Ryde Network Primary School Chess Competition

On 8 November, we had the opportunity to work in collaboration with student leaders from Marist College Eastwood and Holy Cross College Ryde to assist with the running of the Ryde Network Primary School Chess Competition. We attended the competition at Marist College Eastwoods’ Montagne Centre, alongside Mr Bray and 6 of our student leadership team members; Scarlett Tucker, Jessica Smith, Mana Sugimoto, Natalie Broom, Grace Murphy and Georgia Vassallo. The room was buzzing with excitement, anticipation and lots of healthy competition between the primary school students. Our role on the day was to ensure that our assigned schools understood the flow of the day and to answer any questions they had, to gather teams and direct the students towards their games, assist the students during game play and of course, encourage a good sense of friendly competition.

This day was an excellent way for us to utilise the leadership skills that we have been developing over the past few terms as student leaders and throughout our time at MSCW – empowering the young students to play their best game, boosting their courage in their playing abilities (with many of the high school volunteers being beaten by the primary students), and encouraging good-natured rivalry. This was also a great opportunity for us to create connections and friendships with other school leaders and like-minded young people within our area. We would also like to give a big thank you to Mr Bray, leader of our Chess Club, for attending the day with us, and giving us and the primary school students support and guidance on all things chess- especially when in a ‘stalemate’ conundrum. The day was an overall success and a great experience for all students, leaders and teachers. 

Madison Turri and Ava Gibson, College Co-Captains