Guilford students build app to reunite school community with lost items
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Summary
Guilford Elementary’s student council won a state 'Computer Science for Good' award for an app that catalogs lost-and-found items, provides a prototype, and proposes sharing the tool with nearby schools; teachers said the council earned $1,000 and individual students received $200.
Guilford Elementary School’s student council presented a prototype app to the Plainfield Community School Corp. board on Jan. 8 after winning first place in the elementary division of the Next Tech “Computer Science for Good” state competition.
Teachers Abigail Carter, a third-grade teacher, and Kelly Gibbs, a fourth-grade teacher, told the board the student council — open to fourth- and fifth-graders who meet academic and conduct standards — advanced through regional rounds and was one of six state finalists. Each winning student received a $200 gift card and the council earned $1,000, the teachers said.
Student presenters described an app called “Guilford’s Pond Claim” that lists lost-and-found items so parents and older students can search for and claim belongings. Student council members explained roles for the project — app security moderation, graphics and design, marketing and in-class demonstrations — and said they used code.oat to build a working prototype. The students said unclaimed items after several months would be donated to the school nurse for use as spare clothing.
During a short question-and-answer period, a board member asked how the app verifies ownership. Students and their teachers characterized the system as primarily oriented toward parents and older students and described an honor-system or simple verification approach rather than a formal ownership-validation process.
The students said they hope to share the app with schools within a 20-mile radius and distributed a brochure and QR code for board members and audience members to try the prototype. The presentation closed with the board thanking the students and moving on to the next agenda item.