Art Club
The Art Club is the inspirational palette from which young men at SLS can paint their unique world. More than just paper and colored pencils, the Art Club is a gathering of creative minds that share a common appreciation for all forms of the visual humanities, including sculpting, woodworking, painting, sketching, and much more. By working to foster individual artistic skills, the SLS community is sculpted into a colorful place for all.
Band
Band at St. Lawrence Seminary High School is an elective course that meets four days a week, Monday through Thursday, throughout the school year. It is open to any student who has previous experience playing brass, woodwind, or percussion instruments, or who has an interest in learning how to play an instrument but has never played.
The Band has a regular enrollment of sixty or more students who, through class instruction and outside help, develop performance skills and confidence. The Band appears and performs at all home basketball games, a Christmas Concert, Wisconsin School Music-sanctioned contests or festivals and a spring concert.
In addition to the large ensemble, we have smaller ensembles that are able to perform for other activities. String, clarinet, brass, mallet, or keyboards may perform before the Christmas Concert in various places near the Chapel. A Pit Orchestra created from the larger group compliments our musical stage productions. Strings, brass, woodwinds and percussion also assist as music ministers for and during liturgical celebrations.
Students may earn letters in Band. Students earn points toward a letter by performing outside of class. For instance, liturgy or pep band involvement earns points. In addition, students can earn even more points by placing at interscholastic competitions, including if they qualify for the State Competition. Seniors who have actively participated in Band for three years are also eligible for a letter. Finally, the Musical Director may award a letter for significant contribution to the Music Department.
The music department plays an important role in service to the St. Lawrence Seminary High School community and has received many compliments from clinicians and adjudicators for the fine quality of music and preparation of student musicians.
Choir
Choir at St. Lawrence Seminary High School is an elective course that meets four days a week, Monday through Thursday, throughout the school year. It is open to any student who has previous choral experience or who is interested in learning to sing.
The Choir is comprised of forty or more young men in grades nine through twelve, who receive instruction in class or outside help developing their performance skills and confidence.
The Choir appears at many liturgical functions. During the Advent Season they prepare and perform music at local convents, and a Christmas Concert for the St. Lawrence community, parents, faculty, staff, alumni and the local community. Singing for and greeting the sisters at local convents, or residents of nearby assisted living centers warmly is a long St. Lawrence tradition and creates fond memories for countless people. The Choir also performs for Wisconsin School Music-sanctioned contests or festivals. Finally the Choir closes their year with a spring concert.
Students may earn letters in Choir. Students earn points toward a letter by performing outside of class. For instance, singing at liturgy or in a concert earns points. In addition, students can earn even more points by placing at interscholastic competitions, including if they qualify for the State Competition. Seniors who have actively participated in Choir for three years are also eligible for a letter. Finally, the Musical Director may award a letter for significant contribution to the Music Department.
The Choir is an important service component to the St. Lawrence Seminary High School community and receives many compliments on the quality and preparation of music performed.
Forensics
Forensics is one of the more popular co-curricular activities at St. Lawrence Seminary High School. There is a very wide range of activities students can compete in, from extemporaneous speech to dramatic interpretation. There are individual and team events.
The minor seminary has a long tradition of success in Forensics, including four WFCA Division III State Championships—three in the last four years—and fifteen consecutive top-ten state finishes. During the last ten years twenty-five students have been state champions or runners-up in their events.
The forensics program provides students with the opportunity to develop and improve their public speaking skills. This is an opportunity to develop oneself as a confident, skillful public speaker. In addition, the individual who is able to communicate well often has a distinct advantage over the less well-trained speaker in many areas of society. Participation in forensics and demonstrated dedication to improvement as an orator are essential elements for the success of the program, both for the individual student and for the forensics team.
The forensics season lasts from January through April. During this time, students compete in various tournaments and festivals. The moderator determines those students who are to be entered in each competition. The seminary high school is affiliated with the Wisconsin High School Forensic Association (WHSFA), the Wisconsin Forensic Coaches Association (WFCA), and competes in the Wisconsin Flyway Conference.
The requirements for earning a letter in forensics have been established so as to recognize both superior achievement in forensic competition as well as commitment to the goals of the program. A student may letter in Forensics by earning a gold medal or two silver medals at the WHSFA State Festival, a trophy at the WHSFA State Tournament, two trophies at two tournaments in one season, one trophy and a medal at the Flyway Conference Meet, or a semi-finalist award at the State Tournament. In addition, a senior who has participated in at least six festivals or tournaments in each of three separate years may be awarded a letter. Finally, a student may be awarded a letter at the discretion of the coach. Students who do not meet the criteria to letter may be given other awards, at both the varsity and junior varsity levels. In years subsequent to lettering, meeting the lettering criteria will result in the award of a bar. Students who are members of the Forensic team for four years will receive a four-year award at the end of their Senior year.
