In San Antonio-area schools, the three R’s don’t stop at reading, ’riting, and ’rithmetic. These days, electives and extracurricular activities give students the opportunities to explore rockets, rugby, robotics, and … well, you get the idea.

It’s a brave new world out there. And San Antonio-area students are taking advantage of it.

From robotics at Southwest High School to rockets and rugby at Alamo Heights High School, students fill both classes and clubs on a variety of subjects these days.

“I think students are looking to do some résumé building, but also looking just to explore what interests them,” says Jennifer C. Milikien, director of marketing and public relations with San Antonio’s St. Mary’s Hall, one of the city’s private schools.

Milikien and others agree that collegiate plans factor into many kids’ choices when it comes to planning their electives and after-school activities.

“I think a lot of kids are finding out that most (colleges and universities) are interested in what students do with their time,” she says. “It’s not just about grades and high SAT scores. They want well-rounded kids. What colleges and universities are saying is, ‘How will you contribute to our community? How will you be citizens of our community?’ ”

That means the old standbys – choir, pep squad, basketball – continue to draw students in droves, but schools today aren’t offering just your grandma’s electives – or even yours.

“We’re always evaluating and looking to respond to student interest,” says Rebecca Villarreal, the public information officer for the Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City Independent School District. That means that, in addition to standbys like athletics and the very-popular health sciences, kids in the SCUCISD explore everything from soup to nuts – and in the case of the culinary arts program, we mean that literally.

At both Steele and Clemens high schools, the culinary programs let juniors and seniors learn about many elements of the food prep trade, from making sauces and pastry, to baking and planning menus.

Still, as Villarreal points out, it’s harder for students to fit in electives than in past generations, thanks to recent state changes in graduation requirements that call for more science and math for many students. “They have to make choices,” she says.

At Alamo Heights High School, students are choosing a class/club combo that is both elective and science all in one.

The school’s aeroscience class, taught by Colin Lang, led to a rocketry club where students are building a 5- to 7-foot model designed to go a mile into the sky this April, Lang says.

“In the United States, we’re in trouble when it comes to math, science and engineering,” Lang says. “This is a way to get kids interested, and they’re having fun.”

Kids from the rocketry club and aeroscience class have completed summer programs at NASA, and Lang says 80 percent of the students that have completed the aeroscience class have gone on to become engineers.

By building rockets, students are learning about aerodynamics, stability, physics and much more, Lang says. “It’s all 100 percent applied science. They don’t just learn it for a test. They learn it to use it. The test is to build the rocket and make it work.”

On tap for next year’s class? A supersonic rocket, that is, one that breaks the sound barrier.

Meanwhile, senior Kyle Gresham breaks sound barriers of a different sort through his work in the North East ISD’s orchestra program. A violinist, Gresham began his musical pursuits in the elementary school string program when he was in the fifth grade. He now plays with the Macarthur High School Orchestra.

“I've stayed with it because I love being part of a group of people that enjoy and are as passionate as I am about the music we play,” Gresham says. “I enjoy the fact the everyone in an orchestra is needed. Everyone is appreciated and just as important as the concertmaster is.”

Like Gresham, students at Southwest High School in the Southwest Independent School District are able to break free of the doldrums of hot lunch and jammed lockers through explorations of robotics and even a hip-hop dance team.

Student at St. Mary’s Hall also can explore hip-hop dance, not to mention Irish dancing, Japanese, acoustic and electric guitar, 3-D art, and digital photography and videography.

One of the most popular extracurricular programs is the school’s community service club, which raises funds for charities, builds Habitat for Humanity houses, and cleans up graffiti throughout the city. Students recently raised money to buy seats at San Antonio’s annual holiday river parade for 115 soldiers, as well as their friends and family, from Fort Sam Houston’s Center for the Intrepid.

“We want to give of themselves, their time and their talent,” Milikien says. “We want the kids to understand there are a lot of ways to make a difference in the community.”

At Alamo Heights High School, meanwhile, students have their pick of a variety of programs – think journalism, creative writing, peer tutoring – as well as a rugby team.

Yes. Rugby. In Texas.

The program, led by Lang, who played in Canada, was founded in response to student interest. It began in the this year, and has already attracted more than 20 students.

“Ultimately, it’s a true team sport,” Lang says. “In football, you have a role to play and that’s the only role you play. In rugby, everybody gets to score, everybody gets to run, everybody gets to make tackles. It’s a much more open game, and it’s a game that bigger than its individual players. It’s a real community that’s bigger than anyone that plays it.”

Another beauty of the rough-and-tumble world of rugby, Lang says, is that it’s an activity students can take with them when they leave high school behind.

“Rugby is a game that becomes a lifetime sport,” he says. “There are guys playing into their 70s. It’s a sport they can continue playing their entire life, or at least as long as they want to play it.”

In addition to honing their athletic skills, Lang has his players engage in community service as part of their team responsibilities. And, like many other elective offerings, rugby offers students the chance to earn college scholarships.

Other elective and after-school programs, like SCUCISD’s culinary classes, give kids an opportunity to find professional employment right out of high school – or help pay for college through scholarships or work.

“For a lot of these kids, this is a chance for a good-paying job to help put themselves through college,” Villarreal says. “They graduate with work experience and have better opportunities because of it. They can make choices.”

The freedom to make choices for the future is important for today’s kids, Villareal says, whether that means being able to pay their way through a traditional 2- or 4- year college by working in a restaurant or going straight on to culinary school and pursuing a career.

“There’s a lot of confidence that comes with that, with knowing they can use these skills,” she says. “You see these kids, in their white hats, and they’re very professional.”

Milikien agrees that students who have an opportunity to pursue interests beyond the basics also pick up life-long lessons along the way.

“Our counselor really tries to get kids to explore what interests them, and then, as juniors and seniors, focus in on what they care about and get into being a leader in that group,”

Milikien says. “Being involved like that gives students the ability to speak publicly, it gives them confidence, and it gives them leadership skills.”

For Gresham, the Macarthur High School violinist, his extracurricular passion has taken him to music camps, trips across Texas, and even on a concert tour to Austria and Prague.

But, bottom line, it’s all about the music. “I play because it has become a part of me,” he says. “Music is an incredible experience for me and has opened up so many areas in my life. I can’t imagine waking up to a day when I won’t be looking forward to playing.”

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