By Jenna Bagcal
Next week is Computer Science Education Week, and one Bayside public school is celebrating it by teaching students and parents the basics of coding.
MS 158, the Marie Curie Middle School at 46-35 Oceania St., is participating in the internationally recognized week, which commemorates the birthday of Admiral Grace Hopper, an American computer scientist and United States Navy rear admiral.
Events range from students learning to write their name in binary and creating an animated Google logo to parents and guardians getting in on the fun to participate in an hour of code with their kids.
Computer Science Education Week, often abbreviated as CSEdWeek, was led and funded by the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM); it first took place between Dec. 6-12, 2009, and has become an annual program dedicated to inspiring students from kindergarten to 12th grade to take an interest in computer science.
Other groups involved in the creation of CSEdWeek include the Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA), the National Council for Women and Infomation Technology (NCWIT), the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Anita Borg Institute (ABI), the Computing Research Association (CRA), Google, Inc., Intel and Microsoft.
According to the CSEdWeek website, it was started as “a call to action to raises awareness about the need to elevate computer science education at all levels and to underscore the critical role of computing in all careers.”
This year, MS 158 is hosting one of 177,917 Hour of Code events around the world from Dec. 3 to Dec. 9. The schedule of events for next week are as follows:
Monday, Dec. 3, to Friday, Dec. 7
Every sixth and seventh grade coding/computer class and eighth grade major and minor classes — more than 1,000 students — will complete an Hour of Code and print a certificate of completion using code.org-Dance Party, code.org/
Monday, Dec. 3
All students will write their name in binary and wear their name tag during the school day to receive a prize.
Tuesday, Dec. 4
All parents and guardians are welcome to their Hour of Code from 8 to 9:30 a.m. in Labs 307 and 309 and again in the afternoon with their child from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. The school also welcomes any community members who would like to learn what coding is all about!.
Wednesday, Dec. 5, and Thursday, Dec. 6
All eighth grade major and minor art classes and computer science classes to complete “Bringing Google Logo to Life”—creating an animated Google logo using their very own imagination.
Friday, Dec. 7
Science and/or ELA teachers will have all students write a reflection of their thoughts regarding the week of computer science including: What did you learn during computer science week and how will it impact your future in technology?
For more information, contact the school’s parent coordinator Margaret Polizzi at 718-423-8100 ext. 1245 or MPolizzi[@]schoo
