Jackson, Cape students win coding competition trophy, prizes

More than 300 students from 17 schools participated in a Youth Coding League competition, and winners were announced last week.

St. Vincent de Paul and St. Paul Lutheran school students earned top honors in the competition, hosted by Codefi and the Marquette Tech District Foundation, according to a news release. Winners received cash, Chromebooks and other learning resources.

St. Vincent de Paul students Nathan Harris, Sahil Khot and Matthew Austin took home the championship trophy in the Technical Merit category with their winning project, “Cats,” the release stated.

Professional software developers judged the category based on the complexity of code and representation of coding skills the students possessed, according to the release.

St. Paul Lutheran School students Amelia Wilson, Faith Dreyer and Emily Sander brought home first place in the Community Favorite category with their “Food Vacation Project,” an interactive project involving artwork uploaded by the students.

Students from League newcomer Delta Elementary won third place.

More than 300 students from 17 schools participated across Southeast Missouri, including Cape Girardeau Central Middle School; Delta Elementary; Eagle Ridge Christian School; Kelso; Meadow Heights; Nell Holcomb, Oak Ridge, Prodigy Leadership Academy; Richland; Scott County Central; Kelly Middle School; Sikeston’s 5th and 6th Grade Center; St. Henry in Charleston; and Trinity Lutheran School, according to the Youth Coding League.

“I am so proud of everyone; proud of the parents for supporting your kids in something so important in today’s world; proud of the schools and coaches for stepping up and taking a lead on this,” Chris Carnell, co-founder of Codefi and director of programs at the Marquette Tech District Foundation, said in the release.

The Youth Coding League is a weekly after-school program that introduces computer programming to fifth and sixth graders run by the Marquette Tech District Foundation at no cost to schools. The Marquette Tech District Foundation is a not-for-profit corporation dedicated to improving the quality of life for the residents of Cape Girardeau and the surrounding communities in Southeast Missouri, according to its website.