For more than a decade, SJND's 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 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

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.