Garden City Middle School Hackathon team shines in first competition
On May 2, Garden City Middle School debuted its Hackathon team at this year’s kidOYO Code Conquest: "Bayou Conquest" Hackathon and earned an impressive third-place finish.
The annual Hackathon, a highly competitive event open to multiple grade levels across Long Island, typically features schools that return every year. This made GCMS’s achievement even more remarkable, as they were one of only two new teams to enter the competition this year.
The team was coached by Mrs. Scibelli, a GCMS technology teacher, and Mrs. Wenger, the GCMS library media specialist. Together, they coached and mentored a group of eight sixth grade students, preparing them for the 2025 Hackathon held at Mineola Middle School.
Throughout the weeks leading up to the event, students met regularly with their mentors, where they worked to complete coding challenges that required collaboration, problem-solving, creativity and critical thinking. Through tasks such as using block code on Hatch and creating pixel art through Sprite Editor, the team furthered their technical skills while also learning the importance of teamwork and job delegation.
These eight students developed their own collaborative strategy, which helped them secure third place.
“With this being our first time ever competing in the Hackathon, we couldn’t be prouder of the team’s third place result,” said Mrs. Scibelli and Mrs. Wenger. “We entered unsure of what to expect or what other strategies the teams were using, but we came out successful. We cannot wait to see what the future holds for GCMS Hackathon students.”
