tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-201274142011-07-07T15:51:29.252-05:00A numeracy, engagement and well-being initiative of the Mt. Alexander cluster of schools, originally funded by Innovations & Excellence. A partnership supported by Castlemaine Chess Club, Schools of the Mt. Alexander Cluster, Maryborough Education Centre, & University of New England- NSW.Steve Carrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05434993363900914319noreply@blogger.comBlogger661100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20127414.post-32190417490752858122011-03-22T06:06:00.004-05:002011-03-22T06:20:53.616-05:00

The inaugural NAB Chess Cup, played at the NAB Bank academy on Thursday 10th March 2011, was a brilliant day out. Students from across the Mt. Alexander cluster took a bus from Winters Flat Primary School, with 55 people plus on board, to the NAB Bank headquarters at Docklands. We departed at 8.00am and we arrived home at 4.00 pm. The atmosphere at the NAB Bank Tournament was electric. The NAB

Steve Carrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05434993363900914319noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20127414.post-21836156775986507462010-10-06T06:49:00.006-05:002010-10-06T07:19:05.900-05:00

The Chess-Squared Program has been acknowledged with a $50,000 Impact Award as part of the Schools First 2010 Awards. The funding will secure the program for the next 4 years and allow research into the benefits of chess in schools to continue. The supporting evidence of the application can be found here. The judges comments about the project are outlined below. More news to follow.

Steve Carrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05434993363900914319noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20127414.post-18310775772910431992010-09-17T09:58:00.001-05:002010-09-17T10:01:22.849-05:00

The fifth annual Mt. Alexander Cluster Chess-Squared Tournament was the largest and most successful to date.Students from Castlemaine North P.S, Castlemaine South P.S, Campbells Creek, Maldon, Harcourt Valley, Winters Flat, Elphinstone, Taradale, St. Mary’s, MEC, Malmsbury, and Newstead converged on Castlemaine Secondary College for the day.Over 250 students attended and Castlemaine Primary

Steve Carrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05434993363900914319noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20127414.post-86955163351880471442010-07-01T05:35:00.001-05:002010-07-01T05:47:46.177-05:00

Hi fellow chess aficionados,I have been neglecting the blog lately but am going to remedy that in the coming time.Just to give you an insight into the scope and depth of the Chess Squared Program (CSP) in September, fifteen schools, who use chess in their math's curriculum, will compete in the Mt Alexander School Cluster Regional Chess Championships. There will be approximately 290 primary

Steve Carrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05434993363900914319noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20127414.post-14576121931442475242010-06-03T07:22:00.004-05:002010-06-04T02:26:55.562-05:00

Have to confess up, I'm a sucker for some of these web2.0 technologies, and feel all my Christmas's came at once stumbling across this website. In the 5 years this blog has been running, so much in web2.0 land has changed. This program called prezi allows quite stunning presentations to be made including this one examing the role of 'play' in 'learning': a topic we've been interested at

Steve Carrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05434993363900914319noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20127414.post-89555761873560021662010-04-24T21:27:00.007-05:002010-04-24T22:21:32.760-05:00

When I heard a presentation about social capital a few years ago, I had an ‘a-ha moment’. Since then I’ve explored and read different viewpoints and have reached the conclusion the construct remains the great ‘sleeper’ in education. Truly understanding what social capital is, and how to build it in schools, lies at the heart of improving a range of different outcomes.One paradox with social

Steve Carrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05434993363900914319noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20127414.post-50235239882278766122010-02-20T02:35:00.004-05:002010-02-20T03:24:31.470-05:00

John Lavery is a legend in the local chess scene. In the 1990’s he retired from his job and moved to Castlemaine. He now spends his time tutoring young children in the game of Chess at seven different schools and has taught about 400 students in his three years of tutoring. Lavery stays motivated when teaching children chess, by always hoping that he will discover ‘exciting chess talent’.

Steve Carrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05434993363900914319noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20127414.post-36014697945002206882009-11-19T05:18:00.004-05:002009-11-19T05:24:58.537-05:00

Wordle is just one of those web 2.0 technolgies that seem to be born by the minute. Click the image and see a larger wordle created from the Chess-Squared blog.

