Computer Science Education Week

Several fun activities were spread throughout the week of December 5th at Mass Academy to celebrate Computer Science (CS) Education Week. Mrs. Taricco, the Computer Science teacher at MAMS, organized all of these events. 

On Wednesday, eight MAMS alumni who now work in computer science shared stories from their careers and taught current juniors about all of the possibilities awaiting them in CS fields. Graduation years of the alumni ranged from 1999 to 2020, allowing students a glimpse into many stages of a CS career. Almost all of the presenters Zoomed in, with one staying up until 3 am because they were calling from the other side of the world.

The 1st ACSL (American Computer Science League) meet happened Thursday morning, allowing students to participate in the CS themselves. All juniors participate in ACSL, but they can choose between the Senior and Classroom leagues, allowing them to compete at a level at which they feel most comfortable. 

Every evening at 7:06 PM, all of the juniors received an emailed CS challenge from Mrs. Taricco, with many students participating in the challenges. 

“They [the challenges] were lots of fun and were a great break from the usual pace of MAMS, I still don't understand why they were at 7:06, though,” said junior Omar El Nesr. 

The reason behind the specific time was revealed the following Monday: A dedication to Admiral Grace Murray Hopper who was a pioneer in the field of computer programming. 

On Friday, students were paired up into teams of two and competed in a CS challenge related to lessons from the week prior. After the challenge ended, students ate binary cake (vanilla and chocolate) to celebrate the end of Computer Science (CS) Education Week.