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Activities & Events |
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As St. Joe’s students will attest, there is always something fun going on at school! Here are just a few possible competitions, events and activities your students can participate in depending on their age and interests. As you can see, there is something for everyone!
Some of the competitions we participate in include:
Hallissey Basketball Tournament: 7th & 8th grade girls and boys compete in this exciting valley-wide tournament held annually in Boise, generally during President’s Day weekend. Many of the games are played in St. Joe’s beautiful full-size gymnasium with the championship games held at Bishop Kelly High School.
Math Festival: Held in the spring, 4th through 8th grade students really enjoy this event which reinforces math skills with a fun competition. Awards are given for best teams and best math individuals in each grade. Beginning this year, some teams will advance to compete against other Catholic school teams.
Pocatello Basketball Tournament: The Catholic Crusaders Invitational Basketball Tournament for 5th & 6th grade girls and boys is held in Pocatello usually in early March at Idaho State University. Many Catholic teams throughout Idaho participate in this enjoyable, competitive basketball tournament.
Quiz Bowl: Competing against other area schools in a game-show like format, Quiz Bowl is a team-based academic competition held in conjunction with TVCS (link to TVCS website).
Science Fair: Middle school students may elect to compete in our St. Joe’s Science Fair held in the fall. First, second and third place winners are chosen. The projects these students choose are amazing! Last year’s winners completed projects on composting, whether or not dogs have a right or left paw dominance, and a study of tornadoes.
Science Olympiad: This nationally organized extracurricular science event has two Divisions: Division B for 6th-9th grades and Division C for 9th-12th grades. Our middle school students begin working in the fall on hands-on science-based activities that include research, laboratory and building events such as Simple Machines, Food Science, Balloon Launch, Water Quality etc. A state-wide competition is held in the spring at NNU.
From there the winning team is sent on to the
National Competition which is held on a
different college campus every year. St.
Joe’s has advanced to nationals by winning the
state competition 7 out of the last 8 years!
See this website for more information regarding
Science Olympiad.
State Spelling Bee: St. Joe’s sends one winner from each grade on to the next level of competition. It all begins with a school competition in the spring.
St. Joe’s students also compete in other various school-wide, local, regional and national art, speech, and writing competitions.
Clubs and other extracurricular activities:
Altar Servers: All Catholic students 5th-8th learn to altar serve at daily Mass. Students may also sign up to serve on the weekends. Please email
stjohnsservers@gmail.com for more information.
Ballet Idaho: Thanks to a grant made possible by the Idaho Arts Commission, 3rd grade students participate in a weekly program with Ballet Idaho. In addition, Ballet Idaho performs in an assembly at our school every year.
Band, Honor Choir, Bell Choir: St. Joe’s
has many extracurricular music activities
available.
Please see this page of our website for more
information
Cub Scouts & Brownies: We have scout and brownie groups that meet after school in the parish hall during the school year. All St. John’s parishioners are invited to participate. Please call the school office for more information.
Green Team: While all St. Joe’s students help protect our environment by reducing, reusing, and recycling, the 8th grade students are the leaders of our Green Team. The Green Team offers monthly challenges to all students and their families. Each month the class with the most participants “wins” and a student is randomly chosen to receive a special environmentally-friendly reward.
National Junior Honor Society: 7th & 8th grade students are chosen and inducted into the National Junior Honor Society in May. Students must maintain a 3.75 grade average, perform community service and be outstanding citizens.
Student Council: St. Joe’s student council consists of a President, a Vice President, a Secretary, a Social Justice Representative along with a representative member from each classroom. This group is elected in the fall and meets weekly during lunchtime. Activities include organizing socials for the 5th &6th grade, tutoring and mentoring other students and organizing school-wide giving for youth-centered charities such as the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
Yearbook: 8th grade students work with the art teacher to create our annual yearbook. Each student is assigned a classroom of students to photograph throughout the year. The end-result is always spectacular!
In addition, various performing arts groups entertain our students throughout the year. Our students are also invited to attend various performances at the Morrison Center on the Boise State University Campus.
Annual celebrations and fun events include:
Awards Assembly: Held in May, 5th-8th grade students are honored for achievements in academics, athletics, Christian social behavior, service to the community etc.
Book Fair: During parent teacher conferences in the fall, St. Joe’s Library is transformed into the ultimate book store. Students K-8 look forward to this all year. Proceeds help raise money for our library.
Catholic Schools Week: This national week of celebration, generally held in January, honors our Catholic faith and of the privilege we have in attending a Catholic school. Along with an area-wide Catholic Schools Mass, we have many fun activities planned throughout the week. Some traditions include “Cozy up with Jesus” – wear your p.j.s to school and bring a book for a read-a-thon and “Dress as Your Favorite Saint Day”. The week ends with an all-school sock-hop!
Christmas Concert: Held in December in our beautiful St. John’s Cathedral, students perform traditional and some non-traditional Christmas carols from around the globe.
Dances: 7th & 8th grade students are invited to attend several dances held throughout the year in conjunction with other area Catholic Schools. These dances are a great way to broaden students’ social circle including getting to know other students that may also be headed to Bishop Kelly High School.
See this website for
the TVCS Dance Guidelines
Field Day: Grades 1st-5th participate in wacky and crazy athletic games at Memorial Park at 6th & Fort. Held in mid-May, upper grades participate in the morning and lower grades in the afternoon.
First Communion and First Reconciliation: Catholic 2nd graders spend the year preparing to receive the sacraments of 1st Reconciliation in March and 1st Holy Communion in early May.
Graduations: Kindergarten & 8th Grade
Kindergarten graduation is typically held the week before school ends for the rest of the school. This is a special celebration for kindergarteners and their parents and is typically held in the Parish Hall.
Eighth grade graduation usually occurs on the last day of school during our end-of-the-year Mass. Please check the
school calendar as some exceptions do occur.
May Crowning Mass: At this traditional Catholic Mass, we honor the Blessed Virgin Mary by ceremonially crowning her statue to signify her as Queen of Heaven and the Mother of God. Eighth grade students don their Sunday best, while 2nd graders wear their 1st Communion clothes. A May Crowning Queen is chosen among the 8th grade girls.
Priest Appreciation Day: Students show our local priests how much they appreciate them by making posters and cards and by hosting a breakfast in their honor.
Red Ribbon Week: Red Ribbon Week is the oldest and largest drug prevention campaign in the country. Generally held in October, St. Joe’s participates by planning fun themes throughout the week that reinforce a personal commitment to live drug free lives.
Spring Concert: This is a festive spring-time concert with a new entertaining theme every year!
St. Joe’s Ski Day: A day of spring skiing and snowboarding is an option for grades 6th-8th at nearby Bogus Basin Resort. Bogus Basin Instructors lead lessons based on abilities during the first part of the day. The second half of the day is spent skiing with parent chaperones on appropriate ski hills based on students’ skill levels.
Student of the Month: Each month a student who exemplifies Christian social behavior in their everyday life is chosen from each classroom. Awards are presented after school Masses, usually on the first Tuesday of the month for the previous month. See the bulletin board near the office for our current Students of the Month!
Walkathon: At the end of April, St. Joe’s celebrates fitness and school pride by having a school-wide walkathon. Generally held on a ½ day, students spend the last hour of the day walking and running around the school block with teachers and parent chaperones.
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