ACADEMIC
   

SERVICE
 

St. Edmund supplements the current English/Language Arts curriculum with the Accelerated Reading program. Students read books on their ability level and are rewarded for achieving individual goals at the end of each grading term. At the end of the school year, students are recognized for the highest growth and achievement.

National Beta Club recognizes high academic achievement, promotes character and social responsibility, encourages service involvement to school and community, fosters leadership skills, and provides settings for students to develop interpersonal relationship skills. Students eligible to be inducted into Beta Club must have a 3.5 cumulative GPA, be enrolled in at least 2 honors classes, have no lower than a B average in Conduct, and have no disciplinary referrals. In order to remain a member, students must meet certain criteria through grades and behavior throughout the school year.

 Music Ministry exists to help students to serve God with the gifts he has given them in music. We value this ministry because Colossians 3:16 shows us it is a ministry of God’s Word, to build up his church. Music plays a critical role within God’s church, helping us let the Word of Christ dwell in us richly. The purpose is to encourage, develop, and grow students to help God’s people ‘Rejoice in the Lord’ and be filled with ‘an inexpressible and glorious joy (1 Peter 1:8)’. Students minister to elementary students by teaching them the songs for mass and hand motions. Students also play music and/or sing at designated school masses. Students interested in joining should contact the club sponsor

Drama Rally Club provides opportunities for students to achieve district-level and state-level recognition for their academic and performance talents. The goal is to encourage students to develop and strive for excellence in their academic and performance pursuits. District Rally is held at LSUE each year in Literary, Speech, and Drama. Literary Rally is held in numerous high school academic courses. Teachers select students in their classes to compete in the literary rally and submit their names to the sponsor for submission to LSUE. Students compete by taking an exam in the course they are registered for by the sponsor. Speech events offered for Speech Rally include Extemporaneous Speaking, Interpretive Reading, and Original Oratory. A school production of a one-act play or an excerpt from a longer play is entered into the Drama Rally competition. Students interested in joining Speech and/or Drama Rally should contact the club sponsor.

Speech and Debate is a combination of public speaking, acting, and arguing all in one competitive sport. There are three “tracks” that students can take: Speech, Oral Interpretation, and Debate. In Speech, competitors craft a persuasive and/or informative speech and then present it to a series of judges. Dependent on the specific event these speeches are either written on the spot or carefully curated over the year. In the Oral Interpretation events, competitors take pieces of literature and poetry and present their interpretation of them in a brief scene either by themselves or with a partner. In Debate, students work as a team to prove their side of an argument against another team from a different school. Students interested in joining should contact the club sponsor.