Dock Mennonite Academy has announced its Honor Roll for the fourth quarter of the 2017-18 school year. Congratulations to all of our Middle School and High School students who worked hard to earn this recognition!

Visit the Honor Roll page on the Dock web site

 

 

Looking for important dates in the 2018-19 school year? Dock Mennonite Academy has released its tentative 2018-19 planning calendar. Download a printable copy here.

Dock is pleased to announce that the school will livestream this weekend's Baccalaureate and Commencement programs. Baccalaureate will be held Friday, June 8, starting at 7:30 p.m., while our 63rd Annual Commencement ceremony will begin on Saturday, June 9, at 6:00 p.m.  

There will be two ways to connect:

YouTube Live at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ut05iG4RXU

Twitch.tv at https://www.twitch.tv/zehrhead

Both of these livestream links have been tested successfully, but as this is our first public livestream event, we invite your feedback. Please send your comments to jbgordon@dock.org.

Faculty at Dock Mennonite Academy strive to inspire students to become life-long learners. One of the best ways they can do that is to model life-long learning themselves. Many of our faculty members have invested themselves in a variety of professional development activities this spring. Here are just a few examples:

• On April 28, seven Dock Mennonite Academy teachers traveled to Chatham, NJ, for a full day "Nerd Camp" focused on literacy for grades K-12. The "Nerd Camp" consisted of over 50 workshop options for teachers to attend with sessions featuring authors discussing their books, writing seminars, library resources and student engagement strategies. Several keynote speakers addressed the attendees including Penny Kittle, author of Book Love and 180 Days, which are being used as mentor texts at the high school for redesigning the English curriculum. An additional powerful keynote speaker was Kaitlin Roig-DeBellis, a first grade teacher who survived the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, in December of 2012. Faculty attending included (pictured above, l to r) Mrs. Joan Grega, Mrs. Kathy Moyer, Mrs. Joy Thomas, Mrs. Kelly Kratz, Mrs. Kipp Glass, Mrs. Kaci Hunsberger and Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction Dr. Sharon Fransen.

 

• High school English and Learning Support instructors, along with Dock's Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction, shared eight Friday lunches in recent months to discuss literacy expert Penny Kittle's text, Book Love. The book focuses on the concept that many students have lost the joy of reading, in part due to English instructional material mandated by schools and states. Many of the curriculums do not foster interest in reading for 21^st century students. Mrs. Kittle advocates for student personal choice in selecting literature and writing opportunities. By incorporating student choice of what they read, we as educators can increase reading fluency, speed, stamina and depth of content. A blend of teacher guided novels and materials are also inserted into instruction as well as inviting strategies to get students excited about reading and writing. The Lunch Book Club attendees included Mrs. Gretchen McTavish, Mrs. Kathy Moyer, Mrs. Rebecca Nagy, Mrs. Joan Grega and Dr. Sharon Fransen.

 

• In April, Mrs. Joan Grega and Mrs. Rebecca Nagy attended a full day Intermediate Unit conference entitled Writing with the "Write Guy," by nationally known literacy author, Jeff Anderson. Mr. Anderson, author of multiple books on how to engage children and young adults in the writing process, provided twentieth century techniques for motivating students to write creatively and with clarity and extensive vocabulary. Some of his techniques are already being used in Dock's high school classrooms.

 

• In March, Mr. Darwin Zehr, Ms. Carolyn Burgman, Mrs. Joy Thomas, Mrs. Claire Wanamaker, Mr. Marcelo Mast, Mr. Jeff Hackman, Mr.Zach Bower, and Mrs. Kathy Moyer attended the first annual Schoology ConnectPA at the Lancaster-Lebanon intermediate unit. As Dock continues to use Schoology as our primary electronic platform for school related communication and course materials, the conference provided a variety of speakers and workshops focused on many resources that Schoology has to offer.  Participants had over 25 sessions to choose from to learn and collaborate using instructional strategies focused on student learning within the Schoology system.

 

• Dr. Annabella Silver Moon successfully completed two courses at Montgomery County Community College: Educational Psychology, and Safety/First Aid.

 

• From January to April, Mr. Jeff Hackman took an online course through Eastern Mennonite University called "Creating a Tech-Rich Classroom." It was taught by Timothy Taylor of Woodstock, VA. Students were introduced to many online and technological tools to enhance the classroom experience. Projects were designed to be practical. We implemented several of the new tools and skills into classes we are currently teaching.

 

• In February 2018 Mrs. Shelley Berg was invited by the Conn-Selmer Music Instrument Company and Zeswitz Music to become a Conn-Selmer VIP. She traveled to Elkhart, IN, the home of the last American-made band and orchestra instrument manufacturer, to experience in-depth factory tours to  see how band instruments are made. She also networked with members of Conn-Selmer’s Division of Education staff and other band directors from southeastern Pennsylvania. 

 

• Mrs. Rose Lambright and Mrs. Melanie Baker attended the Pennsylvania Family and Consumer Sciences annual conference April 6-7 in Scranton, PA.  This year's conference was titled, "Accountability, Balance, and Collaboration."  Mrs. Baker and Mrs. Lambright heard speakers from various colleges and businesses focusing on topics ranging from brain development in the teenager to making sushi in the classroom.  There was variety and depth in the programming.

 

• Additionally, Mrs. Baker and Mrs. Lambright attended the Montgomery-Bucks Family and Consumer Sciences Winter Warm-up at the Culinary Institute of Montgomery County Community College and the Spring Meeting at The Metropolitan.

 

• Mr. Caleb Benner took three courses (Data-Informed Educational Leadership, Research Methods and Education, and Teachers as Action Researchers) as he works towards a Masters in Faith-Based Education at Bluffton University. As part of the program, he conducted a research study with his freshman Bible classes studying how effectively Scripture memorization and Lectio Divina help students make personal connections with the Bible.

 

 

 

 

Dock Mennonite Academy was in the spotlight this morning on Fox29's Good Day Philadelphia, as students and staff were featured in a "Town Takeover" segment promoting the Country Fair & Auction coming up May 18-19. Fox29 personality Bob Kelly was filming the segment from the Souderton Family Restaurant on Main Street in Souderton. Congratulations to students and staff for representing Dock well!