Computer Science

About Computer Science

The computer science (CS) class, taught here at MAMS by Mrs. Taricco, is one of the most diverse CS classes offered in high school. All students start the year creating a website (like the one you see here) using HTML, CSS, and Javascript. These websites are all personalized to show our own styles and ideas, imediately giving a free project oriented way to start the year. For the rest of the year, most students work with Java, covering the topics in the AP CSA exam should they wish to take it. Students, such as myself, who have already taken AP CSA or similar are given the option to do an independent computer science project (ICSP) where they are able to choose any CS related topic and spend a term creating their own implementation of the topic. At the end of the year we also complete an Apps for Good project, where as a team students find a problem they wish to solve using an android app.

AGRAM

This was a challenge problem posed to me early in the year. It comes from a past American Computer Science League (ACSL) competition in the senior devision. Here we were asked to write a program that would pick which card a dealer would play in a game which followed the rules where each player would be dealt 5 card, the first player would then place down a card from their 5. The dealer must then place down a card of the same suit if they can, the lowest card of that suit that is higher than the oponents card, if they do not have such card they play the lowest card of the suit, if none of that suit they play the lowest card regardless of suit.

Independent Computer Science Project (ICSP)

Because I have taken an AP CSA equivalent course before, I was allowed to complete an ICSP. For ICSPs, students are allowed to choose any area they are interested in to study then create a project. My project involved creating a document organization website for authors using react.js. The idea is that authors can input their maps, drop labeled pins to the maps, then attatch documents or more maps to the pins. This allowes the author to keep every document with its coresponding map. Authors would also be able to go further into these maps to place documents, creating a nesting doll of maps to store their important documents.