A group of hungry freshmen enjoy a delicious crawfish boil lunch, complete with spicy crawfish, potatoes, corn, onions, and sausage, served up by the Maintenance Department courtesy of Chris Bergeron’s (second from left) winning $160 bid to the Mission Drive Auction. Each year, the Columbian Squires of the Knights of Columbus sponsors an auction in which faculty members and school departments donate items, services, and events to the highest bidder with all the proceeds going to the Mission Drive. This year the auction raised more than $1,000. Pictured on left, from front to back are: Peyton Schillaci, Chris Bergeron, Jacob Eymard, and Jacob Whitllow. Right, front to back: Jack Gab and J.P. Tujague.

The newly elected student council’s lunchtime event drew lots of attention and cheers as students and faculty participated in a friendly, year-end “Brawl on Banks.” The final match—touted as the “most highly anticipated match-up of the year”—was a battle between coach Wesley Laurendine and Fr. John Brown, S.J.

A group of sophomores play a pick-up game of ultimate Frisbee on Will Clark Field during lunch. Evan Ruppert looks for an open teammate to pass to, while Blaine Corvers (center) and Connor Schexnayder (left) try to block him. At the other end of the field, Carlos Zervigon, James Stoddard, and Peyton Ruppert (not pictured) wait for the toss.

When asked a theoretical math question during lunch in the Student Commons, Mr. Robert Weiss does his best to explain the algebraic inquiry with the tools at hand — cashews, apples, crackers, and a can of Dr. Pepper — to pre-freshman Alex Watermeier and his classmates (from left) Nick Leonik, Max Elvir, Timmy Stahel, Clayton Merwin, and Drew Black.

Freshmen Sean Donovan and Riess Dominici make a pit stop at their third floor lockers to pack their bags with books and notebooks. With a little more than one week of classes left until the 4th Quarter Exams begin, Blue Jays are busy preparing for the end of the school year.

Freshmen Garrett Pertuit, Tripp Kopog, Joon Lee, and Evan Fogg meet daily at this spot after school to wait for their car rides home. They travel 10-30 minutes each to reach their respective home destinations. Blue Jays school-wide live in more than 50 zip codes from Abita Springs to Westwego, with commute times ranging 5 minutes to over 60. View a map of Where Blue Jays Live.

Pre-freshman Paul Myers crowns the statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Morning Assembly in the Courtyard. The crowning is part of traditional devotions to honor Mary, the school’s patroness, throughout the month of May. The crown of flowers symbolizes Mary’s virtues and our love for our heavenly Mother. 

After the final bell on their last day of classes, seniors race out of the school building and through the Traditions Courtyard, cheering the entire way. Underclassmen lining the balcony got a front row seat to the exuberant madness. After dashing to Will Clark Field, seniors let out cheers, tossed confetti into the air, and celebrated their final moments as high school students. Watch the video of the Class of 2014’s exit.

Seniors David Stahl and Austin Galy serve as foley artists performing sound effects in the Public Speaking class’ Radio Theatre performance of “The Wright Brother’s First Flight” by John De Lancie and Leonard Nimoy. The presentation, which served as a portion of the students’ final exam for the class, took place in the Auditorium during 4th period and was attended by fellow Blue Jays, faculty, and staff.

After school, seniors Jorge Galdamez and Pablo Amador hold a friendly conversation in the Commons about Jorge’s experiences on last year’s Pro-Life trip to Washington, D.C. Read about 2014 Pro-Life trip.

Pre-freshmen Shane Lanson (left) and Daniel Sentilles play table tennis during lunch in the Student Commons. The board behind them features the bracket of the ongoing Ping Pong Tournament. The tournament will conclude this week when the final grade level winners play Friday during lunch.

The editorial board of The Blue Jay, the student newspaper of Jesuit High School, met Friday during the lunch hour to begin discussing the myriad of intricate details involved in writing, editing, and publishing the popular “senior edition,” which is traditionally distributed the morning of graduation rehearsal (May 22). The brainstorming budding journalists are, from left, Matthew O’Neill ’17 (photo editor), Brendan Besh ’14 (entertainment editor), William Fine ’17 (news editor), Jack Caliva ’14 (editor-in-chief), Mr. Ted Mahne (moderator), Patrick Fine ’15 (managing editor), and Quinn Stiller ’14 (features editor). The Blue Jay is in its 86th year and has been published continuously in one form or another since 1926-27, the year the school opened on Carrollton and Banks. Through the decades, the newspaper has been recognized for numerous achievements while consistently garnering honors at student journalism competitions.

Blue Jays were treated to a Brown Bag Concert performed by the Jazz Band from Jesuit High School of Sacramento. The fellow Jesuit students were in town for a service trip and tour of New Orleans, timed to enjoy some live music performances this weekend.

Members of the National Honor Society met at John Ryan Stadium Wednesday after school to say goodbye to graduating seniors at their 2nd Annual Senior Send-Off party. NHS members enjoyed burgers, hot dogs, and sweets, as well as games on the field. Pictured with the NHS members are co-moderators Ms. Nilda Rivera and Mr. Andrew Dykema, and Mr. Dykema’s son, Oscar. The National Honor Society, founded in 1921, is the nation’s premier organization established to recognize outstanding students. The NHS fosters excellence in scholarship, leadership, character, and service among its members.

Pre-freshman Brett Power, lost in thought, waits for his ride home on Tuesday. The Blue Jay was sitting on the steps leading to the Auditorium entrance on South Solomon Street. In the background is a statue of St. Francis Xavier, one of the original founders of the Society of Jesus. The statue was a graduation gift from a senior class a few years ago. However, the plaque with the class year that gifted the statue is missing. Well, here’s a nugget of info about St. Francis Xavier, written in a Jaynotes issue some seven years ago (Jaynotes, Winter/ Spring 2006-07) by one of our longtime resident theologians, Fr. Nick Schiro, S.J. ’44. The article, “Three Jubilees,” was about three college roommates – Ignatius of Loyola, Peter Faber, and Francis Xavier. According to the story, “Xavier was a harder nut to crack. Francis took an immediate dislike to Ignatius and frequently put him down for his great spiritual desire. But Ignatius saw something special in Xavier and tried in every way to win him over, even helping him out when he was low on funds. He would frequently quote to him the words of the gospel: “Francis, Francis, ‘What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and suffer the loss of his soul?’” Ignatius finally broke through the hard shell and ignited the flame in Xavier’s heart that would make him the great missionary saint of India.” Something to remember next time you pass that innocuous looking statue with its hand pointed toward the heavens.

Sophomores Rob Hinyub and Alexander Vargas meet with Mr. Bret Hanemann to find out more about being a Big Brother. They are preparing for Welcome Day on May 10 when they will meet with incoming Blue Jays. In their new brotherly role, they will assist the new students with the transition into Jesuit High School.