From the vantage point of Jesuit’s roof Monday afternoon following dismissal, Will Clark Field becomes an epicenter for practice. While the eighth and ninth grade football teams ran through their drills, the musicians in the Blue Jay Marching Band serenaded the Mid-City neighborhood with Rhapsody in Blue, composer George Gershwin’s famous composition that remains instantly recognizable some 90 years after it was first played February 12, 1924 at a concert in New York City.

On this final day of exams of the first quarter of the 2014-15 school year, pre-freshman Jacob Randolph somehow lands in this Mid-City oasis, a sanctuary of sorts — Traditions Courtyard, the perfect spot for a new Blue Jay to wait for a later-than-usual ride home, stretch the cramped fingers of his writing hand, shun the sun and soak up the shade, and embrace the solitude and the silence — while contemplating the curious nuances discovered that afternoon in a purely Jesuit document entitled The Profile of a Graduate at the Time of Graduation.

Who says tutoring and exam review can’t be fun? Not juniors Will Hurley, J.T. Odell, Johnny LaForge, and Felix Rabito taking Anaylsis with Mr. John Lavie ’83. After exams on Thursday, math teachers held exam reviews and tutoring to help students prepare for their exams on the following day.

Blue Jays of all grade levels fill the Resource Center between exams Tuesday morning. The Resource Center is open from 7 a.m. to noon this week for students looking for a silent spot to study and prepare for their first quarter exams. The Resource Center provides space for research, leisure reading, individual silent study, and information literacy instruction. The center includes computer workstations; book, serial, audio-visual, and reference collections; a student services area; a library staff workroom and offices; and, computer labs.

A quintet of junior Blue Jays relax under the oak trees of the Traditions Courtyard following their Monday morning exams. Pictured from left are: Chris Johnson, Will Hurley, Tyrus Norcise, Carlo Carino, and Caleb Chauhan. First quarter exams began Monday and continue through Friday. On Wednesday, sophomores and juniors will take the PSAT, while all other students get the day off from school.

Blue Jays were entertained with a jazz tunes in a Brown Bag Concert by German students from Clavius Gymnasium.The German students spent the week with members of the Blue Jay Band and their families as part of a biannual exchange program. The program, in its 15th year, is a musical and cultural exchange between the two schools.

Members of Jesuit’s Marine Corps JROTC Program, guided by retired Marine Corps Lt. Col. Tim Huete and Master Gunnery Sgt. J.R. Piseno, practice unfolding a 40-by-60 foot American flag on Will Clark Field. The same flag will be unfurled in front of the crowd gathered at Tad Gormley Stadium during Friday’s Holy Cross rivalry pregame ceremony. It will take about 40 Blue Jay cadets to display the flag. The flag was graciously loaned for use at the game from the U.S. Navy VR-54 Naval Air Station in Belle Chasse.

Blue Jays take textbook theory and put it into practice. To study parabolic motion, seniors in Mr. Kyle White’s physics class fire air-powered rockets and measure the force of gravity on Will Clark Field. Matthew Cedro fuels the rocket with compressed air as Cade Arbour, Josh Talbot, Jack Doherty, and Anthony Smith look on.

Seniors Matthew Stuckey and Sam Clutter show off their 2014 Jesuit vs. Holy Cross Rivalry T-Shirts. The shirts are on sale for $10 each in the Student Commons each day this week before school, during the 10-minute break, and at lunch. Jays are encouraged to wear them for Blue and White Day on Friday, Oct. 10.

Seniors Seth Jacobs (left) and David Moolekamp meet with an admissions representative from Loyola Marymount University, a Jesuit university located in Los Angeles. Representatives from universities across the country regularly visit Jesuit to give Blue Jays information about their degree programs, scholarships and financial aid, and campus life. Students can keep up with the many colleges and universities visiting Jesuit by viewing the College Planning Office’s college representative schedule.

Fast Friends… From left, pre-freshmen Carlos Bengoa, Wade Wentzell, Richie Foley, and Russ Heath use the second floor breezeway to go to their post-lunch Friday classes, discussing any number of topics and issues along the way. The four Blue Jays soon spotted the Wild Photographer and began to ham it up, wondering the whole time if they will be the Wild Photo on the web. And so they asked. And so they are.

Senior Ethan Hess tries to thwart Mr. Tim Harris’s throw in a drill called “King of the Hill” with the Ultimate Frisbee Club. The team is practicing to compete in a citywide tournament in the spring. The club is one of over 60 co-curriculars offered at Jesuit.

Juniors John Nimmo (left) and Francesco Pineda paint a banner in anticipation of Friday’s Homecoming Game against East Jefferson High School. Several junior class homerooms created banners that will hang in the Traditions Courtyard, serving as a fitting backdrop for Friday’s Pep Rally.

Seniors Chris Mills (left) and Dillon Knight dress up as video game characters from Nintendo’s Mario franchise for Monday’s Morning Assembly in the Traditions Courtyard. The two put on a skit at assembly to kick off the video game-themed Homecoming Week activities. Throughout the week, the Student Council will pay homage to the best-selling video game franchise of all time, as well as other video games, with special activities each day during lunch.

Coach Mark Songy leads the varsity football team in prayer below the Mary Statue that is affixed to the Louis J. Roussel Building on Banks Street. The team was moments away from boarding three buses that will bring them to Pensacola for Friday night’s football game against the Tigers.

Ms. Andrea Mika helps to answer junior Paul Ineich’s question about his Alegebra II homework after school. Ms. Mika, who has been teaching at Jesuit since 2009, is one of 14 math teachers at Jesuit this year.