By MOLLY DAVIDSON / Staff Writer

NORTH SHELBY—Students at Oak Mountain Elementary School are ready to take on the future. From Dec. 7-11, every student is learning the basics of computer programming and building a computer science foundation through the Hour of Code.

The Hour of Code is a tutorial program designed by Code.org to introduce computer science and coding. More than 100 million students across the world have tried coding through the Hour of Code.

Jennifer Northrup’s third grade class introduced the program to their fellow students, teachers, Indian Springs Village Mayor Brenda Bell Guercio, Shelby County School System administrators and State Superintendent Dr. Tommy Bice on Dec. 4.

“We really turned it over to them and they came up with the ideas,” Northrup said of the students’ presentation. “They’re excited and they got the school excited.”

The presentation included informational videos and a Mario skit to show “how the coding worked,” Northrup said.

“(Northrup and Janet Butterfield) create a culture in that class where kids are able to be creative,” OMES Principal Debbie Horton.

In addition to spearheading the presentation, Northrup’s students also took the initiative to invite Bice to the presentation. Each student wrote a letter to Bice informing him of the Dec. 4 event.

This is the school’s first year to participate in the Hour of Code. Kindergarten and first grade students will complete coding exercises on iPad, while second and third grade students will work in the computer lab.

The Hour of Code activities are created to be grade-level appropriate and child friendly with themes such as Frozen, Mario and Star Wars.

“We hope this is more than just an hour of code,” Northrup said. “I just hope… at least some of them can get it and take it forward.”

“There’s nothing out of their reach,” Horton added. “This is the way of the future. They’ll be doing jobs that haven’t been created yet.”