You are invited to join us for an Early Childhood to Grade 8 Admissions Open House on Thursday, April 15, from 4:00 - 6:00 PM. This in-person Open House will be held at the EC to Grade 8 Campus, 420 Godshall Road, Souderton, PA 18964.

Prospective students and their parents will have an opportunity to:

• Tour our campus
• Meet faculty, staff and current students
• Learn about financial aid
• Ask questions about curriculum, learning support, and co-curricular opportunities for students

Learn more and register 

No fooling—we SMASHED our goal!

As of today, April 1, Dock Mennonite Academy students and families from both campuses donated over 1,500 cereal boxes, and another 70 boxes of non-cereal food donations! We are so thankful for this outpouring of generosity for families in need in our community!

In celebration of this milestone, Dock held a Cereal Box Domino Challenge today. Students watched as 1,500 cereal box dominoes weaved all the way around the inside of Dock's EC-Grade 8 campus. Students cheered in the halls as the cascading cereal box dominoes passed them by.

The Domino Challenge was part of a month-long effort to collect food in support of the Bean Bag Food Program, an outreach of Zion Mennonite Church which exists to serve students in our area who have been identified as food insecure. A special thanks to every Dock family and community member for helping us ensure that every student has enough to eat!

Bean Bag Food Program Coordinator Donna Halteman was moved by the Domino Challenge video—and by the huge food donation. "You are AMAZING," she said of Dock students. "As I watched the dominoes travel through your halls I realize that the journey is not over when the last box falls down. Each one of those boxes will travel on and be given to a child in our community. The gift of one box of cereal means so much to someone who is hungry.

"You see, it is not just a gift of food—it is a gift that tells the child they are loved by their neighbors, that they are valued and they are needed. Thank you for your overwhelming generosity, and for helping the Bean Bag Food Program fight childhood hunger. I was happy to see that the Challenge became a fun project for everyone—that's exactly how helping others should be—joyful!"

Watch Dock play dominoes

Slide show: Before, during and after

 

Scholarships are out there . . . You just have to search for them!

There is still time to apply for scholarships! More information, including a list of specific scholarships and their application deadlines, is available on the website.  Remember to talk with the financial director at your college of choice to uncover other options. It takes work, but there is money to help support higher education.

Below are some helpful online resources to assist you in scholarship searches.

College Board - www.collegeboard.com 

FastWeb - www.fastweb.com 

Scholarship Page - www.scholarship-page.com/ 

Sallie Mae - www.salliemae.com/college-planning/college-scholarships/

Going Merry - www.goingmerry.com

Student Scholarships - www.studentscholarships.org/scholarship.php

The following scholarships are offered to Dock students only. Contact the Guidance Office for more information and an application.

• The Vanessa L. Myers Women in STEM Alumnus Scholarship provides a $1000 scholarship to a female graduating Dock senior who is entering a field related to Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics (STEM). Applications are due April 30
• The Travis Bechtel Memorial Scholarship provides a $1000 scholarship to a Dock senior planning to major in business who excels in academics, athletics, and business. Applications are due May 12.
• The Daniel J. Reinford Scholarship is awarded to graduating Dock seniors who will be attending a Mennonite college or university. It is based on financial need, grades, and contribution to campus life. Applications are due May 12.

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

May 8, 2021                              April 8, 2021                                            

June 5, 2021                             May 6, 2021

Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD)

Students with the proper current documentation (within 3 years) for a learning disability, may qualify for accommodations for the SAT or ACT test. An SSD Student Eligibility Form must be submitted for each student requesting accommodations. The College Board recommends that Dock submit SSD Student Eligibility Forms at the conclusion of the student’s 9th grade year. If you feel your child would qualify for SAT or ACT accommodations, please contact Mrs. Leaman for a request form or additional information.  SAT accommodations and ACT accommodations are two separate applications. After the student has been approved for accommodations, it follows him/her through high school.

AP Testing

AP exams will be held on campus for all local students from May 6^th through May 17^th. The final step in the registration process will happen from April 13^th through April 27^th. If you are registered for an exam, please contact the Guidance Office. We need you to verify the exam(s) you will be taking. The cost per exam is $95. Payment must be submitted to the Guidance Office by April 27^th in the form of a check written to Dock Mennonite Academy for the total cost of your exams.

 

Spring 2021 College Fairs
 

Southeastern Pennsylvania Christian College Fair

Tuesday, April 13, 2021, 6:30 – 8:30 pm

Coventry Christian School, 699 North Pleasantville Road, Pottstown, PA  19464

(610) 326-3320

Virtual Christian College Fairs                                              

https://myblueprintstory.com/virtual-christian-college-fairs

Register for dozens of virtual fairs and pre-recorded college webinars, such as Tips on paying for College           

NACAC (National Association for College Admission Counseling) Virtual College Fairs

https://www.nacacfairs.org/attend/attend-virtual-college-fairs/students/

Drop in on Zoom sessions offered by hundreds of colleges.

