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More than 50 fifth graders from all four of the school district's elementary schools came together on June 11 in the high school library for a day full of making new friends, collaborating, competing and having fun.
In preparation for the big day, MHS students visited all four elementary schools and delivered additional robotics lessons to prepare the students. The day was made possible by a grant from the Mamaroneck Schools Foundation, which provided each elementary school with 12 Finch robots to extend the elementary computer science program.
Participating students from Murray Avenue School, Mamaroneck Avenue School, Central School and Chatsworth Avenue School competed as teams (comprised of students from different schools) and worked together to program their robots to complete a maze, draw shapes, sing songs and follow a course.
Other MHS students served as judges and shared their own robotic creations with the younger pupils. It was an exciting day that was ideally aligned with one of the District's Multi-Year Stretch Goals - to "Foster community connectedness: ensure that students, families and district staff engage in meaningful, authentc interactions," according to Debbie Manetta, a school district spokeswoman.
Grades K-5 Elementary Instructional Technology Coach Jesse Dancy said: “The day achieved multiple goals. Younger students saw the engineering students they might become, and older students learned the impact they can have on their community as leaders and mentors.”
Dancy added: “We really wanted to celebrate the students' efforts in mastering coding and robotics, while challenging them to collaborate and communicate with others they had never met. As soon-to-be middle schoolers, it was important to teach them how to engage and build relationships with new faces.”
"As they traveled the four elementary schools and worked with the fifth-grade students, the MHS interns quickly formed relationships with the kids and grew as teachers. This enabled them to design challenges that were calibrated to the students' levels, and piqued the students' curiosity, too," Dancy said.
Additional photos, including a group shot of award winners, can be found by clicking here.
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