Every couple of years we upgrade our laptops, which means we’re left with having to deal with the old ones. Generally, the devices are still in good shape, so we try to find a new home for them.
Recently, we donated two sets of ‘retired’ laptops. One set went to Glen Innes Primary School; the other is on its way to Samoa with Pacific Assist (www.pacificassist.org), a charity providing learning resources to communities in the South Pacific.
Unfortunately, we won’t be holding coding classes in Term 4.
We feel we need some certainty and, even if our venues open up, there’s no guarantee they’ll allow after-school activities, so we’ve made the decision to call it quits for the term.
We will refund tuition fees not used from Term 3. If you have any questions, please contact us at info@codechampions.nz
If an opportunity opens up to run a holiday programme before Christmas, we will let you know.
Here’s to getting coding again in 2022!
The Code Champions Team.
The Level 4 lockdown means that coding classes in Term 3 have been cancelled until further notice.
We will update you when we have a clearer idea of what lies ahead.
If you have any questions, please contact us at info@codechampions.nz
Stay safe and well.
The Code Champions team.
It was good to see our young coders back in class last week. We’re starting some new content this term – adding a more graphical element to the work – and they took to it really well. Many started experimenting quickly and it’ll be interesting to see what they can achieve in the coming weeks.
To continue the work at home, the program being used in class is Python (with the IDLE code editor). These can be downloaded at https://www.python.org/
To practise with the Python Turtle module, they need to start their programs with: From turtle import *. If they need a quick reminder, here’s a screenshot of the program for a ‘square with colour and line thickness changes’.
Just a reminder, coding classes start again this week.
Hopefully, everyone enjoyed the holiday and had a good first week back at school. We look forward to seeing our young coders again and continuing our coding journey with Python.
This term, classes take place at:
For dates/times/rooms, see codechampions.nz/after-school/
For further information about our after-school coding classes, please contact info@codechampions.nz
Code Champions August 2021
Can you believe it, that’s half the year gone already!
In Term 3, we’ll be continuing to explore the main principles of computer programming. While the first two terms have focused on text-based outcomes, we’ll be shifting towards more graphical results using the Python Turtle module.
Classes are after school on either Tuesdays (Churchill Park School), Wednesdays (Glendowie School) or Thursdays (St Heliers Centre) and for students in Years 5-8.
If you’re interested in a place in Term 3 (or perhaps looking ahead to next year), please get in touch and we can send you further information.
Contact Greg Adams at info@codechampions.nz
Code Champions July 2021
Thanks to all our students for working so hard this term. You completed some awesome projects, including your Adventure Games and a Caesar Cipher.
We look forward to continuing your exploration of the coding with Python in Term 3.
It was good to catch up with everyone again – and also welcome some new faces to our coding classes.
All groups are now up and running. Here’s to a fun term continuing our learning journey with Python.
Our after-school coding classes start this week. We’re looking forward to catching up with everyone again.
Classes take place at Churchill Park School (Tuesdays), Glendowie School (Wednesdays) and St Heliers Community Centre (Thursdays).
For dates and times go to codechampions.nz/after-school
If you’re interested in joining our coding classes, please contact Greg Adams, info@codechampions.nz, for details and availability.
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Code Champions 2021
Great coding this week. All groups managed to finish their ‘Aliens’ game, then personalise it with some changes of their own.
There was also a ‘debugging’ test where our young coders had to find errors in a piece of code. They did fairly well, especially considering they have only been using Python for a few weeks.
Next week, we’ll be coding a multiple choice quiz. I’ve asked the class to prepare some questions to use. It’s not meant to be a huge job or too onerous and if they don’t have time to do it, no worries. Even if they just come up with some ideas for two or three questions, that would be great. It’ll mean less time next class thinking up questions and more time actually coding.
During the term, students have been receiving information sheets with examples of the code that we’ve been using. If you’d like a digital copy, or a reminder of Dropbox folder access, let us know at info@codechampions.nz
Next week, there’s no class at Chruchill Park School on Tuesday (as it’s a school holiday), but there are classes at Glendowie School (Wednesday 7 April) and St Heliers Community Centre (Thursday 8 April).
Enjoy Easter … and keep coding!
codechampions.nz 