Dock Middle School Student Council officers and ClassHroom contestants took a field trip December 12 to shop for health and beauty care items and cleaning products for those in need in our community. After their shopping spree, students proceeded to Keystone Opportunity Center and presented the much-needed items they had purchased, along with another check for $250. The donations were made possible with the $500 prize money students received from their appearance on Fox 29's ClassHroom game show. It was exciting to see our students decide to donate to those in need in our community, and reporter Bruce Gordon FOX 29 did a great job covering the story!

Watch the Fox 29 report

Photos from the field trip

Nestled chronologically between Thanksgiving and Christmas, the Dock Cooks 2018 culinary competition found the perfect seasonally appropriate theme: Anything and Everything Pumpkin. Dock Cooks features teams of student chefs competing to create scrumptious (and beautiful) dishes that will win over the taste buds of faculty judges.

Once again, our student chefs did not disappoint, serving up an eclectic mix of goodies that made the judges' job extremely difficult—in a good way! There were pumpkin bars, pumpkin cupcakes, pumpkin donuts, pumpkin pie (in a jar!), pumpkin soup, pumpkin dip, pumpkin bread, pumpkin cinnamon rolls, pumpkin cake, pumpkin crisp, pumpkin tart, and even pumpkin dumplings and pumpkin fried rice. It may have been one of the most creative Dock Cooks competitions ever.

In the end, however, the judges' numbers yielded these results:

·      Winning a 3rd place ribbon for their delightful Pumpkin Donuts with Salted Carmel Glaze were Regan Zehr and Makenna Rodriguez.

·      The runners up, with a 2nd place ribbon for their innovative Pumpkin Soup and Deep Fried Pumpkin Dumplings, were Peter Liang and Leo He.

·      And the winners of the 2018 Dock Cooks competition, for their sensational No Bake Pumpkin Pie in a Jar—which was as pretty to look at as it was delicious to eat—were seniors Macy Balmer and Laura Bergey.

Congratulations to ALL of our student chefs for their hard work and creativity. You helped make Dock Cooks 2018 a competition to remember!

More photos from Dock Cooks 2018

Textbooks, lectures, and videos are great, but when it comes to learning about business, can there be a better teacher than someone who runs a business? Students in Mr. Mike Lambright's Intro to Business course have some golden opportunities to learn first-hand from local businesspersons who are helping them understand complex topics such as commercial loans, franchising, retail, operating as a non-profit, and the legal issues involved in starting a business (see list below).

"There is so much more that our students can learn about starting and running a successful business from those who have 'been there and done that,'" says Mr. Lambright. "We are blessed to have so many well-run local businesses in our area, and business leaders who are willing to share what they have learned."

Many students have already been exposed to these businesses as customers, volunteers, or through family and church connections, he adds, so they have a frame of reference that makes it more interesting to learn about the "nuts and bolts" of operating them.

"We are grateful to each of these business professionals for sharing their time so freely with our students," Mr. Lambright said. "It's hard to imagine a better foundation for learning about how business really works."

Above: Will Bergey of Bergey's Electric speaks to Dock Intro to Business students

Dock's high school episode of the game show, The ClassH-Room will air on Thursday, December 20 at 12 noon on Philly Fox 29. The ClassH-Room episode featuring our middle school students aired two weeks ago; you can watch it at the link below.

The ClassH-Room is a trivia-based game show for teachers and students in grades 7-12. Each episode features students and teachers from the same school, competing against each other to try to win funds for their chosen charities. The show airs weekdays at 12 noon.

As a result of our participation on Philly Fox 29's The ClassH-Room, Dock is excited to share our $1,000 winnings from both episodes with two charities, Keystone Opportunity Center and Mennonite Disaster Service. That's what you call a "win-win" experience!

Watch Dock Middle School on the ClassH-Room

Did you read our blog post about the ClassH-Room? 

Financial Aid Information

Parents navigating the college admissions process got a little boost on November 13 when Dock hosted its annual Financial Aid Night in Rosenberger Academic Center. Two college admissions personnel from Eastern Mennonite University—Michele Hensley, Director of Financial Aid, and Zach Yoder, Director of Retention—drove up from Harrisonburg, VA, to help Dock families better understand the college financial aid process, including information about FAFSA, Loans, grants and scholarships. About 42 Dock parents attended and received a packet of useful information. The Guidance Office has information packets available; if you would like one, please have your student stop by and pick one up.
 

Parents:  It is essential that you fill out the FAFSA form for your student to qualify for need-based loans, grants and scholarships. The state deadline is May 1, 2019 and the Federal deadline is June 30, 2019. We highly recommend that you complete the FAFSA as soon as possible.  The electronic version can be found at www.Fafsa.ed.gov. You may request a paper copy of the FAFSA by calling: 1-800-433-3243.

Scholarship Information

Need Cash for College? Now is the time to start thinking about applying for scholarships! A Scholarship List with more information is available in the Guidance Office. Feel free to stop by and pick up a copy. It includes specific college scholarships and public scholarships. This list will be updated and posted on the Kiosk in Rosenberger Center as new scholarships become available. We recommend you begin a personal scholarship search by using the following websites:

Collegeboard.com

Educationplanner.org

Fastweb.com

Collegexpress.com

Another resource for scholarships is the college you plan to attend.  Ask your college admissions counselor what scholarships you qualify for. Research the college site and actively look for information relating to scholarships. The college financial aid office is also a good place to obtain information. 

