This week in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) news, one middle school STEM class gets a special assignment, and the Girl Scouts talk about teaching code.

Middle School Students Use STEM Skills to Help Paralyzed Kitten

Teacher Christopher Todd is having his middle school students in the in a Project Lead the Way course that he teaches apply the STEM skills they are learning to real world applications.

After encountering ‘Super Kitty’ Clark, a paralyzed kitten that had a makeshift cart to compensate for its paralyzed back legs, he decided his class could help him with a high-tech upgrade.

"Now the class is charged with improving Clark’s current set of wheels to allow for more stability, comfort and mobility,” said Care2.com.

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Girl Scouts Helps Girls Learn STEM

There’s a lot more to Girl Scouts than the delicious cookies they sell. The organization also has an important hand in teaching its members important life lessons; right now, the organization is placing a heavy focus on teaching girls STEM skills such as coding.

"To learn the right skills for our current world, Girl Scouts is focusing their efforts on teaching girls about robotics, cybersecurity, coding, gaming, and gaining STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) career exposure,” said OpenSource.com.

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University Rolls Out Red Carpet for High School Visitors Interested in STEM

Throughout the year, [Grand Canyon University] rolls out the purple carpet for high school juniors and seniors who spend a night on campus as part of Discover GCU, a program that gives an inside glimpse at the University’s programs and campus amenities. More than 2,000 such students have visited so far in 2015-16, said Tara Scibona, marketing event manager,” according to GCU.com.

The programs are designed to attract students who would excel in STEM.

"The growth in STEM careers is outpacing all other fields in the workforce, and GCU plans to increase the percentage of students studying these subjects to 70 percent of the student body by 2020,” the article said.

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Foundation Launches STEM Reach 2020 to Get More Blacks, Women in STEM

National Newspaper Publishers Association Foundation is seeking to help K-12 minority and women students get into STEM through its STEM Reach 2020 initiative.

"The National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) will hold its Mid-Winter Conference in Coconut Grove, Florida on January 27-30, 2016 where the initiative will be launched during a press luncheon,” said Louisiana Weekly.

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Compiled by Nicole Gorman, Education World Contributor