Steve Carrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05434993363900914319noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20127414.post-11368920094122079542009-05-30T10:08:00.015-05:002010-01-05T20:12:01.385-05:00

Chess Squared from Schools First on Vimeo.Schools First is a fantastic new initiative that is about improving outcomes for young people.At its heart, Schools First is about bringing together students, teachers, parents and community members, to support each other and help improve student outcomes.The Chess Squared Program has been honoured to selected as a best-practice example being shown to 80

Steve Carrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05434993363900914319noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20127414.post-68169296527102427282008-11-01T05:36:00.006-05:002008-11-18T01:18:41.569-05:00

Daniel Goleman's interview was recorded on December 10, 2007, at the CASEL Forum, an event in New York City that brought together seventy-five global leaders in education and related fields to raise awareness about social and emotional learning (SEL) and introduce important scientific findings related to SEL. Goleman talks from a historic perspective examining studies that aimed to deal with a

Steve Carrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05434993363900914319noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20127414.post-14163858464111327242008-09-15T06:50:00.002-05:002008-09-15T07:11:22.647-05:00

Schools chess is 'big' in Castlemaine. And when they built the Old Castlemaine Gaol 150-odd years ago, nobody thought one day it would be full of schoolchildren playing the Royal Game. A record number of 270 students from far and wide participated in the third annual Mt. Alexander Cluster Primary Schools Chess Tournament held at the old Castlemaine Gaol. The event is officially the largest

Steve Carrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05434993363900914319noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20127414.post-12233728788151380702008-09-08T07:48:00.005-05:002008-09-15T07:16:30.958-05:00

They came from far and wide. About 100 Students from Daylesford, Kyneton, Maryborough and local primary schools came to do battle for bragging honours at the annual CSC (Castlemaine Secondary College) Chess Championship.All of the students seemed to handle the rigors of the tournament day really well. They were highly motivated and played some really exciting games. It was no place for the faint

Steve Carrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05434993363900914319noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20127414.post-74499381056742007332008-08-30T07:03:00.002-05:002008-08-30T07:07:30.359-05:00

When they were building the Old Castlemaine Gaol 150-odd years ago, nobody thought the place would one day be filled with young schoolchildren doing battle over chess boards.Monday 15TH September sees the third annual Mt. Alexander Cluster Schools Chess Tournament at the iconic Castlemaine landmark.It is expected 300 primary school students will converge on the venue, including first-timers from

Steve Carrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05434993363900914319noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20127414.post-50850052885567979112008-07-27T02:02:00.007-05:002008-08-02T03:28:00.316-05:00

VELs Thinking Domain says “Our world and the world of the future demand that all students are supported to become effective and skilful thinkers.” http://vels.vcaa.vic.edu.au/essential/interdisciplinary/thinking/index.html ) The Chess Squared Program encapsulated the directives and spirit of the new VELS strands of Physical, Personal and Social Learning and Interdisciplinary Learning (Victorian

Steve Carrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05434993363900914319noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20127414.post-49744963422734701312008-07-16T06:43:00.006-05:002008-07-16T06:57:44.397-05:00

How can we explain the phenomena of boy’s enthusiasm and success in the Chess Squared Program (CSP)? They do poorly at math/science these days compared with girls and fall way behind girls on every index particularly EQ areas yet they do so well at chess. The key issues raised here centre upon self efficacy, resilience and achievement. The CSP has engendered high success amongst many low

Steve Carrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05434993363900914319noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20127414.post-22908140366627138632008-05-31T04:23:00.006-05:002008-05-31T08:33:36.402-05:00

It might have nothing to do with chess. Or has it?Last year I wrote a post of a former schoolteacher colleague, Lambis Englezos, an amateur historian who claimed to know the whereabouts of 173 Australian soldiers unaccounted for from WW1. They were in a paddock somewhere in France.For 6 years Lambis’ investigations received ridicule from both the highest ranks of Government Departments, and

