Blue Knights Chess Tournament the First of Many to Come
CASTLE ROCK -- Students from all over Colorado made the trip to Castle Rock Middle School for what CRMS Assistant Principal Brian Clason hopes becomes a tradition at the school.
“I used to host a lot of Chess Tournaments when I was with [Denver Public Schools]. This is my first year here at Castle Rock Middle School,” says Clason. “We’re hoping to keep it going as we build a program throughout the rest of the year.”
38 young Jedi chess masters competed in what was called the “Blue Knights Chess Tournament,” on Saturday, December 2nd, which gave the participants a series of unranked matches to help hone their skills in a competitive, yet friendly environment.
Naman Kapasi, a student at Mountain Vista High School, took first in the High School portion of the tournament and says events like this are a great entry point for the younger players.
“I appreciate the chance to come and play,” says Kapasi. “It’s a great opportunity to get started in chess.”
Naman Kapasi (right) won the High School portion of the tournament.
“It’s nice because here we can take those hard fast rules out of it, and make mistakes into teachable moments,” says Clason. “Here you can come for the whole day, relax, stay competitive all while building a chess community here in Douglas County.”
Clason also says the diversity of play styles in these unranked matches can benefit the players beyond the chess board.
“I think that prepares them to play competitively, but also preparing them to interact with a wide variety of people.”
Clason and CRMS will host another tournament on February 3, 2018. You can register now at http://www.coloradochess.com/scholast/schtour.shtml
District News
The Apple Awards honors and celebrates excellence in education. This year, more than 5,000 nominations were submitted. 188 Apple Representatives from schools and departments were then selected by the Foundation in January. Of this outstanding group of education leaders, five individuals were awarded with an Apple Award.
High school students across Douglas County, and many students in respective feeder schools, are once again learning that a little kindness can go a long way. Again this year, our high schools hosted Wish Weeks to make dreams come true for Make-A-Wish Foundation beneficiaries.
The Douglas County School District (DCSD) Board of Education has named Thomas S. Tucker, Ph.D. as the sole finalist to lead our 68,000-student district as superintendent on a unanimous vote.