Altar Servers

The spiritual essence of any Catholic institution is its sacramental life, and the epitome of this at Notre Dame is the celebration of the Sacrifice of the Mass as an entire school community. Students are invited to play a special role in this development of one’s sacramental relationship with Christ by joining the Altar Servers’ Group. Students can develop a deeper appreciation for the liturgy, and connect their parish community to their school community.

Art Club

Art Club is for students who want to explore and develop their skills with new media or who want to be creative through visual arts. Monthly workshops will be held focusing on different media and types of art. You can sign up for the workshop you wish to attend. There will be some fees for certain workshops.

Book Club

Every month, the ND Book Club chooses a novel to read. We typically require 15-20 copies of a novel (each book costs between $15-25). Additionally, there are activities (themed to the novel) to give students a more experiential enrichment. In the past, these have been a tote bag workshop and a tea tasting.

Care Collective

The Care Collective is an initiative focused on raising awareness and promoting appreciation towards different groups and their unique life experiences. Activities include event planning, fundraising, brainstorming and executing ideas, and collaborating with one another. In terms of requirements, students need to be able to prioritize the club and cannot miss more than 3 meetings due to unexcused absences. At this time, there are no costs.

Crochet Club

Are you interested in learning how to crochet? Notre Dame has a small, but talented group of students who enjoy crochet and love to share their enthusiasm. We meet approximately twice a month and teach one another new skills and patterns. Join us if you want to learn!

Debate

Learn how to effectively argue for your viewpoint, and improve your critical thinking and speaking skills. Teams of 2 debate competitors from other schools and clubs at weekend tournaments. Costs vary from $10-$20, and some adult/parent supervision may be required.

Educational Tours

The Notre Dame Socials/Languages Trips are every second year. The next scheduled trip is in March of 2024 to Europe and is fully booked. Under the leadership of Ms. Robinson and Mr. Scott, we offer senior students the opportunity to travel in their Grade 11 or 12 year. This venture was and is applicable to the Social Studies department and the Languages department for the basic reasons that these trips are not holidays, but fantastic educational experiences. With the firsthand use of different languages, and the chance to see historical places and icons up close, they contribute greatly to the curricular development of our students. Future trip plans are Japan in 2026 and Eastern Europe in 2028.

Leadership & Ministry

ND's Leadership & Ministry club exists to promote the Catholic identity of Notre Dame. This club began as an evolution of the Value Life Club, a club made to promote the reverence for Life at Notre Dame. Students voiced a desire to lean into their Catholic identity, explore how Jesus informs Catholic Social Teaching, and bring faith-minded students together — thus ND Ministry was formed.

At the moment, ND Ministry serves students from Grades 10-12 and is run by a small group of Grade 11-12 students, many of whom are actively serving in ministry-related works in their own parishes. At its core, the students desire to have a space to witness their love of Jesus and His church to fellow students who may have less engagement in their own parishes.

The club runs monthly events for club members and hopes to create discipleship groups in the future in the mold of the Proclaim movement from the Archdiocese of Vancouver. The club has also made partnerships with Good Shepherd Ministry in the Downtown Eastside and aims to send a group of 3-5 students twice a month to do outreach. In the future, the club hopes to run club retreats in collaboration with our school chaplain, Fr. Richard Conlin.

Library Club

Library Club's primary goal is to turn a beautiful space into a communal area where students can study, socialize, and thrive. Not to be mistaken with our school's Book Club, Library Club manages responsibilities related to use of the physical space more generally. These include tidying and restocking shelves; highlighting interesting volumes, as well as lesser-known authors; and hosting events... We've got a mini Book Fair in the works, with games and prizes — and, of course, books for sale.

Outdoor Club

NDOC runs day and multi-day self-propelled trips in the BC backcountry. We camp, hike, canoe, kayak, and snowshoe. All trips are student-pay, but our costs are exceptionally low compared to commercial trips because the teachers have sufficient certifications and experience to act as guides. The requirements for club members are reasonable physical health and a positive attitude.

Outreach/The Door is Open

Every month, a group of determined Notre Dame student volunteers and teachers visit The Door is Open drop-in ministry to prepare and serve food to residents of the Downtown Eastside. There, staff and students prepare sandwiches, soup, and casseroles, which they hand out to those who are in need. Each visit takes place on a Saturday and lasts about four hours in total. The students chop, mix, and plate the food; serve it to the guests; and wash the dishes and clean up the kitchen afterwards. Students sign up for the visit usually about two weeks prior, and service hours are given for these visits. These visits, which are open to students of all grades, allow volunteers the opportunity to cultivate a sense of responsibility and conscientiousness while providing an essential community service in a fast-paced environment. The result is a rewarding experience for all involved. At The Door is Open, Jugglers can make a tangible and positive difference in the community and gain a sense of perspective and accountability.

Pep Band

This ensemble of musicians is a more informal group of students that play popular music for select sports and select school events. Students will play short tunes that amplify school spirit and may play indoors as well as outdoors! Students must be enrolled in the Band program to participate.

Robotics

The aim of our club is to familiarize students with basic programming and mechanical skills in a dynamic and vibrant environment. In this club, we will construct simple robots that can perform tasks such as popping balloons. Students can apply principles they learned in STEM to solve real life problems, preparing for the Science pathway some might pursue in higher grades.

