We are very proud of the awards and accolades for our faculty and students, which demonstrate our excellence in education and extracurricular activities:
2024
- First LEGO League Competition: Two SJS teams competed; Team 2 received Innovation Award and advanced to Sectionals
2023
- 2023 Suburban Life Reader’s Choice Best Preschool and Grade School – 6th year in a row
- Montini Catholic High School Robert Huntoon Memorial Math Contest: SJS 7th and 8th grade teams placed 3rd; one SJS student placed 3rd in individual competition
- Nazareth Academy 8th Grade Scholastic Bowl: SJS team placed 3rd
- Nazareth Academy 8th Grade Math Contest: SJS earned 3rd Place Overall Team Award and 3rd in Individual Competitions
- Nazareth Academy 7th Grade Math Contest: SJS team placed 2nd overall in competition; one SJS student received 4th place in individual competition
- Regional Science Fair: Fourteen 8th grade students participated receiving 4 Gold Awards, 4 Silver Awards, 1 Bronze Award, and 2 Artistic Awards. Four SJS projects continued on to State Science Fair
- Elementary Science Olympiad Tournament: Nine 5th grade students competed. SJS received 1st Place overall against 15 teams, had the most medaled events and the best overall score. SJS entries received1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th place
- First LEGO League Competition: Two SJS teams competed with one receiving the Rising Star Award
- Nazareth Academy 7th Grade Academic Bowl: One of fourteen teams participating in five rounds of competition, SJS took 1st place
- Athletic Highlights:
- Girls 8A and 7A Volleyball teams Tri-County Catholic League Champions
- Girls 8A and 7A Volleyball teams Tri-County Catholic League Champions
2022
- 2022 Suburban Life Reader’s Choice Best Preschool and Grade School
- Illinois State Science Fair: 3 Gold Awards, 4 Silver Awards and 2 Special Awards – The Bradley University Excellence in Science Award and AEG Excellence in Earth Science Award
- Private/Parochial School Spelling Bee: SJS Champion defended title as the Spelling Bee Champion of SJS for the third consecutive year and came in 9th out of 21
- Nazareth Academy 7th Grade Scholastic Bowl: One of our two teams placed 2nd out of 16 teams
- Nazareth Academy 7th Grade Math Contest: SJS team placed 2nd in competition and 1st in speed round; one SJS student received 2nd place in individual competition
- Athletic Highlights:
- Basketball: Girls 5th and 7th grade basketball teams DuPage Parochial League Champions
- Football: JV team Suburban Parochial Football League Champions
- Volleyball: Girls 5B team Tri-County League Champions
2021
- 2021 Suburban Life Reader’s Choice Best Preschool and Grade School
- Downers Grove Junior Women’s Club Art Contest: SJS 8th grader received Best in Show for The Hope for Spring oil pastel
- Athletic Highlights:
- Football: Varsity and JV teams won Suburban Parochial Football League championships
- Volleyball: Girls 7B team won DuPage Parochial League championships
2020
- 2020 Suburban Life Reader’s Choice Best Preschool and Grade School
- Fenwick High School Virtual Math Competition: 12 SJS students competed; SJS placed 2nd against 500 participants from 33 schools
- Navigating Creativity Contest: SJS student won in the Grade 2-3 category for “Connection Maze” creativity contest hosted by Navigate Adolescence
- Nazareth Academy Scholastic Bowl: two 7th grade teams competed and placed 2nd and 5th out of 16 teams
- Overall winner for the Illinois State Board of Education 38th annual Illinois Arts Education Week poster contest
2019
- 2019 Suburban Life Reader’s Choice Best Preschool and Grade School
- Montini Math Contest: Individual placements in 1st and 4th; team placement in 3rd.
- State Science Fair: Gold medal recipient
- Regional Science Fair: 10 participants/6 projects entered earning 2 gold, 4 bronze and 1 advancement to State Science Exposition.
- Band for Today: 13 SJS students participated in the solo contest earning silver and bronze medals and trophies for exceptional performances; 4 SJS students participated in the annual Honor Band Festival.
- Athletic Highlights:
- Basketball: Boys 5A won championship; Boys 7A and 8B1 and Girls 5A took second place in championship games.
- Football: Varsity and JV teams finished the season in 2nd place.
- Track & Field: Several athletes took 1st place at Divisionals and competed in Championship meet capturing 1st, 2nd and 3rd in various events.
- Volleyball: Girls 8A and 6B won league championships.
2018
- 2018 Suburban Life Reader’s Choice Best Preschool
- Illinois State Science Exposition: 13 SJS students/7 projects entered into State Science Exposition and received 1 Bronze, 4 Silver and 2 Gold awards and a special award from the US Navy – Office of Naval Research.
