Claim OwnershipThinking Out Loud with JCHS
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What makes a JCHS education not just different, but truly transformative? Welcome to Thinking Out Loud — where we dive deep, ask big questions, and explore what shapes learning at JCHS. Each week we talk with a member of the JCHS community about what really matters in learning and the uniquely JCHS approach to education.
13 Episodes
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Send us a text What if the most important career skill you’ll ever need isn’t something you can study from a textbook? In this episode, alumn Ethan Finestone '20 reflects on how filmmaking projects, multi-grade athletics, and student government at JCHS shaped his confidence, adaptability, and self-advocacy long before college or the AI industry were on his radar. He shares how the personalized relationships and academic rigor at JCHS gave him an unexpected advantage at a 35,000 student public...
Send us a text What if the biggest change in your life started the moment you walked into a new school? In this episode, ninth-grader Sayde Czerpak shares how she chose JCHS, navigated the nerves of starting fresh, and slowly discovered a community that felt like home. She talks about taking positive risks—from running for class rosh to giving a d’var Torah—and how each step helped her figure out who she wants to be. Along the way, Sayde shows how kindness, curiosity, and trying new things ca...
Send us a text What actually prepares a person to think like a scientist? In this episode, Dr. Cecily Burrill explains how JCHS’s physics-first sequence intentionally aligns with teenage brain development and strengthens student mastery of chemistry and biology. She also digs into why modern AP science courses—now focused on scientific practices rather than rote memorization—remain deeply valuable for many students and families. From designing their own human-subject experiments to exploring ...
Send us a text What if the small moments in high school—the friendships, the mentors, the unexpected opportunities—turn out to be the spark that shapes your future? In this episode, we sit down with Rymo Hymowitz ’21, whose journey from sewing in the JCHS Commons to designing sports bras at Nike reveals how creativity grows when students are truly known. Rymo shares how the deep sense of community at JCHS helped her transition confidently to a huge university and encouraged her to try new thi...
Send us a text How is JCHS able to build championship-level teams — while keeping kindness and community at the core? In this episode, we sit down with Coach Marty Cohen, JCHS Assistant Athletics Director and Class of 2019 alum, to explore how the school’s athletics program reflects its values of balance, growth, and sportsmanship. From encouraging every student to “just try” a new sport to fostering mentorship between 9th graders and seniors, JCHS athletics is about far more than just winnin...
Send us a text What does it take to truly see your authentic self? In this episode of Thinking Out Loud, JCHS Director of Athletics and Zion Journey leader Sean Moler shares how the 10th Grade Journey to Zion challenges students to take “positive risks” — moments that stretch their limits while strengthening trust, reflection, and community. From navigating slot canyons to embracing deep silence by the river, the journey invites students to uncover courage and authenticity in unexpected ways....
Send us a text What does it really mean to study the humanities in a world driven by data, speed, and technology? In this episode of Thinking Out Loud, Dr. Camilo Jaramillo, Dean of Humanities at JCHS, explores how literature, history, and art help students make sense of themselves and the world they live in. From mock trials and creative projects to deep dives into the ideas that have shaped society, Dr. Jaramillo reveals how JCHS students learn to think critically, communicate powerfully, a...
Send us a text What if grades reflected only what students truly learned—not compliance or point-chasing? In this episode, Michael Brody, Assistant Head of School at JCHS, shares the school’s “Grading for Learning” philosophy, which prioritizes mastery over noise like attendance penalties or extra credit. He explains how policies like retakes and rewrites encourage intellectual risk-taking, while AP courses focus on authentic, college-level learning rather than test prep. Michael offers insig...
Send us a text How do you teach young people to navigate one of the most polarizing topics of our time in a productive healthy, and thoughtful way? In this conversation, JCHS alum and Director of Jewish and Student Life, Adi Alouf, shares the story behind the school’s weekly “Lunch and Learn” series, launched after October 7, 2023. She explains why cultivating humility, curiosity, and engagement with complexity is so important. From weekly Lunch and Learn conversations to the life-chang...
Send us a text What if reading Torah could make us more humble, responsible, and courageous? In this episode, Dean of Jewish Studies Tamar Rabinowitz explains how slowing down, listening deeply, and engaging multiple voices in dialogue can shape a person’s character as much as their intellect. Her teaching emphasizes humility, responsibility, and moral courage—qualities urgently needed in a world of quick takes and easy answers. Reading List: From Consumption to Production: Equipping Students...
Send us a text How does the tension between structure and freedom allow for creativity to thrive? In this episode, Dean of Visual & Performing Arts Jennifer Sturgill explains her philosophy of teaching art as an exploration of open-mindedness. She illustrates this approach through a “notan” paper-cutting project, showing how structure, freedom, and attention to detail combine to spark creativity and confidence. Episode launch date: September 30 To find out more about JCHS, visit www.jchso...
Send us a text We are in conversation with Dean of College and Gap-year Advising, Lauren Cook. A 30-year veteran of College Admissions, Ms. Cook has worked on both sides of the process, as a college admissions officer for Mount Holyoke College and as a college counselor for students at JCHS. She is the former president of the Western Association for College Admission Counseling and also a member of the Fiske Guide to Colleges Counselor Advisory Group. Ms. Cook is much sought-after as an exper...
Send us a text In this episode, we’re talking with Rabbi Howard Jacoby Ruben, the Head of School at JCHS, who shares how a culture of courageous questioning, deep learning, and joyful belonging shapes everything from classroom discussions to community life. We’ll explore how the approach to learning at JCHS allows students to do more…. be more… as they enter into centuries-old conversations, wrestle with justice, and grow into original thinkers ready to engage the world with empathy and...
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