Ambassadors The Student Ambassadors at Elyria Catholic High School work with the Director of Admissions in support of all recruiting efforts. The Student Ambassadors play a key role in the Freshmen Picnic, Eighth Grade Visitation Days, Open House, Shadowing Days, Catholic Schools Week activities, and High School Nights at Catholic elementary schools. Applications for Student Ambassadors are available in the spring, with applicants being selected by the Director of Admissions, with input from the faculty, administration, and the Executive Committee of the Student Ambassadors.
Academic Challenge Elyria Catholic’s Academic Challenge Team has been a regular competitor on The Scholastic Games on WEOL 930 AM radio for almost 15 years. The team has become involved in several other forms of competition, often traveling to other school locations for tournaments.
Thanks to the initiative and contact efforts of Andrew Goetz ’05, the team has become actively involved in the State and National Tournament levels of academic achievement competition. Bowling Green State University, Case Western Reserve University, and high schools Copley, Solon, and Garfield Heights, provide venues for Quiz bowl tournaments throughout the year. A generous donation of a buzzer system by John Haupt, father of Susan (’08), allows the team to practice more effectively.
The Academic Challenge Team practices year-round in Room 211.
Band / Flag Corps Visit our band website for more information about the band. If you are interested in joining the band, please e-mail Mrs. Zander at zander@elyriacatholic.com.
Challenge (Newspaper)
The Challenge is Elyria Catholic High School’s student newspaper. Each year, all EC students are invited to join The Challenge staff. With the assistance of faculty advisors, EC students gain experience in every aspect of creating a school newspaper. Students can apply for various jobs on the newspaper staff including: editor, production assistant, writer, columnist, editorialist, proofreader, photographer and art design. Past issues of The Challenge have included articles and editorials covering local, national, and world news. In addition, students write about the EC community via articles covering the spiritual, academic and extracurricular activities of its students and teachers.
Students are encouraged to take advantage of the many learning opportunities that come with being part of The Challenge team. By doing so, EC students grow academically and as part of the EC community. Students gain experience in the following areas:
• Fundamentals of journalism • Research and writing • Editing • Peer review • Coping with deadlines • Photography • Development of interviewing skills • Computer layout and design using PageMaker • Working with a team • Understanding the creative process • Leadership
“ I take a lot of pride in my work on The Challenge because it gives me the creative freedom to explore interesting topics, work with my peers, and test my leadership skills for the future.” ~ Mackenzie Keys, Editor, ’07
Choir Anyone who would like more information should contact the main office.
Culture Conspiracy
The mission of the Culture Conspiracy is to promote the experience and appreciation of the fine arts with the aim of broadening multi-cultural awareness in EC students. This club offers opportunities to its members to experience live theatre, music, art exhibits, and various interdisciplinary cultural experiences that are affordable and accessible within the community. We also aim to encourage informal sharing of the experience through dining or coffee and soft drinks before or after the experience.
Drama Elyria Catholic Drama is a vital and active part of the Performing Arts Department. Students in all four grades have the opportunity to participate in a major fall production, a Christmas play in association with Campus Ministry, and various smaller productions (one acts) throughout the year. In the Spring, all three divisions of the Performing Arts Department (vocal music, instrumental music, and Drama) produce a spring musical, again, open to any EC student.
ECHO (Yearbook) ECHO, EC's yearbook, is produced in the Journalism class. Student editors must be in the class to have an editing position. However, students not in the class can write and take pictures for ECHO. We do not have regular meetings, but the student editors do make contact with other students for contributions, and periodically will make an appeal for help via the morning and afternoon announcements.
Film Club The EC Film Club has the honor of being one of the most popular clubs on the EC campus. Students from all grade levels meet weekly to watch movies and discuss the art of film. The club is run in a democratic style in which the members themselves select and vote on the which movie they would like to watch in a given genre, selected by the officers. The club has also begun work on an entirely student-produced film project, which will be completed by the end of the year. Film Club is unique in that it is the only club with the primary function being to have fun at the meetings. It is a place for all students to come, sit down with a slice of pizza and a drink, hang out and watch a (usually) good film.
Writer's Club a.k.a. "The Pseudonym Society" The Pseudonym Society is a writing community dedicated to giving students tools that can be used for their success as authors or fleelancers. It isn't just for those who plan on a future writing career, though. The Pseudonym Society is for anyone who likes to write or wants to improve their writing. Students gain the opportunity to express themselves and to get to know other writers at EC. All are welcome, be they poets, novelists, playwrights, journalists, or artists of other genres.
