Rockway Mennonite Collegiate

Rockway Mennonite Collegiate
Address
110 Doon Road Kitchener , Ontario Canada
Information
Type	Private School
Motto	Together we shape great lives through learning, opportunity, caring and faith.
Established	1945
School district	Waterloo Region
Principal	Terry Schellenberg
Faculty	57 (As of 2008-2009 year)
Grades	6-12
Number of pupils	350 (approx)
Color(s)	Red and Black
Newspaper	Ramblings
Yearbook	Lighthouse
Affiliation	Mennonite Church Eastern Canada
Address	Rockway Mennonite Collegiate 110 Doon Road Kitchener, ON N2G 3C8
Website	http://www.Rockway.ca

Rockway Mennonite Collegiate (RMC) is a private Mennonite high school located in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. It offers academic programs for grade 6-12 students.

Despite its name, only half of its 400-student population are typically Mennonite, coming from the modern Canadian Mennonite church, rather than Old Order Mennonites.

Exchange Program

The school has a strong exchange program with China, hosting dozens of Chinese students annually, and supporting a number of senior Rockway students who travel to China. There is also an exchange to France and Germany available to students after completing Grade 11.

Rockway also attracts students from Germany, South Korea, Japan, Thailand and the United States, with roughly 10% of its student body coming from outside of Canada. The school arranges host families for them to live with, has an international students club, and offers English as a second language classes.

Arts Program

Rockway is widely known for its Arts Program. The school offers Visual Arts and Music (Theory, History, Instrumental and Choral) to all students in the school. Students in the high school are offered a wider range of Arts courses, which includes Dramatic Arts, and a more extensive Visual Arts and Music program.

The school's music program is highly regarded, participating in many choral festivals and hosting two concerts every year (Winter and Spring). In 2009, the Senior Choir participated in the Ontario Vocal Festival, held at Galt Collegiate Institute. As a result of their excellent performance, the choir had been invited to the national showcase, MusicFest Canada in May.

Each year, the school's drama department puts on a variety of productions. Each year, the plays receive many amazing reviews from students, faculty, and critics. Every three years, the school puts on a musical (the most recent of which was High School Musical in 2007).

Once every year, the Visual Arts committee hosts a public art show, featuring pieces submitted by the students who are currently attending the school. The show usually runs for one night only.

Athletics

Rockway has a variety of sports and competitive teams available to the student population. These include basketball, golf, cross-country, badminton, soccer, chess, wrestling and volleyball. Though the school has a variety of sports, the focus sports are basketball and volleyball (sports with which the school excels). Rockway remains a comptetitive school with many of the larger schools in the region. For example, Rockway had been the District 8 Champions for Senior Girls Volleyball recently . In the last four years Rockway has medaled four times at "A" OFSAA basketball. 2005 Silver, 2006 Gold, 2007 Silver, 2008 Bronze. In 2008, the girls senior basketball team won the gold at OFSAA and coach Bernie Burnett became the first coach to receive a gold medal for both the senior girls and boys basketball team.

Community Service

File:Rockway.jpg

The Front Entrance of Rockway.

Rockway has a history of service in the community. One of their largest fundraisers it the Food Drive. In a description taken from the website, they say that:

"For more than two decades, students from Rockway Mennonite Collegiate have undertaken a food drive in late November and early December as part of the school's Christmas celebrations. Many students purchase food with their own money while others seek support from the community by collecting food from door-to-door...All collected food is donated to the House of Friendship Christmas Hamper Program, a partner with the Waterloo Region Food Bank...Over the past few years, Rockway has averaged over 30,000 food items per year!"

Notable Alumni

• Carl Zehr, Current Mayor of the City of Kitchener
• Brad Schlegel, Former NHL hockey player
• Kristin Booth, Gemini Award and Genie Award winner
• Luke Snider, Former member of Canada men's national volleyball team
• Peter Etril Snyder, Popular artist of Waterloo Region

External links

• Rockway Mennonite Collegiate Homepage