On April 30, St. Francis High School, in conjunction with Microsoft, hosted an “Hour of Code” event for approximately 40 students in the fifth through seventh grades from 17 local elementary and middle schools. This event, which aimed to teach students the basics of coding while exploring the popular world of Minecraft, was the kick off for a new partnership between Microsoft and St. Francis High School that aims to better incorporate coding into the curriculum.
The “Hour of Code” movement, sponsored by Code.org, is a global movement designed to show students that anyone can learn to code in just one hour. With the help of St. Francis High School student volunteers and faculty, as well as Microsoft employees, students were guided through a set of fourteen puzzles, each teaching them a different coding concept. Students who demonstrated their successful strings of code were rewarded with prizes from Microsoft.
While the students were busy working, their parents were invited to enjoy a continental breakfast, learn more about St. Francis High School, tour the facilities and register their children for the Smart Game Design summer camp. This camp, which is usually only offered in the Microsoft Store, is being offered “in-house” at St. Francis High School from July 18-21. The camp will cover some of the best games available in Project Spark, a Microsoft platform that allows users to design their own gaming or flatverse content. Information about this summer camp and registration can be found on the St. Francis High School website at www.sfhscollegeprep.org.