Do your children have any activities during this COVID-19 school holiday?

Have your children ever been bored during the school holidays?

Have you ever felt like you just needed a break?

Do you children want to meet someone new of the same intellectual interest under professional supervision?

Well, let me reassure you, we are here for you during this crazy time so that your kids are looked after and learn new knowledge and skills while you are at work or have a break!

Offering, FREE online chess lessons, FREE chess tournament for your children to test their skills, and a FREE business course – what more could you want?

With a school holiday program to be jealous of, let us give your children the experience of a lifetime and hand you a few hours of well-earned freedom.

 

ACTIVITY ONE – 6 sessions of Chess Course in 2 weeks

Topic: World Chess Champion History

Dates and Time: 2pm-4pm AEST (GMT+10)

    • Wednesday, 1st of July 
    • Friday, 3rd of July 
    • Sunday, 5th of July 
    • Wednesday, 8th of July 
    • Friday, 10th of July

Course Details: https://youngsparks.net/2020/06/27/chess-world-champion-history/

Get your ticket (FREE): https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/free-online-chess-course-and-chess-tournament-at-young-sparks-kids-club-tickets-111397912154

 

ACTIVITY TWO – Young Sparks International Chess Tournament (9 rounds on 2 days)

Arbiter: Anthony Hain, CM

Register on: https://tornelo.com/chess/orgs/young-sparks  (Clink the website, and select ‘Enter event now’ to fill your details to register.)

Format: 9 rounds, FIDE rated

Age: The tournament is recommended for children 6-14 years old  

Total Prize value A$990 (21 prizes in total)

Divisions: 

    • Over 1000 
    • 700 1000 
    • Under 700

Time Control: 15 minutes + 3 seconds per move per player

Timetable:  (Time Zone: AEST (GMT+10) )

Round 1 – 5: Sunday 5th July, 3:00pm – 5:20pm (Please aim to be logged in by 2:50pm)

No games until Sunday 12th of July  

Round 6 – 9: Sunday 12th July, 3:00pm – 4:45pm (Please aim to be logged in by 2:50pm)

Full Timetable and Tournament Details: https://youngsparks.net/event/young-sparks-allegro-chess-tournament/

 

ACTIVITY THREE – Young Sparks Virtual Business Camp

Fees: FREE (20 scholarships for 20 students at a Virtual Business Camp, valued at $175/student)

Student Age Group: Suitable for children in Grade 5 to Grade 8 

Time: 9:00am to 1:00pm from 6th of July to Friday, 10th of July

To apply, please record a video (max 5 mins) or write a self-introduction message, showing us your unique personality making sure you answer the following questions:

    1. What is your superpower?
    2. What kind of things or people inspire you?
    3. If you could change anything in this world, what would it be?
    4. Why do you want to become an entrepreneur?

Submission can be sent via email(info@youngsparks.net), Facebook(YoungSparksAUS) or Instagram(@youngsparksaus)

Event details: https://youngsparks.net/event/5-days-virtual-business-camp-at-young-sparks/

 

At Young Sparks, we believe in giving children the best tools to succeed, and by making this FREE to all of you, this is us delivering on that promise. 

If you have any questions, please find us on Facebook(YoungSparksAUS) or Instagram(@youngsparksaus).



This is Young Sparks Virtual Business Camp Program curriculum, if you would like to join the Business Camp, please click: https://youngsparks.net/event/5-days-virtual-business-camp-at-young-sparks/

DAY 1

Introduction. Students will become acquainted with their fellow Business Campers, Camp Coaches and the virtual forum. Camp Coaches will discuss what it means to be an entrepreneur and go through basic business principles.
Visualisation Boards. Camp Coaches will invite students to create visual goals and create a digital visualisation board based on their vision for their life.
Ideation Introduction. Students will identify problems they see in their local community and brainstorm business solutions to solve it.
30 Second Elevator Pitch. Each student will be given the opportunity to present a solution to the whole cohort. Camp Coaches and fellow Business Campers will provide feedback and suggestions to students ideas.
Elements of Business. Students will watch an exciting, engaging and informative video explaining the different elements of a business and how they work together.
Business Plan. Students will choose one problem and one solution to form their business and will begin to develop a business plan through a mind map.
Mini Debate. Students will be able to engage in communication activities through a guided mini debate.
Personal Development. Students will learn about the importance of branding and will create their very own logo for their business.
Soft Skills Skit. Students will create and present a skit to showcase their business product or service to the cohort.


