On Tuesday, Nov. 21, second graders in Beth Flanagan’s class at Glenmont Elementary School put on a mini-Thanksgiving Day parade at the school. There were no traditional floats in this special parade. Instead, the parade featured small robots as part of the festivities.

The students have been using their math skills and learning how to code Dash robots over the last two months with the help of the district’s instructional technology specialists Stephanie Berlind and Joel DiTata.

The students used iPads and code to guide the robots down a “parade route” set up in the school cafeteria. The students attached specially decorated balloons to the robots. The coding lesson also saw the students program the robot floats to finish with a performance at “Herald Square.” The robots turned and danced and waved their balloons once they reached the square.

In addition to learning how to code the robots, the students also read the book, Balloons Over Broadway, about the history of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. This is the third year students at the school have staged the holiday parade. The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade will air on NBC on Thursday. The local NBC affiliate WNYT featured the Glenmont robot parade on their Tuesday evening newscast.