New chess club at Poinciana Day School opens strong at tournament
By ANDREW DAVIS
Daily News Deputy News Editor
Saturday, June 13, 2009
In its first tournament since forming only weeks earlier, the Poinciana Day School chess club earned fifth place last month at Diamond View Elementary School in Greenacres.
Three members of the club — second-grader Dylan Gordon of Jupiter, fourth-grader Dylan Scroggins of West Palm Beach and fifth-grader Kagen Thomas of Greenacres — played well enough to take fifth out of 14 teams in their kindergarten-through-fifth-grade age group. The tournament was open to public and private elementary schools throughout the country.
“It was fun because I learned some new moves,” said Gordon.
The club has 10 members and is under the direction of parents Cliff Gordon of Jupiter, Kevin Thomas of Greenacres and Simon Lester of Wellington. Junior Casey O’Melia, a member of the Suncoast Community High School chess team, volunteers to help with the club. The club only formed at the beginning of April when the children returned from spring break.
Other club members from the just-completed school year were: Kasey Thomas, first grade, of Greenacres; Amar Maharaj, fifth grade, West Palm Beach; Zwaina Heinonen, kindergarten, Lake Worth; Jordan Heinonen, second grade, Lake Worth; Justin Lubin, fifth grade, Palm Beach; Andrew Lester, kindergarten, Wellington; and Logan Maharaj, first grade, Royal Palm Beach.
Source: http://www.palmbeachdailynews.com
We need more schools like this one.