About 200 of the top physics students from AMIT schools took part recently in a reshet-wide physics Olympiad held at the Gogya teacher-trainer in center in Ra’anana.
During the annual competition, launched several years ago by Dr. Rachela Turgeman who heads the network’s physics studies program, the students participated in workshops about physics in sports, at the circus, 3-D physics, and other initiatives. Joining them were AMIT students who already have earned a place on Israel’s national young physics team.
The emphasis on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) is paramount at AMIT schools as it gives its students, many of whom come from the country’s socioeconomic and geographic periphery, a level educational playing field and the opportunity to become tomorrow’s science and technology leaders in Israel.
“The Olympiad aims to push outstanding physics students toward the peak of national and international excellence in physics by integrating their studies with an experiential competitive process that arouses inspiration, serious thinking, and fun,” Turgeman said.
The goal is to encourage promising physics students to continue to excel, advancing towards national and international physics competitions. At the Olympiad, 20 students who garnered top scores will go on to national and international competitions.
“We must offer significant challenges and the Olympiad is another tool to cultivate and empower our children,” said Dr. Amnon Eldar, AMIT’s general director.
The annual Olympiad is an exciting competition culminating in years of hard work on the students’ part, but it is just a piece of AMIT’s comprehensive and intensive physics education program, which starts in 10th grade and continues through 12th grade.
At the outset, students interested in pursuing physics attend an AMIT schoolwide event at Gogya in Ra’anana where they spend the day on creative and experiential physics. This also gives the staff a chance to evaluate their abilities.
Those who choose – and are chosen – to pursue physics take on a three-year commitment that includes challenging exams, assignments, and intensive physics camps that take place during summers and Chanukah and Pesach breaks.
Working with physics expert, Alex Weinberg, who develops content and helps the students prepare for the difficult exams. So demanding is the program that from thousands of students who start the program in the 10th grade, by the time the international competitions come around in the 12th grade, the physics students in the top tier number in the single digits.
Until AMIT began to work on recruiting students from the periphery, the state of Israel was only successful in bringing students from the country’s center.
To date, in the 10th grade competition, more than half of the AMIT students are from the periphery. Of the 22 students, 11 are from the south, 4 from the north (Acco, Tzfat, and Carmiel), 4 from the center and one from AMIT Nachson. For the 11th grade, out of 25 students, there are four AMIT students, including one girl from AMIT Haifa, and boys from AMIT Modiin, AMIT Amichai, and AMIT Kfar Batya. The 12th grade has one AMIT student for AMIT Ma’aleh Adumim.
The cutting-edge physics program opens many doors for the successful student — many of whom are able to complete their physics bagrut (matriculation) in the 11th grade or are even exempted from the exam. These young men and women are sought by the army, universities, and invited to prestigious programs such as Atudah and Carmel 6000, among others.
