Saudi Gazette Mental prowess is admirable, productive, and worthy of praise just like physical strength and muscle might in sports. If we can have olympics in sports to test physical strength then we can also have an olympics to test and honor intellectual and mental skills. The Olympics of Creativity and Giftedness commenced last week and almost 8,000 boys and girls from various schools have participated to compete against one another, this year. Dar Al-Dhikr Boys' School in Al-Naeem District is the proud host, and competitions like memory games, mathematics, fast-reading, photography, and video blogging will be featured. Winners will be awarded attractive prizes and will be invited to a celebratory ceremony. According to the organizers a large number of students from Saudi private and government schools and international schools have registered for the event. Participants first sit for the first level of the competition of their choice. High scorers immediately enter the second round and upon achieving success they enter the final level. Qualified participants can log on to their website to find their names. Fastest reading competition will begin in two weeks and the aim for this it to promote reading in the society. Nooredein Alzuabi, a grade 9 student of Dar Al-Dhikr School sat for the memory challenge, she said, “For the first level we are shown a series of images and we only have a few seconds to look at each slide. Then the test paper asks us random questions such as, was this image present in the slide show or which alphabetic letter accompanies this image? Last year I came third and won a cash prize of SR 1,200 and a one-month free membership at Gold's Gym. This year I want to participate in three competitions memory challenge, mathematics, and fast reading.” The executive director of the Olympics and consultant in education and skills development, Sulafa Adel Batterjee, said, “The Olympics of Creativity and Giftedness has been a huge success in Jeddah for the past five years. These contests are a practical application of the theories of self development and self actualization that we discuss in educational forums. These competitions unveil giftedness in students, help them discover their own talents, and encourage these boys and girls to continue to pursue a higher level of achievement. “Extra-curricular activities are not only fun, but they have a positive influence on the students' academic performance at school. I have no doubt that the educators who are interested in teaching, supporting, and caring for the younger generation hold the ability to change the world. The schools that have generated the largest number of participants and winners at the Olympics will be honored and given a number of beneficial workshops.” Batterjee further added, “Our daughters and sons are the center of our concerns. The society should prepare our children for excelling and meeting the demands placed on them in this century. It is our responsibility to help nurture and foster our children's unique gifts and talents.” The General Supervisor of the Olympics and Chairman of the Waad Holding Company, Dr. Adel Batterjee, said, “The vision of the Olympics is to enrich our educational system with activities that discover and unleash the mental and creative powers of our students. The competition motivates boys and girls to learn more about their own abilities. We believe that improving educational environments is the number one tool in advancing and uplifting our society and make this country one of the leading nations of the world.” The two categories that are different from the regular competitions are photography and video blogging. The best photograph will be selected based on idea, quality, clarity, creativity, and the emotional response that it elicits. The video blogging category helps students develop the skills of constructive criticism, problem solving, persuasion, and public speaking. The student picks a topic that he feels strongly about or some trend in the society that he wishes to change. He designs a short video clip in which he is the narrator and he uses the video as a platform to express his opinion. Batterjee thanked the sponsors of the Olympics for encouraging schools to actively participate in the event. Ministry of Education, Al-Ahli Bank, Dar Al-Dhikr Schools, and Jarir Bookstores were also duly acknowledged. __
