(January 4, 2023) Cheltenham Elementary students participated in activities to learn how to program computers as part of the school’s weeklong celebration of Hour of Code in December. 

Cheltenham High School students from Sarah Putterman’s computer science class visited each day to assist the younger students, who explored coding puzzles with fun themes like Star Wars, the World Cup, Dance Party, and Minecraft.  Coding teaches students problem solving, collaboration, and computational thinking skills which they can apply in many different areas of school and life. 

“My students loved the Hour of Code activities, and having the support of the high school students made it even better for them,” said first grade teacher Stephanie Jacob. “They were so glad to have the ‘big kids’ helping them learn. Many of my students have been choosing to return to the coding sites on their own and have been getting better at the challenges.”

Students in grades 2-4 have ongoing opportunities to learn coding and robotics in the iLab every year, and the school also hosts an annual Family Code and Robotics Night for the community. This year’s event will be on Wednesday, April 12, 2023.