Necessity is the mother of invention for a group of Blue Jays relaxing after school Tuesday. Without paddles, the group used all means necessary to play a pick-up game of ping pong — including finding a new use for their graphing calculators and cell phones. Freshmen Christian Lacoste (left) and Braden Brignac (right) play against classmates Jack Ehrhardt and Christopher Womble (not pictured).

A quartet of Blue Jays play two games of chess in the Student Commons Thursday after school. Chess — along with ping pong, studying, and watching ESPN  — is a favorite activity among Blue Jays after the final bell rings each day. Pictured clockwise, from left, are: freshmen Ryan Tucker and Daniel Sentilles and pre-freshmen Alex O’Neil and Kyle Fulton. 

Pre-freshman Lucas Deane uses a remote control to steer a robot built by the Robotics Club. The club set up a demonstration of this year’s robots during lunch in the Commons to recruit new members for next year’s team. The club will hold another lunchtime demonstration on Thursday as well. Anyone interested in joining should contact club co-moderator Mr. Kyle White.

Defensive Coordinator Troy Baglio watches as Blue Jays run through practice drills Tuesday afternoon on Will Clark Field. 

Math teacher Mrs. Jo Ann Schexnayder begins to take down bulletin boards filled with newspaper clippings from Jesuit’s championship football season. Schexnayder began clipping newspaper articles of the American Legion baseball team last summer and continued into the fall when the football season began. Several months later, what began on a whim became a large collection chronicling the history-making season. Schexnayder is now taking down all the newspaper clippings to compile a scrapbook. The scrapbook was auctioned off to students during Lent. The winning bidder paid $100, with all the proceeds going towards the Mission Drive. 

The Blue Jay yearbook moderator Ms. Jennifer Buuck (far left) takes a photo of The Blue Jay newspaper staff for inclusion in the 2014-2015 annual. Ms. Buuck, along with members of the yearbook staff, are in the process of compiling photos of the nearly 100 athletic teams and co-curriculars chronicled each year in the publication. 

The Wild Photographer returned to the balcony to juxtapose the scene in the Js and Stripes shot on Wednesday. This view shows a busy Saturday with families filling the yard and Will Clark Field, all enjoying the 2015 Blue Jay Bazaar.

Blue Jays visit with students from Colegio San Ignacio (Puerto Rico) as part of the inaugural cultural exchange program between the two schools. The program is spearheaded by Spanish teacher Ms. Nilda Rivera (pictured at far right). Blue Jays visited Puerto Rico over the Mardi Gras break and are now hosting the Colegio San Ignacio students during their spring break. Several Jesuit families are serving as host families for the visiting students and faculty. While in New Orleans, the group will also visit local landmarks and participate in tomorrow’s Blue Jay Bazaar. 

Jesuit’s maintenance crew set up new event tents on Wednesday to prepare for the #BlueJayBazaar this Saturday, March 28. This will serve as the Wild Photographer’s “before” picture. Check back for another from this same spot on Saturday when the now-empty spaces are sure to be filled with tons of Blue Jay fun.

Junior John Nimmo turns in his Blue Jay Bazaar Grand Raffle ticket stubs to parent and volunteer Mrs. Anne Black. The deadline to turn in tickets for all salesman awards is 2 p.m. on Friday, March 27. Students may take care of all ticket transactions (money returns, extra books of tickets to sell, etc.) during lunch outside of the Volunteer Office (Room 126) Wednesday and Thursday. Raffle ticket stubs will be collected all day Friday in St. Ignatius Hall. Students selling certain amounts of tickets have the chance to win a variety of prizes.

Dozens of Blue Jays take out a dollar bill and hustle over to buy a Krispy Kreme doughnut being sold by Homeroom 1203 during the 10 a.m. break throughout Lent. Homeroom teacher Mr. Jason Giaccone picks up 25-30 dozen boxes of doughnuts each day as part of the class effort to raise dough for the school-wide Mission Drive. All proceeds go to the Santa Rosa missions in Paraguay.

Buddy Lazare of the Class of 1943 is a fixture at Jesuit baseball games and many other Blue Jay athletic events. Buddy brings his Jesuit stadium seat and eyeballs the scene from his perch under the grandstand, taking it all in from the start of the teams warming up to the ball players leaving John Ryan Stadium. A cheerleader of sorts (although the Wild Photographer had to coax that smile), Buddy is not shy about using his voice. It’s as strong as ever and fans in the bleachers can hear when Buddy has something to say. He encourages and applauds players and coaches. He also has suggested that umpires, after questionable calls, get in touch with his optometrist. That he often speaks his mind doesn’t translate into curmudgeonly behavior. Not this octogenarian Blue Jay whose face has witnessed probably thousands of Jesuit athletic events through the decades. And that puts Buddy in a class all by himself. A Buddy for all Blue Jays. 

A group of flag throwers, drummers, and trumpeters from Sansepolcro, Italy perform for Blue Jays gathered in the Traditions Courtyard during lunch. This group has traveled to New Orleans for the past 30 years to keep alive a centuries-old Italian tradition. The practice originated in Europe during the Middle Ages as the standard-bearing officers led the troops into battle. These flags, armed with blades, were used as weapons. Today the group helps keep the tradition alive through elaborate flag waving and throwing routines. 

Student athletes filed through the first floor hallway today to sign mats that will frame photos of this year’s sports teams. After penning their own names, freshmen Oscar Maumus and Mike Hull look at the photo of their ninth grade football team. These one-of-a-kind signature-filled gifts will be auctioned off at the Blue Jay Bazaar on Saturday, March 28.

During a 10 o’clock morning break, junior Brandon Wolff returns classmate Cameron Kaupp’s volley in a practice game of table tennis. The grade-level Ping Pong tournament will begin Tuesday during lunch in the Commons. Games will be played on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Students should sign up with Ms. Daigle to participate. All proceeds benefit the mission drive.

Blue Jays look through the stacks for their own senior graduation announcements outside of Room 133. Monday marked the start of the 4th Quarter, and the countdown to graduation is on for the senior class.