Typically, we offer a variety of extra-curricular or after-school activities to students in our school. Here are some of the ways our students can involve themselves in the community or participate in some of the school and parish special programs. Activities will resume as soon as possible.

ALTAR SERVERS
The St. Joseph Catholic School students assist the parish priests at weekend Masses, school Masses, and may also choose to serve at funerals, weddings, and other parish events. Through altar serving, the students learn about reverence, responsibility, and serving the Church through a ministry. In order to be an altar server, students must attend training once a year and have parent permission.

​​​CHILDREN'S CHOIR 
Students from the second through eighth grades are encouraged to participate in the children’s choir. The choir sings at the all-school Mass once a month. Students make a commitment to rehearse once a week, each Wednesday after school, as a team and to share their musical talents with the St. Joseph community. For more information, leave a message at school, 696-2586, for music program coordinator Karl Rohde.

SPEECH CLUB
Middle school students meet once a week after school to learn and hone their speech and communication skills. Students may compete in the Valley Catholic Middle School Speech Tournament held each year in February.

ART CLUB
Starting in fifth grade, students meet after school once a week with art teacher, Ms. Carey. A drawing pad is included in the fee, as students explore and expand on classroom instruction.

BAND
Students in fifth grade through eighth grade meet after school twice a week with music teacher, Mr. Sharma. Instruments include clarinet, flute, saxophone, and more; families must provide instruments.

DRAMA CLUB
Our technology teacher, Mr. Tijerina, leads our drama club once a week. Students grade five and up may participate. 

​LEGO ROBOTICS
St. Joseph Catholic School offers a parent-coordinated LEGO Robotics Team that meets twice a week. Using challenges developed by the FIRST LEGO League, participants learn to design and build autonomous robots using special LEGO kits. The FIRST LEGO League (FLL) program is an excellent way for young people, in Grades 4-8, to experience the excitement of technical creativity. Participants can build a robot and compete in a friendly robotics event especially designed for their age group. Using LEGO MINDSTORMS invention set with LEGO bricks and other elements such as sensors, motors, and gears, teams gain hands-on experience in engineering and computer programming principles as they construct and program their unique robotic inventions. This extra-curricular program includes a 10- to 12-week period in which students form teams, develop robots that can respond to individual tasks as part of an overall challenge, and then compete against other teams. St. Joseph Catholic School teams have received top awards in various local and state tournaments. Watch the school news each fall for information about Lego Robotics registration.

​MAD SCIENCE
The Mad Science after-school program strives to spark the imagination and curiosity of kids by providing them with fun, interactive, and educational programs that instill a clear understanding of what science is and how it affects the world around them. St. Joseph Catholic School offers the Mad Science program twice per year, usually in the fall and spring. Each session lasts eight weeks and is held after school once a week. The topics are different for each session so that students can attend each session without repeating curriculum. Registration occurs about three weeks before a session begins. This program is offered to students in Grades 1 through 6 and is very popular, so registration is on a first-come basis. Watch the school news for Mad Science dates and registration.

​YOUTH MINISTRY 
Paradigm is the middle school ministry program of St. Joseph Parish. All middle school students (Grades 6 through 8) are invited to attend. Friends are always welcome! Paradigm Youth Ministry is where teens can help develop their view of the world and are challenged to see the world as Christ calls us to see. In our journey of faith there can be many changes of perspective that we grow into and this ministry is an opportunity to discover and grow together with Christ and our community. 

Paradigm Middle School meets Wednesday nights from 6:00 -7:30 PM and Family Faith Sundays 2:00—4:00 PM. For more information visit the Paradigm Youth Ministry page on the parish website or contact Kevin Monette, kevinm@stjoevan.org.