Katonah-Lewisboro Elementary School Students Participate in 'Hour of Code'

By Sarah Studley

Students at all three elementary schools in the Katonah-Lewisboro School District were introduced to coding during the week of Dec. 7-11 as part of the international Hour of Code initiative.

Meadow Pond Elementary School librarian Diane Moller spearheaded the districtwide effort and worked with Increase Miller Elementary School librarian Julianne Hoffman and Katonah Elementary School librarian Janet Duffy to involve every student in the program.

“The three elementary librarians planned engaging activities for grades K-5,” said Moller. “Since we teach all the students in our schools, we had the perfect opportunity to introduce every child to age-appropriate coding activities.”

Students enjoyed working independently and collaboratively on introductory coding activities, which featured popular characters and games like “Minecraft” and the characters from the Disney movie “Frozen.”

To date, the Hour of Code movement has reached more than 100 million students worldwide in an effort to introduce them to the skills necessary in the computer science field and beyond. According to nonprofit organization Code.org, 67 percent of new STEM jobs are in computer science, but only 8 percent of STEM graduates focus on computer science.

“We are very excited about the Hour of Code,” said Moller.

Photo: Increase Miller Elementary School students worked independently and collaboratively using desktop computers, laptops and tablets to participate in the Hour of Code, an international initiative to introduce students to computer science. Photo credit: Katonah-Lewisboro School District