Robotics Club covers building a robot, programming a robot using block coding, and finally programming a robot using Python. Each of the 3 "units" features a competition amongst teams. The first is inspired by Mario Kart's "balloon battle." Each team must construct a remote controlled robot and attach a pin to the front of their robot and a balloon to the back of their robot. Teams compete to pop each other's balloon. The last team with an inflated balloon wins! Students will also be introduced to Design and Engineering skills, including keeping a professional engineering notebook. Additionally, students are introduced to robot construction, computational thinking, and coding in Scratch and Python.

***No prior experience required. ***

STEM Journal

An academic journal club is a meeting in which a group of peers gather to discuss and critically evaluate articles in academic literature. Specifically, a STEM journal club focuses on publications as found in peer-reviewed science, math, and engineering journals. At the high school level of study, meetings closely mimic those of the undergraduate and graduate level, while also providing both an introduction to academic literature and ongoing formation in the art of interpreting the matter and jargon therein. STEM Journal Club is open to students in Grades 11 and 12 who are considering post-secondary studies in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math disciplines, and/or who may be interested in deepening their understanding and appreciation of current findings in the aforementioned fields. The students involved in STEM Journal Club have the opportunity to improve their reading comprehension, critical thinking, deductive reasoning, public speaking, and debating skills, as well as gather insight and inspiration that will serve as motivation going forward.

Ski & Snowboard

Ski & Snowboard Club offers an inclusive environment, welcoming skiers and snowboarders to our four-session program. The club provides students of all skill levels with an affordable opportunity to ski and snowboard with their peers and features an excellent (and mandatory) skills-based lesson from the Cypress Mountain's most highly certified and trained instructors. After the lesson concludes, participants are given the opportunity to 'free ski/snowboard' for the remainder of the day. The program includes rentals if required and offers the most terrain on the North Shore!

Social Club

Social Club is a weekly gathering for anyone wanting to make new friends, or just socialize and play games. There are no costs besides a positive attitude and eagerness to socialize.

Soloists

Soloists is open to any student interested in singing opportunities beyond Choir classes, building vocal technique and confidence. There are weekly rehearsals, typically at lunch on Mondays. Soloists prepare and perform separate numbers for seasonal performances, like the Christmas Concert and the annual Choir Music Dinner in the spring.

Stage Crew

You know how movies have a camera crew, costume designers, sound operators, light operators, and set designers? That’s basically Stage Crew. We take care of everything behind the scenes that involves setting the stage for the actors. Some days, we are organizing prop boxes. Other days, everyone is painting scenery with rollers and brushes. When it’s performance time, we are responsible for opening and closing curtains, moving scenery, operating the spotlights, controlling the soundboard... and the list goes on. There are about 20 dedicated members all scattered around the auditorium/workshop/make-up room. It’s labour-intensive and so enjoyable.

Student Council

Student Council is made up of determined leaders. Members aim to represent Notre Dame and what it means to be a Juggler. We are responsible for school-wide events throughout the academic year: Dress Down Days, Krispy Kreme fundraisers, Activity Days, dances, and much more. As a member of Student Council, you must be a team player, represent the ideas of your classmates, and lead by example. From Grades 8-12, students serve their peers as Grade Representatives, keeping the class informed about StudCo-sponsored events and seeking feedback on what else they'd like to see at the school. After at least one year of experience as Grade Rep, students in Grade 11 or 12 may run for Executive Council. This group heads Student Council, planning and running events, talking to administration, and doing all they can to make sure StudCo runs smoothly. Elections for Grade 8 take place in the early months of the school year, whilst elections for the other grade levels occur closer to summer break.

The Observer

The Notre Dame Observer was established in 2019 and is the school’s independent student voice. Our staff is a diverse group of students who individually contribute their creativity and unique perspectives to the publication. The focus of The Observer is to connect the Juggler community, staff, and students through a dynamic platform that seeks to further enhance and provide tangible evidence of the school’s motto: Know~Love~Serve. We work diligently and take pride to provide our readers with the truth to help them better understand Notre Dame. We know that solid journalism will make our readers feel included as an important part of our community. We thank you for reading and hope you subscribe!

Theatre

Notre Dame has a fine tradition of excellent theatre productions that encompass both traditional plays and musical productions. Typically, the Theatre Department puts on at least one play and a musical every school year. These productions are open for all Jugglers to come and audition to be a part of the Theatre family. Students who make it into one of our productions exercise their many talents of acting, signing, dancing and performing. They learn the various skills and intricacies that are involved in our theatre productions like professionalism and decorum, memorizing lines and choreography, all the while fostering a passion for the fine arts. The love these students have for the theatre is infectious as many of our Grads go on to perform and pursue their dreams on stage and screens throughout Canada, in New York and Las Vegas, and around the world.

Ushers

As an usher, you are expected to help set up and take down the auditorium for school masses. When Mass starts, you welcome fellow students and guests into Alumni Hall, guiding them to their seats whilst maintaining an atmosphere of reverence in anticipation of sacred liturgy. Ushering is one way to show your faith through providing an essential service to the community.

Yearbook and Photography

The Yearbook and Photography Club creates our annual book by incorporating unique themes with photos taken throughout the school year. Sports, clubs, concerts, classroom activities — we strive to capture memorable moments, and put them all in one place. The club provides students ample opportunity to learn valuable skills such as Adobe, photo editing, layout, design, editorial writing, and so on.