CompCamp, the group dedicated to teaching teens to code, has issued the following press release on its Girls Tech League championship this weekend:
Halifax, NS, April 9, 2013 – The Girls Tech League, a programing competition for junior high school girls, will hold its championship at Mount Saint Vincent University.
The four teams – from Highland Park Junior High School, Fairview Junior High School and two from Bicentennial Junior High School – have been learning computer programming in after-school sessions since early January. During this time, each team has created an app prototype using a visual programming tool called the MIT AppInventor, and has produced a business plan and short video.
On Saturday, the four teams will present their work in a closed session to a panel of three judges, comprising prominent local business and technology community members: Ulrike Bahr-Gedalia, President of Digital Nova Scotia; Suzanne Diab, Senior Marketing and Communications Advisor at Nova Scotia Business Inc.; and Sreejata Chatterjee, Co-Founder of LeadSift.
Then the winners will be named at an awards reception, is open to all (RSVP 266 2381), at the Rosaria Center at Mount Saint Vincent University, and beginning at 6:30 pm.
“We started Girls’ Tech League this year to address the crying need to encourage more young women to pursue careers in technology,” said Rose Behar, Co-Founder of CompCamp, one of the organizers of the league. “We’ve been blown away by the dedication and enthusiasm of the participants, and hope to expand the program next year.”
The first place winners will take home smartphones, and will have the chance to continue on to the international Technovation Challenge competition, at Twitter headquarters in San Francisco, if they are picked as one of four international winners out of 40 worldwide. Second place winners will take home digital point-and-shoot cameras and third place winners will win iPod shuffles.
The Girls Tech League teams were the first Canadian additions to this competition, which was previously open solely to American contestants.
CompCamp and Women in Science and Engineering, (Atlantic Region), partnered in running the program, using curriculum and resources from the U.S. organization Iridescent. The competition and awards reception is sponsored by Students in Business, a program held by Community Business Development Corporations (CBDC) that offers loans for students who are starting their own business.
Note to Editors/News Directors:
Reporter, photographers and film crews are welcome at the presentations and the awards ceremony. To make arrangements to attend the events, or for more information, contact Rose Behar at 266 2381
About Girls Tech League:
The Girls Tech League is an opportunity for Halifax-area girls in Grades 7 to 9 to explore the world of digital technology, while competing for fantastic prizes. By using visual programming to create an app, build a business plan and envision their bright ideas, the girls will learn hard skills while having fun and working in a team environment.
About CompCamp:
CompCamp provides advanced technology education to youth aged 8 to 15 in Nova Scotia. Through summer camps and winter after-school programs like the Girls Tech League, CompCamp hopes to contribute to a very important goal: giving the younger generation the digital skills they will need to thrive in their education and careers. Learn more about CompCamp programs at CompCamp.ca.
About Women in Science and Engineering (Atlantic Region):
The primary goal of WISE Atlantic is to encourage young women to consider careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and to consider themselves valuable contributors to these fields. WISE Atlantic offers science retreats, camps, and will match youth to role model mentors in science related fields. Learn more about WISE Atlantic at WISEatlantic.ca.
