New Hampshire’s gambit
Chess is a thing with kids now, thanks to The Queen’s Gambit, which is why The New Hampshire Department of Education is establishing a statewide initiative to bring chess to schools. “The game of chess has become incredibly popular with students as a result of the hit Netflix series The Queen’s Gambit,” Frank Edelblut, commissioner of education, said in a press release. “The research is clear that when we engage students with their areas of interest, the learning is deeper and richer.” The department is partnering with Chess in Schools and is calling the program Granite Gambit. It’s being funded with federal Title funds and will support training for teacher-driven chess initiatives that connect chess with core academic content, the release said.
Score: +1
Comment:According to the release, a gambit is defined as a device or action used as a calculated risk to gain an advantage. “Granite Gambit will give both our educators and students an advantage,” Edelblut said.
Bike safety celebration
Families can bring their bikes to the New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Friday, Aug. 13, to ride a few laps around the Nascar track as part of the annual Dale Jr. Foundation Safe Kids 301. The entirely free event is all about bike safety, with helmet checks, bike safety inspections and free helmets for kids who don’t have one. There will also be a touch-a-truck ambulance and a teddy bear clinic, plus snacks and water. All adults and children can access the track on their bikes from 4 to 7:30 p.m.
Score: +1
Comment: A family-friendly outdoor activity, and it’s free? What’s not to like?
All-natural podcast
Take wildlife adventures throughout the state via the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department’s podcast, On the Nature Trail. Lindsay Webb, a wildlife educator from Fish and Game, is hiking, biking and kayaking to bring listeners on a series of five-minute journeys in search of wildlife. So far she’s seen garter snakes, water scorpions, a saw-whet owl, bald eagles, horseshoe crabs and a bullfrog.
Score: +1
Comment: On the Nature Trail episodes are available on iHeart Radio, Spotify, CastBox and Apple Podcasts, or at nhfishgame.com/podcast.
Happy, healthy babies
New Hampshire is the fourth best state to have a baby, according to a new study from personal-finance website WalletHub, which compared data for cost, health care accessibility and baby-friendliness. New Hampshire ranked 2nd in four areas, with low rates for Hospital Cesarean-Delivery Charges, Hospital Conventional-Delivery Charges, Infant Mortality Rate and Rate of Low Birth-Weight. It ranked 4th for Pediatricians & Family Medicine Physicians per Capita and, as of Aug. 9, 9th for Positive Covid-19 Testing Rate in the Past Week.
Score: +1
Comment: All six New England states made the Top 15, with Massachusetts ranking No. 1 and Vermont coming in right after New Hampshire at No. 5.
QOL score: 82
Net change: +4
QOL this week: 86
What’s affecting your Quality of Life here in New Hampshire? Let us know at [email protected].