EC-Grade 8 Campus Happenings

EC to Grade 8 ONLINE LEARNING

SCENES FROM OUR VIRTUAL CLASSROOMS

CRAZY HAIR, DON’T CARE—TIME FOR MORNING PRAYER

It seemed only natural that as Dock transitioned to online learning that we continue to start the school day the way we always do, so 6th graders in Ms. Alice Wolfgang’s homeroom meet faithfully every morning at 9 a.m. to pray for each other—using the “Conference” app in Schoology. After some fun hearing about breakfasts, pets, and life in general, they take turns with “praises” and “requests” with everyone joining in for a loud “Amen!” at the end. One of our students who had returned to her home in China joined in— even though it was 9 p.m. where she lives!

DON'T "BUG" ME!

In celebration of Earth Day, Dock alum Dr. Dorothy Boorse (’82), an entomologist and professor of biology at Gordon College, presented to our Early Childhood and Kindergarten classes about things they might see outside, including insects, shells, nuts, and deer antlers. Students had the opportunity to ask their own questions and share about their favorite insects.

Dr. Boorse was an Alumni of the Year in 2014 and also presented a “Dock Talk” on climate change during Homecoming & Family Weekend in 2018. Learn more at dock.org/alumni

WHAT IS IT?

The Mennonite Heritage Center collaborated with our 6th grade students to create the “What is it?” Challenge, providing a page of photographs and clues from items in their collection. Students were permitted to talk to anyone in their extended families to get assistance in attempting to identify items like this one (left). Students correctly identifying the most items received extra credit in the subject of their choice as well as a chocolate football, making this a fun and rewarding online learning option! Congratulations to Shelby Lapp and Matthew Mast for getting the most correct answers! You can take the “What is it?” Challenge yourself at mhep.org/what-is-it/

FACS SKILLS PAY OFF

Dock 7th grader TJ Seiders put to good use the sewing skills he learned in Mrs. Claire Wanamaker’s Family and Consumer Sciences class by sewing masks to be donated to the hospital where his mom works. TJ, your project embodies the essential qualities of a Dock education— learning, faith, and service. Thanks for setting a great example for all of us!

A TIME TO CELEBRATE READING

Even our youngest Dock students have embraced online learning together! Mrs. Rachel Grimm encouraged her 5-year-old pre-K students to read using an app called Epic!, a digital library that provides online access to more than 35,000 of the best kids’ books. Epic! even tracks books read and pages turned!

CHICKS RULE!

As part of their study of “Structures of Life” for science class, 3 rd grade teacher Mrs. Amy Rodriguez shared with her students the video that Superintendent Dr. Conrad Swartzentruber made of his baby chicks. The class was sad not to experience these cute, fuzzy creatures in person, but they were extremely excited to watch the video together as a class!

EC to Grade 8 ONLINE LEARNING

CONTINUING TO CELEBRATE THE ARTS

It was an encouragement to our students to have their art classes and music lessons continue during our period of online learning!

MORE ONLINE LEARNING CONTENT

Visit our website (dock. org/onlinelearning) to see additional content about online learning at both our campuses—and be sure to watch the two videos created by teachers to let students know how much they were missed!

Photo by Gregory Smith/AP

A CAREER BUILT ON ADVERSITY

In a Zoom session with Dock middle school students in April, Dock alum Erik Kratz (’98) reflected on a career built on adversity.

Learning and schoolwork never came naturally or easy for Erik Kratz—and that may be precisely the reason he has been able to play professional baseball for an unheard of 19 seasons.

“I had partial dyslexia, so reading was tough for me,” Kratz told students. “My parents were on me a lot, telling me I had to figure this out. I remember my mom telling me, ‘Some things in life are going to be harder for you, but those are the things that are going to make you better.’ She was right—my career is built on the fact that I have gone through adversity.”

Erik Kratz on a Zoom call with Dock Middle School students (below), and colliding with the Braves’ Chipper Jones in a 2012 game at Citizen’s Bank Park in Philadelphia (left). “My career is built on the fact that I have gone through adversity,” he told students.

The adversity continued in Kratz’s sophomore year at Eastern Mennonite University, when he suffered a serious knee injury that threatened to prematurely end his baseball career, and when he waited patiently in the minor leagues—enduring trade after trade and move after move—for a shot at “the show.”

Through it all, Kratz said, his relationship with the Lord grew, and often sustained him. It also gave him the right mindset to succeed in baseball. “The Lord has been walking with me every step of the way. That looks different at different times, but I have always felt God’s presence,” he told students. “Another thing that has helped me succeed is that I put everything I have into [playing the game]. That’s what I’d like for you to take from this. I have had an incredible career. It’s coming close to an end, but it has been incredible. The Lord has walked with me, and I have put a lot of hard work into my baseball career. Whether it’s a friendship with somebody, a homework assignment, an opportunity to go to college, or a game, at some point it might not work out. You can only control the effort you put into it.”