Concordia’s creative coders in grades 3, 4 and 5 joined coders from Jakarta's Pattimura and Pondok Indah Elementary Schools and Concordia Shanghai to compete in the Global Codeathon. 

Coders met first via a Zoom opening ceremony, then worked on their own campus to develop and build their coding projects. 

Each coder aimed to connect their project to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 14:  “Life Below Water,” to “conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development.” 

Students researched and viewed some informational videos about Goal 14. They learned how humans have negatively impacted the ocean and some ideas of what could be done so that the ocean continues to be a resource that supports life on Earth. 

Leading up to the competition, Mr. Caldwell and Mrs. Winterstein worked with students on Scratch to explore and support their ideas for games and animation projects. Students shared their successes and challenges.

Mateo (G3) explained: "Sometimes my code didn't work, so I kept working on getting new ideas. If it didn't work at first like my man swimming around in circles to make trash disappear, then I had to find a new plan."

"It was an amazing experience to be with all of those great coders!" said Ezra (G4).

Dong Hoo (G4) said, "It was really fun to code with friends here and a bunch of other students from all over the world that we didn't know. I love coding!"

"The Codeathon was good because I got to work with my friend on something that would hopefully impress the judges. I like coding and making characters. My friend and I tried to make a good project. Even if it didn't work, we didn't get mad or cry. We tried to fix the bug instead of just breaking down. In the end it didn't work, but that was okay," said Sofia (G5).

Her partner Scarlett (G5) added, "It was a good experience because I usually am not able to code, but coding for 2 hours straight in order to connect to SDG 14 made me feel like I was making a difference!"

Teachers from each school alternated and judged the projects from other schools. Concordia Hanoi’s winners were follows:

1st Place: Life Under the Sea by Don (G5) & Ian (G5)
2nd Place: Save the Ocean by Kate (G3)
3rd Place: OCEAN SAVER by Otto (G5)

Learn more about why Concordia boasts Hanoi’s best elementary school program.