Even before Jesuit opens its doors to welcome students back to school, the hallways are bustling with people in action. One such group is the newly recruited MCJROTC cadets who attended orientation to learn more about the different extracurricular teams within the MCJROTC program. The newly-minted team commanders enthusiastically took on their leadership roles to  present on the unique attributes of each of their groups—PT (physical training), rifle, academic, and color guard. Senior Marseyas Fernandez encouraged the bright-eyed cadets to join their ranks and promised them a year they would not forget.

The 2nd-floor 1953 wing and the entire third floor have been off limits all summer for classroom renovations. After many weeks of hard work, student volunteers and young alumni helped Jesuit’s maintenance staff by setting up 480 new desks, around 30 in each classroom. Kian Badie, Jeremy Howat, and Jonathan Howat team up to throw away empty boxes that contained brand new desks for the 2018-19 school year. For their heavy lifting and determination, the maintenance staff thanks the other students and young alumni who helped with the moving process—Marco Lagos, Momin Asif, Ryan Castellon, Richard Montoya, Hunter Richardson, Wade Rogers, Gabe Dupuy ’18, Jacob Campos ’13, and Adam Naquin ’13.

While it wasn’t the first prep football game played in the Superdome, the 1978 title game between Jesuit and St. Augustine was the first state championship on Dome turf. The Louisiana Prep Classic on December 15, 1978, attracted nearly 45,000 spectators.

That Class 4A title, won by St. Augustine, 13-7, also attracted the eyes of LHSAA commissioner Tommy Henry and Superdome director of public relations Bill Curl. Three years later, negotiations between Superdome Management Group (SMG) and the LHSAA were settled. The Dome has been the home of the annual Prep Classic football game since 1981, except in 2005 following Hurricane Katrina damage.

Although the Jays, led by quarterback Tim Parenton ’80 (#12), were unable to pull off the historic victory, the game itself was historic. It started a conversation that led to a longstanding location, one in which prep football players around the state dream of playing.

Tuesday (July 31) was the feast of St. Ignatius Loyola, the founder of the Society of Jesus. It marks the 462nd anniversary of his death.

Members of the Jesuit High School community gathered in the Holy Name of Jesus Chapel for a feast day Mass celebrated by chaplain Fr. Kevin Dyer, S.J. More than 60 people—including faculty, staff, students, and recent alumni—filled the 2nd-floor chapel at 11 a.m. to honor the patron saint of soldiers, education, and of course the Society of Jesus. After Mass, Fr. Dyer joined the students and young alumni for a photo in front of the three stained-glass windows of Ignatius.

Sporting all blue, the Jesuit Jayettes are ready to roll for the annual band camp at Nicholls State University in Thibodaux. Under the direction of coach Chloe Crosby and moderator Susan De Boisblanc, the Jayettes will spend the next five days learning and practicing their dance formations and routines for the upcoming season. They will also team up with the Blue Jay Band to coordinate the field performances that Blue Jay fans can enjoy this fall at Jesuit football halftime shows. Get ready to jive into the 2018-2019 school year with the Jesuit Jayettes!

Under the direction of the always-enthusiastic Coach Terry Ursin, Blue Jay football campers put their hands in before they head over to the water stations in Pontiff Pavilion at John Ryan Stadium. Staying active and hydrated, the boys were exposed to the same drills and fun activities that Jesuit football players take part in during their summer training.

Blue Jay football camp takes place from Monday, July 23 to Thursday, July 26 from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. each day. With any questions about this year’s camp or upcoming camps next summer, contact assistant football coach Troy Baglio, who serves as director of Blue Jay Summer Camp.

Jesuit faculty members are more than just teachers; they are, themselves, lifelong learners. This week, new teachers from six New Orleans-area schools, including Brother Martin and St. Mary’s Dominican, are participating in the Research for Better Teaching (RBT) workshop.  New teachers at Jesuit are not only required to attend and complete this “pedagogical boot camp,” they are also assigned experienced mentors and participate in a three-year formation program. Malcolm Villarubia, Jr. ’66, Jesuit’s director of professional development who brought the workshop to Jesuit nine years ago, continues to organize and oversee faculty development on campus. At the start of the first session, the 27 participants directed their attention to Marcia Booth, the RBT consultant and master teacher. The training sessions add up to a total of 38 hours over six days, with four days this week, one day in the fall semester, and one in the spring.

