St. Isaac Jogues School was host to over 2,000 seventh and eighth graders from over 42 different schools from around the Diocese of Joliet and the Archdiocese of Chicago for the fifth annual “Called By Name” Vocations and Discipleship Workshop on Tuesday, November 6th, Wednesday, November 7th, and Thursday, November 8th.  The workshops gave 7th and 8th graders from the diocese a better understanding about the different options when responding to God’s call and to offer an environment to reflect on these choices and deepen their relationship to Jesus Christ.
Bishop Conlon opened the conference on Tuesday with a message about responding to God's call. 

Anthony Redfield, joined by Seminarian Kyle Langan and Tom Langan, led the students in Praise and Worship music before the students were introduced to the main speakers of the day.  Jimmy Mitchell, who speaks to middle school, high school, and college students all around the country, was joined by Father Ryan Adorjan as they spoke to the 7th and 8th graders in a fun and engaging manner.  They also allowed time for students to ask questions about their faith. All the students who attended received a Faith Journal and were prayerfully led through Lectio Divina....a form of prayer that is used when reading Scripture.....this form of prayer is intended to nourish the soul and lead one into a deeper relationship with the Lord.

The middle of the day consisted of four break out sessions: Basketball and Vocation Stories by the seminarians and various religious sisters, brothers, and priests; the Vocations Fair  where students were able to learn about over 30 religious communities in the Parish Center and ask questions and get to know the difference between orders; Catholic Trivia Challenge which was a friendly competition between schools consisting of questions about their Catholic knowledge; and Father Ryan and Seminarian Kyle Langan introduced the Faith Journal and Lectio Divina to students in small groups. Confessions were offered during most of the day.
 The day culminated with Benediction and Adoration in the church led by priests and seminarians. Praise and Worship music set the tone for the students to pray and reflect on all that they had been exposed to during the day.  The workshops seem to have been a great success!  Plans are already underway to bring the conference to all the schools of the Diocese of Joliet next year  - hosted at SIJ!  

The SIJ Academic Bowl Team represented St. Isaac Jogues extremely well at the annual Benet Academic Bowl on November 13, 2018 where hundreds of 7th and 8th grade students from Will, DuPage, and Kane counties competed. The 8th grade team of Emma G., Elle T., Dominic K., and Jack J. won the overall 8th Grade Championship and earned first place in the areas of English, math, and science. Additionally, the SIJ Academic Bowl Team consisted of Gabija S., Mallory T., Shannon S., Maddie M., Gavin D., Madelyn P., Claire D., Caroline K., Kathryn S., Rania F., Jordan A., Lily B., Nick C., Jack M., Kacey H., Kari T., Jillian P., and Faith D.

Also recently, the Science Team earned 5th place in the Fenwick Science contest with Elyssa C. placing 6th and Mallory T. placing 23rd out of over 400 students from 30 parochial and public schools from Chicago and neighboring suburbs. Other members of the SIJ Science Team included Tim G.,  Emma G., Elle T., Dominic K., Jack J., Gabija S., Mallory T., Shannon S., Maddie M., Ona K., Chase C., Madeline G., Christian K., Sophia Y., Kathryn S., Nick C., Kari T, and Jillian Pavalon. We are proud of all our participants and their dedicated efforts in these academic areas!

SIJ joined the largest learning event in history: The Global Hour of Code, during Computer Science Education Week.  The Hour of Code is a global movement reaching tens of millions of students in over 180 countries. On December 1st, SIJ students participated in the coding activity. SIJ is committed to teaching these foundational 21st century skills. All students worked with their Faith Family Families and lead the session working  on coding activities from code.org. This was a great experience for all of our 21st century  learners!

Congratulations to the United Junior Varsity Football Team on their win over Immaculate Conception on October 21st.  The hard work of all the football players and coaches paid off with a Silver Championship win!
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​On October 27th, the SIJ Speech Team took 1st and 3rd place overall in the Fenwick grade school speech contest. The contest was for 6th-8th grades and included teams from 10 Catholic schools. The SIJ Team members were: Elyssa A., Ella B., Tatum B., Lilly B., Nick C., Gaetano C., Nina C., Katie C., Claire D., Ellie D., Gavin D., Abigail G., Emma G., Vince H., Kacey H., Max H., Jocelyn J., Caroline K., Christian K., Paige M., Daniela M., Jillian P., Isabella P., Ellie R., Liam S., Hayden S., Aoife S., Shannon S., Kathryn S., Elle T., Kari T., Haley T., Mallory T., Audrey W., and Emily W. In addition to the team award, the following students placed in the top six in their respective categories: Declamation: Elle T. (1st), Liam S. (2nd), Mallory T. (2nd); Dramatic Performance: Katie C. (3rd), Ellie R. (3rd), Haley T. (5th); Original Oratory: Paige M. (4th), Ella B. (6th); Poetry: Shannon S. (2nd) Kari T. (5th); Prose: Emma G. (3rd).

We are proud of the students' hard work and the confidence, courage and enthusiasm they showed at the competition!