PACAC (Pennsylvania Association for College Admission Counseling) Virtual College Fairs

https://www.pacac.org/college-fairs

PACAC partners with StriveScan to create a unique opportunity for students to experience a wide range of colleges in a lively and safe environment.

 

Mennonite College 2021 Spring Open Houses

Bethel College  www.bethelks.edu

April 9, 2021 – Junior Visit Day

Bluffton College www.bluffton.edu

April 24, 2021 – Junior Visit Day

 

Summer Enrichment

Looking for things to do this summer? Check out the link on the Guidance Office web page for ideas! CollegeAdvisor.com is another resource for finding your perfect summer opportunity. Enrichment activities look impressive on the college resume. Talk to your Guidance Counselor if you have questions.

Academic Recognitions

As we have done in the past, we will honor students at graduation with three categories:

Cum laude—Cumulative GPA of 3.70 – 3.84

Magna cum laude—Cumulative GPA of 3.85 - 3.99

Summa cum laude—Cumulative GPA of 4.00 and above

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.              Romans 15:13

The coronavirus pandemic has not been kind to any of us, but it has been especially tough on those who make their living providing live entertainment. One of those is Dock alum Ted Swartz ('74), owner and principal of Ted & Company TheaterWorks. We are grateful to another alum, Jim Bishop ('63), for passing along a story he crafted for the Harrisonburg, VA, newspaper after interviewing Ted about how he has kept the creative show going—even after more than his share of "script changes."

Read "Cultivating creativity in a time of coronavirus"

During the third quarter, Middle School Discover students looked at the question: How can we differentiate between myth and reality? We considered this question in the students’ Life Science, Writing, Social Studies and Bible/Technology classes. At the beginning of the semester the students looked at the differences between myth and reality. Then students created lessons on this subject to teach the 3rd through 6th graders, collecting data from the younger students on what myths they had heard of and believed to be true. Discover students then broke into groups, with each one deciding on a myth to bust, and creating a video to explain their strategy.  Students have turned in trailers for these videos, and the finished videos will soon be available for viewing. These short clips show an incredible amount of learning, not just about the content, but also about inquiry, collaboration, learning, life, and laughing. If you think the trailers are good, wait until you see the final product!

Preserving Flowers in Ice

Julia Rosario

Aaron Sensenig

Gracie Longacre

Lily Hunsberger

Liam Connor

 

Duct (Duck) Tape

Maggie Lees

Isaiah Geisbrecht

Luke Smeland

Shelby Lapp  

 

Watch the videos:

Preserving Flowers in Ice

Duct (Duck) Tape

 

See more screen captures

Dear Dock Community,

Thanks for the many prayers offered on behalf of our school. We deeply appreciate your concern and care for our community. God continues to be our rock and guide!

We are listening to you. Since releasing the communication yesterday, we have heard from members of our Dock community. We would like to further address concerns or comments that have been made either directly to our administration and/or on our social media page.

Law Enforcement-In the communication yesterday, we provided the contact information for two law enforcement agencies to whom persons may report. Law enforcement is the entity that conducts criminal investigations. We provided the Towamencin Township Police Department’s contact information as well as the contact information to the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office, County Detective Bureau. We continue to ask that persons use that contact information if they would like to speak with the Police or the DA’s office. We have again posted that contact information at the conclusion of this communication.

We also informed our community that the incident described by our alum, which we are administratively investigating now, was previously investigated by law enforcement authorities. Beyond the police investigation, the school is taking the additional action of an investigation by D. Stafford & Associates.

D. Stafford & Associates (DSA)-D. Stafford & Associates is a private firm that is conducting an administrative investigation to determine if school policies and/or federal educational or civil rights laws have been violated by the respondent, Principal Wiens. The purpose of an administrative investigation is to conduct fair and impartial fact finding—in this case, by a trained third-party firm. Both the complainant and respondent have the opportunity to participate but are not required to do so. D. Stafford & Associates cannot and is not conducting a criminal investigation and the police do not conduct investigations to determine if school policy and/or Federal civil rights laws have been implicated. That is the work of the external firm.

We provided the email address of investigations@dstaffordandassociates.com for anyone to report being harmed or witnessing harm directly to DSA, our third-party investigatory firm.

Any police investigation is independent of actions the school may take, albeit both investigations, if applicable, may occur concurrently.

We understand that, regardless of what the administrative investigation (or any criminal investigation) may or may not find, this is not the conclusion of the work we will need to do as a community. The administrative investigation needs to occur first. Upon its conclusion, we will need to process the information gathered. We will then have both work and healing to do as a community.

We encourage you to reach out to the resources that we will continue to print in our communications. We will provide additional information to the community in the coming weeks.

We value your continued prayers throughout this process. We pray for God’s continued healing and shalom.

