Join as a a sophomore.

Anonymous wrote:I have 2 DC at SJC. I would strongly encourage the cadet corps. DC liked it much more than I would have thought. And honestly, it doesn’t seem to fit the mold right off.

Current 9th grade DC there. We asked about joining cadet corps early in fall semester and seems like they had already met their quota for the year, so my son was not allowed to join.

Is all of this true for girls too?

SJC parent here. Putting aside the sports question for a sec. We've been really happy with SJC overall. But you have to know what you are getting into. We came from a K-8 parish school, so much smaller obv. There are many great things about SJC. But it's big. OF course there are kids who are cheating. I hear about it all the time from my kid. There are people vaping in the bathroom. There are detentions and suspensions. Sometimes even an expulsion (rarely I think, but it happens.) That can be scary/overwhelming to someone coming from an environment where every kid and every family knew each other, where you know all the teachers and admins, etc.

Now for the sports question, I agree that these athletes are very committed. But this IS high school. They're partying plenty on weekends.

I have 2 DC at SJC. I would strongly encourage the cadet corps. DC liked it much more than I would have thought. And honestly, it doesn’t seem to fit the mold right off.

"unless they are D1 material and recruited, they will not play."

DC was not recruited. Has made two teams and gets to play as a freshman. There are also a lot of other options such as Cadets, Theatre, etc.

Anonymous wrote:Yearbook you need 2 teacher recommendations, Mun & robotics are academic clubs that have requirements, cadet corp is not a club.

what are the requirements for robotics and MUN? how do you find out if clubs have requirements and what they are?

What does the student want to do?

Yearbook you need 2 teacher recommendations, Mun & robotics are academic clubs that have requirements, cadet corp is not a club.

Hasn’t tried robotics, MUN, band, chorus, school newspaper, yearbook, cadet corps? Anything?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The school is strict with detentions. The sports situation has been disappointing especially if you have a son. My kid has always been a good athlete and the sports are just sooo competitive. You have to be willing to give up your whole life to play. They say there are lots of clubs, but my very social kid never does more than text friends. Never hangs out and the non-academeic clubs don't seem to happen.
Haven't heard anything about cheating. School is very strict so I doubt it.

Second this. The non academic clubs are pretty much lip service. They really don’t exist except on a random piece of paper somewhere. It seems teachers are very resistant to sponsoring a new club when a student actually tries to start one because of the time commitment.

At the moment, there is video floating around of an SJC athlete throwing a brick into someone’s ceiling at a party. So being busy doesn’t mean not partying. SMH

So what does your child do after school?

My kid does nothing with the school. Which is a surprise since they are very social. Luckily they play a sport outside the school and this helps. I think it is hard if you aren't a theater kid, super athlete, or scholar. There isn't much of a place for you.

What academic clubs are active?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The school is strict with detentions. The sports situation has been disappointing especially if you have a son. My kid has always been a good athlete and the sports are just sooo competitive. You have to be willing to give up your whole life to play. They say there are lots of clubs, but my very social kid never does more than text friends. Never hangs out and the non-academeic clubs don't seem to happen.
Haven't heard anything about cheating. School is very strict so I doubt it.

Second this. The non academic clubs are pretty much lip service. They really don’t exist except on a random piece of paper somewhere. It seems teachers are very resistant to sponsoring a new club when a student actually tries to start one because of the time commitment.

At the moment, there is video floating around of an SJC athlete throwing a brick into someone’s ceiling at a party. So being busy doesn’t mean not partying. SMH

So what does your child do after school?

Anonymous wrote:The school is strict with detentions. The sports situation has been disappointing especially if you have a son. My kid has always been a good athlete and the sports are just sooo competitive. You have to be willing to give up your whole life to play. They say there are lots of clubs, but my very social kid never does more than text friends. Never hangs out and the non-academeic clubs don't seem to happen.
Haven't heard anything about cheating. School is very strict so I doubt it.

Second this. The non academic clubs are pretty much lip service. They really don’t exist except on a random piece of paper somewhere. It seems teachers are very resistant to sponsoring a new club when a student actually tries to start one because of the time commitment.

At the moment, there is video floating around of an SJC athlete throwing a brick into someone’s ceiling at a party. So being busy doesn’t mean not partying. SMH

I have a child at SJC and a child at a DCPS HS. Both kids raised Catholic.
DCPS kid has always been an independent thinker and values in-depth conversation about everything. Friend group is very diverse in every manner and SJC was too traditional of an environment. It was more than just the uniforms - but the uniforms played a part in the decision.