

Rabbi Leonard A. Matanky, Ph.D.

Dean, Ida Crown Jewish Academy 


9 Kislev 5781

November 25, 2020

Dear ICJA Family:

I’ve been doing a lot of thanking this year, to our teachers and faculty, our staff and families, and especially to G-d for the ability to keep our school open and lead a relatively normal life in these abnormal times.

And today, I want to give special thanks to our front office staff: Eve Partouche, Antoinette Burson, Carol Nylund, and Matt Reczek. They are the first people you speak with when you call, the first people our students and staff see when they come to school, and often the last people to leave the building. But more importantly, they are the ones who do all of the behind the scenes work, from writing receipts to selling texts, tracking attendance to making sure the bells run on time, and this week that all of the forms for the upcoming COVID tests were in, recorded and passed off to LifeScan. They do a fantastic job, which too often we take for granted, but I want to give them a “shout out of thanks.”

By the way, while on the subject of Monday’s COVID testing, here are the details: 

Monday at approximately 10:30, the team from LifeScan will begin testing our ICJA community. Their staff and three parent volunteers will be stationed at the north end of the cafeteria (at the windows).

Students will be called alphabetically to the cafeteria in groups of 25 and will line up in three lines in the cafeteria (we will have marked spaces to maintain distance). When the first group is almost finished, we’ll call the second group, etc. Teachers and staff will be able to be tested at any time –  we have asked them to walk to the head of any line. LifeScan hopes to be finished by 1:00 pm.

As I mentioned yesterday, this testing is only one added safety layer to our already existing safety protocol. If G-d forbid someone tests positive, we will follow the same protocols as we have in the past. We will contact the Skokie Board of Health, consult with our medical committee, and perform tracing to see if anyone else may have been exposed – in or out of school. We do not expect that to occur but cannot preclude that outcome. Therefore, we are choosing to be “better safe than sorry.”

Finally, to end on an inspiring note, 18 students attend last night’s Mechanchim’s mishmar. They learned together, our teachers were there to inspire, and they enjoyed a mid-week cholent served outside following the program. Next week is the Tabachim program, the Philosophy Club, Israel Fairs and so much more.

Enjoy your Thanksgiving break. Please be safe – for yourselves and all of us. We want to keep our school open and our students learning in-person!

Stay safe, stay connected, and be inspired!

LAM

Rabbi Leonard A. Matanky, Ph.D.

Dean, Ida Crown Jewish Academy 


8 Kislev 5781

November 24, 2020

Dear ICJA Family:

Yesterday, Mrs. Julie Avner, the newest member of our Social Services team, came to school early to set up a “gratitude project.” Post-it notes were placed in the Learning Commons, and students were asked to write short notes of thanks to their teachers and post them on the glass walls of the Student Conference Room (aka the “fishbowl”).

Passing by that space today, I took a few minutes to read the comments left by students – here are a few:

— “Thank you for taking the risk of teaching us in person. We really are grateful beyond words.”

— “Mrs. Friedman, thank you for recommending the great book series and making me want to read more.”

— “Thank you, Mr. Keller, for being a gr8 math teacher.”

— “Thank you, Rabbi Fleigelman, for helping me get into college.”

— “Thank you, Mrs. Wainkrantz, for caring so much about each of your students.”

Of course, there were many more, some as simple as “Thank you, teachers,” and most with more specific expressions of gratitude. It’s a great project, and hopefully, it will help create even a great sense of appreciation for all that our teachers do – pre-COVID, during COVID, and please G-d soon, post-COVID. ICJA has the most incredible faculty, and because of each one of our teachers, our students can soar!

A great example of what our students have done is in today’s Chicago Tribune. ICJA alum Dr. Eric (Ricky) Silberman (’09) wrote another beautiful opinion piece, this one about gratitude, especially in these challenging times. To read his essay, click here https://www.chicagotribune.com/opinion/commentary/ct-opinion-coronavirus-thanksgiving-dinner-20201123-pbb4wze4bjddhc6d4hdi6vjooe-story.html

Tomorrow, during the 6th period, there will be another meeting of the Philosophy Club. Starting at 12:50p, the meeting will be in the Wrestling Room (there has to be a great metaphor in that location!).

On Monday will be the all-school COVID testing. The testing will begin at about 10:30 am, and students will be called to the cafeteria alphabetically in groups of 25 to take the test. Several people have asked me if everything we have done until now has been so successful, why test? The answer is because it’s more layer of protection, just in case someone may be asymptomatic. Or, to use Dr. Ben Katz’s metaphor, it’s like a pile of slices of Swiss cheese. Each slice has holes, some more and some less. But when you stack slices one on top of the other, ultimately, you can cover all of the holes. We have great systems of distancing, masking, tracing, and even ventilation. And now we’re adding one more item, testing.

Tonight is the boys’ mishmar sponsored by the mechanchim – 8 pm at the school. 

Tomorrow is another early dismissal day. School will end at 4:58 pm, and we will skip 7th period. 

Stay safe, stay connected, and be inspired!

LAM

Rabbi Leonard A. Matanky, Ph.D.

Dean, Ida Crown Jewish Academy 


 7 Kislev 5781

November 23, 2020

Dear ICJA Family:

I just left a great class taught by Ms. Sennett. It was 12th period, and the 9th graders were studying about the Humanists and the Renaissance. But to do so, Ms. Sennett showed them Renaissance art and helped them understand the themes and the history they convey. At one point, she even referenced the Mona Lisa and DaVinci’s style of drawing a person into the painting when viewing one of the later masters. 

It’s been a while since I’ve learned about Italian and Northern Humanists, but it was a great way to end the day because it was an opportunity to watch a master teacher in action. And, when Evan Comrov was able to identify the difference between what Italian versus Northern Humanists studied – it was a moment of nachas. 

In just a few days is Thanksgiving, and this week we will read in the parsha the story of the very first person to be thankful to G-d – Leah, who named her fourth child Yehuda. But thankfulness is something that should be on all of our minds as we continue to teach Torah and general studies in-person and online despite the pandemic. I am so very thankful to our teachers who inspire our students and our families who have confidence in the safety measures we have adopted and who practice those measures at home.

Together will all of you, I pray that this Thanksgiving weekend will continue to be safe. For those who are traveling and have not yet shared your travel plans with us – please do so ASAP so our medical committee can review them and make their recommendations. And for the vast majority of us staying home, please do not take unnecessary health risks. Like many of you, my wife and I will not be having our large family dinner on Thursday night – because we care about our family’s health and want to celebrate with them for many years to come.

Nearly everyone has sent in their forms for next Monday’s COVID testing. The testing will begin at 10:30 am, and we will be calling small groups of students to come to the gym for the testing. As I have mentioned before, our medical committee recommended this action as one more layer of protection for our school. 

Tomorrow is an early dismissal day. School will end at 4:58 pm, and we will skip 3rd period. Also, tomorrow night there will be a boys’ mishmar sponsored by the mechanchim program.

Stay safe, stay connected, and be inspired!

LAM

Rabbi Leonard A. Matanky, Ph.D.

Dean, Ida Crown Jewish Academy 

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