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A
Few Letters Fom Students, Parents, School Administrators and Other Chess
Programs About Success Chess Schools*
*I feel these selections are a
good cross section of the many letters SCS receives. Many of the
congratulatory letters come in response to my end of the year newsletters.
These are among my favorites--well, besides the ones that praise me
individually :0)--because they identify many of the the types of things we
do to create an academic, structured and fun program. The letters were
unsolicited and the names have been changed to protect the guilty. No
changes, however, occur in the letter from Scott Pfeiffer, of Pinedale Elementary School
in Jacksonville, Florida.
 Dear Dr. Kirshner,
John’s had a wonderful time in Chess
Club this year, plus, as icing on the cake, his motivation in school has
improved a lot. And based on his analytical chess aptitude, I got him GATE
tested (despite no recommendation from teacher or principal) and he got
into GATE just a couple of weeks ago.
We’re so pleased with John’s
enjoyment in Chess Club and his improved attitude and competitive
spirit.
Thank you so much for all your time, effort and expertise in
running the top-notch program.
Sincerely, Susan Fay and
Family
Dear Dr. Kirshner,
Just wanted to send this note on how
efficient, captivating and motivating your instructors are!! My daughter
and son started their first Chess Instruction experience this year at
Milpitas Christian School. My son, Neil has had Kevin Batangan
from the start and he has thoroughly enjoyed his learning experience with
Kevin. Lana finds it really awesome when coach Kevin plays chess kind of
blind folded (not having to see the chess board and the pieces - what an
amazing memory!)
My daughter (who is 6), Lana had coach Moe to start
with and she enjoyed the suburb guidance that coach Moe gave her and built
her confidence. My daughter is really shy with men and kind of afraid to
have a man as her instructor. When coach Moe left our school, coach Chris
Plummer took over...Lana was really afraid to go to his class... Last
Wednesday she finally went to his class with so much of reluctance but you
should have seen her face when she came out from the class. She was so
excited, bubbly and happy that she went for her chess class and I owe
it all to Coach Chris Plummer. He made it a wonderful experience for
her. Since I couldn't find Chris Plummer's email id on your web site. I
thought I will send this to you and maybe you can forward my
Special Thanks to Chris for being an outstanding coach! I know my
daughter is going to enjoy playing chess under Chris's guidance!
Thanks
to you for your wonderful organisation and the effort you put in to make
it a happy experiecence for our kids!
Jane Berenson
Dear Mr.
Kirshner,
Thank you
very much for the chess scholarship this year. I had a lot of fun
and I learned a lot. I really liked our teachers, David and
Hans. They were really fair with each of us and helpful. Thank
you again!
From, Chap Retislen
Dear Alan,
As I sat at the chess banquet Friday evening, I
was in such awe of the group of chess enthusiasts you have created over
the years. I can remember when Judy'’s chess banquets were less than 1/2
that size. What an accomplishment and what a legacy. We are so grateful
for you and for that being of you, in our children’s lives. I can’t
believe I’ve let this many years go by without communicating how much you
have been and are valued in our family over the years.
Your devoted
and loving followers,
Kate, Michael, Judy and Sam Keiko
Dear
Dr. Kirshner:
I just wanted to let you know that Sangria has
graduated from Weibel. You may be offering Chess instruction for Junior
High student but Sangria is going to join a private Junior high school so
unfortunately she will not be able to continue with Weibel Chess program.
She has thoroughly enjoyed all those years she played chess for
Weibel. I have no doubt that Weibel community is very thankful to you for
teaching and enhancing knowledge of chess of these kids . Thank you very
much for your dedication, hard work and enthusiasm. Your guidance has
molded Sandria's life and personality in a very positive manner and we
will be grateful to you forever for that.
I hope you will continue
to share your wealth of knowledge with young kids' and I am sure they and
their families will be grateful to you forever like us.
Thanks
once again to you and your team.
Heta Dravidian
(Sangria's
mom)
Thank you Dr. Kirshner. It is all your hardwork toward
the
chess program for the children. It has taught them
a number of things:
focus, concentration, fun,
competition and the game itself. The
children and the
parents thank you for your effort. We are and
will
always be grateful to you. Learnings of Chess from you
will be
with them through out their life in many
different ways as they grow.
So, the seed from you is
very important without which they would not
have even
come this far.
Thanks
Best wishes and
regards
Jennifer
Dear Dr. Alan and Chris,
XXXXX has enjoyed
another terrific year of chess with Success Chess.
Thanks go to you
and your teachers who come to XXXXXX and lead the
children.
One
boy whom I've worked with on his math and reading for the past 3
years
moved from being a beginner to the highest group before the team this
year. His
self-confidence and intellectual development is miraculous
to me.
And, the usual suspects are continuing to thrive.
This
isn't the first time a non-academic kids has excelled. Last year, a
dad thanked me over and over again for bringing you to XXXXXX. His
dyslexic kid shone in chess, and it helped him do much better in
school
for the confidence it gave him!
Thank you for
controlling the noise mid-year.
Chris' management style REALLY helps
ensure the children maintain their
decorum. Friday afternoons are a
challenging time, and the children are
ready to party down. Thank
goodness that Chris is not only a tremendous
person, and a talented
coach, but also excellent in managing a hundred
squirrelly
kids.
Cheers,
Samantha
Alan,
Thank you ever so
much for your willingness to create a chess program at our school this
year. I have heard nothing but favorable reports about you, your
instructors and your program. I will be very happy to have Success Chess
with us again in the Fall.
