Max Weinstein is devoted to being a member of the highly successful boys’ swim team at Bridgewater-Raritan High School.
But swimming for both the Bridgewater-Raritan High School boys’ team—which is undefeated at 4-0 and the No. 3-ranked team in all of New Jersey–and a local club team prevented Weinstein from participating in an after-school activity such as participating on the Robotics Team 303 club.
Weinstein is just a sophomore at Bridgewater-Raritan High School but has already set his sights on his future.
“I want to be an engineer,” Weinstein confirmed.
So when a new course–Robotics–was offered at Bridgewater-Raritan High School for the 2024-2025 school year, Weinstein, who is passionate about jumping in the pool, jumped at the opportunity to enroll in the class.
“I was very excited when I heard about this course,’ Weinstein revealed. “This fits into my schedule and is a great opportunity for me to pursue engineering.”
And he is learning from the best—Jim Griffin.
Mr. Griffin is a STEM Teacher who instructs Advanced Mathematics, and his studies include Topics in Engineering, Introduction to Engineering Design, and Robotics. He also serves as the Advisor to the high school's Math League and Mock Trial Team clubs.
The Robotics class is one of the many new courses of various subjects introduced this school year at Bridgewater-Raritan High School, according to Karen Jones, the Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction for the Bridgewater-Raritan Regional School District.
Mr. Griffin dug deeper into the theory of his classes.
“This year, Bridgewater-Raritan High School began to offer classes that would count towards credit in the Engineering and Robotics career pathway. This included two new classes - Intro to Engineering Design and Robotics,” Mr. Griffin explained. “The Robotics class is a semester-long class focused on experiential learning using VexEXP robotics kits. Robotics students how to design, build and program robotics over the course of four games - Robot Soccer, Up and Over (a variation on tennis), the Rainbow Road Rally and Pantherball.”
He continued his review.
“Beyond just learning the fundamentals of robotics, students will also gain real-life experience in using the iterative design process, collaborating with team members and documenting one's work.”
The popularity of these new courses has set the tone for the future.
“Next year, there are plans to add a second-semester introductory Robotics course that focuses on coding and automation. The two introductory courses can be taken in any order and either one (or both) will prepare students for an advanced robotics course that we will hopefully be offering starting in 2026,’’ Mr. Griffin reported.
Education and enjoyment mix well at Bridgewater-Raritan High School.
"I don't think there's anything quite like the Robotics class at Bridgewater-Raritan High School,” Mr. Griffin claimed. “Every day, I watch my students solve complex STEM-based challenges through both collaboration and competition - and have a lot of fun doing it. The hope is that whether life takes them into STEM-related fields or elsewhere, the skills they learn in this class will give them the tools to figure out their own solutions to the challenges of tomorrow."
So, while Weinstein can concentrate after school to improve his times in the 50 freestyle event and the 200 and 400 freestyle relay races in the pool, he is planning his future during the day in Room 228 A at the high school.
“This is my favorite class,’ Weinstein declared. “I tell that to my parents every day.”