Rockway Mennonite Collegiate

Rockway Mennonite Collegiate (RMC) is an independent Mennonite high school located in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. It offers academic programs for grade 7–12 students, various cross-cultural exchanges, as well as arts, athletics and tech programs. Approximately 40% of its 300-student population are Mennonite, coming from the modern Canadian Mennonite church, rather than Old Order Mennonites. Although the school is Mennonite in heritage and beliefs, Rockway accepts students from all types of religions and beliefs. History The school was founded by Swiss Mennonites living in Waterloo, frustrated with the increasing military influence on wartime schools in Canada, which clashed with their pacifist beliefs. On February 15, 1945, delegates from Mennonite Conference of Eastern Canada made the decision to open a new Mennonite high school. They raised $50,000 and purchased a farmhouse and barn on Doon Road near the Rockery (now Rockway Gardens) to convert into their first school building. Classes began in September 1945, with twenty-seven grade 9 and eleven grade 10 students. The school's first Principal was Harold Groh and the first teacher was Salome Bauman. 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, a more extensive Visual Arts and Music program, and opportunities for video and audio production.