Introduction
We build the school’s app, in the open.
The Programming Club at Great Neck South High School develops the Great Neck South App: a mobile app written in React Native with Expo. Its source code is public on GitHub, and every member works in the same repository that the club ships.
What we build
One project, one codebase. Rather than a different toy exercise each week, the club maintains a single real application that runs on members’ own phones. The app is written in TypeScript on React Native, and built and run through Expo, so the same code targets iOS and Android.
Everything happens on GitHub. The repository is public, so you can read the code before you have even joined, and the history of who changed what, and why, is part of the record.
$ Browse the source on GitHub: GNS-programming-club/GreatNeckSouthApp-Official.
How the work happens
Members clone the repository, install its dependencies, and start a development server with Expo. Scan the QR code it prints with your iPhone, Expo Go opens, and the app loads; save a file in your editor, and the change appears on the phone a moment later.
You do not need an Apple Developer account, and you never have to sign or submit a build yourself. Producing the installable builds is the club lead’s job; yours is the code.
Joining
New members are brought in through a short setup guide: create a GitHub account, install an editor and the toolchain, then clone and run the app. It assumes you have never used Git or an IDE before, and it ends with the Great Neck South App running on your phone from the same code the club ships.