Rockway’s Grade 7 & 8 Program features small class sizes which help facilitate unique learning opportunities designed to reach students with diverse learning styles.
Our classes prepare students to become creative, collaborative and critical thinkers while building on their natural curiosity to develop higher order thinking skills. We offer our grade 7&8 students opportunities for leadership development and participation in numerous extracurricular activities, providing a wide variety of learning experiences.
The Rockway Experience
Start your day with SPARK
Rockway’s SPARK program is an opportunity for students to engage in informal learning activities together. Students will choose from a rotation of creative and physical activities as well as a chance to complete homework in a supervised setting.
Our SPARK activities match teachers’ passions with students’ interests in an environment where students can create, collaborate and problem solve. Teachers act as supervisors, coaches and advisors to support students as needed. In some cases, grade 9-12 students may also join a SPARK activity or help run a club for grade 7&8 students. This helps build community within our student body, something we deeply value at Rockway.
Occurring before the instructional day begins, SPARK will run every school day from 8:00 – 9:15 am and is not directly tied to curriculum expectations, although some students may wish to use this time to work on homework or ask to meet a teacher for extra support. This is also a time when some of our grade 7&8 sports teams will have their practices and when our Student Leadership Team will meet.
Rockway’s instructional day begins at 9:15 am, so any grade 7 or 8 students arriving before that time will be required to join a SPARK activity.
Expanded Academic Programming
Being part of a high school has its perks! In addition to their regular academic classrooms, grade 7&8 students have access to fully-equipped facilities and will receive instruction in the following additional academic courses:
- Design & Technology
- students will learn how to safely use hand tools and woodworking machines while working on individual projects
- Family Studies
- students will acquire hand-sewing skills while creating a fun plush toy and develop simple baking and cooking techniques in a four-station kitchen lab
- Music Classes
- Vocal Music – students will study music history, theory and vocal techniques in class then join together to form the Grade 7&8 Choir for chapel and concert performances
- Instrumental Music – students will be taught how to play a string and wind instrument in Grade 7 then continue their skill development on one of those instruments in Grade 8 and beyond
- Physical Education
- students will get physically active several times a week while in their PE class or during open time at lunch, using one of our three fully-equipped gyms, the ball diamond, soccer pitch or our 400 m track
- Religious Studies (RS)
- our RS courses provide grounding in Christian values, beliefs and history from a Mennonite perspective, while respecting the diversity of faith experiences within our school
- Robotics
- students collaborate in teams to research, problem solve and present innovative ideas as well as engineer, build and program a LEGO robot that navigates the missions of a robot game, all with the goal of competing in the FIRST LEGO League competition
- Visual Arts
- students will be taught a variety of sketching and painting techniques in one of our two art studios
Extracurricular Activities and Program Highlights
A typical Rockway student – in any grade – may play on a school team, perform in a music ensemble, contribute to the Art Exhibition, participate in a school play (either on stage or behind the scenes) and/or take part in Rockway Robotics. Our coaches, directors and teachers work together to balance schedules and ensure that Rockway students get involved, try new things and above all, have a well-rounded Rockway Experience.
- Students on a Rockway sports team compete against other schools in the Waterloo Catholic Elementary Athletics Association (WCEAA) on such teams as: Badminton, Basketball, Co-ed Soccer, Cross-Country, Ultimate Frisbee, Volleyball and 3-Pitch
- Students can explore their talent on stage as an actor or work behind the scenes running tech with our full-scale light and sound boards
- Every three years, they have the opportunity to join high school student to produce an all-school musical
- Students have the opportunity to develop their leadership, collaboration, communication and organisational skills while working together to plan fun events for their peers
- Students are able to engage in informal learning activities by choosing from a rotation of different creative and physical activities or use this time as an opportunity to complete homework in a supervised setting
- Fall Retreat
- Field Trips throughout the year
- Student Leadership Team
- Jr. Robotics, FIRST LEGO League competition
- Christmas and Spring Concerts
- grade 7&8 choir performs on its own and with the 9-12 classes to form a mass choir
- wind and string ensembles perform
- Christmas Party
- Grade 7&8 Drama Production
- Grade 7-12 Visual Arts Exhibition
- All-School Musical (every three years)
- May Trips Week
- Grade 7 day trips to Crawford Lake and Mounstberg
- Grade 8 overnight trip to Ottawa
- End of year day trip
Timetable
A day in the life of a Rockway grade 7 or 8 student
A grade 7 or 8 student can pack a lot into a school day! In addition to their academic class schedule, their before school time (SPARK) may have a sports practice or homework support, lunch time may have a committee meeting or just be a time to hang out with friends, and afterschool may have a play rehearsal or Jr. Robotics session. Click on the image to take a look at our example timetable which demonstrates what an academic day in the life of a grade seven or eight student looks like at Rockway.
