Junior High Experience

Junior high at St. V’s consists of 7th and 8th grades, and is a time when we seek to renew and deepen our students’ commitment to discipleship of our Lord, their internal drive and zeal for learning, and their independence and increased responsibility as they head into young adulthood. We deliberately seek to renew our programming in response to these goals. Some of the ways we accomplish this include the following:

• Junior high students begin a full rotation of classes, and we move from 3 to 4 sections per grade, both to specialize in academic disciplines and to reduce class sizes to approximately 22-23.
• Junior high students take leveled math courses based on their instructional level, allowing them to enter 9th grade math at different instructional levels as well. Students also take Language Arts, Science, Social Studies, Religion, and Spanish, and in Spanish often test into Spanish II for 9th grade, showing mastery of Spanish I content.
• Junior high students take elective courses during their academic day, offered by our jr. high teachers, special area teachers, and others. Course offerings change over time, but ongoing options include band and choir, and both band and choir perform regularly throughout the year. Other offerings include forensics, genealogy, film appreciation, intramural sports, clay/pottery, intro to robotics, and guided study halls when students are in need of further academic support.
• Junior high students deepen their faith through adoration, both in our Oratory of Saint Mary Magdalene, where students go one time per month by homerooms, and a second time per month with full jr. high adoration in our church, with exposition and benediction. Students attend grade level retreats, most typically through Damascus (an incredible Catholic ministry/camp/missionary opportunity working intently on sharing the Holy Spirit and deepening attendees’ own conversion and witness). Students are highly encouraged to attend Edge, our weekly jr. high youth group, with exceptional planning from our parish staff and Core Team leaders, and to engage in further prayer, praise, and worship through our Mercy Club.
• Junior high students benefit from expanded extracurricular offerings. While many of these opportunities begin in 5th grade, new experiences unique to jr. high, like Mercy Club, are experiences our students seek out regularly.