JEDDAH, 19 June 2006 — Sixty girl students are this year participating in activities at the Talented Students’ Summer Camp, which began on Saturday at the Seventy-Third Intermediate School in Jeddah.
The students have been divided into two groups, the second and third levels, with 30 girls in each level. “There is no first level this year since we are developing new plans for the coming years,” Suzan Banaja, director of the Girls’ Talented Center in Jeddah, told Arab News.
Students who were in the first level last year have been upgraded into the second level, and the same has been done in relation to girls in the third level. Students who did not participate in the program last year have directly joined the second and third levels.
The Girls’ Talented Center distributed nomination forms to schools earlier in the year. According to Banaja, each school chooses “A-grade” students who are specifically talented in science related subjects.
Around 2,000 students undertook an abilities determination test and had to score a minimum score of 120 to be selected for the summer camp.
Students in the second level, from the sixth and seventh grades, have this year been given the task of exploring the problem of pollution in Jeddah. “Students will visit high pollution areas such as beaches and garbage dumping sites,” said Afaf Yamani, manager of the summer camp. The girls will then write reports of what they see and propose solutions that would help in reducing pollution.
Yamani added that the students would also design flyers to educate people on ways to prevent pollution.
The third level will be discussing the issue of communication and includes students from the eighth and ninth grades. Students are set to visit the head office of Saudi Telecom Company (STC) and work on other activities related to communication.
The one-month summer camp is taking place on weekdays from Saturday to Wednesday between 8:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. Students who are traveling abroad during the vacation will be able to participate in a similar program in evenings when the new academic year begins.
King Abdul Aziz & His Companions Foundation for the Gifted last Tuesday began a similar summer camp for seventh year girls. Fifty-five students ranging from the ninth to the eleventh grades are participating in the camp that is located for the first time in the Dar Al-Fikr Girls Private School.
The camp is being held six days a week from 8 a.m. till 4 p.m.
“The one-month event used to take place in the Girls College of Education,” said Dr. Najwa Abu Zinada, head of acceptance and admission department in Jeddah Girls College of Education. “The program is an opportunity for students to invest their creativity and innovative energy in inventing and exploring the field of science.”
Organizers of both summer camps will present certificates and prizes to students.
