Forty scholars in grades 9-12 who are in Ms. Elizabeth Cappello’s Introduction to Computer Science and Web Design from Newburgh Free Academy’s Main Campus walked over to Gidney Avenue Memorial School (GAMS) to teach the elementary scholars to code.

Approximately 55 fifth grade students filled the Active Classroom to participate in The Hour of Code. The Hour of Code is a national event that includes a one-hour introduction to computer science which is meant to broaden participation in computer science. The week of December 3-9 is now a worldwide event by over 400 participating schools and businesses and 200,000 educators.

The NFA students prepared 11 tutorials and activities from Code.org, Google CS and Code HS. The tutorials ranged from Minecraft, Code Combat, Star Wars, Grinch, Bilingual Programming and a Dance Party!

The high school students have been working in web design and basic programming.  The class skills they are learning were able to be applied to the tutorials for the younger scholars.  The high school scholars also prepared for working with younger students and how to influence the students in a positive way and being open to exploring computer science in the future.

An interesting discovery is the speed by which the bilingual students grasping the computer science concepts and computer code they are learning.  

Photos from the event. Please give photo credit to Newburgh Enlarged City School District or NECSD. https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1z4McrsUEDC4ynSN943lmaxAfWU9zU9Cn?usp=sharing