Risen Star, owned and trained by Louis J. Roussel III ’63, took two jewels in the triple crown of racing in 1988 as the winner of the Preakness and Belmont. Roussel was the major benefactor for Jesuit’s “21st Century Campaign—a Commitment to Excellence.” As many Blue Jay alums may know, the Class of ’63 graduate was also the major benefactor of the Louis J. Roussel, Jr. Physical Education building, which Louis III named in honor of his father Louis, Jr.

This week’s Flashback Friday Wild Photo comes from the Summer of 1988 edition of JayNotes. When he won the two races in ’88, Roussel had reached exactly 25 years since graduating from Jesuit—his Silver Anniversary.

This summer, the Blue Jay Band and Jayettes are enjoying a cultural exchange of a lifetime! The group of 151 Blue Jay Bandsmen, Jayettes, and their families tour Italy this year before making their way to Bamberg, Germany, which is the home of the student exchange program that is now in its 18th year. Here the travel-hearty troop pulls over for a group photo on Lake Como, Italy.

Jay Glorioso ’92, John Unsworth ’92, Gary Carroll ’91, and Kip Kloesel ’92 begin the day with the Lord as they receive spiritual nourishment before the big race. This Throwback Thursday photo was taken from the “Blue Jay 5-K Race” section of the 1991 Jesuit yearbook. Posting the best time of the faculty runners that year was math teacher John Lavie ’83.

Welcome back to the summer edition of Throwback Thursdays! Throughout the month of July, the Thursday Wild Photo will be a blast from the past.

Ten years and one month ago, the Class of 1953 met in the Student Commons for their 55-year stag reunion. One of the photos that made the reunion gallery was this group of ’53 Blue Jays who each attended St. Rose de Lima elementary school. On the top row, John Faherty, Harold Grisamore, and Edmond Daigle posed for a photo with ’53 classmates Joe d’Aquin, Edward Haas, and Gasper Schiro (seated). Many memories will be recreated at the Class of 1953’s 65-year reunion this weekend, the final weekend of the 2018 reunion season!

While St. Rose de Lima School has since been transformed into Bayou Treme Center for Arts and Education, the church still stands tall on Bayou Road in New Orleans.

Campers at Jesuit Day Camp experience Water Day, one of the most anticipated days of the summer. Camp director Troy Baglio and his team of counselors oversaw three giant water slides on Will Clark Field. The combination of slides, water guns, and other outside activities provided every camper with fun memories to carry on through the summer!

Rising senior and first baseman Marc Dougherty (#22) puts up the “2-out” symbol to inform the outfielders that only one out remains in the inning. And if this baseball Wild Photo hasn’t shown enough of the number “2,” note that the Retif Oilers have crossed the midway point in their season…moving on to Part Two! Upcoming games and tentative postseason dates can be found on the American Legion Baseball Schedule.

For two weeks at the beginning of June, the newly-renovated gym becomes Biddy Basecamp, as young players from ages 6-11 descend upon the hardwood for summer basketball camp. With both morning and afternoon sessions, the camp develops fundamentals, hosts team play and individual competition, and strengthens understanding of the game through instructional videos. Assistant basketball coach Jonathan Hernandez ’00 calls out the schedule of the next competition as players run to their spots.

Steve “Smitty” Smith, the curator of the Flying Leatherneck Aviation Museum, gives an in-depth explanation on aircraft to Jesuit’s MCJROTC San Diego group. Smith explained how much static aircraft exists on-site at the museum. The large group of MCJROTC cadets traveled to San Diego, California, for the annual Cadet Leadership Camp.  The purpose of the five-day trip was to teach cadets leadership skills, build camaraderie, and get a taste of military life.

Campers in Jesuit’s Summer Day Camp show how much they love their half-hour of lunchtime. All the fun of Jesuit Summer Camp started on Monday, June 4. The full Six-Week Day Camp runs from June 4 to July 13, and there are two Three-Week Day Camp sessions that run from Monday, June 4 – Friday, June 22, 2018 and Monday, June 25 – Friday, July 13, 2018.

Click here for full details.