Steve Carrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05434993363900914319noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20127414.post-13067426694450152442008-05-28T04:51:00.004-05:002008-05-29T22:26:47.475-05:00

This Learning Life 2 Conference, held in Bristol UK, is for everyone who wishes education to provide all young people with a more powerful preparation for life in the 21st century. The presumption is that current 'schooling' often develops a rather arcane and anachronistic set of learning skills and attitudes; and if education is in part a preparation for lifelong learning, richer models of

Steve Carrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05434993363900914319noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20127414.post-65962554180676099712008-05-21T06:33:00.010-05:002008-05-22T03:22:48.612-05:00

Students at Maryborough Education Centre , 45km west of Castlemaine, are fast becoming proficient chess players.In term 1 our program developer, Harry Poulton, worked with Well-Being Officer Marg Gallagher to adapt the Chess-Squared Program to Years 3-4-5-6 students at Maryborough Education Centre, and the results were immediate.Gallagher said: ‘The level of interest of even the youngest

Steve Carrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05434993363900914319noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20127414.post-38760483884320839302008-05-07T07:56:00.009-05:002008-05-21T04:34:58.541-05:00

I first came across the work of Guy Claxton reading Sam Grumonts blog and thinkings about slow-learning. Two of Claxton’s more interesting ideas are i)that the mind needs to be given time to create meaning hence the phrase slow learning, and ii) that the modern maths curriculum has lost its way.Almost serendipidously, we met Jonathan Rowson in Aberdeen last year. Interesting fellow Rowson. Born

Steve Carrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05434993363900914319noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20127414.post-54144949234396138992008-05-03T08:01:00.006-05:002008-05-21T04:40:20.455-05:00

Before we knew it, 2008 was well and truly underway. As our ‘man-on-the-ground’ Sam Grumont has taken a coaching position in other parts Loddon, our link between the 12 schools is relying solely on e-mail. This will certainly make things challenging.Our focus this year will be ‘whats happening in the classrooms’, and 'research perpsectives', and by the end of the year we want profiles from all

Steve Carrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05434993363900914319noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20127414.post-15100649780860237212007-11-24T04:39:00.001-05:002008-02-24T04:07:08.944-05:00

NO longer the secret, dusty passion of nerdy types that live in the school library, chess is now the fastest growing sport in the nation's schools.Even members of the footy team play chess these days. The national school chess competition has grown exponentially over the past five years, by 40 to 50 per cent every year, with some competitors as young as five. Other schools are taking chess out of

Steve Carrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05434993363900914319noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20127414.post-40702820918496877212007-11-14T05:43:00.001-05:002008-02-24T04:06:25.395-05:00

My Brilliant Brain is a 3-part series examining the concept of genius- and putting forward the notion that genius is created through perserverence and hard work.The first episode, screened in Australia last Friday on Pay TV, traced the story of Grandmaster Susan Polgar, who was bought up by her psychologist father as an experiment to prove that, if trained properly, a female can be as competitve

Steve Carrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05434993363900914319noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20127414.post-25189200814289751232007-11-09T00:51:00.001-05:002008-02-24T04:05:44.333-05:00

Mark Johansson has ‘gone the extra yard’ this year with chess coaching on the junior campus of Castlemaine Secondary College. And the tournament results have been rewarding.Twice a week, for the whole year, Johansson’s voice booms over the lunchtime announcements: : “CHESSSSSSS……. IS……ONNNNNN….….IN …..LAWWWSON….. HAAAALL!” where the ‘true believers’ refine their skills in a relaxed and informal

Steve Carrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05434993363900914319noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20127414.post-7733940070687445482007-11-05T01:23:00.001-05:002008-02-24T04:05:17.498-05:00

It's stalwarts like Ross Allengame who make Chess-Squared successful. Here, the Castlemaine Primary School teacher talks to Sam Grumont about his recent success in our cluster tournament and the benefits of chess in his classroom. Sam: what is your reaction to your kids winning the chess tournament?Ross: I was very, very pleased with the way they performed. I was a bit worried about round

Steve Carrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05434993363900914319noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20127414.post-75753325629692246262007-09-27T02:09:00.003-05:002008-05-21T04:36:08.766-05:00

Harry Poulton is one of our tutors, and the driving force behind the Chess-Squared Program.A mastery learner is one who perseveres and doesn't give up. Let's just say this video is a victory for man over technology!

