


We are very proud of the awards and accolades for our faculty and students, which demonstrate our excellence in education and extracurricular activities:
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