Middle School Clubs & Organizations

Honor Societies

National Junior Honor Society - NJHS will promote four pillars of excellence - Character, Scholarship, Leadership, and Service - and strive to help students improve in all four areas.  Members will demonstrate their character by sharing their experiences and mentoring other Middle School students. They will demonstrate their commitment to academic achievement and excellence and their willingness to serve our community by becoming peer tutors for Form 6 students. Current NJHS members will have the opportunity to run and elect four officers: President, Vice President, Secretary and Historian (NJHS officers cannot serve as officers in any other leadership council). Students may apply for the National Junior Honor Society in the spring of their Form 7 year. To be eligible for consideration, students must maintain an A- or better GPA in all classes for the last two consecutive semesters (Spring Form 6 and Fall Form 7). Candidates must then fill out a written application proving that they meet the other main admissions requirements, including leadership, service, and citizenship. A faculty council, appointed by the NJHS advisors, makes all final decisions for admission. Students who are not accepted in Form 7 may apply again in Form 8, providing they meet the same requirements.

 

Leadership Councils

The following are Leadership Councils are open to all students who meet the prerequisites for membership:

Community Service Council  – The Service Council was created to encourage student involvement in helping make their school and larger community a better place through direct service activities.  Students will actively plan and help facilitate community service projects both on campus and in the community. Activities might include tutoring in the Lower School, partnering with the US Community Service Council and various service projects.  Officers are elected in the spring for the next year.  The President must have served at least one year on the Council and be a rising Form 8 student. The Secretary must also be a rising Form 8 student. The Vice-President and Treasurer are rising Form 7 students. In the fall, two Form 8 Students and two Form 7 students are elected. Four Form 6 students are elected in the winter. This council is also open to all middle school students who want to participate in serving the community.

Senate - The Senate is a service organization for the school community. Each year, Middle School students elect representative leaders for each grade Level. Members help with orientation of new students, plan and orchestrate the two school dances a year, organize and conduct an annual Talent Show, help celebrate Teacher Appreciation Week and serve as guides for VIP's when they visit. Officers are elected in the spring for the next year. The President must have served at least one year on the Senate and be a rising Form 8 student. The Secretary must also be a rising Form 8 student. The Vice-President and Treasurer are rising Form 7 students. In the fall, four Senators are elected from Forms 7 & 8 and 6 Senators are elected from Form 6 in the winter. Students should see the Senate Sponsors to see what qualifications need to be met to run for Senate.

Sports Council - The Sports Council was formed to encourage school spirit, and to organize intramural activities during the school year. The student body is divided into two teams: The Bennetts and the Baileys. They vie for points during athletic contests and other events. The winning team has its name engraved on a large trophy at the end of each year. Captains and Co-Captains are elected each spring. Students should see the Sports Council Sponsors to find out what qualifications need to be met to run for Sports Council. The Captains are Form 8 students, and the Co-captains are Form 7 students. Two Baileys and two Bennetts from Forms 7 & 8 are elected in the fall and two Baileys and two Bennetts from Form 6 are elected in the winter.

Clubs, organizations, and interest groups

The following are Clubs and Organizations open to all students:

Certamen - Certamen is Latin for "competition,” is a quiz bowl style competition with classics-themed questions. Students will practice this game and prepare for local, state and national Junior Classical League (JCL) competitions. These competitions offer events in many different areas of classical academics, creative arts and graphic arts. MS Latin Students will use this time to prepare for any of these events. This club is open to all MS Latin students.

Chess Club - Students learn and play chess.  Playing chess can promote brain growth, spark creativity, increases problem-solving skills and improve memory.

Chorus - If you like to sing, come join the Middle School Chorus! Each week we will sing songs you love and perform them at upcoming assemblies and concerts.

Coloring and Crafting - The coloring and crafting club is a space where students can de-stress and explore their creative side regardless of their level of artistic skill.  Coloring and small craft projects are used to have fun and relax. All materials will be provided.

Creative Writing Club - The Creative Writing Club offers opportunities to write, share ideas, and collaborate with other students as well as put together the Middle School Literary Magazine, Crossroads. This club will provide a positive, productive, and creative forum in which students feel comfortable taking risks and building confidence as they experiment with writing. Students will be encouraged to submit writing pieces to various writing contests. Forms 7 & 8 will be able to enter the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards contest.

Environmental Club  - For students who care about the environment and enjoy being outside, the Environmental Club plans and maintains a school garden, helps with campus recycling, beautifies courtyards, and creates public service announcements on environmental issues.

Great Indoors Games Club - Board games, card games, camp games, chess, checkers, group games, team games ... Join this club and enjoy a variety of games each week.  We will sometimes play large group games and focus on one game for several sessions (chess perhaps) but more often you’ll have a chance to choose a game to play with friends and enjoy a little down time!

French Film Club - The French Film Club is a club for all students who are interested in learning more about French films and culture.  This club will watch, analyze and discuss a variety of popular French films.  We will begin with the film Ratatouille. Students do not need to be enrolled in French class in order to join the club

Just Hoops - Students will learn and improve on various skills to become better basketball players and athletes. These skills and drills will also help to improve in overall coordination and conditioning.  Just Hoops club gives students the opportunity to have fun during the school day while also participating in a physical activity.

Mind Games - Come play with us! We will spend the semester enjoying puzzles of all types, including lateral thinking puzzles, geometric puzzles, logic puzzles, and games involving different types of reasoning. You are sure to be entertained and challenged!

philARThropy - Putting ART into philanthropy. The goal of philARThropy is to create impressionable Art around Saint Mary’s Hall and beyond the walls of our campus deep into the city of San Antonio. Philanthropy is simple concept of private initiatives for public good—basically doing things to make people happy. Our club will concentrate on doing this publically through our Art, hence the name “phil-ART-hropy.” Throughout the year we will work on three major art projects: one for Saint Mary’s Hall, one for San Antonio and one for the great state of Texas. We will plan during our club times BUT please note the creation of our Art will be done on the WEEKENDS. If you are serious about making lasting Art and sharing your creative talents to make someone’s life a little brighter, please join our club!

Robotics - Any student interested in building and programming robots is encouraged to join Robotics Club.  Students with limited robotic experience will work with Lego NXT Mindstorms Robots, while students with adequate previous experience will work on advanced robots and may be invited to join the FTC team to share and compete with robotics teams from other schools.  Students will explore the world of robots through hands-on practice and experiences in both building and programming.  The club’s goal is to nurture the students’ computational thinking, researching, engineering, and team work skills.  All Form levels are encouraged to participate.