Source: Roberta Hodges, 785-532-6350, roberta@k-state.edu
News release prepared by: Jennifer Torline, 785-532-0847, jtorline@k-state.edu

Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2010

KANSAS HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS TEST PROGRAMMING SKILLS IN ANNUAL CONTEST

MANHATTAN -- More than 160 students from 19 Kansas high schools will participate in the 19th annual High School Programming Contest at Kansas State University.

The contest, sponsored by the K-State department of computing and information sciences, will be 9:30 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 3, at the K-State Student Union.

For the contest, high schools have formed teams of one to four members. Teams are divided into beginning and advanced divisions, said Roberta Hodges, academic administrative assistant for the department of computing and information sciences.

The contest takes place in five rounds. In each round teams are given a problem to solve in a limited amount of time while using a type of programming language. The teams are awarded points depending on how quickly they solve the problem, and points are tallied at the end of the five rounds to decide the winning teams.

"The contest has become a way to bring high school students to campus and see what computer programming is all about," Hodges said. "It gives them a chance to test their skills with some problems and see if it is something they are interested in pursuing further."

Registration for the contest has closed, but more information about it is available at http://www.cis.ksu.edu or by contacting Hodges at roberta@k-state.edu.

Participating high schools in the contest include: Andover Central and Andover High School, both in Andover; Baldwin High School; Burlington High School; Derby High School; Hutchinson High School; Lawrence Free State and Lawrence High School, both in Lawrence; Manhattan High School; Shawnee Mission North High School and Shawnee Mission South High School, both in Overland Park; Shawnee Mission East High School, Prairie Village; Salina High School South; and Campus High School, Northeast Magnet High School, Wichita Heights High School, Wichita West High School, Wichita Northwest High School and Wichita Southeast High School, all in Wichita.