Each year at Woodend our major fundraiser is an  ‘athon’, which is organised and run by a class  or two (or three!), to raise money for programs and improvements to our school. This year, rooms 17, 18 and 25 will be coordinating a ‘CODEathon’ during the week of  20- 24 June.  The money we raise will provide some  exciting  and different technologies for our students to use to create, explore and collaborate.

Digital technologies now play a part in nearly everything we do. From the alarm clock that wakes us up to the temperature controls in the refrigerator and many parts of the cars we drive to work. Our reliance on these technologies is increasing and we know that many of our students have developed good skills at using these technologies.

Our vision for our students is that they not only know how to be users and consumers of this technology, but also to understand, control and design it, becoming an active part of this huge digital shift.

When learning to code, students explore and develop understanding of the digital world they inhabit. Coding draws back the “magic” of technology so they can truly understand it. We want our children to be thinkers and innovators who can bring ideas to life and coding is one of the skills that will help them to achieve this.

Our Code-Athon supports learning in the new Digital Technologies Curriculum. During the week classes will participate in coding challenges designed by other students. There will be  ‘device free’ challenges which are designed for students to explore and develop an understanding of algorithms and how they underpin the coding process. We are also looking at ways for our parent community to be involved in learning about coding along with us. Money raised from this event will be used to support the purchase of new and innovative equipment in our new ‘Studio’ space.

Sponsorship forms will be sent home next week.