Contributed photo
Learning chess at S.P.O.R.T. Academy's Fair Haven School afterschool program.
Maya McFadden photo
"One, two, three... Chess!"
“If your pawn game is good, you can do so much.”
So teaches Edward Trimble during an afterschool program he runs through his nonprofit S.P.O.R.T. Academy, which brought together dozens of young students at Fair Haven School this week to reflect on the life skills they’ve learned on the chess board — and also to shoot some hoops, eat pizza, and celebrate a path towards sharper problem solving for even the humblest of chess players.
S.P.O.R.T. Academy, which stands for Streets Poet’s Cipher Real Truth, conducts programming twice a week at Fair Haven, Wexler Grant and Brennan Rogers schools.
The afterschool program is for first- through eighth-grade students to help them get their homework done, enjoy snacks, learn the game of chess, and shoot hoops for an hour after school dismissal on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Twenty first- through fourth-graders met this past Tuesday at Fair Haven School — where they took a break from their weeks of instruction in chess to focus on homework and getting re-energized through a pizza party and basketball.
“We strive to produce the athlete scholar,” Trimble told the Independent. The program is based on the premise that, when students play chess, they hone critical thinking and problem solving skills that can be used both on and off the chess board. This afterschool program is also funded by the New Haven Public Schools (NHPS) district’s Office of Youth, Family & Community.
Students are divided into two groups based on grade level in S.P.O.R.T.‘s program.
More than 30 fifth- through eighth-grade students meet in the school gym to practice basketball drills for an hour and a half. The middle schoolers are taught to practice their social skills, team work, and create consistent health habits.
The goal is for students to partake in the program each year to first focus on the importance of academics through chess playing, and continue through middle school to then incorporate athletics into their schedules.
Not just chess: Shooting hoops on Tuesday.
On Tuesdays and Thursdays, the elementary school students are taught by Trimble, Wilbur Cross High School senior and student volunteer Enaeliz Rodriguez, and Fair Haven School special education teacher Sandy Burgos.
Rodriguez, who also volunteers at East Rock School during the week, said she enjoys learning with the students and providing them with after school support she wasn’t always provided at that young age.
Burgos added that she enjoys seeing the students learn patience, team work, and how to get less frustrated while learning new skills. On Wednesdays, Burgos also facilitates after-school homework help for her elementary students.
Sandy Burgos, Trimble, and Enaeliz Rodriguez.
During this Tuesday’s meetup at Fair Haven School, Trimble rewarded the first- through fourth-grade chess group with a pizza party after they completed their homework.
So far the students have focused their learning on how to navigate the game with only pawns.
Trimble’s goal is to teach the elementary students skills beyond the chess board by using the pieces as symbols. Typically students are drawn to all other pieces other than the pawn, which is why Trimble begins the lesson with the pawn to emphasize its potential if persistent and consistent.
In recent weeks the students have been practicing getting at least one pawn across the board while facing their classmates.
Tuesday's pizza break.
“When you see a pawn you should see potential,” Trimble said. “They are all pawns with potential and power if they make the right choices, and I want them to see that.”
If they succeed, the students get to introduce a non-pawn piece to their board. Most students pick to play with the queen piece, Trimble said.
He also tells the students that if they are consistent and persistent they can reach their goals at the end of the board, like a pawn.
While enjoying cheese slices from Modern Apizza on Tuesday, some students reflected on what they’ve learned about chess over the weeks of their participating in this afterschool program.
"Pawn Has Lots Of Power. But My Favorite Is The Queen"
Fair Haven School second grader Jose.
Fair Haven School second-grader Jose said learning how to play chess was “easy peasy lemon squeezy.”
Next week Trimble plans to introduce the clock to the game for students to learn how to think more quickly but still strategically.
Jose said he looks forward to playing with the clock so he can become an expert.
“The pawn has lots of power. But my favorite is the queen,” he said.
Third grader Sonisha learned to play chess from her sister. Since joining the afterschool program, she’s improved her skills. “It’s my favorite game,” she said about chess.
When asked what she’s learned over the weeks, she said “the pawn can help the other piece to be more powerful” and that the knight piece moves in an ‘L’ shape.
Third-grader Edison.
Third-grader Edison agreed that learning the game of chess has been simple so far. He said he likes the game of chess because “it makes me smart.” He declared himself the best in the class.
He also enjoys helping to remind his friends of the rules and introducing the game to his family.
S.P.O.R.T. Academy basketball coaches Blayze Griffin, Ed Trimble, Johnny Cummings, and Eric Myers.
In the Fair Haven School gym, S.P.O.R.T. Academy basketball coaches Blayze Griffin, Johnny Cummings, and Eric Myers led dozens of students through an hour and a half of basketball drills to learn discipline, concentration, team work, and the basketball fundamentals on Tuesday.
The boys group and girls group each finished their Tuesday workouts with a motivational group huddle where coach Myers reminded the girls that “this is not going to happen over night, but if you keep going at it with effort you’re going to reach your goal.”
The girls piled their hands together in the middle of the huddle and at the count of three cheered: “Hard work!”
Similarly the boys group was reminded of their word of the day, which was: “Focus.”
Upon dismissal the middle schoolers were provided with a final snack of goldfish and a juice box.
Fair Haven School’s Family Resource Center coordinator Luz Betancur oversees the school’s afterschool programming. Betancur said students and families tell her on a daily basis how much they have been loving the return of afterschool programming post-remote learning. She added that there was a great need for after school activities for the school’s students to get homework help, re-develop motor skills, and to be occupied by something other than digital devices. “It helps them with behavior,” she said.
Luz Betancur.
Betancur, who has worked at Fair Haven School for 12 years, said the program has also improved students’ mental health concerns, needs for more physical activity, and socialization with peers. On Wednesdays the school offers Zumba lessons to students.
“Every school needs sports,” she said.
Students run laps in between basketball drills.
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