Steve Carrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05434993363900914319noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20127414.post-82060011811254308532007-09-09T16:51:00.002-05:002008-05-21T04:36:44.131-05:00

It seems strange travelling halfway around the world, to participate in something related to your work, only to fly home again before you feel you can write about it. The whole Scotland thing was simply amazing: a once in a lifetime opportunity.The night before the conference there was a dinner at The StageDoor Restaurant in Aberdeen. The luck of the draw at the restaurant table seatings was

Steve Carrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05434993363900914319noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20127414.post-42635241512932345762007-09-07T19:55:00.001-05:002008-02-24T04:04:04.515-05:00

On the Tuesday 4th of September the Mt Alexander School Cluster Chess/Numeracy contingent met at Castlemaine Railway Station to travel to the Melbourne Zoo to collect a ‘National Numeracy Award’ for the chess squared program. Leeane Preece, Liz Granger (acting principal Winters’ Flat P.S.), Harry Poulton (chess tutor), Paige McDonald (year 6 student Winters’ Flat P.S) and Shay Kielor-Reed (CSC

Steve Carrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05434993363900914319noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20127414.post-81894522311240869022007-09-01T12:05:00.002-05:002008-05-21T04:37:12.036-05:00

Steve Carrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05434993363900914319noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20127414.post-20178141471638727402007-09-01T04:49:00.002-05:002008-05-21T04:37:47.254-05:00

We have had technology hassles so have not been able to bring updates from this amazing conference in Aberdeen.This has really bought together a global context of goodwill by people wanting to improve education through chess.Susan Polgar very kindly signed pictures for each of our primary schools and each of our tutors. And here's the picture to prove it.As usual, Steve and Sam are hard at work

Steve Carrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05434993363900914319noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20127414.post-36684588165622600992007-08-29T05:12:00.003-05:002008-11-21T06:08:50.563-05:00

Its been a constant case of ‘the chords have got the better of me’. It seems at every turn, a battery is flat, the wrong chord got packed, or that thing I disgarded at the last minute, I wish I hadn’t! The three amigos caught up with Harry on Saturday, hours before our flight, to hand him a hard copy of our presentation……just because it seemed the right thing to do. Sitting in the courtyard of

Steve Carrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05434993363900914319noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20127414.post-76198737414497486112007-08-18T07:27:00.002-05:002008-05-21T04:39:30.308-05:00

The Chess-Squared contingent will this week be fine tuning it’s presentation for the Chess In Schools and Communities International Conference held at Aberdeen University Scotland on 27August- 2 September. Below are the 9 Keynote Presentations from a diverse and expert range of presenters: Children’s Involvement in Education: Ethical Issues and Empowering Research Policy and Practice: Janet

Steve Carrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05434993363900914319noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20127414.post-40832680883143457682007-08-12T03:16:00.001-05:002008-02-24T04:01:07.184-05:00

Last week, Castlemaine Secondary College recieved notification the CHESS-SQUARED Program is the recipient of National Numeracy Award.Twenty-three schools across Victoria will be recognised for their significant contribution to either Literacy or Numeracy.The CHESS-SQUARED Program sent tutors from the Castlemaine Chess Club into classrooms of 12 schools in the Mt. Alexander cluster of

Steve Carrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05434993363900914319noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20127414.post-61433758796910800012007-08-02T03:09:00.001-05:002008-02-24T04:00:43.546-05:00

Local philanthropic organisation, GOLDEN HOPE, has made a significant donation to the youth of Mt. Alexander purchasing 3 double decker buses to be used as Youth Outreach Spaces.GOLDEN HOPE founder, Max Lesser, says the vehicles aim to be a link with youth mental health and the local community, and has developed other teacher resources using art/ design and geometry to enhance youth wellness.

