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SUMMER 2024

Prepare for a one-of-a-kind fusion of learning and imagination as Mastermind Chess and Vermont Math Circle unite for an exciting new summer camp in the heart of Brooklyn! Our mission? To spark young minds through a captivating blend of chess mastery and dynamic math circles woven together into an immersive Dungeons & Dragons narrative. We hope your 6-13 year old will join us this summer for one or both weeks and embark on your thrilling STEM journey – the ultimate quest for knowledge and excitement awaits!

Early bird pricing in effect until March 22, 2024.

Week 1: July 29-August 2, 2024
Week 2: August 5-August 9, 2024
Sign up for either week, or both!

Location: Park Slope Community Church
251 12th St, Brooklyn

Camp (9am-3:30pm): $700/week
Optional after-care (3:30-5pm): $100/week

Sibling Discount : 10%

Referral Discount : 10%

 

Registering a sibling? Use discount code KNIGHTSQUESTSIBLING for 10% off, and don’t forget to fill out a registration for each child you are registering.

Refer a friend and get 10% of your own summer camp registration when they register! Use discount code FRIENDS. Already registered? No problem -- we'll give you a 10% refund!

Early bird pricing in effect until March 22, 2024!

 

 Frequently Asked questions

  • Park Slope Community Church

    251 12th St, Brooklyn, NY

  • Week 1: July 29-August 2, 2024

    Week 2: August 5-9, 2024

    You can sign up for either week or both weeks!

  • Kids ages 6-13 are welcome.

  • Our Directors Khana Itkis and Natasha Komarov met in a chess program when they were just 8 years old, and have both found that giving back to the community and educating young minds, while watching their students grow, is a remarkable gift. Khana is a Woman FIDE Master in chess, while Natasha holds a PhD in math.

    Our coaches are experienced after school and camp professionals, who specialize in the subjects they are leading, and our assistants are college students with teaching experience.

  • Students are broken into 3 groups and rotate through 3 lessons during the day: one chess, one math circle, and one D&D session. A typical day looks something like this:

    9-915: Arrival and check-in

    9:15-10:15: Lesson 1

    10:15-10:30 Snack break

    10:30-11:30: Lesson 2

    11:30-1: Break & lunch

    1-2: Lesson 3

    2-2:15: Break/transition

    2:15-3:30: Chess tournament

    (optional) 3:30-5: After care

    (Board games and Choice Time)

  • Before March 15, 2024: $625/week

    After March 15, 2024: $700/week

    10% sibling discount available!

    Optional aftercare add on: $20 a day/100 for the week. Option to sign up for as many days as you need.

  • Not when we use the math circle approach! We cover topics that are not typical parts of elementary school curriculum such as combinatorics, graph theory, game theory, and other discrete math topics. We use student discussion to guide the lesson rather than a lecture from a teacher, allowing students to make discoveries on their own. We focus on the logical process, rather than trying to find a fast answer to a computation. This means that the focus is on mathematical creativity, which is often lacking from even well-run typical classroom curricula. It doesn't feel like a math class, but students are learning valuable lessons in discrete mathematics while engaging in creative play.

    The most fun part is using the math students learn to help them solve their way through the D&D campaign!

  • Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game, and is based first and foremost around creative self-expression, with a DM (Dungeon Master - that is, the teacher) weaving a narrative and all participants shaping that narrative with their characters and in-game choices. Some groups prefer lots of combat while others prefer to have almost none---anything goes, and the DM can adjust the story to the participants' preferences. No familiarity with D&D is required! The DM will help beginners craft their own characters.

  • Math arises naturally within the narrative of D&D; for example, students may work together to solve a combinatorics puzzle to escape a dungeon, do some probability calculations to figure out what the most ideal weapons are for fighting an oncoming enemy, or work through some more involved graph theory topic ("alchemy" in our D&D world) to help a local shopkeep.

