Dock Parents and Students,

I trust your summer is going well and you are finding time to strengthen family relationships. Our offices are busy preparing for a new school year at Dock!

We continue to monitor advice from our county regarding COVID-19 mitigation recommendations. Our county has a relatively high rate of vaccination, but we want to continue to provide a safe environment for our students, faculty, and staff.

For the new school year, we plan to allow individual families to decide about the wearing of masks while on campus. Students traveling on district buses will need to follow the policy of that school district while riding the bus. Dock will not be requiring masks once the student arrives on campus (inside or outside). We encourage each family to consider what is best for your children. Faculty and staff will support family decisions. We encourage respect and patience as families may make different decisions. We want each student to feel comfortable and safe at Dock.  

Dock will continue to be mindful of general ways we can stay healthy. Routine maintenance of air handling systems, cleaning protocols, and good personal hygiene are all a part of keeping our students and staff healthy. We encourage you to follow practices developed last year such as regular health checks for students and keeping any student who feels sick at home.

Expect to see an increase in communication over the coming weeks as we help you prepare for the first day of school. Join us in prayer for our students and staff as they prepare to return. We look forward to a great year ahead!  

DR. CONRAD SWARTZENTRUBER

Superintendent

Leonard Dow ('82) has been named Vice President of Community and Church Development at Everence. He will continue to lead the Everence team in Philadelphia, but will also direct Everence efforts to serve emerging diverse communities and churches. In addition, Dow was named president of Everence Community Investments LLC.

"As our community and church demographics change, it is essential that Everence continue to take steps to build authentic relationships in all of the communities where we live and serve," said Everence CEO Ken Hochstetler. Everence helps individuals, organizations and congregations integrate finances with faith through a national team of professionals. Everence offers banking, insurance and financial services with community benefits and stewardship education.

Photo courtesy of Mennonite Central Committee

Read Leonard Dow's Commencement address to the Class of 2019

Carolina Fraser ('19) has done it again: She is the winner of the National Audubon Society Photography Awards Grand Prize in the Amateur category for her stunning photo of a roadrunner taking a dust bath in the South Texas desert (above). Fraser won the Grand Prize in the Youth category in 2016 for her shot of two Great Frigate birds, which she captured in the Galapagos Islands.

"One of my favorite places to take photographs is among the oil pumps and open space at Los Novios Ranch in South Texas, where wildlife weaves through cacti and birds perch on fence posts," Fraser said in describing her award-winning shot. "On a blazing hot summer day just before sunset, I found myself lying facedown at an uncomfortable angle, my elbows digging into a gravel path as I photographed this roadrunner. I manually adjusted the white balance until I captured the bird bathed in golden sunlight as it took a dust bath."

Read more about Fraser's award-winning photo

Read more about Fraser's passion for photography

"Let's go to the zoo!" is a new summer camp that has been added to the Dock Summer Camp lineup for ages 4 to 6. This camp will run July 26-30 from 8:30-11:30 a.m. each day. It will be supervised by Mrs. Laura Almond and other Dock faculty. Students will spend our time learning about different animals and their life at the zoo. For more information about Dock's sup[er summer camp lineup, visit dock.org/summercamps.

Now-retired faculty member Mr. Harry “Mr. A” Anselmo first began taking Dock Middle School students on the “Splash into Science” summer learning trip almost 20 years ago. Fifteen students in grades 7 and 8 continued the tradition this year, now accompanied by high school science teacher Mrs. Kellena Smith and several other adult chaperones. The 5-day trip is jam-packed with a variety of fun opportunities to learn about ecosystems in the Florida Keys. Students participate in a beach snorkel, a reef snorkel, and kayak through mangroves, visit a turtle hospital, and learn about (and swim with!) dolphins. The group also spent a day in the Florida Everglades learning about that ecosystem.

See more Splash into Science photos

Dock Mennonite Academy Superintendent Dr. Conrad Swartzentruber has written a letter to Dock students and their families, the last in a series of pandemic-related communications the school has shared over the course of the 2020-21 school year. The June 10, 2021 Superintendent's Letter includes gratitude for a successful school year, reflection on our end-of-year activities at both campuses, and a look forward to a more normal fall.

Read the full text of the letter here

Baccalaureate

Friday, June 11, 7:30 p.m.

66th Annual Commencement

Saturday, June 12, 6 p.m. 

Both events will be held at Dock Stadium and will be available for viewing via livestream

Baccalaureate Livestream

Commencement Livestream

Senior Presentations are 20-minute public presentations given by each graduating senior in which they reflect on their growth and maturity academically, socially, and spiritually over their years at Dock, as well as the key relationships and experiences that shaped them. Friends and family are invited to attend the presentations. This year, presentations by a number of seniors were given via video. These virtual presentations are available for viewing through June 23.

Link to Virtual Senior Presentations

Students who delivered Senior Presentations by video include:

Keira Chung

Serena Tan

Samantha Osborn

Judy Ding

Sherry Hu

Moon Hu

Rhea Song

Chuck Ju

Tony Li

Chloe Sung

Lauren Moatemri

Ria Chu

Song Kang

Isabelle Li

Bella Liang

Amy Sun

Frank Xu

Henry Zeng

Steve Martin Jr.

Noah Adams

Abby Lanning

Mahamod Camara

Dallas Hamilton-Wilder

It’s official: Dock’s Physics Boat Race has gone international.

While his classmates raced their cardboard boats across Groff Pond last Friday, remote learner Bryce Huang, a junior, also tested the seaworthiness of his craft—only he was 8,000 miles away in Yunnan, China. Congratulations on a well-designed boat, Bryce—that extra credit in Physics class is coming your way!

Students in Mrs. Jane Mast's Physics classes have an opportunity to earn extra credit by designing and building boats made of just two materials: cardboard and duct tape. Teams of students build the boats and then race them across Groff Pond during Dock's All-School Social, an anticipated annual end-of-year event. 

Our Dock Early Childhood team held their first outdoor EC Spring Arts Event. EC students shared a few songs, including "God is on the Move," "Jesus Loves Me" and "This Little Light of Mine." They also shared the Easter story from Matthew 28 by memory. Parents, grandparents, and friends visited outside of the EC campus wing to also celebrate student artwork displayed throughout the area. It was a wonderful evening!