Steve Carrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05434993363900914319noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20127414.post-59444599639198330422007-07-27T19:48:00.003-05:002008-05-31T03:50:23.325-05:00

When we here that cliché in education, ‘lifelong learning’, what does it really mean? I’m sure it means different things to different people.For me, it has something to do with finding things that are interesting, meaningful, and give a personal sense of joy and satisfaction, and persuing those things with a sense of passion.The recent story of Melbourne schoolteacher, and former colleague,

Steve Carrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05434993363900914319noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20127414.post-80963818282389628262007-07-22T06:13:00.002-05:002008-02-24T03:59:08.548-05:00

Ethnography is an qualitative educational research method developed by anthropologists, where culture is the central construct: it is literally the description of a social group. As a process, it is the science of cultural description and represents a dynamic ‘picture’ of the way of life of some interacting social group.A famous anthropologist observed by way of analogy, “The last thing a fish

Steve Carrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05434993363900914319noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20127414.post-74623276885789465852007-07-18T04:05:00.001-05:002008-02-24T03:58:16.015-05:00

One of our assumptions is that a key determinate of the apparent lack of engagement is the motivation of the students. In this study we sought to gain some insights into factors that might influence the nature of the needs, goals and ultimately the decisions the students make about their participation in the learning of chess and subsequently mathematics.The underlying model was derived from the

Steve Carrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05434993363900914319noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20127414.post-51981520555934917522007-07-11T09:42:00.001-05:002008-02-24T03:56:47.517-05:00

A recent study published in Scientific America has found that intelligence, measured by IQ scores, may not be an indicator of students ability to learn maths.The study identifies a concept called executive functioning- made up of two skills, ‘working memory’ and ‘inhibitory control’ that when combined have shown students perform better in maths results, rather than students who just have a high

Steve Carrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05434993363900914319noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20127414.post-3995454162772948362007-06-16T10:27:00.002-05:002008-02-24T03:55:43.905-05:00

I keep coming back to the concept of Multiple Approaches. I first came across the idea of Multiple Approaches in a workshop called Generating Genius- a program by Di Flemming and Micheal Demkov of 9 frameworks that when combined mimic genius thinking and create a culture of creativity.A GOOGLE SEARCH shows this idea of using a variety of approaches to solve problems and create new thinking and

Steve Carrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05434993363900914319noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20127414.post-91864864300326497852007-06-06T07:43:00.001-05:002008-02-24T03:54:52.297-05:00

The Chess-Squared Project is honoured to be invited as a Keynote Presenter to the Chess In Schools and Communities International Conference held in Aberdeen Scotland in Aug/Sep 2007.The University of Aberdeen's School of Education, Aberdeen City Council and Scottish Junior Chess, in alliance with a number of National Chess Federations,are hosting this international conference which will explore

Steve Carrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05434993363900914319noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20127414.post-79422596083809887452007-05-29T00:15:00.001-05:002008-02-24T03:53:53.095-05:00

My name is Greg Smith and I’m a chess tutor. Thanks Harry and Steve for asking me to join the team. Unlike Harry I came late to Chess. I played a few games as a child and luckily remembered the moves when I first attended the Castlemaine Chess Club. There I enjoyed the company, wisdom, humour and coaching of the astute. I became a father in 2002 (I now have a boy and a girl) and a teacher in

Steve Carrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05434993363900914319noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20127414.post-17115715894847710412007-05-20T16:04:00.001-05:002008-02-24T03:52:52.002-05:00

The graph above of Pat Maths results across the cluster provides a snapshot of what has happened with numeracy Mt. Alexander schools in 2005 and 2006. It is difficult to draw conclusions from the line graph. But when we combine stanines into low(1+2+3), medium(4+5+6), and high (7+8+9), and plot a column graph clearer and interesting trends begin to emerge. So, what can we say?It appears there

Steve Carrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05434993363900914319noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20127414.post-73098886173856448812007-05-08T07:00:00.001-05:002008-02-24T03:51:48.204-05:00

A recent editorial from Rhonda Galbally AO,(CEO of Our Community) discussed a new report by Professor Tony Vinson claiming Australia’s economic boom has failed to improve the lives of tens of thousands of Australians leaving them locked into communities of deep disadvantage.Galbally writes: 'A confluence of research from around the world has found that the greatest risk factor for virtually all