Family Testimonials
Sometimes the best way to share what the Rockway Experience is like for a student and their family, is through parents talking with parents. We invite you to read some testimonials from our current families so that you can ‘hear’ firsthand, about their experience.
Manthenga Family
Our family first heard about Rockway Mennonite Collegiate when we volunteered as Sr. Youth Sponsors for a group of high school age students at Rockway Mennonite Church. As we got to know these young people we were struck by the confidence, kindness and curiosity with which they engaged with us, one another and the world around them.
Of course they struggled with adolescent uncertainties and insecurities, but they also seemed to be more firmly grounded in themselves than most young people we knew as they navigated these challenges. What, we wondered, was the magic ingredient that helped them stand on such a solid foundation during such a turbulent time? Over time, it became clear. While credit was certainly given to their families, they were unanimous in endorsing Rockway Mennonite Collegiate and their experiences there as essential to both who they were in that moment, and to who they were becoming.
And so we made the decision, long before he was old enough, that we wanted our son to experience the “small school for a big world” for himself.
Schools and educators hold a uniquely influential place in the life of young people. While we want our son to develop a solid academic foundation, in this complex and nuanced world we are every bit as invested in him developing the “HOW” skills to navigate learning, life and relationships effectively. School is an essential partner in this learning.
- HOW to critically evaluate information and its sources
- HOW to approach experiences with a growth mentality that allows struggle and failure to build resilience and determination
- HOW to engage relationships with care, integrity, accountability and kindness
Rockway offers a unique learning environment with a current and comprehensive curriculum presented by educators who truly see, know and care about our kids. The focus on community, faith and connection is lived every day. Modelled by the staff. Emulated by the students. Valued by the parents. No one in this equation is perfect, but the commitment to “know better, do better” holds true whether for a Math test, effort in Phys. Ed., or navigating a peer conflict.
Without question, enrolling our son at Rockway is one of the best decisions we’ve made for him and for our family. We have loved watching him grow in knowledge, confidence, independence and friendship during his grade 7 and 8 years. We can’t wait to see what high school will bring!
Ignor Family
Our eldest daughter entered grade 7 at Rockway in 2021. We gave her the choice of schools to attend (Rockway was one of three), but after meeting the principal and having a tour of the school, our daughter delightfully chose to attend Rockway.
As with anything new, the first day of school can be a bit of a scary one, but, upon picking up our daughter after school, she bolted to our car and jumped in to tell us how incredible the day had been. In fact, we couldn’t get a word in edgewise with her sheer excitement! What made this experience so incredible for her was the principal greeting her (and all of the students) and meeting her two incredible grade 7 teachers. She also met some wonderful students who were so warm and open to meeting new people. Having been through two challenging years at her previous school, this delight and joy for school again was something we very much welcomed and appreciated.
Our family feels so blessed to have discovered Rockway when we did. Throughout her 7th grade year, our daughter was recovering from a severe eating disorder. With the support of Rockway teachers and staff, she learned to embrace her eating disorder and was given the opportunity to speak openly about it to her teachers and peers. We’ve said this many times: Rockway was a part of changing our daughter’s life. She had hope, she had joy and she had the care from teachers and staff that allowed her to regain her health, be open and speak about what she was going through. Without Rockway, we truly don’t know where we would be in our daughter’s recovery and for that, we have complete and eternal gratitude.
In 2022, our second daughter was also given the opportunity to choose where she went to school. During the application interview process, she was asked why she wanted to come to Rockway. She took a deep breath and shared that if she felt half as good as her sister does when she comes home from school, that would be all she could ever hope for.
We see Rockway as a true extension of our family. We want to sincerely thank Rockway for the care, support and love they offer to our family. After speaking with many of the alumni who attended Rockway’s Founders’ Day celebrations in February, I can now attest to the fact that this isn’t new – this is how Rockway has always embraced learning and we believe it will continue for decades and decades to come.
