With dozens of co-curricular activities, everyone at McQuaid can find a “fit” through clubs and teams organized around shared interests. But student life isn’t just about clubs – it’s also about friendships made. For many, participation in McQuaid clubs and teams becomes another rewarding part of their overall school experience.
Below are our current club and team offerings. While many are open to all students, some are only for high school or middle school students.
Activities Open to All Students
The Anime Club is a place where fans of Japanese-inspired animated movies and shows can be watched and debated among like-minded students. Viewings are selected through group discussion and screened both together and at home.
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The McQuaid Jesuit Arrupe Society is intended to be the focal point for student social justice activities. Father Arrupe famously challeneged Jesuit students to be “men and women for and with others.” Arrupe Societies, named in his honor, in secondary schools and colleges and universities around the world have been formed to carry forward this message of Jesus.
The Arrupe Society sponsors outreach to men and women who have experienced homelessness, veterans, visits to the House of Mercy, St. Joseph’s House of Hospitality,and other homeless shelters, the Annual Thanksgiving Food Drive, etc.
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Founded in Spring of 2019, the Black Student Union brings together students concerned about the issues that affect the black students in our community. This group focuses on how we can uplift the entire community through education and building empathy.
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Camera Club members take pictures are various events throughout the school year. Some of their work is used on the school’s website as well as marketing materials.
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This club gives students an introduction to Chinese history, traditions, modern life, food, music, and entertainment. Students are encouraged to ask questions, participate in activities, and keep an open mind.
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This club focuses on refurbishing computers for charities and talking about computer topics.
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This club is for those interested in all things francophone as well as the culture of French-speaking countries.
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The McQuaid German Club is a group of German fanatics who love the German language and culture.
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The McQuaid Italian Club is a group of Italian fanatics who love the Italian language and culture.
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This group is for beginning to intermediate jazz students who want to get together and play a variety of jazz style music.
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This group is for intermediate to advanced jazz students who want to get together to play a variety of jazz style music. The group occassionally performs for charity events outside of McQuaid.
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Kennings is McQuaid Jesuit’s Art and Literary magazine that highlights the work of talented writers and artists, of all kinds, within the McQuaid community. The magazine is a bi-monthly digital publication from which the editors choose the best-of-the-best at year’s end to turn into a hard copy periodical. All students are welcome to join. Any student looking to learn how to publish a magazine should join. No artistic or writing experience is necessary.
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Spanish club is an opportunity for students to come together to learn and celebrate Hispanic culture. Students interested in expanding their knowledge of the Spanish language and culture should join.
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Teams of two play against other teams of two using a circular net and ball. The club meets once a week and have enough nets for 16 players.
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Mr. Walsh
Students help design and build sets for school productions as well as learn how to set and control lights and sound.
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Activities Open to High School Students Only
The staff of the Accolade designs, produces and distributes the yearbook for the school community. Staff are assigned responsibilities for taking photos, producing sections of the yearbook or managing orders/distribution. Editors do significant work organizing work efforts and producing content which may be more time consuming particularly before deadlines. Students interested in the photographic arts or interested in graphics design or publishing are encouraged to join this activity. Interested students should contact the moderators to express interest in participating.
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The Admissions Ambassador club grants high school students the opportunity to represent McQuaid Jesuit both internally and externally. An Admissions Ambassador is considered the face of McQuaid Jesuit. Members of this club should feel passionately about their school and want to share their experiences with prospective students and families.
Admissions Ambassadors will have different leadership opportunities throughout the course of the school year including, but not limited to, public speaking at local elementary schools, lead tour guides at school events, entrance exam proctors, and more.
Those who are interested in becoming an Admissions Ambassador must first interview with the club moderator, Mr. Parker.
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This club prepares high school students to take the AMC 12 test – a 75 minute, 25 multiple choice test given January 30, 2020.
The AMC 12 is designed to promote the development and enhancement of problem-solving skills. It covers the entire high school curriculum including trigonometry, advanced algebra, and advanced geometry, but excluding calculus. Students in grade 12 or below and under 19.5 years of age on the day of the contest can participate.
