San Jacinto, CA – San Jacinto Unified School District is promoting computer programming at all school sites December 5-9, 2016, during Computer Science Education Week. Hour of Code is a global initiative to introduce coding to students across the country. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, by 2020, there will be 9.2 million jobs in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) fields. Half of those jobs—4.6 million—will be in computing or information technology. Hour of Code is an activity that introduces students to coding in a fun and engaging way and aims to build confidence and spark student interest in the field.
“Students need to be more than just consumers of information,” says Gabrielle Henderson, one of SJUSD’s EdTech teachers on special assignment. “They need to be creators. Hour of Code is an excellent way to introduce computer programming to every student, at every grade,” adds Henderson
On Wednesday, December 7, Mtn. View High School campus will be a center for coding. “All our Mtn. View High students will be engaged with the topic of computer science beginning at 10:00 a.m.,” says Denise Leonard, Teacher on Special Assignment at Mtn. View High/Mtn. Heights Academy, “and the integration of coding in our makerspace has increased the interest of computer science tremendously.”
Also on Wednesday, 5th grade students from De Anza Elementary will participate in coding activities at the Mtn. View High campus, beginning at 10:00 a.m. Fourteen MVHS students will monitor stations for elementary students to code Sphero robots to complete a variety of tasks and activities. The Spheros will be bowling, playing capture the flag, and navigating through mazes. Nicole Rossi, the Library Media Technician at MVHS, has designed many of the activities for the students. “By combining our Makerspace with Hour of Code,” says Rossi, “we are taking students away from the screen where they can interact with physical environments and see their coding skills come to life.”
Everyone is encouraged to follow SJUSD’s Twitter account @SanJacintoUSD for updates and photos of students engaging in computer coding this week, which will also be posted to hashtag #SJUSDHourofCode.