Hippies for Happiness
Welcome and peace! Hippies for Happiness is a charity organization founded at Elyria Catholic by Michael Alcorn '06 with a great deal of love and support from his friends and the EC community. The intention of the group is to spread certain "hippie ideals" including world peace, support for the poor and oppressed and respect for the environment.
To accomplish these ideals, Hippies for Happiness participate in events including tournaments, community projects, and other acts of service.
Key Club
Ghandi once said, "we must be the change we wish to see in the world." The Elyria Catholic Key Club effects change in all of the activities it undertakes. It is a service leadership organization and is jointly sponsored by the local Kiwanis club. The members and the club perform real services. These acts of caring range from collecting personal necessities and food for the less fortunate, bagging food for senior citizens, organizing blood drives, providing dinner at Ronald McDonald House, participating in Adopt-a-Family, and chaperoning dances at Murray Ridge School. Key Club members know that their group is built around acts of kindness, no matter how great or small.
Juggling Club
The Elyria Catholic Juggling Club is a place for juggling enthusiasts of all kinds. Whether you are a beginner who doesn't know a thing about juggling, a novice who is looking to improve, or an expert who wants to display your talents, then Juggling Club is for you. We meet every other Tuesday. Our meetings consist of teaching sessions and freestyle throwing with whatever fun music and conversation we bring with us.
National Honor Society
The National Honor Society was created in 1921 as an organization that would recognize and encourage academic achievement and develop other characteristics essential to citizens in a democracy. These ideals of scholarship, character, service, and leadership remain as relevant today as they were then. NHS membership is often regarded as a valid indicator that the student will succeed in life and particularly in studies at the post-secondary education level. The member has already exhibited academic achievement, leadership, honorable and admirable character, as well as service demonstrating that the member is willing to use talents and skills for the improvement of society.
Selection to NHS is a privilege, not a right. Students do not apply for membership in the NHS; instead they provide information to be used by the local selection committee to support their candidacy for membership. This is not an election, nor is membership automatically conveyed simply because a student has achieved a specified level of academic performance.
The Scholarship requirement is based on a student’s cumulative grade point average (G.P.A.). Once it has been determined that a student has met the scholarship criterion, that issue can be put aside and attention can be directed to the remaining three criteria. Leadership is considered highly important for membership selection. It may be interpreted in terms of number of offices a student has held, but should also include effective participation in other co-curricular activities offered on campus. Service is generally considered to be those actions undertaken by the student which are done with or on behalf of others without any direct financial or material compensation to the individual performing the service. Character is probably the most difficult criterion to define. A person of character demonstrates the following six qualities: respect, responsibility, trustworthiness, fairness, caring, and citizenship.
Peer Ministry /Music Ministry
The privilege of being a Peer Minister is reserved to Junior and Senior class members who exemplify the characteristics necessary for modeling good Christian behavior. These men and women are the student spiritual leaders of Elyria Catholic. They play an active role in planning liturgies, social justice initiatives, and community outreach activities.
Music Ministry is open to any student who wishes to give back their musical/vocal gifts that God had bestowed on them. These students lead the music at all liturgies.
S.A.D.D.
S.A.D.D. stands for Students Against Dangerous Decisions. It's goal is to help foster a healthy environment that guards against the use of drugs, alcohol, and cigarette smoking. S.A.D.D. also helps promote safe driving practices and sexual abstinence for teenagers.
Science Club Science Club is a club that is designed to promote and improve student interest in science and to improve the quality of k-12 science education throughout the nation. Competitions are held every year where neighboring high schools compete in the hopes of becoming the Science Club state champions.
Socratic Club The Socratic Club is different than the average debate club. The purpose of a Socratic debate is not to defeat one another, but instead to find the truth.
In this club students engage in both one-on-one and group debate. Logic and reasoning skills are honed through careful listening and discussion. Meetings are held every other week. On weeks when there is no scheduled meeting, there is an optional logic course.
The course teaches students how to formulate a better argument and recognize logical fallacies. Through the Socratic Club students are ultimately taught to think for themselves and gain understanding from others through a mutual sharing of knowledge.
Student Senate Through developing leadership skills, Student Senate members promote school unity and spirit. Student Senate builds positive Christian attitudes that help not only the school but the community as well. Senate creates a link among the faculty, administration, students and the entire EC community.
Student Senate members attend weekly meetings each Thursday at 2:50 p.m.
Click here to view the Student Senate Constitution. |