The Bob Jones Computer Science Team, led by Bob Jones computer science teacher Jennifer Rountree, is currently raising money for its trip to Denver, Colorado. In May, the team will fly out to Denver to participate in a computer science competition. I, being a member of the team myself, am excitedly anticipating the trip. Mrs. Rountree, feeling similarly, said, “I can’t wait! It’s going to be a lot of fun.”
Once at Denver, the team will attend the American Computer Science League All-Star Competition, in hopes of bringing back another first place trophy for Bob Jones. The team will perform number conversions, a difficult exercise that only computer experts can handle. The team will then perform simple calculations, like addition and subtraction, with the number conversions. Another large portion of the competition is finding and correcting errors in programs. Some of the errors are syntax-based, including typos and missing words. Other errors are logic-based, including microscopic errors, which make programs fail altogether. After the competition, the Computer Science Team will spend the day touring Denver.
However, there is a problem. Mrs. Rountree is receiving zero funds for the trip, so the team is forced to raise money on its own. Kathy Harper, the mother of a Computer Science Team member, is concerned about the cost. “I’m not worried about how well y’all will do. [I’m worried about] how expensive it’s going to be! Plane tickets aren’t cheap, you know,” she said.
Searching for a way to raise money, the team took a look around the school and saw many other clubs selling candy. The team decided to take a hint from those other clubs, so Mrs. Rountree ventured to Sam’s Club to buy a few boxes of chocolate. When she returned the next day, the candy sold out rapidly. The team had found a moneymaker.
If you would like to purchase some candy, look for the large orange Hershey’s boxes that the Computer Science Team members carry around the halls. The members sell regular Hershey’s bars, Hershey’s with Almonds, Caramellos, Reese’s, Reese’s Pieces, Snickers, and KitKats. If you’re lucky, you may run into a student who is carrying a few bags of Skittles or a few Starbursts in his or her box.
All of the candies cost only one dollar. It’s a win-win. You get cheap candy at school, and the Computer Science Club gets money for its trip. So far, the team has raised enough money to pay for about two plane tickets. When asked how long the team would be selling the treats, Mrs. Rountree said, “We’re going to sell them as long as we can before we get caught.”
So, if you keep your mouth shut, you’ll have cheap candy all year long.
