Students were able to learn how to program their own holiday card and participate in a contest this past Tuesday, December 6, at a workshop hosted by Service 2 members of the Computer Science Honors Society to celebrate CSED week. “I think the best part about the holiday workshop was being able to teach students and seeing what they can come up with,” Alexander Estrada, a Service 2 member and junior, said. 

The workshop was held from four to five p.m. in room 5-101. “Winners and prizes will be announced soon, so do not worry!” Ashle Sanchez, Service 2 committee co-chair and junior, said.

The holiday card workshop was planned in advance to be ready in time for CSED week. “After several meetings, I think we were all able to grab that idea [of something holiday themed] and develop it more, to finally create it as a workshop,” Karla Martinez, Service 2 committee chair and junior, said. 

Every member of the committee contributed into making this idea work for everyone. “Each of us gave our thoughts and opinions and we came up with the finalized idea of putting together a Christmas themed workshop since the holidays are a few weeks away,” Estrada said. 

In the workshop, students watched as committee presenters explained how to work with code.org’s App Lab, which allows students to use different elements and code to put together an app of their own. “I really enjoyed public speaking and acting like a teacher to our audience as we would go through levels and understand concepts together,” Sanchez said.

Students were given about 30 minutes of instruction, and 15 minutes to create their own holiday card. “I know some of the students were asking for more time to finish, and it was really nice to see that everyone enjoyed and participated,” Martinez said. 

For CSED week, CSHS along with other clubs like Girls Who Code organize events to engage students in the field of computer science. “All of this is because of CS education week, where we encourage the students here at MACES  to explore computer science,” Sanchez said. 

In addition to the holiday workshop held, there are other activities for CSED week being hosted such as the computer science scavenger hunt and spirit week. “We’ll have new fun workshops, and of course we’ll be offering more coding activities next semester,” Martinez said.