Steve Carrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05434993363900914319noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20127414.post-50075351235543203632007-04-28T04:39:00.001-05:002008-02-24T03:50:01.088-05:00

The School Focused Youth Service (SFYS) is pleased to be, once again, one of the contributing funders to the CHESS-SQUARED project across the schools in the Mt Alexander cluster. The SFYS is all about promoting the mental wellbeing of young people, in particular young people who are at risk of social isolation, depression or school disengagement. Each year the SFYS brokerage fund supports a

Steve Carrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05434993363900914319noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20127414.post-46294172857844151972007-04-21T19:29:00.001-05:002008-02-24T03:47:47.609-05:00

Welcome to CHESS-SQUARED for 2007. A lot has happened since our conclusion in 2006. Harry, and a loyal band of parents, took 24 students to Melbourne in December and participated in the Victorian Youth Championships. One student, on the train ride home after two nights in Melbourne said to Harry “I’ve only ever done two good things at school, the year7 camp, and this. And I liked this a lot

Steve Carrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05434993363900914319noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20127414.post-1165756463410153922006-12-10T08:07:00.001-05:002008-02-24T03:45:51.018-05:00

The Mt Alexander School Cluster ‘Chess Squared’ program was given over $8000 in scholarships by a well known chess enthusiast to enable our cluster ‘chesskids’ to attend the ‘Victorian Youth Championships’(17th & 18th of December). Our benefactor, who wishes to remain anonymous, attended our tournament at the Old Castlemaine Jail, and said it was the largest tournament of its kind in the history

Steve Carrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05434993363900914319noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20127414.post-1160562456974870762006-10-11T05:20:00.001-05:002008-02-24T03:45:06.516-05:00

Yes, yesterday 245 primary schools students marched, strolled and bussed their way into the Old Castlemaine Gaol to compete in the Mount Alexander Schools Chess Competition.Once inside students sat at tables lined along the spokes of the prison which made it a unique experience for the them. Chess Kids ran the competition, supplying all of the equipment, boards, pieces, clocks and computer

Steve Carrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05434993363900914319noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20127414.post-1159106745405486062006-09-24T08:52:00.001-05:002008-02-24T03:44:03.507-05:00

I visited the Old Castlemaine Gaols first public open day today. The facility has a long-term lease from Mt. Alexander Council to CVGT (Central Victoria Group Training) until 2012. It is CVGT’s aim to develop the site into a hospitality training centre, an upgraded tourism venue and viable community facility.Their long term strategic plan is about getting the ‘formular right’ and developing a

Steve Carrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05434993363900914319noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20127414.post-1157979410576089442006-09-11T07:53:00.001-05:002008-02-24T03:42:19.723-05:00

Worried about wiki’s? Bamboozled by blogs? Missed DIG-TV on ABC2 last night but don’t know how to get the podcast? Interactive whiteboards not your friend yet? Don’t panic. You’re not alone. At an in-service last year in Bendigo, Tony Ryan explained the exponential rate of change, where we made a list of things that weren’t invented 5 years ago- and came up with 20 'new' items.Frighteningly, in

Steve Carrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05434993363900914319noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20127414.post-1157537301941045242006-09-06T05:04:00.001-05:002008-02-24T03:41:37.721-05:00

Castlemaine Secondary College made smart moves at the recent Regional Schools Chess Tournament held at Bendigo, winning 6 of a possible 14 medals and seeing 5 students make their way through to the Victorian Schools Chess Championship.Of the 42 secondary students participating, 23 came from Castlemaine Secondary College. The result is a marvellous endorsement for our chess program- Chess-Squared-

Steve Carrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05434993363900914319noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20127414.post-1157106393267970162006-09-01T05:18:00.001-05:002008-02-24T03:40:47.185-05:00

Congratulations Sam Grumont for success of the Third Annual POEM IN YOUR POCKET Day- an initiative that encourages everyone across the 13 school cluster to carry a poem and share readings throughout the day.At Castlemaine Secondary College, morning staff briefing shared poetry, a whole school assembly saw principals, teachers and students share readings. My kids, from Castlemaine North Prmary

