Jesuit’s MCJROTC cadets enjoy their White Elephant gift exchange during Christmas Week. The MCJROTC took a break from their busy week to celebrate a Christmas gift exchange. The group, led by LtCol. Tim Huete ’87 and MGySgt J.R. Piseno, just completed its annual inspection and will close out the semester by counting the final results of the Marines’ Toys for Tots drive. 

In Tuesday’s Christmas Week Event, seniors Jacob Kieff and Donovan Reynolds compete in the Santa Showdown to earn the right to be called “Santa Clause” for the remainder of the week. To find out who won the event, and to follow all the action from the week, click here.

AP Biology students John Bendernagel, Christopher Vuong, and Evan Tizzard load DNA samples into gels as part of Mrs. Tassin’s class activity. Kyle Happel, M.D. ’89 has been teaching this activity for Jesuit students since 2011. AP Biology students used the PCR procedure (polymerase chain reaction) to amplify copies of DNA samples from four different suspects plus a sample taken from a crime scene. The students were shown the micropippetting technique. The samples of DNA were then separated with gel electrophoresis, and then each gel was examined under UV lighting. The illuminated DNA fragments were compared to the crime scene fragments. Thanks again for the visit, Dr. Happel!

Kent Broussard and Sidney Gleason, sometimes called “Kidney” when the two men are together, add a fresh coat of paint to the balusters that support the railing of the 3rd-floor balcony. Broussard and Gleason have a combined 57 years of service to Jesuit High School as members of the maintenance and facilities staff. Jesuit thanks all members of the maintenance team for their excellent work in preserving Jesuit’s 92-year-old complex on the corner of Carrollton and Banks. 

At 3:00 p.m., while some Blue Jays relax in the Student Commons or get a head start on homework, pre-freshman Trey Reeb freshens up his piano-playing skills. Reeb, a self-taught pianist, played Pachelbel’s Canon, the common name for the canon by German Baroque composer Johann Pachelbel. 

College counselors Elizabeth Hoodless, Allie Timberlake, and Keith Gramling stand in front of Jesuit’s junior parents to answer questions at the Junior Parent College Q & A. College counselors meet individually with juniors and seniors to discuss the college admissions process, including the importance of curriculum choice as well as academic performance, the need for co-curricular involvement, standardized testing preparation, and avenues for pursuing scholarships and financial aid. In addition, college admission representatives attend the College Fair and make individual classroom lunchtime visits to meet with interested juniors and seniors. At the Q & A, Jesuit’s college counselors helped parents of junior Blue Jays with mapping out their next three semesters. College counselors will begin meeting with juniors and their parents in January at the start of the spring semester.

Philelectic Society crew members Eric Finney, Chris Gieseler, and crew chief Dusty Doll tour the New Orleans Opera Scene Shop with scenic painter Nathan Arthur (pictured, third from left). The crew members traveled to the shop to return items they rented for  “Shrek the Musical.”

After a mind-blowing discussion on the human brain and its functions, students in Mr. Rudy Horvath’s psychology class were invited to the front of the classroom to feel the brains. Dr. Thomas Hebert, PhD, a senior professor of psychology at Tulane University, visited the class during last period to give a lecture and answer questions. Dr. Hebert is a behavioral neuroscientist with interests in hormones and behavior. Jesuit psychology students had just finished the chapter that focuses on the brain and its structural and functional organizations, so Dr. Hebert’s lecture was not as convoluted as it would have been at the start of the term.

Officer Andrew Waldron ’04, of the New Orleans Police Department, speaks to Mr. Greg Ernst’s law studies class about rights of citizens and interactions with law enforcement. The alumni guest speaker gave students a firsthand perspective on their current subject matter, “Chapter 12: Investigation.” 

Leaders of the Jesuit News Network (JNN) visit the WAMF 90.3 New Orleans radio station for the group’s first off-campus activity. JNN members will spend time during and after their Thanksgiving break preparing for a 30-minute live radio broadcast that will take place at the station. As part of their initial tour, members heard from a station employee with more than 40 years of radio experience. JNN students hope to be on air before the Christmas break.

On Tuesday, Nov. 13, the Jesuit auditorium became the site of a very special musical extravaganza. For the fifth year in a row, the Philelectic Society hosted a theater workshop for children with the Children’s Miracle League (CML). Over a dozen Phils volunteered their time to work with their new buddies on the Jesuit stage. The children learned songs with choreography from Phils cast and crew members and director Mrs. Kate Arthurs-Goldberg. They performed selections from the current Phils production, “Shrek: The Musical,” to the delight of their family and friends who were in attendance. Each participant got to take home a pair of Shrek ears.

Juniors Gage Hebert, Colby Kosloski, and Parker Serio share a laugh over the winter weather and the lunchtime courtyard scene from the 3rd-floor balcony. After a day that, at one point, felt like 33° and had a windchill of 35°, the trio of Blue Jays and many others may be checking the Weather (jesuitnola.org/weather) before leaving for school each morning. 

Reed Darcey, seated left of fellow senior Jacob Reeder, receives a shout-out during a lunchtime Jesuit News Network (JNN) meeting for his recently-published sports article. Members of JNN gave a round of applause to Darcey, who covers sports for The Blue Jay newspaper and produces video for JNN. Reeder is head of social media for JNN, which gives student journalists the opportunity to learn and improve on media skills such as photography, video, social media, and broadcasting. 

Members of the Jesuit AP Spanish class—Bennett Mansour, Richard Montoya, Jacob Randolph, Josef Ernst, and Langston Goldenberg—meet with Dominican’s AP Spanish class for a lunch at Sarita’s Grill in Uptown. The students embraced the opportunity to practice their skills outside of the classroom by ordering food and engaging in conversation solely in Spanish. The weekend outing was organized and chaperoned by Jesuit and Dominican Spanish teachers, Ms. Noyola-Gonzalez and Ms. Vallejo, respectively.

Freshman Taylor Boasberg and sophomore Hayden Morris were first to the Jesuit cafeteria to enjoy a 10-minute-break chicken sandwich. Blue Jays return to school after a nice 3-day weekend for their first full week in November, which, of course, is another busy yet exciting time of the school year. Some of the upcoming events include Open House, the Mother-Son Mass and Breakfast, the Philelectic Society’s Fall Musical, and the always-anticipated Thanksgiving Drive. And just as the week of Thanksgiving centers around food and family, the Jesuit cafeteria puts a focus on its food throughout November. Students are encouraged to fill out a school lunch survey to help the cafeteria continue to improve its services. As the survey says, there is “lots to love about our food and staff.”

With the lights off and the lab set aglow by neon lights, Mrs. Catalano treated her physical science class to a spooky-themed lecture on the science behind common Halloween decorations. The pre-freshman class discussed black-lights, fiber-optics, dry ice, glow-in-the-dark paint, and plasma balls. Plasma balls are sealed glass globes containing both an electrode and an inert gas (neon, argon, xenon, or krypton). They create an electromagnetic field due to the oscillating electrons inside the energized gas. To test this out Mrs. Catalano brought a fluorescent light tube near the plasma ball without touching it. The electric current in the plasma caused the electrons inside the light tube to oscillate and glow as if it were plugged into a power source.