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Students In Grady School In Elmsford Participate In Coding Event

ELMSFORD, N.Y. -- Students in grades 2-6 at Alice E. Grady Elementary School in Elmsford participated again this year in The Hour of Code, a weeklong, worldwide learning event that is designed to make students aware of the importance of computer science and in particular, coding. 

Students in grades 2-6 Alice E. Grady Elementary School in Elmsford participated in The Hour of Code, a weeklong, worldwide learning event that is designed to make students aware of the importance of computer science and in particular, coding.

Students in grades 2-6 Alice E. Grady Elementary School in Elmsford participated in The Hour of Code, a weeklong, worldwide learning event that is designed to make students aware of the importance of computer science and in particular, coding.

Photo Credit: Contributed

Superintendent Joseph Ricca joined a fifth-grade class in the Grady library Dec. 8, a day when over 195,000 schools, businesses and organizations from all across the world participated in the initiative, which is sponsored by Code.org and coordinated to happen during Computer Science Week. 

The intention is to get students interested in programming, nurture their creativity and problem-solving skills, and prepare them for possible careers in computer programming and other such technical fields. 

Library Media Specialist Kim Sparber introduced the initiative to the children, explaining the mechanics of coding and how computers can’t function the way they do unless a computer programmer writes specific instructions. She also talked about the need for more women in the computer science field. 

“Think about how big a part computers play in your lives right now,” Ms. Sparber said to the students. “It’s only going to get bigger and bigger.” 

Each member of the group, including Superintendent Ricca, was given a Chromebook to work on. Ms. Sparber gave the class instructions to log on to hourofcode.com and then showed them how to code with the Angry Birds tutorial, a game that many students are already familiar with. 

The students had to apply the basics of coding and give the computer instructions to solve increasingly difficult puzzles. They were also able to try out Code.org’s other featured tutorials, including Disney’s Frozen, Minecraft and Star Wars. 

"It was incredible to watch the students work together to solve problems with coding, all while learning and having fun," said Ms. Sparber. 

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