Bike Club
The Bike Club was created to foster an appreciation of cycling among young people. Because cycling is a lifetime sport and a resurging form of sustainable transportation, the club focuses on fun, fitness, safety and basic bike maintenance. Students are required to wear helmets when riding off campus and on all club rides.
Students ride on area country roads as well as a network of off-road mountain bike trails right on St. Lawrence’s expansive campus. Additionally, the club takes occasional trips to area parks that have miles of trails with challenging terrain.
Many students bring their own bikes and equipment. However, the Bike Club keeps and maintains an assortment of bicycles and helmets for any student to borrow for club rides or independent leisure.
Venture Scouts
Venturing is a youth development program of the Boy Scouts of America for ages fourteen through twenty. The purpose of venturing is to provide positive experiences to help young people mature and to prepare them to become responsible and caring adults. St. Lawrence Seminary High School is the chartered organization for Venturing Crew 9778 of the Bay Lakes Council in the Ledge to Lakes District of the Boy Scouts of America. Because scouting encourages so many values parallel to those espoused by our school, such as leadership, character, responsibility, and faith, we find it is a natural fit and a great opportunity for our students.
Venture Scouting at St. Lawrence is open to all students, but is generally dominated by those who have been involved or are currently active in scouting back home. Scouts may hold dual membership in our Crew and their Troop back home, allowing them to stay active and involved in scouting and continue with their badge-work while attending St. Lawrence. Many students have completed their Eagle Scout Service Project during their time here. The graduating class of 2007 had seven Eagle Scouts out of a class of forty-six, or about one in every six or seven students!
The Crew holds meetings on a regular basis and plans two or three major outings each school year. Camping, rock climbing, canoeing, and hiking are popular choices, but any group activities that encourage exploration and discovery are appropriate. The scouts are encouraged and expected to do most of the planning and preparation for these activities and are supported by an adult advisor. Outings are often opened to the general student population if additional space is available, which can generate greater interest in membership the following year.
Because our students are involved in so many different activities on weekends, it can be difficult to schedule more than one off-campus weekend campout per school year. Additional opportunities to camp are offered on our sixty-five acres of undeveloped and partially wooded land that is directly adjacent to our campus. This allows students to participate in tent camping and related activities, yet come and go to as needed to fulfill other obligations on and off campus during the weekend.
Venturing Scouts creates an opportunity to get off the Hill and have some fun with your classmates… and to get out and experience nature.
– Tim Plants (’08).
Venturing provides a window to nature. The program allows for time to relax and vacate from the constant reminders of school. I have many friends who do venturing with me, so they add even more to the experience. The time spent working to set-up the tents is well worth the fun we have throughout what typically is a two-night stay.
– Carl Colosky (’10).
Field Trips
The Activities Director, in coordination with the Dean of Students, arranges various field trips throughout the year. Teachers, staff, supervisors and parents serve as chaperons to various sites and programs. Most years there are field trips to Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks games; special exhibits at the Chicago Field Museum, The Art Institute of Chicago, the Milwaukee Public Museum and the Milwaukee Planetarium; canoeing, rock climbing and plays such as The Lion King and Cyrano.
Regular trips to the Fox River Mall, near Appleton, provide an opportunity for students to purchase things off the school grounds, and at least one Sunday a month, an opportunity is provided for students to sign up and go to a movie at a local movie theater.
Movie Club
The Movie Club is comprised of a group of students that enjoy watching movies. They meet once a week to discuss and select movies for the viewing pleasure of the school. Movies are shown every Friday and Saturday night in St Anthony Hall and also on a large screen in the auditorium.
Cooking Club
The Cooking Club, open only to seniors, aims to introduce members to the fundamentals of cooking during their monthly meetings. The seniors seek to build on the fundamentals, like how to cut foods properly and safely, and work toward more advanced activities, like creating specialty foods and exploring unique ingredients. Members are responsible for developing the meal choices for the meetings, preparing the meals, and then they share the meals with one another.
