Year 6 student Reeya Sima has a passion not only for coding but also to help others to code. So, last year, she decided to set up ‘Coding Club’ to promote programming among her peers. It was the very first student-led club at Hingaia Peninsula School and it’s gone from strength to strength, as she explains.

Last year, I came up with an idea to start the first student-led club in my school and I wanted it to be a coding club. My hope was to get other students involved in and excited about coding and technology. As coding wasn’t very widespread at my school and students were eager to learn skills, it was quite a popular addition to the school.

In the beginning of Coding Club, I taught other students how to use resources like Scratch (scratch.mit.edu), and gif generator Pixelart (pixilart.com). This year, I began to introduce new programs for my classmates to use, including Minecraft, Hour of Code and little robots called Bee-Bots. I also created a competition called the Code Off. This incorporated all the programs I’ve taught the students throughout the year. I created teams and got them to face off against each other to try to create the best product, using either Scratch or Pixilart.

Exciting responsibility

Coding Club was made possible through the help of my teacher and supervisor, Miss Veronica Bird. I’ve always had a teacher supervisor to keep track of the students and to make it easier for me! Most of the time, it was held on Thursday at morning tea. The people that attend my club are students. Through the 18 months I’ve done it, the year levels have varied. I started with just Year 5s (my class last year) and then expanded it from Year 6 to Year 4. More than 80 students have attended during this time.

Coding Club has been such a big responsibility. It’s been quite an exciting opportunity to have in my hands. Sometimes it’s been stressful and challenging, because I occasionally get a little bit stuck on my planning and what will be exciting and engaging for my classmates to learn and do. Sometimes, it’s a lot to take in, but most of the time it’s really exciting to be part of an amazing experience.

Positive reaction

My classmates all reacted differently when I first started the club; some were excited, some thought it would be dumb or said it wasn’t their thing. However, mostly my peers were very supportive, including my helpers who gave me a certificate after my first term. Some people that didn’t want to give it a go, were soon intrigued by the enthusiasm it created and soon gave it a try.

The reaction from teachers has been very positive. At first, they were all surprised about the first student-led club and wanted to help out and watch. The most support I got from a teacher was definitely Miss Bird. She’s given me so much encouragement and support through my 18 months of running Coding Club. She was very helpful from the moment I thought about running it.

Challenging moments

I have had a few challenges in creating and improving my club. Some were manageable and some were confusing at times. This includes not many people at the very start, people quitting after one lesson, handling a mix of experienced people and inexperienced people, and getting everyone’s attention at the beginning.

I overcame them in a range of ways. I got a few more interested people in the club across the term by talking to the class about what I do. I made attendance certificates, which made students want to stay. I placed people in groups and got my helpers to guide and help those inexperienced students to find success with the activities. I slowly learnt about these solutions along the way.

Coding Club has been a huge mix of enjoyable emotions for me, as well as a blend of challenging moments. It’s such a pleasure to lead something as unique as Coding Club, as leadership is one of my powerful strengths. Thanks to all my friends, classmates, parents and especially teachers that have made this opportunity a reality!

Article by Reeya Sima, Year 6, Hingaia Peninsula School, Papakura.

INTERFACE March 2025