  • Each week we will aim to create a well- rounded approach that introduces students to all the branches of study that make up one of the oldest games in the world. Tactical Chess and Calculation, Middlegame Strategy, Endgame Theory, and Opening Concepts. The daily chess tournament will be a great way to immediately put our knowledge to use. Coaches will select a few of the most instructional games played in the tournament to be analyzed in class, with the hope that students can learn from each other and their mistakes.

  • We will be getting our energy out with lots of physical activities in the gym (at the church)!

  • 7:1

  • Cancel before 3/15, you get 85% back

    Cancel before 5/15, you get 50% back

    Cancel after 5/15, no refund

  • Water and light snacks will be provided at break times. Students should bring their own lunch and are encouraged to bring their own water bottles. Nut products are not permitted at camp.

    • Lunch (that does not need to be heated)

    • Refillable Water Bottle

  • Our head coaches are trained in CPR/First Aid and the safety of our students is a top priority.

    If your child has medications, allergies or any additional physical, mental or emotional health needs we should know about – please let us know.

    We will follow all current CDC guidelines, including any COVID restrictions.

  • The best way to reach us is by email

    Khana Itkis: info@mastermindchess.com

    Natasha Komarov: vermont.math.circle@gmail.com

Meet the teachers & founders:

Khana and Natasha

Click our pictures for links to our bios. :)


 

Khana Itkis, Woman FIDE Master
(she/they)

Contact Khana: info@mastermindchess.com

 

Natasha Komarov, Math Ph.D.
(she/they)

Contact Natasha:
vermont.math.circle@gmail.com

more teachers

Patrick Swailes Caldwell (they/them)

 
 

Hail and well-met! Patrick is a Dungeons and Dragons fanatic with six years experience crafting wacky and wonderful worlds for adventure. Between working at live action role-playing camps, teaching dungeons and dragons classes, and throwing too many NPCs at their players on a regular basis, Patrick knows what makes live action role playing so special: collaboration, improvisation, and strategy. Patrick cannot wait to embark on another new and exciting journey this summer- to adventure!

 
 

camp Policies

Cancelation & refunds
Cancel before 3/15/24 to get 85% of your payment back (for example, if you paid $625 for one child with the early bird pricing and cancel by 3/15/24, you will get a refund of $531.25).

Cancel after 3/15/24 but before 5/15/25 to get 50% of your payment back

There will be no refund for any cancelations after 5/15/24.

Food
Water and light snacks will be provided at break times. Students should bring their own lunch and are encouraged to bring their own water bottles. Nut products are not permitted at camp. We reserve the right to ban other allergens if we learn that a camper has a severe or life-threatening allergy.

Health and safety
Our head coaches are trained in CPR/First Aid and the safety of our students is our top priority.

All staff and students must meet the then-current minimum vaccination requirements outlined by the Key to NYC program. We will be following all CDC, DOH, and NYC guidelines in regards to cleaning, masking, and social distancing. Please note that this is subject to change throughout the summer.

If your child has allergies or any other physical, mental, or emotional health needs we should know about – please let us know. Please note that we cannot legally administer any medications.

The parent acting as the emergency contact must be available in case of emergency.

Campers that behave in a way that puts themselves or other campers or teachers in danger may be sent home at the head coaches’ discretion. No refund will be given if this occurs.

Student to teacher ratio
We guarantee that our student to teacher ratio for camp will not exceed 7 to 1.

Physical activities
We will be getting our energy out with lots of optional physical activities in the gym (at the church)!

Pick-up policy
Campers not signed up for after-care should be picked up promptly at 3:30pm, and campers signed up for after-care should be picked up by 5pm. We understand that things might come up on occasion, however, and allow a 15-minute grace period on pick-ups.

To ensure all campers’ safety, only those people listed as authorized for pick-up can pick up the camper. Folks picking up campers must come to the room to pick up — we cannot release campers out of the building without an authorized adult present.