Extracurricular Activities
Infant Jesus offers a broad range of activities
that are available for
children either before or after school. We
encourage our teachers and our parents to volunteer
for these programs. Before and after school
programs include: Band, Chorus, Destination
Imagination, Drama, French, Lego League, Miles of
Math Club, and the Running team.
Band
(Grades 4-6)
Playing
a musical instrument helps
develop discipline, teamwork and
creativity. It promotes eye-hand
coordination, math skills and
listening skills. Setting and
achieving goals is a rewarding
experience and gives the
students a sense of
accomplishment and self-worth.
Private or group lessons are
available on a weekly basis.
The band performs
in the Fall and Spring Concerts.
The beginner band meets Friday
mornings at 7:45, and the
advanced band meets Friday
mornings at 8:15.
Chorus (Grades 3-6)
The IJS Chorus meets before
school (Wednesday at 8:00)
from September through May. During this time
students learn the techniques of singing, including
breath control, extending voice range, harmony and
rhythm. Along with the technical aspects of singing
in a chorus, students are given the opportunity for
goal-setting, teamwork, creativity and
self-expression. The chorus enhances the music at
school liturgies and performs in the Fall and Spring
concerts.
Computer Club (Grades 5-6)
The computer
club meets during the winter, for an hour after
school, one day per week. The computer club is
primarily responsible for the maintenance of the PC's
in the school, under the guidance of Mrs. Litch.
Drama Club
(Grades 4-6)
The IJS Drama Club is organized to give
students in grades 4-6 an opportunity to take part in expressing
themselves creatively, whether on stage in a
particular role, as a dancer, or behind the scenes helping to
create the background, organize the set, or help
with the program. One or two school wide
performances are presented each year.
Students wishing to become part of the
Drama Club must make a commitment and plan on coming
to all rehearsals and being on time. The Drama Club
meets on Tuesday and Thursday mornings from 7:35 - 8:30 am on stage in the IJS Cafeteria. Mrs.
Hebert, Miss Conley, Miss Lavoie, and Mrs. Noyes oversee our
productions.
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Miles of Math Club (Grades 4-6)
The Miles of Math Club is an enrichment opportunity for
eager and focused students who have demonstrated a mastery of
fundamental mathematic concepts. The mission of the club is to
help members apply mathematical strategies learned in the classroom to a
range of real-world problems and to help them develop advanced critical
thinking skills in a fun and challenging environment. Students
participate in monthly math contests offered through the
Math Olympiads
program. Parent volunteers are the
coaches.
Crown St. Journal
(Grade 6) The
Crown
Street Journal is a newspaper written and
illustrated by our 6th graders with input from all classrooms. The
students take great pride in seeing their names in print and also
gain a better understanding of what is involved in putting together
a newspaper. The students are able to express themselves and improve
their writing skills. This is organized by parent volunteers.
Destination
Imagination
(Grades 2-6)
Destination Imagination is one
of the world's largest creativity and
problem solving programs for youth of
all ages, with thousands of participants
in 47 US states, 15 countries and
Canadian provinces participating
annually.
What sets NH
Destination Imagination apart from many
other programs is that its rules
stipulate that the teams must create
their entire solution by themselves --
coaches and parents CANNOT help the kids
with their solutions! This year's
challenges can be seen at
www.nh-di.org.
In March, all
participating teams in New Hampshire
will present their solutions at Regional
meets. The top finishers go on to the
State tournament, and potentially on
from there to the Global finals! In
2004 & 2005, Infant Jesus had teams
which advanced to the Global finals!
Teams are formed in late fall, and meet
either before or after school, at the
discretion of the coaches. Please
see Mrs. Mail for more information.
Language Classes (Grades 1-6)
Language classes are offered after school
on Tuesdays (Spanish) and Thursdays (French). This is a fee-based
offering. Note that 5th and 6th graders also receive Spanish
lessons once per week during school hours. The teacher is Mrs.
Anger.
Granite State Fit Kids
(Grade 4)
Granite State
FitKids initiative is an
interactive health awareness
program specifically designed
for 4th grade students.
The core of the program is a set
of seven lessons called "The
Body Workshops", discussing the
various body systems -
cardiovascular, respiratory,
gastrointestinal, muscular,
skeletal, and nervous. In
addition there are 3 sessions
focusing on the effects of
smoking and the benefits of good
nutrition and exercise.
Granite State Fit Kids was
developed by "Dr. Chuck" Cappetta
and is supported through the
generosity of
Dartmouth-Hitchcock Nashua and
Southern New Hampshire Medical
Center. With the
coordination of Miss Lavoie and
Mrs. Toohey, all 4th graders
participate in this program.
Lego League (Grades 4-6)
The First Lego
League (FLL), considered the
"little league" of the First
Robotics Competition, is the
result of a partnership
between
First and the Lego Company. FLL extends the First concept of
inspiring and celebrating
science and technology to
 children aged 9 through 14,
using real-world context and
hands-on experimentation.
With the help of Lego Mindstorm
Robotics Invention System
technology, young participants
can build a robot and compete in
a friendly, FIRST-style robotics
event specially designed for
their age group. The group
meets on Mondays, Wednesdays,
and Thursdays, after
school, in the fall, under the
guidance of Miss Lavoie. Running Team (Grades 3-6)
Infant Jesus School's running team, in partnership
with the Police Athletic League (PAL), participates in the citywide
running competitions. The team runs on Mondays and Fridays after school in
the fall. Parent volunteers are the coaches.
Wee Deliver
(Grades K-6)
Wee
Deliver is the IJS internal postal service, run by
our students. Our children apply for postal positions, get hired and
run the post office. Wee Deliver provides the children with
real-life experience in which they apply basic skills such as
addressing envelopes, using the mail system, writing a letter and
using ZIP codes. This program runs from October through May,
and is coordinated by the Parent Group. Enrichment Programs (Grades K-6)
Throughout the year, we are able to bring to IJS various
speakers, entertainment
 and numerous other activities for our
children. Most of the themes are related to the current studies of the
children. For example, in 2006-2007 the children will hear the
Marvelous Musical Martins, watch Rob Surette draw inspirational
pictures, and hear various presentations about NH Birds & Mammals
and NH History, and hear about electrical safety from the Public
Service of NH. These programs are coordinated and sponsored by the
Parent Group.
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