Students in 5th-8th grade are invited to be altar servers.  Altar servers hold an important role in the celebration of the mass by assisting the priest.  Students are scheduled to serve at the 8 AM weekday mass, at masses on the weekend and for special liturgies (i.e., weddings, funerals, etc.)

Information regarding training sessions is usually sent home in the spring.

St. Raymond School has an active Student Council and has been a member of the Illinois Association of Junior High Student Councils since 2017. Junior high students may run for office once they are in 7th and  8th grade, however committee members, as well as class representatives, consist of students in 2nd through 8th grade.

The purpose of the Student Council is to give students an opportunity to develop leadership skills by organizing and carrying out school activities and service projects.  In addition to planning fundraisers and events that contribute to school spirit and community welfare, the student council is the voice of the student body. The Student Council publishes a student newspaper known as The Rocket Review and produces a monthly news program called The Rocket News Network. They help promote current events going on at school, as well as student ideas, interests and concerns, to the school-wide community.

Battle of the Books is a school club open to 4th-8th grade students.  Battle of the Books, or BOB, challenges students to read, remember, and respond to questions about several different genres of books. Students receive their reading list at the beginning of the school year and then practice during their lunch hour once a week going over questions from the individual books.  In March or April, the diocesan Battle of the Books competition takes place, where each school is represented by a team of four-five students.

The Battle of the Books program is challenging and fun for students who enjoy reading books and competition. Unfortunately, Battle of the Books is currently on hold due to COVID protocols and restrictions.

2023-2024 Cathedral Youth Choir Sign Up

St. Raymond School partners with Music on the Move to provide students in 4th-8th grade the opportunity to sign up to learn to play a musical instrument.  Lessons are offered on a weekly basis and include the following instruments: flute, clarinet, oboe, alto saxophone, trumpet, french horn, trombone, baritone and percussion.  Students are taught in a small group. A lesson fee and instrument rental fee is paid directly to Music on Move.

Students taking lessons participate in a Solo and Ensemble contest in the spring.  They also give a whole school concert at the end of the school year.