CHOCTAW, Miss. —

The MS Coding Academies class at CCHS concluded on May 14, 2021. Shonda Wesley served as Teacher Aide and MS Coding Academies Facilitator, and the coding students were Jaylen Bell, Joe Bell, Jr., John Clemons, Keziah Frazier, Jacob Jim, Xative Nickey, Wynter Willis, and Madison Wilson.

 Beginning in January 2021, these students received instruction in coding and applications. In addition, the Coding Academy gave them a chance to think about different career opportunities for their future. Their primary instruction was in C# (C Sharp) programming language. They also learned to use functions, statements, boolean, and looping.

 Students learned how to correct their errors in Visual Studio. Visual Studio is used as a developer’s tool that makes app development easier for any platform and language. Next, they switched to PICO-8, a fantasy console for making, sharing, and playing tiny games and other computer programs. The class finished by creating a game that involved making a ball hit a paddle and go back and forth within the game without leaving the screen. They called this new game “Breakout.”

 Shonda Wesley stated, “This program has kept me busy, but the students made this experience worth it. I think I would facilitate again if needed. This program has caused the students and me to build long lasting relationships.”

 We want to thank the Mississippi Coding Academies, Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, Choctaw Tribal Schools, Office of Economic Development, Ben Hubbard, Dr. Sarah Lee, John Hendrix, Dr. Randy Grierson, Shonda Wesley, Andrew Stamps, and most of all, the students that participated in the first-ever MS Coding Academies cohort held in Choctaw, MS. Thank you for making the class a success! Hopefully, we will be seeing MCA again soon!