Steve Carrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05434993363900914319noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20127414.post-1156769167389357532006-08-28T07:39:00.002-05:002008-02-24T03:39:50.199-05:00

“Mrs Preece, ya wanna vs me?” challenged Conor, a delightful year seven student, while I observed a game of chess one lunchtime. “If you can teach me how to play first”, I replied. Conor shrugged her shoulders and walked off to find a more challenging opponent.And so it came to be that, once again, I found myself reflecting upon why I have never really wanted to learn to play chess before it

Steve Carrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05434993363900914319noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20127414.post-1156256167180283542006-08-22T09:09:00.001-05:002008-02-24T03:38:42.837-05:00

OLIVERS Sports Store shop window: Mostyn St. Castlemaine. VictoriaIt’s not what you do, it’s the way that you do it.I’m sure someone famous said something like that once. When Harry and I developed the Chess in Schools Program, the game had a bit of an image problem at Castlemaine Secondary College.It had a small band of loyal student followers. But there were detractors. Some boys felt chess

Steve Carrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05434993363900914319noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20127414.post-1155630917958001692006-08-15T03:28:00.001-05:002008-02-24T03:38:01.486-05:00

As Phase 2 of CHESS-SQUARED draws to a close lets reflect on some of our achievements since the program started in May.The image above is the logo for the ‘Our Enterprising Community’ project being run from Castlemaine Secondary College.In May 2005, CSC received significant federal funding to develop national protocols for implementing Enterprise Education in Australian schools. The project

Steve Carrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05434993363900914319noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20127414.post-1154408880987353012006-07-31T23:56:00.001-05:002008-02-24T03:37:20.784-05:00

Hi chess aficionados,I wandered into an interesting site which talks about the arousal the competing in the game can give to the brain - cognitive arousal is the buzz word to give you some afflatus:'Is Sudoku seductive? Is chess sexy? Is crafting code a turn-on? To our brains, absolutely. But while most of us don't use the word "seductive" in non-sexual contexts, good game designers do. They know

Steve Carrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05434993363900914319noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20127414.post-1153570804769572762006-07-22T07:15:00.001-05:002008-02-24T03:36:12.869-05:00

Chess and gender always gets a heated response.For those who don’t know chess has, historically, been dominated by males. And the obvious question is WHY? A GOOGLE Search on the topic will return 2,600,000 responses- some which I’ve included below. Without getting embroiled in gender warfare, I’ve noticed some interesting observations- completely untested- in my own classes.Last year, I had a

Steve Carrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05434993363900914319noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20127414.post-1152096913637686262006-07-05T05:26:00.001-05:002008-02-24T03:35:35.774-05:00

(Ron Moore with students at Guildford Primary School)HiMy name is Ron Moore. I’m engaged as a tutor in the ‘Chess in Schools’ Program. It is my privilege to introduce this most fascinating of games to students.I first started playing chess when I was at primary school and have been hooked ever since.My experience in learning to play better chess was a long process. I ‘pushed wood’ for a long time

Steve Carrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05434993363900914319noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20127414.post-1151321655082086842006-06-26T06:02:00.001-05:002008-02-24T03:34:25.173-05:00

The article goes on to say:A group of children in schools around Castlemaine are being taught chess and encouraged to provide brief comments on their thought process which produce moves.Not only are chess-playing children being compared to their non-playing peers in areas such as numeracy, but the effect on patience and self-control within the chess-playing group might also be measured.One

Steve Carrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05434993363900914319noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20127414.post-1150111089959858352006-06-12T06:10:00.002-05:002008-02-24T03:35:03.044-05:00

ACER (Australian Council for Educational Research) showed some interest in our project and wanted an article. 2500 words later a nice little article features in their latest edition. The full article outlines HOW the 'Generating Genius' principles were incorporated into program development.If you would like a FREE copy of the magazine, add a comment to our blog and tell us who you

