Six young prospective Blue Jays and their parents arrived at Jesuit early Friday to experience a Morning Tour, conducted by admissions director Bret Hanemann ’85 (far left). The group had the opportunity to watch an Assembly, a longtime tradition at Jesuit which brings together the entire student body of almost 1,400 Blue Jays. Assemblies take place on Mondays and Fridays in the Traditions Courtyard and students listen to important announcements about upcoming co-curricular meetings, intramural activities, sports scores and academic accomplishments, and special events, including Jesuit’s Open House on Wednesday, Nov. 4 (tour times begin at 4:30, 5:30, and 6:30 p.m.). Jesuit’s Assemblies often serve as the stage for distinguished alumni to address current students. The most recent Blue Jay alumnus to speak was Del Hall of the Class of 1953, who talked on Monday, Oct. 26, about his career as a photojournalist with CBS News. During the Morning Tours, which typically last about two hours, Mr. Hanemann answers questions about the admissions process while showing the young men and their parents virtually every nook and cranny Jesuit occupies at Carrollton and Banks.

Former CBS cameraman Del Hall ’53 spoke with Blue Jays after school Thursday afternoon. Mr. Hall shared stories about the iconic events of the 20th century he covered as a photojournalist, as well as how he got his start in the business. On Monday, Hall spoke to all Blue Jays at Morning Assembly. Hall is award-winning journalist from humble beginnings in downtown New Orleans. He is the subject of a new book by New Orleans historical geographer Richard Campanella, The Photojournalism of Del Hall: New Orleans and Beyond, 1950s – 2000s.

The Sodality of Our Lady hosted Archbishop Alfred Hughes as a guest speaker Tuesday in St. Ignatius Hall. Archbishop Hughes read from scripture and reflected upon its message with nearly 100 Blue Jays from all grade levels, faculty, and staff members. He encouraged Blue Jays to follow the way of Jesus and listen to God’s messages to them. Archbishop Hughes attended a Jesuit high school in Boston — Boston College High School. He served the Church in Massachusetts for several years before moving to the south. After serving as bishop of Baton Rouge, he was appointed as Archbishop of New Orleans for seven years until his retirement in 2009. The Sodality meets once per week and is a collaborative effort with Campus Ministry and the Jesuits in residence at Jesuit High School. The Sodality aims to foster brotherhood in the community of its members, form them spiritually, and promote charitable acts of service.

Sophomore Daniel Sentilles revels in a good play that helped he and his teammate, freshman Samy Amkieh, score against junior Mikey Elvir and freshman Trevor Spinosa in a lunchtime foosball game. The recreational Foosball Club meets twice a week for Blue Jays to play a quick game of table soccer. The club invites all students and staff to participate in the Foosball Turkey Tournament beginning in November. Teams of two should sign up with club moderator Mrs. Leslie Merritt Monday or Wednesday during the second half of lunch in Room 334.

Green Club member pre-freshman Nikolai Kozina helps empty a recycling bin into the large bin located in the Traditions Courtyard parking lot. The Green Club regularly handles school-wide recycling pick-ups. The large-scale collections require several Blue Jays and lots of elbow grease. The club also focuses on promoting awareness of a variety of environmental issues. The Green Club is moderated by Ms. Lori Fasone.

Blue Jays in the Experimental Literature Club meet every Wednesday during the first half of lunch to “read and discuss poems, short stories, and novel excerpts that make use of unusual literary techniques that fall outside of mainstream reading habits.” English teacher Mr. Gary Wyss (bottom of photo) leads a discussion of Ken Chen’s We Ennui. Chen is an American poet and lawyer, and the executive director of the Asian American Writers’ Workshop. Among those participating in the discussion are, clockwise from Mr. Wyss: Tristan Killgore, Cristian Orellana, Sterling Stafford, Kenneth Krizan, Phillip Gerarve, Anthony Stoner, Andrew Vuong, Logan Yokum, Luke Navarro, Jaime Colon, and Steven Sellers.

