Amit Magazine Summer 2006.qxd

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18 EDUCATION Club Med As students learn to mediate, they can help solve student-to-student conflicts in school. Pictured (l-r): Ido Abergen, Yair Guzi, Uzi Neeman, Ran Hagbi, Erez Hason, Rosh Yeshiva Houri, Snir Vadavker, Hen Benmukha, Uriel Manzur violence to solve problems,” said Ido Abergen, a 7 th grader at AMIT Berman, “You can use words. We learned to respond in a different way. Ora was a good teacher.” Bat-El Zafrani, an 11 th grader at AMIT Beit Shemesh Ulpana High School, raved about Gesher ha’Gishur. “My powers of persuasion are much better,” she said. “I can talk to people untalented goalie, hurting the booted child’s feelings. The matter might be resolved when the captain more clearly articulates the reason for his decision, or he might agree to coach the former goalie and help him improve his skills. After the two sides reach an agreement, they sign a contract. The mediation training by Hashachar has helped the Little Sanhedrin members improve their ability to “relate to others and understand people,” Orluz said. It has also improved the morale of students throughout AMIT Afikim B’Negev, and reduced the number of discipline cases that must be handled by teachers. “From the start it made them a bit more interested in their studies about the ancient Sanhedrin,” Rabbi Avivi said. “But they were much more effectively. I know now to start with what is important to the listeners, to help them advance in what they want. Now the students come to me more. It helped all of us become better listeners and better leaders.” Rachel Miriam Sprintzer is a native of Boston and former resident of Manhattan. She now lives in Jerusalem where she writes and edits for non-profit organizations, including the Jewish Agency for Israel and several religious seminaries and yeshivot. Mediation is in keeping with the AMIT Network’s emphasis on Beit Chinuch, turning schools into centers of values education. The educational staff and students concentrate on achievement while creating acceptable personal and group behavioral norms. For more information about furthering programs such as Gesher ha’ Gishur, please contact the Development Department at 1-800-989-AMIT, 212-477-4720, or visit our award-winning, secure website at www.amitchildren.org. more interested in the school. The students in the program became more participatory and more responsible. The number of violent incidents has gone down, though we’ll know the real impact better in five or six years.” There have been cases of students who dramatically improved their behavior because the “reward” of being eligible for the Sanhedrin was a tremendous motivation. “I had one boy who always wanted to get in,” Rabbi Avivi remembers. “He was a violent kid. He hit his classmates and the like. I told him that if he behaves OK, I’ll get him in. We had to talk about what ‘O.K.’ means, with very specific ways to improve. It took him several months, but finally, after three rotations of the Sanhedrin members, he made it in. He was very good after that.” AMIT <strong>Summer</strong> 2006 www.amitchildren.org
Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe Few high schools can boast that their students are qualified even to consider entering the annual Jerusalem Bloomfield Science Museum’s Young Scientists Competition. Even fewer have five such students, and it is rare indeed for all the entries from one school to reach the finals. And yet, the AMIT Harry and Bina Appleman Junior and Senior High School in Beersheva has just such a dis- By Zohar Bat-Shahaf Photos By Orna Itamar Young Scientists to the Fifth Power Pictured (l-r): Leon, Danny, Polina, Rita, and Doron displaying their finished products tinction. Students there receive the encouragement and guidance of physics teacher Dr. Victor Melamud, a former winner of the National Excellence in Teaching Award, presented jointly by the Ministry of Education and the Office of the President of Israel. (AMIT <strong>Magazine</strong>, summer 2005). This year, five Appleman students entered three research projects, two in math and one in physics, and all three projects were EDUCATION among the 40 entries, out of 100 from around Israel, to reach the finals. The contest is affiliated with the prestigious International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), the U.S. competition funded by Intel. Winners go on to represent Israel in international competitions and receive scholarships from Intel for academic studies in Israel. Said Dr. Melamud: “I’m so proud of these students. When they accept those uWxa, .he ,Whnt 19
Page 1 and 2: Summer 2006 | Kayitz 5766 | Vol. LX
Page 3 and 4: HONORARY ADVISORY BOARD* David Berg
Page 5 and 6: When we think of AMIT, what comes t
Page 7 and 8: “Knowledge has power. It controls
Page 9 and 10: cate, and most of these did so with
Page 11 and 12: The Journey of Professor Jacob Klei
Page 13 and 14: Assyriology, Klein now had to find
Page 15 and 16: next stage. To all you young people
Page 17: “Mediation is not just a way to f
Page 21 and 22: Science Prodigy Tenth Grader Doron
Page 23 and 24: Affair,” by Nidra Poller (Comment
Page 25 and 26: Looseleaf Anna Olswanger, a Life Me
Page 27 and 28: A Different Mind Set The lessons fr
Page 29 and 30: THE 80 th ANNIVERSARY YEAR: WE’VE
Page 31 and 32: DevelopmentNews After School Progra
Page 33 and 34: Hands, Heads and Hearts Photos by D
Page 35 and 36: Davids’s Playground: The Gift of
Page 37 and 38: Queens, NY: AMIT members in the Tri
Page 39 and 40: $100,000+ Ellen and Meyer Koplow

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