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The Bio-Diversity Project works to bring students into a partnership with the natural world. Through projects designed to educate about interconnected systems students work to help themselves and others relate on a deeper level with the environment and its parts. The Bio-Diversity Project deals with environmental and social justice issues through the various works chosen by the projects participants. Members also continue working with ongoing project endeavors such as care for McQuaid’s beehives and gardens.
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The Campus Ministry Board (CMB) is a student-led organization open to all students in grades 9 through 12. The goal of the organization is to develop the bond of brotherhood among McQuaid Jesuit students, especially by finding God in all things. The CMB leads a wide range of activities, including school Masses, the Rosary Group, Jar Wars, Pope Francis Week, Thanksgiving Interfaith Prayer Service, McQuaid Madness Charity Tournament, Midterm and Final Exams Study Breaks, etc.
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The team competes in the Rochester Interscholastic Chess League as well as against teams from other schools about one Thursday a month.
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Students collaborate to find ways in which to make McQuaid Jesuit more environmentally friendly and to reduce the school’s carbon footprint. Club members also educate the McQuaid community on strategies for living a more sustainable life. Recent endeavors include added recycling bins around the school and water bottle refill stations in the cafeteria and in the hallways.
Club activities also will include a cooking program where students learn meal preparation skills and menu planning that reflect the benefits of eating locally grown, organic, vegetarian foods.
Students interested in the possibility in forming an Envirothon team are encouraged to join as well. This is a state and national competition that challenges students in field skills and data collection, and in environmental problem solving.
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Habitat for Humanity is a club that Partners with Flower City Habitat for Humanity to participate in local builds and help with fundraising.
Students must be willing to occasionally participate in build days or other similar events and help with the annual Pie Sale in the Fall and Hike for Habitat in the Spring.
It is an opportunity to have a hand in directly improving living conditions for others in Rochester. Also, it can be the beginning of lifelong involvement with Habitat for Humanity.
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The IgKNIGHTer is the name of the school’s FIRST FRC robotics team open to all high school students. The principal activity of the team is to conceive, design, build and operate a competition robot during the months of January thru March. Non-build related opportunities are available to those interested in working on the team’s website, Chairman’s video or business operations. Off season activities include hosting a water engineering contest and a Qualifying Tournament for elementary and middle school students involved in Lego Robotics. The team is sponsored by Delphi Corporation, Xylem and the Xerox Corporation and is supported by professional mentors who volunteer their time to help students with the build process. This is the logical starting point for students interested in engineering or computer careers or for those looking for a solid team experience outside of athletics.
Visit the team’s official website for more information.
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Mike Buell, P ’11
Bill Scheuerman, ’77, P ’17
The team, comprised of eight members, participates in the Test of Engineering Aptitude, Mathematics and Science sponsored by the Junior Engineering Technical Society. The test consists of questions representing college freshman-level engineering coursework. It offers students the opportunity to see how engineering touches numerous aspects of our lives. Students are chosen by recommendation of math and science teachers.
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Masterminds is an academic challenge competition with other schools in a College Bowl format. Four students on each team compete for two, eight minute periods.
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The “McQuaid Ballers” program is run in conjunction with students from Hillside Children’s Center. The goal is to provide “mentoring,” and general community to the boys at Hillside by playing basketball for an hour, then sharing pizza and discussion for an hour.
The club is primarily for juniors and seniors who want to help others who have much less, and demonstrate control, respect, care, and proper community involvement to students who are in need of proper behavior modeling such as this!
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The Ministry to the Elderly club is for students who have a particular passion for serving and encountering elderly adults in our community. The club is currently working on volunteering at The Brightonian assisted living facility once a month.
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The Mock Trial team provides students insight into the area of the law known as “trial practice” in a competitive setting against other high schools. It is a great opportunity for students interested in the law or in developing advocacy and public speaking skills.
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Model U.N. is a student directed activity that replicates the format, committee meetings, and position papers of the United Nations. Participation and the level of that participation are determined solely by the student membership. In a typical year, three weekend conferences are attended. Membership is open to all students in grades 9 through 12.
