New Canaan Country School Participates In The Hour Of Code

From New Canaan Country Schools: All 630 New Canaan Country School students participated in the Hour of Code on Dec. 6. Working in buddy pairs, older students taught younger ones the basics of coding.

“We believe that exposing children to the fundamentals of coding is an essential part of education today,” said Director of Academic Technology Aron Back. “It was wonderful to see our students so engaged, and we hope we’ve inspired some future coders!”

The Hour of Code is a global movement reaching tens of millions of students in 180+ countries from ages 4 to 104, designed to demystify code and show that anybody can learn the fundamentals.

Country School used the Hour of Code as a way to reinforce basic computer programming concepts such as logical reasoning, spatial skills, sequencing with if/then statements, giving instructions and practicing precision. The activities also tied in with school Mission Skills initiative, requiring students to exercise teamwork, creativity and resilience.

Beginners students (ages 3 & 4) rotated through two experiences with their Middle and Upper School buddies; a block-building challenge and a musical obstacle course. Kindergarten students participated in an LED light construction project, catapult-building and walking on the color box. In Lower School (grades 1-4), buddy pairs worked together on the iPad apps such as Box Island and LightBot.

The formal study of computer programming begins in Middle School (grades 5 & 6) and continues through Upper School (grades 7-9) with a wide variety of options, such as Scratch programming, robotics and 3D Design.

New Canaan Country School is an independent, day school serving children from Fairfield and Westchester counties in Beginners (age 3) through Grade 9. For more information, visit www.countryschool.net.

Image Courtesy Of New Canaan Country Schools