Merrimac Elementary Students Participate In ‘Month Of Code’

Press release from the Sachem Central School District:

Feb. 22, 2022

Merrimac Elementary School students in the Sachem Central School District recently celebrated their annual Hour of Code initiative, a national movement to bring computer science into schools and guarantee at least an hour a year of exposure to coding. Library media specialist Lisa Martinez and art teacher Jenna Motroni felt that one hour of computer coding for the year just wasn’t enough and decided to provide students with an expansive coding experience as part of the month’s activities.

Students across grade levels were actively involved in coding activities during their art and library classes with Mrs. Motroni. Students learned how to use Ozobots, working through various challenges and creating paths for the robots to follow.

During library, kindergarten and first grade students learned basic coding skills using the Smart Board to give directions to a gingerbread person on how to return safely home and also coded with directional movements such as up, down, left, right and jump. Library students in grades 2-5 learned different coding styles, including block coding, scratch and Javascript, using games through the website Code.org.

During the Month of Code, students are actively engaged in coding activities that promote problem-solving skills, risk taking, critical thinking and creativity, fully immersed in a monthlong celebration of computer science education.

This press release was produced by the Sachem Central School District. The views expressed here are the author's own.