- Band for Today: 8 SJS students were invited to participate in Honor Band Performance out of 90 students from 30 schools.
- Montini Academic Bowl: Several SJS 7th graders competed and placed 1st, 2nd and 3rd among 20 teams.
- Illinois Junior Academy of Science Regional Exposition: St. Joseph students earned Gold and Silver medals in several science fields. Seven projects will move on to the State Science Exposition.
- Nazareth Math Competition: Our 7th grade math team competed against 12 schools and earned 3rd place.
- Nazareth Scholastic Bowl: Two SJS teams competed – 1 team in 3 rounds finishing in top 10 of 18 teams; 1 team in 5 rounds and won the competition.
- Downers Grove Junior Women’s Club Art Contest: 7th grader Joey Schamber’s painting Winter Solace was judged “Best in Show” among 40 entries.
- Athletic Highlights:
- Volleyball: Girls 8A and 6B teams won championship games
- Football: JV and Varsity finished 2nd in the Suburban Parochial Football League championship games
2017
- Class of 2017 Achievements: 82% of our graduates made their first semester Honor Roll; 50% achieved highest ranking by being placed on their 4.0 & Above Honor Roll.
- Nazareth Scholastic Bowl: Two SJS teams competed in 3 rounds and finished in top 6 of 21 teams.
- Montini Math Contest: 6th, 7th and 8th grade teams competed; earned 6th place out of 445 students and 30 schools
- Benet Academy Academic Bowl Competition: 7th grade team earned 1st place in History and 3rd place overall; 8th grade team earned 1st in English and 2nd Overall.
- Nazareth Academy 8th Grade Math Contest: SJS earned 3rd place overall; One student earned 2nd place.
- Nazareth Academy 7th Grade Math Contest: SJS earned 2nd place overall; Two students placed in 2nd and 3rd.
- Illinois Junior Academy of Science Region 11 Science Fair: SJS entered 7 projects; all students earned a medal – 5 gold, 1 silver and 1 bronze; Four projects were selected to advance to State Science Fair
- Athletic Highlights:
- Volleyball: Girls 8A team finished season in first place with a 12-0 record and won DPL championship game
- Football: JV and Varsity teams won the Suburban Parochial Football League championship games
- Basketball: 8th grade girls won the tournament championship for 4th consecutive year; 7th grade girls had an undefeated season; 5th grade girls finished 1st for regular season and won playoff tournament
- Volleyball: Girls 8A team finished season in first place with a 12-0 record and won DPL championship game
2016
- Nazareth Academy 8th Grade Math Contest: SJS earned 1st Place Team award; Two students placed in top positions
- Benet Scholastic Bowl (4 Tests – Math, English/Literature, Science and History): SJS 8th grade teams took 1st place in Math and Science, 2nd place in History and 2nd and 3rd place overall; SJS 7th grade team took 3rd place overall
- Montini Math Contest: With more than 420 participants representing 33 schools SJS 6th grade team took 10th place; SJS 7th grade took 9th place; SJS 8th grade team took 2nd place (individual students awarded 5th place and 2nd place)
- Athletic Victories:
- Boys Football: JV – 5th/6th Grade Finished 2nd place in our division. Varsity – 7th/8th Grade finished the season 4-4.
- Girls Volleyball: Both the 7th & 8th Grade teams won this year’s Bronco Bash Tournament hosted by Montini High School. 7th & 8th Grade A girls also won the DPL championship tournament.
- Cross Country: 6th Grade girls and boys teams and 9 individuals repeatedly received ribbons; St. Joseph School co-hosted a cross country meet for 26 area Catholic schools; St. Joseph 2015 Alumni led the Downers Grove South girls cross country team to a 4th place at the state meet this fall.
- Basketball: 5th Grade A boys team won the St. Peter & Paul 42nd Annual Trojan Classic Winter Tournament
2015
- Bishop Roger L. Kaffer Outstanding Principal Award to Principal Rita Stasi
- Nazareth Academy Scholastic Bowl: SJS placed 2nd out of 20 competing schools
- Nazareth Academy Math Contest: SJS earned top honors overall (1st Place); Students earned 1st, 3rd,4th and 5th Places
- Montini’s Annual Math Bowl Junior High Competition: SJS 7th Grade Mathletes earned 3rd place out of 500 competing private and public school students; Two students earned Top 10 honors overall
- ICCP Math Competition for 7th and 8th Graders: With 146 participants representing 19 schools, SJS 8th Graders had the Top 3 individuals scores and won the whole contest; SJS 7th Graders had the Top 2 individual scores
- Illinois State Science Expo: 8th Graders won Gold and Silver Awards