Chess club activity ideas

Hi. This past fall we organized a new chess club for our elementary school, currently grades 1-3. We have about 45 active members. (About 30% of these grades are members!) The skill levels are varied as you may imagine. We just completed a 6-round Swiss tournament, playing one round during each weekly meet.  I played TD and organized the tournament. We have about six active volunteer parent-coaches.

Our focus has been on good sportsmanship and fun. We aren't trying to "teach" chess, though I would like to consider a more tiered approach in the future.

We plan to meet through April, once-per-week. The kids responded very well to the tournament format. They seem easier to manage when we structure the play a little, rather than leaving them free to pair up however they like.  We gave out certificates for 1st-3rd place in each grade, as well as overall. We also awarded three certificates for "good sportsmanship". To decide this we let each kid privately "vote" for  up-to-two of their six tournament opponents based on whether they had been particularly pleasant opponents, said "congratulations" or "good game", winning or losing gracefully, etc.

I'm looking for guidance on a few things here.

1. Feedback on what we're doing so far.

2. Suggestions for more "special" awards and how to choose winners.

3. Suggestions for interesting mini-events, variations, etc. to really keep the kids' interest from week-to-week through the end of the year.

4. Ways to build sportmanship, self-confidence, and skill in as many of the kids as possible, and be inclusive. 

Thanks for any suggestions or advice that y'all can offer.  I'm in over my head already, but I really want to help keep things rolling in a positive direction!

don't give everyone the same trophy because "everyone's a winner!" play a game with everyone and make personlized and get the parents do help to the everyone's a winner thing makes you look bad in the kids eyes and the parent's would understand

I think but I dunno for sure, use the lessons provided in chess.com (under the Learn button).

you can play a tourney with the same two openings (1 with white and 1 with black). This will help to really understand and compare the skills of the members

I teach kids at a weekly club at our local library. If you can get a titled player to come in, get him or her to give the kids a simultaneous exhibition (or 'simul' in chess slang). (He or she might want a fee.) Everyone loves a simul as it gives them a chance to test their mettle against the good and the great. The kids will love telling their folks and friends that they got to play a Master (or whatever), even if they lost. I remember going up against Bent Larsen in a simul and losing in 14 moves, but the experience has always stayed with me. The gimlet-eyed Dane, Larsen, was number three in the world at that time but you don't need someone as exalted as he was, though if he or she is titled, that would add some fairy dust to the event as far as the children are concerned. I don't know which state you live in, jungle pig, but I imagine you can find at least Candidate Masters in any of the 50, even Nebraska!