IMAGE GALLERY: Gibbons Middle School Hosts Scratch Day 2011

On Saturday, May 21, students at participated in a worldwide computer event. Scratch Day 2011, run in Westborough by the Scratch Club, took place from 9 to 11 a.m. and was open to all students of the . It marked the second annual worldwide computer event where people come together to meet other Scratchers, share projects and experiences, and learn more about Scratch.

Scratch is a programming language created in Cambridge at the MIT Media Lab. It is a free mulitmedia programming application. As described by the MIT Scratch website, the program supports the “cultivation of computational thinking, a set of concepts, practices, and perspectives that draw on ideas from the world of computing.”

The program allows users to create and share digital stories, animations, educational games and more. “As young people program and share Scratch projects, they begin to develop as computational thinkers: they learn core computational and mathematical concepts, while also learning important strategies for designing, problem solving, and collaborating,” according to the Scratch website.

The benefits of Scratch are far reaching said technology teacher Marie Hopkinson, who applauded the program and its ability to “offer young people the opportunity to learn, create, design, collaborate and share.” Through Scratch, she added, “Students learn critical and analytical thinking skills and they also learn how to collaborate, be creative and they learn problem solving skills.”

During the event at Gibbons Middle School, the seventh and eighth grade members of the club demonstrated how to use Scratch. As part of the presentation, there were Scratch Programming Challenges including the “Cookie Challenge” and “Fish Challenge.”

Cookie Challenge Winners

• Elizabeth Hopkinson (best drawing)
• Ben Hopkinson (most creative script)
• Corinne Sciarappa (runner-up/drawing)

Fish Challenge Winners:

• Beginners: Kevin Martin
• Intermediate: Pablo Castilla
• Advanced: John Pascarella

Boasting an impressive 60 events in 28 countries, Scratch’s interactive media (stories, animation, music, games) is successfully connecting people throughout the world. 

The Saturday program was made possible by a grant from the Westborough Education Foundation. The Scratch Club is facilitated by Hopkinson and Carol Alcusky, a seventh grade social studies teacher.