Princeton Day School has introduced a new after-school activity in the Middle School this year: the Girls Who Code Club.
Girls Who Code (GWC) is a nationwide non-profit organization that works to eliminate the prevailing gender gap in today’s technology and engineering career sectors. With support from Twitter, Google, GE, eBay and AT&T, Girls Who Code initiatives educate, inspire, and equip girls with the fundamental skills they need to be successful in computing jobs.
The club was brought to PDS by Online Communications Manager and PDS parent Evan Thomas, who was interested in finding coding opportunities for her own daughters after taking an online programming course. She now serves as club advisor alongside MS Technology Coordinator Jamie Atkeson, and has helped connect the PDS group with Amy Tai from Princeton University’s Graduate School of Computer Science.
17 excited students showed up for the Club’s first meeting, where they began a 40-hour computer science curriculum that will culminate in a coding project of each student’s choosing. Their first challenge consists of drawing shapes and creating generative art with a graphic programming language called Scratch.
In addition to the new Girls Who Code Club, Princeton Day School also offers after-school computer science classes in Scratch and Lego Robotics, as well as a range of STEAM-focused curricular programs for students in grades PreK-12.
To learn more, contact Kathryn Rosko at 924-6700 ext. 1280.
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