Following is a list of activities and advisors.

Many students find out too late that their involvement in activities will enhance their chances for consideration of scholarship opportunities, honorary membership in clubs, and job opportunities. Involvement in activities enhances friendships, communication, leadership skills, organization, acceptance and self-esteem, and fun.

To be eligible to participate in student government and/or interscholastic academics, a student must have achieved a minimum grade point average of a 2.0. S/he may appeal for probationary eligibility at the high school only once during any given year.A student who is absent more than 4 times from any class for any reason during a marking period shall be ineligible to participate in any interscholastic athletics or academics during the next mark period unless all of the absences are determined legitimate by an administrator. Teachers will be asked to sign with approval of verified excused absences when students exceed four absences for a mark period.

• African/Praise Dance (Ms. Golden)
• Amnesty International (Ms. Daroszeski): Envisions a world in which every person enjoys all of the human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights standards; strives to undertake research and action focused on preventing and ending grave abuses of the rights to physical and mental integrity, freedom of conscience and expression, and freedom from discrimination, within the context of its work to promote all human rights.
• Asian Club (Mr. Garland): Student led organization which strives to help their community through various service projects. School functions in which the club is involved include Parent/teacher conferences as well as Ethnic Fest. Asian Club is open to any King student.
• Band (Mr. Durr)
• Bible Study Group (Mrs. Roesch): Student-lead interdenominational discussion group that studies topics reflecting the interests of the participants; strives to connect Biblical teaching to the dilemmas of everyday living; sponsors the “Pray at the Pole” event every year
• Book Club (Ms. Kamenev-Thompson) The Rufus King Book Club is for students who love to read and to discuss what they have read. The group meets monthly in the school library.
• Business Club (Ms. Sauvé)
• Cheerleaders (Ms. Swan): A good way to show your school spirit and have a wonderful time doing it; for anyone who loves to smile and be in front of a crowd
• Chess Team (Mr. Speaker): Competes in the Milwaukee Metro Chess League against the best chess players in Wisconsin; participates in the November Junior Open and city and state chess meets; has gone to the U.S. Chess Nationals around the country; tryouts for 5 varsity positions held in fall
• Chorus (Mr. Barna)
• ComedySportz (Ms. Nathan): Team of clever and humorous individuals who practice theatre games and enter competitions with other high school teams; handled by the professionals at the ComedySportz team headquarters downtown; usually practices once every two weeks after school
• Debate (Ms. Hardy) Students compete at weekly tournaments around the state from mid-September through December in three formats: Policy Debate, Lincoln-Douglas and Public Forum. Debate offers the opportunity to develop and hone research, analytical and reasoning skills, and teamwork. King debaters are also active in the Milwaukee Debate League, a year long educational program in conjunction with the National Debate Project based at Emory University in Atlanta.
• Drama/Theatrical Stage Crew (Ms. Nathan): Opportunities to choose, direct, produce, and perform unusual and challenging dramatic and comedic plays for the public in King’s historic Little Theater; opportunities to work on costumes, make-up, props, settings, and technical aspects of production (light and sound)
• Drum Line (Mr. Durr)
• Forensics/Student Congress (Ms. Hardy): Forensics (Speech) offers students the opportunity to compete in dramatic performance, interpretation of literature, original speech presentation, and model U.S. Congress events. Students compete in the various categories at competitions held throughout the state from January through April. King students also compete yearly at the prestigious Glenbrooks tournament (IL) in the fall and Harvard University’s tournament in the spring.
• Friends of Islam (Ms. O-Keefe-Boettcher): Student-led group that explores the religious and cultural values of Muslims around the world; meets with Jew Crew on a regular basis to have Interfaith conversations; all members of the King community invited to join in an effort to increase cultural understanding and decrease any sectarian or political intolerance
• French Honor Society (Mr. Kovacic): Nationally accredited honors organization open to third year French students with a 3.25 cumulative GPA and 3.5 cumulative GPA in French; provides a senior award to an outstanding four-year French student in the society
• Gay-Straight Alliance (Ms. Daroszeski and Ms. Huber): Organization which seeks to create safe environments at King for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning and queer-identified students (LGBTQ), students with parents who are LGBTQ, and their allies; to educate the school community about heterosexism, homophobia, gender identity, and sexism; to fight discrimination, oppression, harassment, and violence in our school
• German Honor Society (Ms. Beirold): Learn about culture in German-speaking countries and have “Iunvergnugen”
• Gospel Choir (Ms. Beirold): Positive, motivating, and rewarding group that displays students’ talents and enhances their desires to function in unity and feel a sense of accomplishment through various citywide performances
• Jazz Ensemble (Mr. Durr)
• Jew Crew (Ms. O’Keefe-Boettcher): Student-led group that explores the religious and cultural values of Jews around the world; meets with Friends of Islam on a regular basis to have Interfaith conversations; all members of the King community invited to join in an effort to increase cultural understanding and decrease any sectarian or political intolerance