Session 1: Introduction

In the Pre world championship era, who were the strongest and most revered players of history? We will examine a few games played by those players and ask who among them deserved the title of world champion.

Louis-Charles Mahé de La Bourdonnais

Howard Staunton

Adolf Anderssen

Paul Morphy

Session 2: José Raúl Capablanca (Endgame extraordinaire)

The strongest player of his time, he was avoided by world champions before and after him as they were afraid of his playing ability. What made him special and what did he do so well?

Session 3: Mikhail Tal (Attacking genius)

The wild side of chess. Perfect play is not required to be the best, sometimes all it takes is to scare your opponent a little, or in the case of Mikhail Tal… A LOT

2+2=5 and there is only room for 1 to escape. Welcome to the nightmare of playing against the strongest attacking player of all time.

Session 4:  Robert J. Fischer 1 against the world

What will it take to break the stranglehold of soviet chess? A federation, A country, no it takes is one man! Bobby Fischer, a self-taught genius that took on the chess world to become arguably one of the greatest players ever

Session 5: Garry Kasparov The age of accuracy

Grandmasters don’t lose often and beating them is extremely difficult at the best of times so when young Garry came along and was beating many of the best players in just 26 moves it meant he was doing something special. Accuracy was the key. Garry was the hope of humanity against the uprising of computers like Deep Blue. Garry is widely recognized as the greatest player ever by many.

Session 6: Magnus Carlsen Modern times

Who’s world champion now? How good is he? What is he capable of? Magnus is the youngest world number one in history and the highest rated player of all time. He holds the record for the longest unbeaten streak of all time. Magnus is patient, he will grind his opponents down mercilessly over time. He does not care if he wins in 5 moves or 500 moves, as long as he wins. Will he be the greatest player ever? The future will tell all…



“Nobody Owens has spent his childhood in the most unusual of circumstances.”

He lives in a graveyard. Raised by ghosts, werewolves and other creatures who call the graveyard home, Bod learns how to disappear with his will and other ancient customs used by the dead, only to be thrust into the world of the living. Will Bod with his quirks and all, be able to confront life when all he’s ever known is death?



Wonder by RJ Palacio (age range 8-12)

“I won’t describe what I look like. Whatever you’re thinking, it’s probably worse.

August Pullman, called Auggie by his close friends and family is a ten-year old boy, born with severe facial differences. Little kids hide behind their mothers when they see his face. Older kids are disgusted by him. But what they don’t see is behind the multiple surgeries that he is a normal ten-year-old kid. He has a dog that he loves more than anything called Daisy, he likes Star Wars and Halloween is his favourite holiday. Homeschooled for four years, he is starting in fifth grade at Beecher Prep.

Wonder tells of his struggles, frienships and most of all the power of kindness in an engaging and joyful read.



At school, a lot of you have probably heard of different types of learners.

  • There are visual learners, who prefer to look at information in pictures and graphs
  • Aural learners, who learn best when they can process the information through hearing it
  • Kinaesthetic learners, who absorb information best with hands-on activities
  • And, reading and writing learners, which, the name speaks for itself.

However, before you identify what your learning STYLE is, I want to first give some tips on working habits.

Although there is a wide range of different habits, I would say that there are two main groups.

First, there is something I like to call the ‘flow’ group. These types of students are reasonably loose with their studying and prefer to go with the flow. Instead of creating a timetable or follow a set structure to their learning, they have short spurts of work, which blends and becomes merged with break and relaxation times. They often struggle to finish work in a concentrated amount of time because of distractions, but they have a healthy relaxed approach to learning.

On the other hand, the ‘order’ group, are students who always have a fixed timetable, and a disciplined approach when it comes to study time. They can concentrate remarkably well and normally complete homework within a set time. These are those people whose desks are on the more organised side of things. However, their inflexible attitude to work means that they are unable to relax when it comes to taking a break, and often feel guilty when doing so.

Now, I understand that no one is completely one type, but I would like you to pick the one that you identify with most because… *drumroll*

Here are some specific tips to each type!