Grade 7 | Credits: 2.5

STEM 7 elective introduces students to the designed world through rigorous, hands-on challenges. Students apply science and math concepts while building critical thinking and problem‑solving skills as they document, plan, and design solutions for individual and group projects. The course covers structural design, computer‑aided design (CAD), rapid prototyping, transportation technology, and graphic design with students creating multiple take‑home projects.

Grade 7 | Credits: 2.5

Coding with Robotics is an introductory computing course that immerses students in the core concepts of computer science through hands-on learning and problem-solving. Students design, develop, and evaluate solutions by creating algorithms and programs, using robotics as a practical and engaging application. Throughout the course, students apply abstraction and analyze data to uncover patterns and generate new insights. In addition, they explore how computing systems and innovations function, examine their real-world impacts, and contribute to a collaborative, ethical, and inclusive computing environment.

Grade 7 | Credits: 2.5

In Media Production Lab, students will learn about creating, recording, and editing multiple forms of media that have become an ever-growing part of our everyday lives. Covering photography, video production, audio recording, editing, and podcasting. This class will introduce and immerse students in multiple forms of media and what goes into creating what they experience daily. The class will consist of multiple unit projects that cover the technical aspects of media production. Each student will walk away with creations that they will have collaborated on and can share over various platforms.

Grades 8-9  | Credits: 2.5 | Semester Course

Are you interested in a fun, practical, hands-on course dealing with the technologies found in our world today?  This course is designed to appeal to both males and females and will allow them to design and create solutions to various problems. This course will introduce students to the process of critical thinking as it relates to the technologies of today and will emphasize the application of knowledge, tools, and skills to solve practical problems. Students will be responsible for properly using the design loop to solve problems they encounter and, through this process, they will have a better understanding of how materials, manufacturing, design, electronic communications, robotics, and transportation systems take their place in our world. A strong emphasis will be placed on group dynamics and cooperation in problem-solving and will require the students to critically evaluate a problem they might find in today’s society and, by working with each other, find an acceptable solution.

Grades 8-9 | Credits: 2.5 | Prerequisite: STEM I (must earn a B in Foundations of Engineering Design)

This course should be taken after Foundations of Engineering Design.  Applied Engineering and Design is designed to extend each student's ability to problem-solve, and each unit of study explores current advancements in STEM-related fields. Students will be responsible for using the design loop to solve problems they encounter; and through this process, they will have the ability to critically evaluate a problem they might find in today’s society and by working with others, find an acceptable solution.  We are a project-based classroom and students must be comfortable with working independently and in groups to complete in-class activities and projects.

Grades 8-9 | Credits: 2.5 | Semester Course

This course introduces the foundational architectural and design skills necessary for further study in Architecture, Engineering, and Industrial Design. Students begin with abstract, symmetrical pattern-making, exploring composition, color theory, proportion, congruency, and symmetry as tools for visual communication. The course then transitions to architectural and product design applications, including small house design, truss structures, and playground apparatus, with an emphasis on form, function, spatial relationships, and human use.  Throughout the course, students engage in the design process, using scaled architectural drawings and physical or digital models to develop and refine ideas while making clear connections to mathematics, measurement, and geometric principles.

Grades 8-9 | Credits: 2.5 | Semester Course

In this course, students will learn the fundamentals of woodworking, including the use of both hand tools and woodworking machinery. The course focuses on teaching students to build confidence and competence in working with their minds and hands to create useful wood projects. A core emphasis of the class is safety—students will be required to demonstrate safe working knowledge, proper habits, and correct operation of all safety equipment. Projects will cover skills such as measuring, layout, milling, basic joinery, and tool operation. The goal of the course is to provide students with transferable skills and knowledge to become lifelong makers.

Grades 8-9 | Credits: 2.5

This course provides hands-on experience in real-world applications in the communications field. Students will learn about the ways communication has changed over the years and they will complete projects in the areas of technical writing, graphic communication, desktop publishing, and technical design. Students will work in a collaborative setting to create a new company, design a logo, business card, and letterhead, and create advertisements as well as an advertising campaign. In addition to the company project, students will be designing their own t-shirts, vinyl decals, and notepads. Through various projects, students will use computer applications including Adobe Illustrator.