• Key Club (Ms. Cinto): Aims to develop initiative, leadership ability, and good citizenship practices; serves the school in various capacities throughout the year
• King’s Crown / Yearbook (Mr. Ciganek): Yearbook of memories created by Rufus King students; filled with pictures of the people, activities, and special features of each year
• King’s Page / Newspaper (Ms. Thomas): Allows students to practice journalism skills, including reporting, editing, photography and layout, to produce a publication; recognized by the American Scholastic Press Association
• Knowledge Masters - Junior Varsity (Mr. Doubek and Mr. Dupies): Reserved for freshmen and sophomores; held twice a year; stimulates and encourages enthusiasm for learning; competes against 35 teams at the state level and 1000 teams at the national level
• Knowledge Masters - Varsity (Mr. Doubek and Mr. Dupies): Reserved for juniors and seniors competing on a classroom computer; held twice a year; stimulates enthusiasm for learning and recognition for academic accomplishment; competes against 35 teams at the state level and 1000 teams at the national level
• Latin Club (Mrs. Roesch, Ms. Zunac): Currently or previously enrolled Latin students participate in cultural projects, sponsor an annual convention, hold a Roman banquet, and undertake fundraising opportunities
• Latin Honor Society (Mrs. Roesch, Ms. Zunac): Students who have completed 3 semesters with an A average in Latin and evidence of good citizenship invited to join this honor society and receive recognition for academic excellence
• Latinos Unidos (Ms. Badillo)
• Lifesmarts (Mr. Guardalabene): National team competition sponsored by National Consumer League
• Majorette Squad (Ms. Foster)
• Math Track / Mu Alpha Theta Honor Society (Ms. Neuenschwander): Rufus King's powerhouse math competition club; JV and varsity divisions meet weekly from late September through March to prepare for about 15-20 yearly meets and contests
• Medical Science Club (Mr. Glasenapp): Students study science and run blood drives
• Mock Trial (Ms. Hardy): Students posing as lawyers and witnesses for a day receive background information about a fictional court case in advance and prepare to go to court; one-day court session in February at the Milwaukee County Courthouse; students compete as teams against other schools; actual Milwaukee attorneys and judges sit on the bench; all students welcomed and encouraged to participate
• Model UN (Ms. Figlesthaler and Ms. Huber): Participants represent one or more member countries at a simulated meeting of the United Nations, including the Security Council, the General assembly, and their subsidiary committees
• Multicultural/Ethnic Fest (Ms. Golden)
• National Forensic League (Ms. Hardy): Academic honorary society that promotes achievement in speech activities (forensics, debate, mock trial, and mock legislative assemblies); membership for students active with the debate and/or forensics teams; varying degrees earned based on competitive merit and service speaking activities including television broadcasts and public speaking at community assemblies; seniors active in the NFL when they graduate receive honor cords
• National Honor Society (Mr. Wagner): Students with high GPAs (3.3 for sophomores; 3.2 for juniors and seniors) who have demonstrated leadership qualities, dedication to positive traits of character, and community service; performs various community service activities; works to encourage scholarship
• National Quiz Bowl (Mr. Forecki): Competitions similar to the old college bowl TV show; a four-member team competes with teams from other states by answering multiple-choice, fill-in-the blank, and matching questions
• Not on Tobacco (Ms. Mikell): Support group for students who wish to quit smoking funded by the American Lung Association
• Ocean Bowl Team (Mr. Glasenapp): National level competition on oceanography topics
• Orchestra (Mr. Durr)
• Peer Mediation (Ms. Badillo, Ms. O’Keefe-Boettcher)
• Peers with Impact (Ms. Mikell): Students trained by the organization Impact to present material on drug and alcohol issues to middle and elementary school students; has presented to over 700 elementary school students in Milwaukee
• Robotics (Mr. Jutrzonka): Teams design, assemble, and test a robot capable of performing a specified task in competition with other teams according to the rules of a competition, different each year
• Science National Honor Society (Mr. Glasenapp, Mr. Lund): Reserved for juniors and seniors with a 3.25 GPA, who have three years of science including biology, chemistry, and physics, and a 3.5 GPA in science; required local chapter meetings, service hours
• Science Olympiad (Mr. Jutrzonka): Team competition for 22 different events in the sciences, including bridge building and rock identification; students recruited through teachers
• Senior Class (Mr. Brooks): Senior fees collected; deals with graduation
• Sister to Sister (Ms. Golden)
• Sophomore Class: Raises money for and plans class activities
• Spanish Honor Society (Ms. Bayer): Reserved for juniors and seniors with a minimum of 3.2 cumulative GPA overall GPA and 3.5 GPA in Spanish courses; recognition for academic excellence
• Special Olympics (Mr. Dupies, Mr. Fink)
• Sphinx / Literary Magazine: Magazine of Necessary Fine Arts which celebrates student creativity in writing and art
• Student Announcers (Ms. Cinto): Students who audition and are selected to do school announcements over the public address system
• Student Government (Ms. Magar): Responsible for various school activities such as Homecoming and the Winter Dance; officers and representatives elected by their peers
• Writer of the Month (English Department): Recognizes outstanding examples of student writing, regardless of the curricular area, to encourage good writing in all classes; works displayed in the main foyer.