The Mr. and Mrs. Lester Sutker AMIT Modi’in School for Boys comprises a junior and senior high school, with a combined student body of 394 boys in grades 7–12. The school’s motto—Learn, Experience, Believe—is brought to life on a daily basis through the academic programs, arts classes and Judaic study opportunities offered to the students. Integrating study of traditional Jewish texts with the arts and sciences is a key element of the school’s DNA. The Sutker AMIT’s arts program includes music, communications, theater, dance and visual arts. Among the sciences offered are physics, chemistry, biology and research. The school runs a leadership program for the boys as well as a Beit Midrash for the community.
Academic excellence and helping each student achieve his full potential is another school cornerstone. The school boasts a 100% bagrut pass rate, with 100% of the students taking level 4 or 5 English.
For the first time, this past year students from the 9th grade in the “Young Entrepreneurs Doing Business” project, where they were exposed to the world of entrepreneurship and business. As part of this project, the students underwent a long process where they learned how to create a business model, develop an idea into a product and how to sell it. The students set up a company called Promotor, and created “pick-nic,” an experiential tablecloth that entertains those eating at the table with riddles, games and facts about Israel, and then turns into a garbage bag at the end of the meal. Not only did the class learn how to become entrepreneurs, but the product they designed, produced and marketed won the El Al Young Entrepreneur Competition. They also won the national competition and placed third in the world at the international competition in Belgium!
Sutker also has both a junior high and senior high school team participating in advanced robotics competitions across the county as part of the FRC (First Robotics Competition). Through this program, the students experience the world of technology firsthand. The team is designed to function like a startup, with everyone having a unique position and role. The roles include building, mechanics, electronics, runners, strategies, rules, advertising, marketing and more. Participation in this project provides a valuable experience, teaching the students the importance of teamwork, professionalism.
Another unique initiative started at Sutker is “Overcoming Challenges” week, when students, parents and educational staff encounter inspirational figures who dealt with crisis in an exceptional way. Through their stories, the students received skills and tools for dealing with crisis. The students met with Asael Sabo, whose mother and three siblings were murdered in a terror attack and who himself lost his leg in the attack. He shared with the students how he has coped with the loss and with his disability. The students also heard from Naama Aharonovitch, who told them about how she has dealt with her Attention Deficit Disorder. In addition, the students participated in roundtable discussion groups where they shared their own personal coping stories. Together, they learned and practiced a special model of coping.
IDF & National Service
The school has a nearly 100% enlistment rate in the IDF. Most of the graduates choose to attend a pre-army learning program to further their personal and intellectual development, along with leadership skills and knowledge of the Land of Israel, before joining the army. Others do a year of service or learn advanced Jewish studies in a yeshiva prior to enlistment. While the IDF must grant permission to postpone one’s military service for one of these “gap-year” programs, it is willing to do so because the recruits are better versed in the values of the IDF.