STEM at Rockbridge Academy

At Rockbridge Academy, a K-12 classical Christian school in Crownsville, MD, upper school students are continuing to excel in math and science even under COVID restrictions.  

The Rockbridge curriculum includes a strong STEM track of earth science, biology, chemistry, and physics; algebra, geometry, trigonometry, and calculus; and analytical science and logic, which train students to test arguments and formulate proofs.  These classes are rigorous, deep, and integrated with one another, so that students may study a new concept in pre-algebra while they learn about the mathematician behind it in earth science. Rockbridge students have participated in the American Math Competition and regional and state-wide Science Olympiads, performing well in both.  And in recent years, the growing Rockbridge STEM/Science Fair Club has achieved great success.

This year’s science fair projects have included creating an accurate clock with a 3D printer; designing a walking robot; building a low-pollution cooking stove to save lives in the third world; and testing the safety of personal passwords.   Two years ago, junior Ryan McDowell took his computer security project to the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) and won a “Cyber Pioneer” honorable mention from the National Security Agency.  Last year, freshman Josh Phillips took home 6 awards for his “Cooking Shouldn’t Kill” cookstove design.  And this year, Josh’s wood bridge design was awarded first place at the BMI Maryland Engineering Challenges – 2021 Maryland Wood Bridge Challenge.

Cathy Phillips, a graduate of the US Naval Academy with a degree in aero engineering, started the Rockbridge STEM Club when her son Josh was entering high school.  Josh had always had a scientific bent, and she wanted to provide an opportunity for students like him to pursue that bent beyond the classroom.

Mrs. Phillips believes excellence in math and science flow naturally from a classical education, which girds students with a strong foundation in facts, then invites them to ask the “why” behind those facts.  She notes that these students typically have a strong desire to learn and a strong background in critical thinking.  

This year’s STEM Club participants are competing in a variety of events: the Maryland Engineering Challenge, the Anne Arundel County Regional Science and Engineering Expo, and the Junior Science and Humanities Symposium.

For the Maryland Engineering Challenge, freshman Michael Grube is using college-level nautical engineering to build a remote-controlled model cargo ship to scale.  It must carry a designated load and navigate a port safely.  Sisters Kait and Maddie Atwood are working with senior Sean Fitch to design and build a robot that walks autonomously on two legs over uneven terrain.  Josh Phillips’ “Wood Bridge Challenge” entry, mentioned above, was awarded first place in January.

Theodore Grev developed an easy-to-assemble, windproof hammock design for the Anne Arundel County Regional Science and Engineering Expo, and seventh-grader Micah Farris submitted a clock that he designed and built with a 3D printer.  Micah spent 100 hours printing and many additional hours assembling and disassembling his configurations, testing multiple spring weights to achieve the greatest accuracy. 

Josh Phillips, who won 6 county awards for his low-cost, low-emissions cookstove design last year, has improved his design even further and is taking it to the Junior Science and Humanities Symposium (sponsored by the Department of Defense) this spring.  Juniors Emma Williams and Hannah Skwarek are entering a project on the effectiveness of common password security questions.  After winning the approval of an Institutional Review Board, they conducted multiple interviews, collected online data about their subjects, and determined which types of questions are more secure than others.

All of these competitions require a written report and/or oral presentation for a panel of experts.  The students consistently expressed that this is the “easy part” for them; at Rockbridge, training in writing and speaking is incorporated into almost every class.

Rockbridge STEM training continues to serve students well after graduation.  Many Rockbridge alumni have gone on to pursue STEM majors and careers -- attending technical schools like Georgia Tech, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and the Naval Academy; pursuing dentistry, nursing, and a variety of engineering fields; working in applied math for financial institutions; and teaching STEM classes as college professors.  Teachers are happy to see students pursue these studies and careers, but even more, they hope to instill a love for STEM classes in all of their students. “Even if a student does not plan to study math in his/her future,” says math teacher Rebecca Knoll, “we hope that through their Rockbridge math experience, they gain a greater understanding of and appreciation for the beauty and importance of mathematics.”