 

DR. CONRAD SWARTZENTRUBER

Superintendent

OFFICE 215-362-2675 ext. 101

EMAIL   cjswartzentruber@dock.org

 

Towamencin Township Police Department - 215-368-7600 

Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office, County Detective Bureau - 610-278-3582 

National Sexual Assault Hotline   

Safe 2 Say Something  

Montgomery County Office of Children and Youth  

ChildLine  

Link to Dock's Sexual Misconduct Policy  

 

Dock’s Title IX Coordinator 

Mrs. Lori Leaman, lleaman@dock.org, 215.362.2675 

  

Dock’s High School Guidance Counselors 

Mrs. Lori Leaman, lleaman@dock.org, 215.362.2675 

Mr. Ken Kabakjian, kkabakjian@dock.org, 215.362.2675 

  

Dock Superintendent 

Dr. Conrad Swartzentruber, cswartzentruber@dock.org, 215.362.2675 

Dear Dock Parents and Students,

Dock Mennonite Academy has always and continues to give highest priority to our students' safety and wellbeing.  Both policies and practices help ensure Dock is diligent and accountable. Toward that goal, we want to update you on a situation that we are aware of and that was posted on social media on March 21. An alum has alleged that high school Principal Wiens repeatedly engaged in contact with him that made him uncomfortable, including an instance of touching the then student on his buttocks.

The incident was previously reported to law enforcement, whom we understand have conducted a criminal investigation.  Dock takes these accusations very seriously, and as such, the school has contracted with an experienced Delaware firm, D. Stafford & Associates, to conduct an administrative investigation to determine if a violation of school policy occurred.

As of March 24, interim steps have been taken by Dock as this investigation is initiated, including placing Principal Wiens on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation. Principal Wiens has stated that he plans to cooperate fully with the inquiry. In his stead, Mr. Doug Hackman (student life) and Dr. Sharon Fransen (faculty life) have been assigned as interim principals of the high school.

Additionally, D. Stafford & Associates has provided an email address where community members may write to provide their contact information should they want to receive a telephone or zoom follow up with an investigator.  Persons who email should provide their name, email address and telephone number as well as the reason for their communication. Investigators will follow up with persons who have witnessed potential sexual harassment/misconduct of any kind or who themselves wish to report harming behavior. The email address for people to report being harmed by or witnessing sexual misconduct at Dock is investigations@dstaffordandassociates.com.

Dock asks that you continue to pray for our school community and all people who care so deeply for this place.  We commit to you that we will continue to encourage and validate student voices and experiences.  We strive for healing and reconciliation and ultimately God's Shalom for our Dock community.

We also want you to make you aware of school and community resources should you want to access them. If you have additional questions about this communication, please contact Dr. Swartzentruber, Superintendent. We will provide additional information to the community in the coming weeks.

 

Dock's Title IX Coordinator

Mrs. Lori Leaman, lleaman@dock.org, 215.362.2675

 

Dock's High School Guidance Counselors

Mrs. Lori Leaman, lleaman@dock.org, 215.362.2675

Mr. Ken Kabakjian, kkabakjian@dock.org, 215.362.2675

 

Dock's Superintendent

Dr. Conrad Swartzentruber, cjswartzentruber@dock.org, 215.362.2675

 

Towamencin Township Police Department - 215-368-7600

Montgomery County District Attorney's Office, County Detective Bureau - 610-278-3582

 

Link to Dock's Sexual Misconduct Policy

 

Other Resources:

National Sexual Assault Hotline 

Safe 2 Say Something

Montgomery County Office of Children and Youth

ChildLine

 

 

DR. CONRAD SWARTZENTRUBER

Superintendent

OFFICE  215-362-2675 ext. 101

EMAIL   cjswartzentruber@dock.org

 

Students in Mrs. Cheryl Ryder's Service Learning class cracked open The Vault on Friday, doing some initial legwork on a project that will be of great interest to current students, alumni, and the broader Dock community. The Vault is a "digital warehouse" containing images, video, newspaper clippings, student art and writing, and other content, all organized by year. Service Learning students reviewed photos, yearbooks, news clippings and other materials from the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s to identify items that could be placed in The Vault. Items will then be scanned and added to the warehouse, which will live on Dock's website. Stay tuned for updates about The Vault!

More Service Learning photos

Two teams from Dock, the Optimistic Olympians and the Reading Rockstars, competed this week in the Montgomery County Intermediate Unit Elementary Reading Olympics competition.Teams were comprised of 4th and 5th graders, and both teams earned red ribbons for their efforts. Way to go Reading Olympians! A special thanks to EC-8 Librarian Mrs. Missy Camilleri for making this event happen.

Dock Superintendent Dr. Conrad Swartzentruber has published another in a series of letters intended to keep the Dock community informed about the school's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In this letter, his 12th, Dr. Swartzentruber reflects with gratitude on the blessings and learnings we have experienced in the midst of a difficult year, while continuing to look forward with anticipation to a more normal year ahead. He acknowledges the strong foundation of God's faithfulness that has sustained us as we move forward with confidence and hope.

Read the full text of the March 12, 2021 Superintendent's Letter