Contact:
Beth Stefanik
Associate Director of Communications & Media Relations
434.296.5106 (o)
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bstefanik@stab.org
www.stab.org

St. Anne's-Belfield School to Host January Hackathon for Regional Teens

Charlottesville, VA, Nov. 18, 2015 – St. Anne’s-Belfield School announced today that it will host a hackathon for regional teens in January. SPARK will be a two day event taking place January 30 and 31, and will be open to students aged 13 or older. Students must be engaged in middle or high school education to participate.

“We are on a mission to transform students from technology users into technology creators, collaborators, and activists,” said Kim Wilkens, co-coordinator of the School’s Computer Science Initiative and founder of local non-profit Tech-Girls. 

SPARK will include a full day “learnathon” of workshops and interactive presentations designed to inspire students as they create technology. Adult mentors will be on hand to guide students, and sponsoring organizations will share real world problems for which they would like students to consider solutions. 

The second day will be the hackathon, time dedicated to collaboration and creating technology to solve real-world problems. Students will be able to suggest an idea for a project, or work on one of the problems offered by a sponsoring organization. Teams will present to a panel of judges at the end of the day. Parents are invited to attend the presentation expo at the close of the event.

“I’ve been involved in hackathons and start-up weekends and I know first-hand the spark that these kinds of events can ignite in young people,” said Zach Minster, co-coordinator of the School’s Computer Science Initiative.

SPARK will be free of charge for students accepted to the program, though overnight accommodation will not be provided. The application deadline is December 18.

For more information and to apply to the event, visit http://spark.stab.org.

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St. Anne’s-Belfield School is a co-educational preschool through grade 12 day school of more than 900 students and 120 faculty and staff, with a boarding program in grades 9 through 12. More than 20 countries are represented in the student body, with 38% of families receiving financial aid. More information may be found at www.stab.org.