Members of the MCJROTC Marine Band practice The Marines’ Hymn on Will Clark Field after school Monday afternoon. The hymn is the official song of the United States Marine Corps. Not only is it one of the most recognizable military hymns, but also the oldest official song in the U.S. Armed Forces. Jesuit is one of the few schools in the nation to have a MCJROTC Band and is unique among Jesuit bands in that it is entirely student-led. The Marine Band plays at all MCJROTC parades and ceremonies, such as the Marine Corps Birthday Ceremony, the annual Parade and Review, and the Change of Command Parade. It also performs at functions throughout the city, such as the annual Battle of New Orleans commemoration at Jackson Square, Mardi Gras parades, and the Blue Jay Bazaar.

Seniors in Ms. Rachel Sharp’s analysis class spent Friday reviewing right triangle trigonometry in preparation for a test on the Law of Sines and Cosines. The sharpshooting classmates, clockwise from lower left, are Glenn Fraychineaud, Mark Woods, Bailey Weber, Henry Hingle, Ryan Cambias, Fernando Gonzales, Ms. Sharp, Dave Treen (in circle, in front of Ms. Sharp), Justin Daigle, Ian Cogswell, Damian Junius, and David Stahl.

The third floor balcony overlooking the Traditions Courtyard is frequently used by Blue Jays as a shortcut from the Banks Street (south) side of school to the Palmyra Street (north) side, and vice versa. The balcony helps to alleviate congestion in the inside hallways as students move to their next class. Blue Jays who use the walkway, like pre-freshmen Wilder Maguire (left) and Patrick Calhoun, also enjoy its environmental aesthetics – fresh air and the panoramic views of the Courtyard and Will Clark Field. The second and third floor balconies were originally constructed in 2002 as part of the Tradition Guides Our Future capital campaign, which also gave Blue Jays the Student Commons.

Members of the Blue Jay basketball team hosted guests from around the world at their Thursday afternoon practice. The high school-aged visitors, who hail from six different countries — South Korea, Argentina, Lebanon, Nigeria, Turkey, and Kyrgyzstan — are guests of the U.S. Department of State Sports Visitors Program. The group is visiting New Orleans to attend the 2014 NBA All-Star Game at Smoothie King Center. While the exhibition game won’t be played until Feb. 16, there are several events leading up to the game, including a junior high invitational that the 8th Grade Basketball Team will be participating in this weekend.

A trio of Blue Jays form an informal Algebra I study session in the Student Commons Wednesday afternoon. From left, freshmen Christopher Bergeron, Josh Cashio, and Nick Ray.

Jesuit’s Columbian Squires Circle, the high school service arm of the Knights of Columbus, completed a coat and blanket collection drive on campus to aid the needy and homeless of our area. The Squires delivered several large barrels full of overcoats, blankets, sweaters and jackets to the Ozanam Inn, the shelter for the homeless located in the Warehouse District. Center from left, pre-freshmen John Nuttli and Robert Haik, and senior Daniel Boudreau, the Circle’s Chief Squire. Also joining the Squires were Mr. Tom Nuttli (left), Mr. Robert Haik Sr. (right), and Mr. Ted Mahne (not pictured), moderator of the Columbian Squires. Jesuit’s Squires are sponsored by the Marquette Council of the Knights of Columbus.

Rain and sleet have a way of keeping the courtyard empty and the Student Commons full of activity. The influx of traffic doesn’t affect these seniors who will find any excuse to enjoy a laugh and Blue Jay Camaraderie.

Senior Andrew Nguyen (left) and pre-freshman Matthew Richards, members of Jesuit’s Fencing Club, prepare to face each other in a practice bout in a deserted hallway after school. A fast and athletic sport, fencing is one of the oldest games in existence, dating back thousands of years in different forms and cultures. The Fencing Club is open to new members and practices once a week after school until 4:15 p.m.

Senior Gui Kirsch conducts the Blue Jay Concert Band as they practice an original piece Kirsch himself composed. The band will perform the piece during the Spring Concert on April 26.

In celebration of the Chinese Lunar New Year, Jesuit’s Asian Club captured two dragons and set them loose to dance and terrorize Blue Jays eating lunch on a cloudless Friday in the Traditions Courtyard and Student Commons. “The dragon dance has been a vital part of Lunar New Year celebrations for centuries as a way to chase away evil spirits and symbolize prosperity for the new year,” said sophomore Andrew Vuong, president of the eastern ethnic co-curricular organization. Members of the club hung unlit lanterns from the oaks to create a traditional atmosphere for the cultural show. The dancers inside the dragons are not Blue Jays but students who belong to a youth group affiliated with St. Agnes Le Thi Thanh Catholic Church in Marrero.

On this sunny, but very cold, day, sophomores Mark Jaunet and Alexander Vargas sit down in the cafeteria for a serving of meatballs and spaghetti. The cafeteria menu is posted online monthly for students to get a quick look of the day’s breakfast and lunch offerings.

Mr. Dan Wagner works one-on-one with senior Ian Calamari in his Computer Science II class Monday afternoon. The class was working on a project involving JavaScript, a programming language designed to extend the capability of HTML. Jesuit offers several half-credit Computer Studies courses for Blue Jays of all grade levels.

The Wild Photographer stumbled upon this handful of Blue Jays who were kicking back in the warm confines of the Student Commons late Friday afternoon. They seemed quite content with catching up on the latest sports news on ESPN and the NFL Network while waiting for their rides home. The quintet, all members of the track team, had just returned from City Park where they practiced in cold, wet conditions. Clockwise, from top right: freshman Jandon Briscoe, sophomores Michael Woods and K Lipscomb, and freshmen William Lopez and Josh Harper.

Senior Alex Boustany visits the Balfour representatives in the Student Commons to submit a repair order for his senior ring that recently got bent out of shape.  Representatives were on hand to receive orders from juniors for their class of 2015 rings and from seniors for their graduation announcements.

This quartet of Blue Jays finds a quiet, shady spot in the Traditions Courtyard to peruse the most recent edition of The Blue Jay Yearbook, which covers the 2012-2013 school year. From left are: freshman Evan Fogg, junior Westley West, and freshmen Bailey Termine and Luke Navarro.

Actually, that’s not true. Well, it is true. And it’s not true. There are three people in the photo (four if you count the dude on the screen), from left, pre-freshman Thomas Delsa, Spanish teacher Mr. Jon Malax, and senior Ian Calamari. The two Blue Jays constituted the audience (it was a low turnout) on Friday, Jan. 17 for the Movie Critics Club, moderated by Mr. Malax. Delsa and Calamari were enjoying the classroom-theatre to themselves — no lines for popcorn or the bathroom, no screaming kids, no insensitive cads texting or talking into cellphones. It’s a fantastic way to take in a movie, which this afternoon happened to be My Name Is Nobody, a 1973 film in the western-comedy genre starring Henry Fonda (the guy onscreen in the role of gunslinger Jack Beauregard) and Terence Hill (the young gun-totin’ whipper-snapper named Nobody). The Club meets every other Friday and the movies typically attract larger audiences. More than a dozen Jays recently watched the 2013 science-fiction film Star Trek Into Darkness.