During Periods 1 and 2, the 8th grade STEM program will be taking place in the STREAM lab, teaching algebra and engineering.

This year Bishop Noll Institute is bringing back the 8th grade STEM program. Ms. Albrecht will be teaching engineering while Mr. Lambie will be teaching algebra (honors level). These incoming 8th grade students will get a better chance to utilize the STREAM lab, said Ms. Albrecht. There will also be many other classes being taught in the STREAM lab this year. Ms. Albrecht states, “The STREAM lab is going to be busy this year!”

Students in the program will be learning the same things as what BNI’s freshmans are learning in their Algebra and Engineering classes. For example, they will learn the CAD program OnShape, complete the same projects, and will be learning lessons at the same pace as the freshmen.

One thing that Ms. Albrecht may introduce to the incoming 8th graders this year is a project called the automata project. Mr. Lambie developed this new project which allows the students to design parts of a train.

For everyone’s safety the incoming 8th grade students will be following the same COVID safety guidelines that all of our BNI students follow. This includes: wearing a mask, washing their hands, social distancing, etc… There will also be assigned groups for IED. Mr. Lambie disclosed, “The groups will not change through the semesters for the purposes of contact tracing.” If a student gets quarantined they will use Google Classroom to help catch them up on the work they will miss in school.

This program in general helps the students prepare in many ways to be a high school student. They will be taking finals for their classes for the first time, they will learn time management switching from their own schools and Bishop Noll, and they will be prepared for the amount of work you receive as a highschool student. Ms. Albrecht shared she is excited to see the first class of 8th grade STEM students graduate this year. “I’m extremely proud of their accomplishments throughout the past four years,” said Ms. Albrecht, “I see that they take leadership positions, are involved in academic programs, and take on challenging roles in sports and theater. I love the confidence that I see in our former 8th grade students.”