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This club is based on the principle of inclusion and encourages the community to see how differences in one another enhance our lives. We work to empower all of our members to know that they have something to contribute to our community through their voices no matter. We strive to be positive role models who appreciate and respect each other. We pledge to break down barriers through dialogue and understanding. Through our club we realize that our differences will always circle us back to our most common bond – that of our humanity.
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The Science Club is for students who share an interest in many aspects of science and in particular, chemistry. The group puts together a science show for middle school students that feature chemistry experiments both in the lab and outside. The club plans on bringing in outside speakers who can relate science to the “real world” and sharing science videos.
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The McQuaid Jesuit SIMBA Society is the student run fan section. The Senior leadership is responsible for organizing fan sections, tailgates, cheers, and dress themes for each major game, as well as creating original t-shirt designs for the fan pack at the start of each year, at least one other t-shirt release during the school year, pep rallies, and spirit week themes. The SIMBA Society considers all students at McQuaid Jesuit to be active members in the club, through their presence and support at major sporting events.
Come to the sporting events to join in with the SIMBA Society and see what it is all about. For leadership opportunities during your senior year, see Mr. Vernetti during your junior year (or earlier) to express your interest.
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Speech & Debate teaches students to become effective researchers, persuasive writers, and confident communicators while empowering them to become engaged with issues of social justice and public policy in the world around them. In addition to Lincoln-Douglas and Public Forum debate, students have an opportunity to compete in everything from poetry to drama to humor to original oratory to extemporaneous speech.
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Ms. Hylwa
The St. Joseph of Arimathea Pallbearer Ministry was founded in the spirit of St. Joseph of Arimathea who assisted with the burial of Jesus. Begun by Ian Gonzalez, ’16, the core belief is that no person should die without being prayed for or mourned. The seventh Corporal Work of Mercy clearly states we need to care for the dying and bury the dead.
Currently, McQuaid Jesuit juniors and seniors serve as pallbearers at the funerals of veterans and/or persons who have experienced homelessness. Student pall bearers pledge to serve with respect and dignity. Students learn to offer sympathy and support to others and offer hope in the face of death. Before and after serving as pallbearers, students gather for prayer and reflection with a member of the faculty/staff.
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The Lance is McQuaid’s high school newspaper. Members of the club work with students in the Journalism and Media Literacy class to create and publish four issues each year. If you are interested in current events or journalism and have a willingness/desire to conduct interviews, report on school news, and write articles at least once per marking period, this is a club for you!
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The Shield is McQuaid Jesuit’s first online-only publication, covering student interests in a range of areas from film and literature to music, video games, and more.
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Youth and Government provides students the opportunity to participate in our democratic system by modeling legislators, judges, lawyers, journalists, lobbyists, and the executive branch in participation with other schools in Monroe County and New York State. Students participate in a mock NY State government held in the Legislative Chambers of the State Capital in Albany.
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Activities Open to Middle School Students Only
Academic Challenge Bowl is a club for trivia minded middle school students using a game show format with buzzers to answer questions about many different categories including science, history, geography, math, sports, and more.
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The Middle School Campus Ministry Board (MSCMB) is a student-led organization whose main focus is the spiritual growth of the middle school students at McQuaid Jesuit. Open to all students in grades 6 through 8, the goal of the MSCMB is to develop the bond of brotherhood among McQuaid Jesuit students, especially by finding God in all things. The MSCMB leads a wide range of activities, including class Masses, the Middle School Walk for Justice, movie nights, fundraisers, making bagged lunches for the homeless, visiting St. Joseph’s House of Hospitality, etc.
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Chess Club is for fun, learning, camaraderie, and friendly competition.
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Lego Robotics is a registered First Lego League team which works toward a goal of learning about the world, robotics, and each other. Our team builds science, engineering, and technology skills, that inspire innovation, and that foster well-rounded life capabilities including self-confidence, communication, and leadership. Students should consider joining this club if they have an interest in robotics, Legos, or engineering or if they like to solve problems, especially ones involving concepts in the STEAM realm.
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Mr. Mascardi
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This is a club exclusively for sixth graders to have fun with higher level math.
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The Middleman Messenger is a student-run newspaper for the middle school. Students are involved with all aspects of the newspaper including writing and publishing articles, taking photos, and laying out the paper.
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