Post date: Oct 12, 2016 4:05:14 AM
Dear Prairie Chess Club Families,
Thank You Teachers and Volunteers
We are off to an exciting start for our chess club. First let me just thank all of those who have helped bring the Prairie Chess Club together for 2016-17 school year. The students are coming together to learn and play chess so nicely. Our TAG teachers, Mrs. Hoffman, Mrs. Zastrow, and Mrs Stoll have masterfully navigated our young chess players from Crest, Heights, Hill, Ridge, and View to Creek. Our parent volunteer Dustin Sellon and high school volunteers Regan, Trevor, Andre, and Anya who join us to help helping teach and answer questions with the lessons. Finally, let me thank the parents who have donated snacks or to the snack fund. You have also been awesome with pickup at the end of the club.
Our First Two Weeks in Review
With students from 2nd through 12th grade, we have chess players coming and going from 2:40 to 5:00 pm. These students range in skill and experience from the very beginner to state chess champion. As such, we are providing chess instruction in groups. Currently, we have three groups and some individual study. Our Creek students arrive first. This Monday, we split into two groups, the first working on tactics and the second group worked on rook and pawn endgames. By 4:00 pm, the 2nd - 4th grade students arrived. In our two weeks we have learned the difference between checkmate and stalemate. Then we learned out to checkmate with 2 Rooks + King versus a lonely King and then how to checkmate with a King + Queen versus a King. The students then practice against our instructors and high school volunteers.
Along the way, from time to time, we will provide handouts and puzzle sheets. I will post these on the Prairie Chess Club website: www.chessiniowa.org/prairiechessclub. The students turn in their worksheets for me to review. Following the lesson we give out a snack and the students then get free time to play until picked up between 4:30 pm and 5:00 pm.
What’s Coming Up
There are many opportunities to play chess with the Prairie Chess Club outside of our Monday meetings. We have a rich tradition of chess at Prairie, competing at Iowa and National Scholastic chess tournaments and events. Our top players take advantage of many of these opportunities I would like to encourage to give one or more a try.