Ten minutes after the lunch bell rings on Thursday, Josef Ernst and DJ Ferrier start their Shirt Signing Senior Week event, a fairly young tradition at Jesuit even though it began about 12 years ago. It was an autograph free-for-all as the Class of 2019 hurriedly made their way to the back of campus to get the John Hancocks of their classmates and even some of their teachers. No special talent was required, not even legible hand-writing.

While many of their senior classmates were launching themselves down the Slip ‘n Slide at Wednesday’s Senior Week lunchtime event, Thomas Calogngne and Noah Varnado had a hearty laugh as classmates tried to out-do one another with creative sliding techniques. Lunchtime activities throughout the week give an opportunity for seniors to enjoy being together in their last week as Blue Jay students.

The seniors woke up the campus cheering “Twenty…Nineteen!” as they traversed the Jesuit parking lot to join the rest of the students for morning assembly. Their “walk-in” marked the beginning of Senior Week.  Each senior sported a shirt of the college or university they will be attending this fall. The rest of the week will commemorate their last few days at Jesuit with lunchtime events. On Friday, the celebrations will conclude with the seniors’ “walk-out” of morning assembly, after which they will join Jesuit alumni for the Commencement Luncheon and officially be welcomed into the Alumni Association.

For a very worthy cause, pre-freshmen Koi Cooks (left) and Samuel Hunter (right) purchase doughnuts from Krispy Kreme/Mission Drive enthusiast Mr. Jason Giaccone. Sponsored by Campus Ministry, the Mission Drive will benefit the Santa Rosa Missions in Paraguay, which works to provide food and drink to the community in need, to distribute medical services, and much more. Participating in the auction, donating to the homeroom collection, and buying pizza at lunch in the Student Commons are three other ways to get involved in the Mission Drive. The drive continues throughout the month of April.

Wielding an electric knife, freshman Braden Moncrief skillfully filleted a redfish like a pro. Students in Mrs. Kate Arthurs-Goldberg’s freshmen Speech I class spent this week performing their “demo” speeches. Each student is required to teach the rest of the class how to do something by demonstrating steps in a process. Moncrief’s classmates watched as he instructed them to start the incision at the dorsal fin and cut behind the gills and pectoral fin down to the spine. Then he sliced away from the bone by cutting lengthwise along one side of the fish parallel to the backbone and repeated the same process for the other side of the fish.

Sophomore Garret Roche, junior Kennedy Smith, and phlebotomist Dezarae Williams do their part in contributing to the Blood Drive. The National Honor Society sponsored the event, which was facilitated by The Blood Center’s mobile blood drive program. The Blood Center is the primary supplier of blood to hospitals along the South Louisiana and Southern Mississippi Gulf Coast. For every student, and every pint of blood donated, three lives are saved. 

Prefreshmen in Mrs. Pam Catalano’s physical science course received a 3-D printed assist from senior robotics student Tyler Westfall. Westfall manufactured the rod clamp to support a track for the science lab, skillfully demonstrated by prefreshmen Masen Mannina, Luke Gilmore, and Nick Jacobs. The 3-D printers were installed in the Phyllis M. Taylor Innovation Lab when the space was reconfigured to support the robotics team and engineering elective.

• President: Effy Marks and Carter Montalbano
• Vice President: Chris Charles and Chris Favalora
• Secretary: Carlo Barrera and Clark Romig
• Treasurer: John Gunaldo and Hunter Richardson

The Sansepolcro Flag Throwers put on a show for Blue Jays in Traditions Courtyard throughout the lunch period. This event would not have been possible without the work of Frank Maselli ’68, the Chairman of the Board for the American Italian Cultural Center. Blue Jays were reminded of the event during assembly on Monday morning, and many were curious about the history of flag-throwing. “In 1953,” as the flyers around school noted, “the Società dei Balestrieri rediscovered the art of flag throwing. In the following decades, the group has traveled internationally sharing their culture and fostering friendships. Inspiration for the performance comes from the geometric patterns of Sansepolcro’s most illustrious citizen, Piero della Francesca, the great Renaissance master of perspective.” The flag throwers have also sponsored many cultural initiatives including an exhibition with artist Franco Alessandrini. The flag throwers also starred in the film Under the Tuscan Sun. Jesuit was thrilled to have them visit Louisiana for a 35th year!