Senior Transcripts & Applications

To have your transcript sent to any post-secondary program, seniors will need to fill out a purple transcript release form.  The forms are on the front counter in the Guidance Office.  Please pay close attention to the application deadlines. It is essential that the teacher recommendations are given to the teachers at least two weeks before the deadline. If you want transcripts sent out before Christmas break, all requests must be made to the Guidance Office by Monday, December 17. We will try our best to have all the applications in the mail by December 21 if we have been given ample time. The Guidance Office will be closed over Christmas break.

SAT Information

The SAT should be taken by college-bound students in the spring of their junior year or fall of their senior year. The easiest way to register for the SAT is online at www.Collegeboard.com. Students should set up an account with College Board. This will give them access to many tools that are available to support SAT preparation and the college search. There are also helps for parents. This is a recommended site for college-bound students and their parents.

SAT testing dates and registration deadlines are as follows:

Test Date                      Registration Deadline

March 9, 2019              February 8, 2019

May 4, 2018                 April 5, 2019

June 1, 2018                 May 3, 2019 

 Attention Juniors!

 While all four years in high school are important, the most pivotal year for academic and career decisions is a students' junior year.  During their junior year, students take a more comprehensive look at their future beyond high school.  All juniors should:

• take the PSAT/NMSQT in October
• review PSAT test results with their counselor and parents when they receive them in Dec./Jan.
• following Mr. Kabakjian's presentation about college and career information, set up a time to meet with him about their future career goals, college selection, current academic standing, and selection of their senior year courses. 
• sign up to take the SAT I at least one time and possibly twice in March, May, or June.
• consider taking an SAT I preparation course, if necessary.
• develop a list of potential colleges, technical schools or job opportunities to research.
• if a student athlete, become familiar with the NCAA Guidelines for Student Athletes, checking to make sure you are meeting the core course requirements and test standards.
• request information from the colleges and technical schools that are of interest to you.
• set up appointments to visit those colleges and technical schools that you believe suit your career goals and aspirations.
• lastly, gather financial aid information from any sources available; Dock, the local community and, most importantly, from the educational institutions themselves.

Junior students who become actively involved in the college and career activities listed above will find their senior year to be productive, rewarding, and less stressful. 

Dock will hold its first-ever Experiential Learning Day on Friday, January 4, for grades 9, 10, and 11. Students will have options for on- and off-campus learning experiences.  Some of the options are full day-and some are half-day; times are within the normal school day unless stated otherwise. Students have spent that past few days signing up to participate in the option of their choice.

"At Dock we realize that significant learning happens outside the traditional classroom, so we planned a day for experiential learning," said Dr. Sharon Fransen, Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction. "We know students learn about the world and other peoples through innovative experiences, play, and reflection. We envision a day where teachers will share areas of expertise or passion, and students will learn something not found in our formal programming."

Experiential learning is the process of learning through participation rather than by listening to a lecture or reading about a topic. Learning opportunities for Dock students will range from Spanish language immersion to tours of the National Liberty Museum and Penn Museum in Philadelphia, sustainable farming practices, shooting and editing better photographs, creative writing workshops, and many more. The video (see link below) includes a listing of all the opportunities available to students.

Dock's Experiential Learning Day is being held the same week that seniors will be off campus doing some experiential learning of their own during Senior Experience—a full week of job shadowing and/or service opportunities that help many seniors discern college and vocational interests.

Dr. Fransen said it's possible that Experiential Learning Day could become Experiential Learning Week at some point.

"Some schools have a 'mini-term' with several days of experiential learning in which activities are planned around one topic," she said. "We may try that in the future, but this year we are getting a taste of what that could be like for us as a school community. We are excited to learn together."

Note: The video represents all of the options presented to students; the list of classes offered was determined by student interest.

Video of Experiential Day options

Under the direction of their dedicated teachers and aides, our Early Childhood students presented parents, grandparents, siblings and friends with a wonderful Christmas gift today—their EC Christmas program! Families were treated to Christmas music with scripture, movement and song. A highlight was students singing "Silent Night" by candlelight. It was a wonderful morning!

See more photos

Mrs. Shana Reinford's 7th grade science students were tasked with using what they learned about how Earth’s ecosystems are formed in order to design a biosphere. As a group, they had to decide how the biosphere's geological structures were made, what natural resources it has, and how its organisms interact.

More photos

Dock's middle school episode of the game show, The ClassH-Room aired on Tuesday, December 4 at noon on Philly Fox 29. If you didn't get to see the show, you can watch it by clicking on the link below. The ClassH-Room episode featuring our high school students will air sometime early in the new year.

The ClassH-Room is a trivia-based game show for teachers and students in grades 7-12. Each episode features students and teachers from the same school, competing against each other to try to win funds for their chosen charities. The show airs weekdays at 12 noon.

As a result of our participation on Philly Fox 29's The ClassH-Room, Dock is excited to share our $1,000 winnings from both episodes with two charities, Keystone Opportunity Center and Mennonite Disaster Service. That's what you call a "win-win" experience!

Watch Dock on the ClassH-Room

Did you read our blog post about the ClassH-Room? 

On Sunday, December 2, 2018, Dock Mennonite Academy Grades 9-12 band members Cici Ren and Steve Seachrist, along with Band Director Mr. Alan Shughart (center), participated in the 19th Annual Lansdale Tuba Christmas at St. Johns United Church of Christ. Our Dock performers were part of a larger group of almost 80 tuba and euphonium players from the region. Cici Ren was recognized as the musician who traveled the furthest—all the way from China!—to participate in the event. Tuba Christmas was inspired by Harvey Phillips in 1974 to honor his teacher, William Bell, who was born on Christmas Day 1902. Since that first Tuba Christmas in New York City's Rockefeller Plaza, the event has become a tradition in cities and towns around the world.