Computer Science

The goal of the computer science department at Mazapan School is to prepare all of its students for the challenges they will face in the workplace of the 21^st century. Many office jobs have requirements that their employees understand the Microsoft Office suite, be capable of building a web page, feel comfortable giving a digital PowerPoint presentation, or work with a complicated database. With the classes our students take at Mazapan, they will be able to put down on their resume a long list of relevant computer skills.

Here is a list of what each of the grades will be doing this year in Computer Science.

• 1^st and 2^nd grade: They will be working with the program Jumpstart which is aligned with the curriculum for their grade level. It has fun games which teach basic math and English skills. They will also be learning basic computer operations.

• 3^rd through 6^th grade: The main focus of these classes is to teach the students proper typing skills. They will be using the program Type to Learn as well as other projects that focus on typing. They will be corresponding with Pen Pals in the United States and learning the correct way to format a letter. Some of the assignments will require them to do internet research and create reports with internet bibliographies.

• 7^th and 8^th grade: In middle school the students will be continuing their typing practice, but the main focus of this class is to teach web design and desktop publishing. They will create websites using HTML code. Through this process they will gain an understanding of computer programming and logic. They will also work with the program Microsoft Publisher to create print documents.

• 9^th grade: This is the first year students will begin their serious inquiry into the Microsoft Office suite. The ninth grade students will be learning everything there is to know about Microsoft Word. Many people think they know how to operate this program, but most people do not know one tenth of what it is capable of doing. Our students will learn the advanced features of this powerful program.

• 10^th grade: In the second year of computer science, the students will be learning Microsoft PowerPoint. They will have to do research projects and give reports to the whole class using the digital projector. They will learn public speaking skills and how to add multimedia elements to their presentations.

• 11^th grade: This is a very important year because they will be working with one of the most common tools in the business world, Microsoft Excel. This is a spreadsheet program which can be used for accounting and basic database management. The students will have to use their mathematic skills as well as their computer skills.

• 12^th grade: The most complicated program is taught in the last year of computer science. Microsoft Access is a powerful database program capable of handling massive quantities of information. The students will work with existing databases as well as create databases from the ground up; designing forms, tables, and queries.