University of Detroit High School students, in town on a college tour, stop by Jesuit for a first-hand look at their brother school. The University of Detroit Jesuit High School and Academy was founded in 1877, and is one of two Jesuit high schools in the city of Detroit, Michigan, the other being Loyola High School. The U of D mascot is the Cub. To learn more about this Jesuit school, view the University of Detroit Jesuit website for photos and news. 

Student council leaders Marc Dougherty, Neehar Desai, Josef Ernst, and Dowen Fife take their seats in St. Ignatius Hall for an Alumni Steering Committee (ASC) meeting. The senior student leaders gave the 20-plus alumni leaders an update on today’s student body, its spirit, its accomplishments, and its challenges. Jesuit’s Alumni Steering Committee consists of Blue Jay alumni spanning eight decades, meets three times during the academic year to provide insight and guidance to the president and members of the office of institutional advancement, including those involved in alumni relations. Members of the committee, who are asked to serve as ambassadors for their alma mater and support its mission, serve at the pleasure of the advancement office. Jesuit thanks the ASC and the student leaders for a very productive meeting.

With Back to Banks Bazaar just around the corner, Jesuit’s campus is not only busy with 3rd-Quarter exams but with raffle ticket sales as well. One item up for grabs is a 26″ Schwinn Sierra bike which was generously donated by LeJouet (Buddy Wood ’62). The Schwinn will be raffled at the Blue Jay Silent & Spirit Auction on Bazaar Saturday, March 23. Raffle tickets are on sale in the volunteer office, Room 126, for $5 a chance. While you’re in the volunteer office snatch up a 2019 Bazaar T-shirt—on sale for $10 a shirt. Students get your shirts and get ready to take it to the net at the Bazaar Saturday volleyball tournament with your homeroom team.

Senior Christopher Vuong, the winner of the 2018 Young Artists’ Concerto Competition, is pictured with band director Joe Caluda (left) and assistant band director Jason Giaccone (right). For winning the Concerto Competition in October of 2018, Vuong was invited to play a movement on Friday, Feb. 22, with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra at the Mahalia Jackson Theatre. Vuong played the first movement from Mendelssohn’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in G minor. “It felt like the next level, performing with a professional orchestra behind you,” Vuong said. “It was a really great opportunity and a surreal moment for me.” Read Chris Vuong’s musical bio on the LA Philharmonic Orchestra website.

Last week the United States Naval Academy Silent Drill Team known as the “Jolly Rogers” performed for MCJROTC and P.E. classes during 3rd and 4th period. The Jolly Rogers is a rifle platoon made up of a highly disciplined group of 12 men and women that perform a unique precision drill exhibition. The Annapolis based drill team is in town to march in Mardi Gras parades around the city.

Fr. Christopher Fronk, S.J., gives a talk to all Sodality levels during lunch in Ignatius Hall. Fr. Fronk spoke on Lenten preparation, providing Sodalists with some powerful phrases that helped him grow into the man he is today. He noted that a unique hallmark of what God is calling us to do is “to not be afraid of going far away…of going out of our comfort zone.” This mindset can be used during the Lenten season, he added. Fr. Fronk also quoted Jeremiah 1:4-10, which states, “The word of the Lord came to me, saying, ‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.’”

The Jesuit Blue Jay rugby team poses for a photo with fellow Jesuit High School students from St. Joseph’s Preparatory School in Philadelphia, Pa. St. Joe’s boasts a varsity-level rugby program with 100 players. That did not intimidate the Blue Jays, who were ready for the first-ever challenge match between the two Jesuit schools. Although the match ended with St. Joe’s on top, it was a success for both teams, who played clean, hard rugby. After the match the St. Joe’s squad treated Blue Jays to some delicious pulled-pork sandwiches and hosted the Jays in their homes that Saturday night.