For more than a decade the student literary magazine, PRISMS, has won national awards; and increasing numbers of PRISMS contributors successfully submit their work to outside publications. The excellence of the students’ literary endeavors has brought them much local and national attention. In an effort to recognize this achievement and expand the program, the SJND Star Society of Creative Writers (SSCW) was formed in 2004. To qualify for membership students must publish in PRISMS and also win an outside writing contest or be published in another source.

SSCW promotes interest in literature and writing and fosters the creative talents of the SJND and local community. Throughout the year, SSCW hosts activities such as inviting area writers to speak at SJND and conducting a writing contest for middle school students.

The following journals have published works from students who are SSCW members:

Alameda Youth Yellow Pages
Unfaithing U.S. Colonialism
Going Home to a Landscape
Eros Pinoy
Babaylon
Fil-Am
Pinoy Poetics
Asian Pacific American Journal
Maganda Magazine
M.A.G.
T.M Poetry
¡Albricias! Magazine
Anthology of Poetry by Young Americans
The North Fork Review
A Celebration of Young Poets

The Forensics Team, SJND's debate club, has earned top honors since its formation in 2004. The team participates in one or more competitions a month, such as the Stanford Invitational, and continually ventures into new oratorical categories.

Students also compete in Student Congress, a mock floor debate where students demonstrate their abilities to conduct research and use logic to make arguments in front of peer legislators. At each Congress (one per month) new pieces of legislation are debated in Congress. At the end of each session a vote is taken on whether the legislation should pass or not.

Starting in the 2006-2007 school year SJND Forensics Team members will also participate in individual events. Some events are interpretations of dramatic or comical literature and plays, while other events are extemporaneous where the student must be well read on current national and international news and is expected to prepare a 7-minute speech on a given topic in one half-hour. Students also participate in competitions of expository speeches with the use of props and displays.

Several students have been inducted into the National Forensics League (NFL), a national speech and debate honor society, where they join a prestigious group whose members include former U.S. Presidents, Supreme Court Justices, CEOs, and other American leaders. With each success more members earn points toward that honor, and the SJND list of NFL members continues to grow.

SJND has a unique model for student government, known as the Campus Life Team (CLT), which has been nationally recognized and adopted by a number of schools throughout the United States.

All SJND students are members of the Associated Student Body (ASB).  The ASB and each class elect representatives who serve as councils. The Campus Ministry Executive Board (CMEB), students who work with the campus minister, forms the other branch of government.  SJND is both a college preparatory and a Catholic school, and the Councils and the CMEB–known collectively as the CLT–attend to both the social and the spiritual student events and activities.

The CLT offers opportunities for many students with diverse interests to participate in student life. The CLT program emphasizes collaboration, leadership, project management, and team-building skills that serve the students through college and into their professional careers.