Kent Sandia, Principal
Dear Dr.
Kirshner.
Thank you for implementing such a beneficial program at
Mission Valley. my son, Nikit, has really taken a liking to chess as
well as becoming a very strong player on his team. I also want to
compliment the wonderful, caring and knowledgeable teachers. Hanz and the
female teacher overlooking the club are great.
My daughter Sara is
enjoyin the club too. She likes her teacher and is learning
well.
Sincerely,
Karan Sharma
Dear Alan.
Thank you for your email. I read it! Seriously. My son, who is in 1st
grade at xxxxxx, has participated in this program all year. What a
wonderful opportunity! It is so nice for our children to have a choice of
non-athletic related, after school activites. We hope to participate again
next year. Thank you again.
Pam (A parent at a school
where over half the chess club members are on the federal lunch program
and, therefore, have full scholarships for SCS)
Alan,
My husband and I
want to thank you so very much for starting the chess club at Silver Oak.
My boys are having such a wonderful time and we are very pleased with
their enthusiasm and learning experience.
Warm
Regards,
Jan Hymm
Hi Alan,
Thanks for the great update.
My son, Johnny Fan, at James Leitch greatly enjoys your chess classes.
When we forgot to re-new for Spring semester, he reminded us several
times. His interest carries over to the home front where he is constantly
bugging his dad to play with him.
Your dedication to this game and
your efforts with the children is impressive. I am very grateful to you
for exposing our children to this wonderful, intelligent
sport.
Regards,
Michelle
Hello Alan,
I wanted to
let you know my children (Arnav and Jayodita) enjoyed the program you
designed this year. They also were thrilled with the certificated and
trophys you and your staff provided to each of the students. It had a hugh
positive impact upon my children and many thanks to you and your staff for
making the last day a big sucess for our children.
Looking forward
to joining your fall program. Regards,
Harsha Singh
FROM SCOTT PFEIFER, PINEDALE
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA
Dear Dr. Kirshner,
It's been a while since I last
spoke with you, but, I thought a progress report was in order.This was my
first full year as chess instructor in a bi-weekly, after-school program
at Pinedale Elementary School in Jacksonville,Florida.We modeled our
program , to some extent, after your very successful program at Weibel
Elementary. We took to heart your advice on implementing a "hands-on"
approach to instruction by providing club members an opportunity to
purchase small pocket magnetic sets for home games. Many students took
advantage of this opportunity. With funding from the Paxon Full Service
Schools Program, we were able to purchase 20+ sets, demo board, pay my
salary, and use the remaining funds for travel expenses to a Jacksonville
Chess Club Scholastic Chess Tournament.We recently hosted the First Annual
Pinedale Invitational at the school, drawing 50 participants from the
various elementary schools in our Duval County School System and from as
far away as Statesboro,Georgia (a 3-hour drive!) Rewarding the kids with
certificates of participation, trophies for 1st and 2nd place finishers,
and door prizes for ALL attendees seems to be the right ingredients for
motivating the kids.It's truly amazing to see the progress our students
have made over the year.It's no wonder that the "Green Pawns" walked away
with 5 of the 6 trophies at the Invitational ! We were truly blessed with
a tremendous outpouring of support that the administration, staff,
teachers, and parents provided over the year.Having taught chess at
several local schools, this was the 1st time for me that everything fell
together to create SUCCESS. The key is to have ALL the elements working
together on behalf of the kids. Like chess pieces, people function best as
a team in working toward a common goal and when there is genuine
solidarity, success is a given.
I periodically revisit your website
for inspiration and to note the many nice upgrades.We are hopeful that our
initial success at Pinedale will be the springboard for infusing chess
into the local school landscape.There is a tremendous need for this type
of activity in our Jacksonville Schools, which is a huge school system
with over 100 elementary schools.We believe that Pinedale's Green Pawns
will be the model for other programs to follow, just as your Weibel
Elementary School is.
If you would like to get a better picture of
our efforts at Pindale, please review the following article: http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/050303/neR_12428033.shtml
Thanks
again and look forward to hearing from you again.
Yours
in Chess,
Scott Pfeiffer
PS: Here is a small point of
interest concerning Pinedale which might be worth mentioning. At the
beginning of the school year, when our chess club first met, we decided to
"vote" on a team name.Various candidates were submitted and the children
were allowed to orally explain why they chose a particular nickname.When
her time came, India Wishart, a 4th grader, spoke up and pointed out that
since GREEN was a school color, she thought a good name would be the
Pinedale Green Pawns.We asked her why she chose "Pawns" and she replied
"because pawns are LOYAL!" ( I love it!!!) This nickname won by an
overwhelming margin.Apparently ,it had struck a chord with the children
Hi Alan,
My name is
Lotus Jeng. My son Jacob Jeng is in the chess team in Dilworth
Elementary School. Last Tuesday, Josh was their substitute teacher
for Sandi. I happened to be there during his class for most of the time.
I wrote to let you know that he did a very good job in disciplining
the children and giving instructions. My son enjoyed his teaching
very much.
I also want to express my appreciation towards my son’s
regular teacher, Sandi. He has made a lot of efforts in his
teaching.
I am glad that my son is a member of your chess school.
He definitely learned a lot from your staff. Thank you for providing this
opportunity.
Best regards,
Lotus
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