Steve Carrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05434993363900914319noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20127414.post-1149509888540579822006-06-05T07:02:00.001-05:002008-02-24T03:32:48.307-05:00

Hello everyone! I was just told about this blog from Steve Carroll.Australia is one of my all time favorite countries. I have so many wonderful memories there.I wish you ALL the best and please feel free to visit my blog www.susanpolgar.blogspot.com. I will also put up a notice about your blog shortly.Best wishes,Susan Polgarwww.SusanPolgar.blogspot.comwww.SusanPolgar.comwww.PolgarChess.com For

Steve Carrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05434993363900914319noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20127414.post-1148892765196649592006-05-29T03:45:00.001-05:002008-02-24T03:31:46.802-05:00

Hi Steve, Sam and everyone,Now that the 'Chess in Schools' program is going international with a sister school linking up with us in Japan, ICT is more important than ever.One thing I have not pushed as much as I would have liked thus far are the free chess websites. Here are some great URLs:www.gameknot.comwww.plasticbishop.comand check out ChessDryad.com. All these sites are worth a look at and

Steve Carrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05434993363900914319noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20127414.post-1147936392438913232006-05-18T01:48:00.001-05:002008-02-24T03:30:54.182-05:00

"Chess and theatre often lead to madness." Arrabal, Sur Fischer, 1974Peter Roberts seems to be everywhere at once. He teaches drama, co-ordinates publicity for Castlemaine Secondary College, and is close to being the best teacher I've ever come across. I've seen him do things and often wondered 'How does he do that??'.Then one day he confessed, with a wink and a nod: "I play a bit of chess". And

Steve Carrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05434993363900914319noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20127414.post-1147512831880442572006-05-13T04:25:00.001-05:002008-02-24T03:30:10.156-05:00

Ross Allengame has been using chess in the classroom for twenty years. He has produced a state chess champion and several really gifted players. I can recall one of Ross’s year 5 pupil’s entering the Castlemaine Chess Club 10 years ago, and trouncing all of us, and dazzling us with his acumen over the board. Ross regularly uses chess as a part of his teaching repertoire. Sometimes he sets up a

Steve Carrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05434993363900914319noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20127414.post-1146747594388446932006-05-04T07:56:00.001-05:002008-02-24T03:29:24.954-05:00

It’s a big world out there. We’ve had interest from schools in Bendigo, Colac and Warrnambool about our chess program.Andrew Grimshaw, from Colac, used some of our resources and convinced his curriculum 'powers-to-be' to formally incorporate chess into their program. Andrew has a timetabled class called chess where students leave regular classes to participate. Well done, Andrew. I noticed a

Steve Carrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05434993363900914319noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20127414.post-1146229834814510562006-04-28T08:03:00.001-05:002008-02-24T03:28:22.148-05:00

Hi everyone. I met some of you at the ‘Chess in Schools’ launch. A central component of the program is, working within the VELS framework, to bring the schools into the community and the community into the schools, and to build that connection around a creative learning process. The program includes the Schools, the Community House, and the Castlemaine Chess Club. The Community House and the

Steve Carrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05434993363900914319noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20127414.post-1145509121197249902006-04-19T23:38:00.001-05:002008-02-24T03:26:47.189-05:00

Welcome to the Mt Alexander Schools Cluster and La Trobe University research project based on Chess and Learning Mathematics. Steve Carroll and Harry Poulton have done a wonderful job in launching the project with Sam Grumont's guidance. The project aims to build student resilience and perseverance through games such as chess. Research suggests that there is an underlying link between playing

Steve Carrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05434993363900914319noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20127414.post-1142505435548318742006-03-16T05:37:00.003-05:002008-02-24T03:25:03.539-05:00

Chess-Squared: March 2006Welcome to the first issue of Chess In Schools Program, CHESS-SQUARED, a partnership with The Castlemaine Chess Club, LaTrobe University, schools within the Mount Alexander Cluster, and funded by Innovations and Excellence.The program aims to systematically introduce students to the game of chess and measure any benefits to numeracy or other areas of learning.This

Steve Carrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05434993363900914319noreply@blogger.com2