Members of the Role Playing Games Club meet after school for a game of Dungeons & Dragons. Commonly referred to as “D&D,” the game is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG) originally created in 1974. Each player acts as a character in the game. Together, these characters embark upon imaginary adventures within a fantasy setting. A Dungeon Master serves as the game’s referee and storyteller. Together the character-players solve dilemmas, engage in battles, and gather treasure and knowledge. The RPG Club plays D&D, along with other role-playing games. The club is for those who wish to test their imagination, decision-making, and cooperating skills with friends, having fun while joining in the fray of a battle-game. The RPG Club is moderated by Dr. Cyril Lagvanec.

Seniors and the handful of juniors who are in Mr. Dan DiRosa’s advanced placement civics class discuss their brutally long first quarter exam, which was taken last week and featured 170 questions (multiple choice answers) about the U.S. Constitution, federalism, and for good measure, some interesting political issues. A Jesuit alumnus (Class of 1981), Mr. DiRosa has been teaching social studies, including history and civics courses, for some 24 years at Carrollton and Banks. He admits, somewhat facetiously, that he took his own exam – and flunked. Mr. DiRosa would have passed the test only if he had curved the grades. That certainly explains, from his students’ perspective, Mr. DiRosa’s right-leaning civics with a curve posture.

That’s the only way these Blue Jays see it while waiting for their rides on a beautiful Friday afternoon in the Traditions Courtyard. It’s the middle of October, a cool front is on the way, and today’s early dismissal — following a week of strenuous exams — affords the opportunity to catch up on some much-needed sleep before Saturday night’s big football game at Tad Gormley Stadium. Best of all, Blue Jays are celebrating the completion of their first quarter exams. As in Over, Done, Finem respice. End of story. -30-.

The freshman and pre-freshman football teams held a Blue and White scrimmage under blue skies on Will Clark Field Wednesday afternoon. Sub-varsity football game schedules are posted on the Football page.

Several Jesuit mothers prepared a delicious lunch feast with seemingly endless delectable choices for faculty, staff, and administration on Tuesday, Oct. 13. From soups and salads to pasta and casseroles to cookies and cakes, no faculty or staff member went away hungry. The mothers prepare the meal each quarter during exam week. Jesuit’s faculty and staff are grateful to the many parents who served and prepared the delicious homemade dishes. Pictured are: (front row, from left) Liz Creel, Suzanne Stuke, Sammie Bohn, Anna Hugel, and Kim Lee. Back row, from left: Nancy Whitsell, Sherri Gregoire, Barbara Koenig, Alison James, and Eileen Baril.

Jayson sometimes would rather ride than fly, so he jumped into a medical supply wagon and henpecked the affable Ken Trahan, Jesuit’s athletic trainer, to pull him along the cinder track in front of the Blue Jay fans who were gathering to watch Friday evening’s football game against John Curtis at Joe Yenni Stadium.

Freshman Cameron Mazoue gets his flu shot from his father, Dr. Clayton Mazoue, during lunch in the Student Commons. Dr. Mazoue was administering flu shots all day to Blue Jays, parents, relatives, other members of the Jesuit community on behalf of MHM Urgent Care Mid-City.

Pre-freshman Max Holmes speeds down Will Clark Field during Tuesday’s intramural flag football game pitting Homeroom 807 in red vs. Homeroom 801 in blue. His sprint ends in a red flag pull, just short of a score. Intramural sports invites students of all grade levels to participate in recreational sports. Homeroom teams compete against each other in games held during the lunch period. Schedules are posted in the daily announcements.

Speaking entirely in Spanish, members of Ms. Nilda Rivera’s Spanish V Honors class work on group project. Pictured from left are: seniors Brandon Beck, Brady LeBlanc, and Claudio Aguirre. Photo by senior Jake Fasick for the Media Club.

Wandering into Traditions Courtyard today, the Wild Photographer found pre-freshman Joel Lema talking to classmates Marc Munoz and Marcus Banks. As the camera snapped, his expression tells the Wild Photographer, “I saw you first.”