Holmes offers two clubs for coding

Girls Who Code is about girls who want to write the language that brings the digital world to life. Each year team members choose something to code and meet every Friday in computer science teacher Bridget Adam’s room in Holmes Junior High. 

Last year members did digital citizenship in three groups. One group did an LGBTQ+ animation, one group did an animal cruelty game using bloxels, and the last group did a video game using the Makecode Arcade.

The animation group focused on the LGBTQ+ community, partly because half of the code members were also in it, and they made an animation of a kid coming out to his best friend about how he is gay. This year, the group is coding a project focusing on sexism. 

Freshman Mya Miller has been in Girls Who Code since seventh grade. “Girls Who Code was different and new. It was Mrs. Adam’s first year. It was in a fun, safe environment. I did Girls Who Code because I enjoy coding and still do. I like coding because you can create different things, and it’s fun.” 

Eighth-grader Keely Chambers was also in Girls Who Code last year. “I joined Girls Who Code because some of my friends were in it. I don’t think I would do coding again, but it was pretty fun. My favorite thing about Girls Who Code was watching people play our game.” 

Adviser Bridget Adam said, “I wanted to start Girls Who Code because I wanted it to be an experience for girls to experience computer science and coding, and it’s a national organization I was introduced to, and I wanted to bring it to Holmes.” 

Under Adam’s direction, the interest in coding has continued to grow. This year she started a club for guys and girls to do coding called computer science club that started on Wednesday, Sept. 15, and it will meet every Wednesday thereafter during Tiger Time. 

Adams said that during Girls Who Code meetings they have a group project where they come up with a theme or a topic, and then they drive their projects on that theme. 

“The girls do topics that have a special thing in their hearts, and it’s something they want to promote in school.” 

Adam is fairly new to the field herself. “I started to like coding about five years ago,” she said. “I want to run Girls Who Code for as long as I work here and as long as it is an organization. We use a lot of programs like basic block base, Scratch or Makecode Arcade, but we also use Python and Javascript if some of the girls want to learn that too, so we do a lot.” 

Whatever the gender, Adam has opened the options for Holmes students to learn to write the languages that run the internet, either through Girls Who Code or the new computer science club.

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.