UPCOMING EVENTS
- Monday, December 23
- Tuesday, December 24
- Wednesday, December 25
- Thursday, December 26
- Friday, December 27
- Saturday, December 28
- Sunday, December 29
- Monday, December 30
- Tuesday, December 31
- Wednesday, January 1
HELPFUL LINKS
Lakeridge Links
Lakeridge Elementary School Website
Qmlativ (Skyward) (Grades & Lunch Balance)
Mercer Island Links
Mercer Island School District Website
Mercer Island Schools Foundation
Mercer Island Youth & Family Services
Chess Club
about lakeridge chess club
All players are welcome (grades K-5)
--no experience necessary--
Our Chess Club is run by the PTA and is the largest program on Mercer Island with over 100 students from all grades participating. The Club meets on Fridays, right after school from 3:45-5:00 pm with 2 Chess Masters and other amazing coaches with many years of chess coaching experience. Our program runs from the end of September through early May. In March, our Chess Club will host a local tournament that we encourage all members to participate in and our season ends after the Washington State Elementary Chess Championships, in which many of our players qualify and attend.
2024-2025 details
Registration deadline extended until Saturday, 9/14 @ 10 pm.
The registration fee is $350 per player. Please register early to enable us to know how many students to expect and staff accordingly. Our program does fill up! Last year there was a wait list.
The registration deadline is Friday, September 13, 2024 at 10 pm.
Please login to your account to view the Registration Form.
Late registrations may be accepted, only if there is space in the program/classroom and at the discretion of the coaches/staff. A $50 LATE FEE will be charged.
The first class will be held on Friday September 20th at 3:45pm, directly after school. An email will be sent a few days before to confirm where your student's class will meet. Typically, classes are organized by grades. In the past Kindergarten had a separate class and we combined grades depending on enrollment numbers (for example last year we had a combo 4th/5th grade class). However, this may change from year to year.
The club meets on Fridays (excluding holidays and half days) from 3:45-5:00 pm starting on September 20, 2024 and running through May 9, 2025. There will be 20 sessions. Our season concludes after the Washington State Elementary Chess Championships. Every participant will receive a T-shirt to represent Lakeridge proudly at local chess tournaments. The last session will be a Pizza Party and include a Trophy Parade to celebrate a successful year.
Chess club will meet on the following dates:
September 20, 27
October 4, 18, 25
November 1, 22 (22nd cancelled due to power outage)
December 6, 13
January 10, 24, 31
February 7, 28
March 7, 21, 28 (28th added on the weather make-up day)
April 4, 25
May 2, 9 (Pizza Party)
Lakeridge Chess Tournament: When possible, Lakeridge Chess Club organizes a WA state qualifying tournament. Save-the Date for the Lakeridge Chess tournament to take place on March 22, 2025. All members are encouraged to participate and we will be reaching out to all families to help volunteer to make the event a success! Last year we had about 250 students register.
Volunteering is Required: As a PTA-run organization, each participant is required to have a parent/guardian over 18 volunteer at least 3-4 times during the year. The volunteer dates will be assigned and it is your responsibility to switch dates with another volunteer if you can not make your assigned days.
Each class will need 2-3 class managers. One manager will be in charge of email communication. The other 2 managers will volunteer to come to chess for every other class to ensure continuity, consistency and cohesion between students, coaches and volunteers. Please let us know if you can help out as a class manager!
Refund Policy: If a student chooses to withdraw from the Club after registering and before the first class starts, a 5% tuition process fee will be charged. If a student chooses to withdraw after the first class, a 10% tuition process fee will be charged. After the second class, no refunds will be given.
If the tuition poses a financial hardship and you would like to request financial aid or scholarship please contact Ly-Lan McCarthy before completing the registration form.
Chess Club Contacts:
Ly-Lan McCarthy LTWMcCarthy@gmail.com
Shelly Hirschowitz 5he11y@comcast.net
By completing the Chess Club Registration, YOU ARE AGREEING to adhere to the Club policies that include: fulfilling your assigned volunteer requirement (3-4 times per year, per participant), completing the MISD volunteer paperwork prior to your schedule date, and agreement with the refund policy. After the registration process is complete, weekly email communications by the Club leads/managers, and/or coaches will include student and primary contact information with the Volunteer Schedule to other members of the Chess Club. Photos of Chess Club participants in class and tournaments will be taken for the Lakeridge yearbook and shared with Club members and may be used by MISD. Disrespectful behavior, by students and/or parents, to other students, parents, coaches, and staff is not tolerated and the students will be removed from the program.
Please DO NOT REGISTER for the Lakeridge Chess Club if you are unable or unwilling to adhere to these policies.
NO REFUNDS WILL BE GIVEN and students will be asked to leave the program if student/families do not meet the Club requirements.
Lakeridge Chess Tournament
Save-the-Date: March 22, 2025
Location: Islander Middle School, 7447 84th Ave SE, Mercer Island