Alcove Trail Middle School opened its doors this past August as Frenship ISD’s newest campus. As this is Alcove Trail's first semester, the trophy case in the front hallway has sat empty, until now.  

Now that school is in full swing, several student groups such as National Junior Honor Society, Student Council, Chess Club, and Robotics have established themselves and become more active. Alcove Trails has also added a few new groups such as a Writing Club during lunch and an 8th grade banquet committee.   

“It's awesome to see so many students involved and participating,” stated Rebecca Whipkey, the principal at Alcove Trails. “Our goal is to get every student involved in at least one activity outside their academic classes!” 

At the end of October, 10 of the founding members of the Alcove Trails Chess Club competed in the Check with Tech Chess Invitational. The competition was held in the cafeteria at Alcove Trails. This was the chess club’s first chess tournament and they competed against approximately 100 other students.  

After playing on the boards for hours, the Alcove Trails students checkmated the other teams and secured the first-place trophy.  

“It was incredible to see the look on our students' faces when they won,” said Whipkey. “It came down to the wire, so when their name was announced, we were pretty excited. It was even sweeter because we were hosting the event.” 

The Alcove Trail chess club sponsor Thomas Messerschmidt stated that the students played a brilliant game at the tournament and were proud of this monumental moment. “They are proud to make history,” said Messerschmidt. “The first "First Place" trophy in ATMS history. There will never be another first.”  

The champion team will compete this weekend in their second tournament. They hope to bring home another trophy for the case in the front hallway.