Stuart Students Take Part in Nationwide Hour of Code

Beginning at 10:15 a.m. on Thursday, activity at Stuart Country Day School came to a halt. 

That's when all middle and upper school students- plus faculty- took part in Hour of Code, a nationwide campaign during Computer Science Education Week designed to encourage and foster an interest in computer science.

If you walked through Stuart's hall's, you would notice groups of girls creating Java script animations, and game apps on computers and iPads. Beginners started with learning basic computer programming concepts. Some students were even teaching their teachers how to code.

Lower School girls from kindergarten through Grade 5 have been coded in their computer classes all week, and young women from Princeton University’s Princeton Women in Computer Sciences will visited during lunch on Friday.
 
A few eighth-graders shared their thoughts about the week experience:

“I really enjoyed it! I honestly had no idea what programming was (I was never really that techi), so learning this was great and it was definitely worth doing.” 

“I like working, interacting and discussing the activity alone and in a group. When I was stuck on a part, I asked my friends and we ended up finishing it up together. It was satisfying and enjoyable.” 

“It was really fun to get out of class, and try something new! I am really excited for computer class this trimester now.”

Middle School Religion Teacher Emily Lesinski, a new programmer said, “What a wonderful experience! I had just as much fun as the students. I plan on going back to the website after school to code some more! All of the girls had a blast. They were helping each other as well as their teachers. We all wished we had more than an hour - it flew by.”

Stuart’s Hour of Code participation was spearheaded by middle and upper school Computer Science Teacher/Technology Integrator Alicia Testa.

"The most rewarding experience from the day was watching students who never thought they could be a programmer find success within an hour," Testa said.  The problem-solving that happened during the Hour of Code was wonderful!”