Members of the Pro Life Club — freshmen Jack Pontin, Matt Nguyen, Gary Zeringue, and Will Matthews — help put 4,000 sticky notes with various careers written on them on a wall in the Student Commons. The 4,000 notes represent the number of lives and futures lost to abortion each day in the United States. As part of Pro-Life Week, the club has held an activity each day this week to educate Blue Jays in the truth about abortion and other life issues.

Junior Mason Page practices his spike on Will Clark Field during the Beach Volleyball Club’s after school practice. The Beach Volleyball Club performed several drills and worked on hitting techniques during the Wednesday afternoon practice. The club is one of more than 60 co-curriculars available for Blue Jays. It is open to beginners and advanced players from all grade levels. Games occur once a week in the fall and spring seasons.

Members of the MCJROTC each lunch in the cafeteria with several visiting Marines, who are on campus to conduct the annual inspection of the JROTC. During the inspection, cadets are separated into platoons and a color guard detail, with each having their uniforms carefully inspected. Cadets also conduct drills and demonstrations and may be asked a series of questions pertaining to rank structure, chain of command, military history and leadership.

Mr. Sean Ferguson, N.S.J. spoke to juniors during their lunch period about how to prepare for their upcoming Kairos Retreat beginning on November 22. As he reviewed packing necessities (like shoes and blankets), he emphasized for the juniors to leave their cell phones behind and to bring an open mind.

After donating to the fall blood drive in the Student Commons, junior Jacob Cassagne, senior Matthew Pettus, junior Shawn Walsh, and junior Marcus Fontenot recover with a cup of juice and show off their blue “good deed” arm badges.

Members of the freshman Soccer team construct a soccer goal prior to the start of their Wednesday afternoon practice at Will Clark Field. The freshman and pre-freshman teams shared the field for practice. Meanwhile, several blocks away, the varsity and junior varsity teams were at Pan American Stadium preparing for their scrimmage matches against Catholic High. The junior varsity team takes the field at 6 p.m., and the varsity team follows at 7:30 p.m.

Students in Mr. David Wright’s calculus use what now can be considered an old-fashioned classroom fixture — the chalkboard. Senior Patrick Ryan and his classmates appreciate the traditional easy-to-edit chalk and erasers to calculate challenging equations.

Senior Garrett Wolff cuts the birthday cake at the MCJROTC birthday cake-cutting ceremony in Traditions Courtyard. The ceremony honoring the Marine Corps’ 238th birthday was celebrated during lunchtime on Veterans Day. Each year, Jesuit’s MCJROTC honors one person during the ceremony. This year, Academic Asst. Principal Kathy Juhas was honored. The first piece of cake was given to Mrs. Juhas as the ceremony’s honoree. The second and third pieces of cake are traditionally reserved for the oldest and youngest cadets present, respectively. During the ceremony, a special message from the Commandant of the Marine Corps was also read.

In Mr. Joey Latino’s Biology I class on Friday, the subject matter was genetics and problems associated with the interaction of multiple alleles on sex-linked traits such as color-blindness, baldness, and hemophilia. These freshmen and sophomores are quick to grasp the significance of Coach Latino’s lecture and go straight to the bottom line — they want to know if in 10 years they will be bald like Dad or Uncle Fred. For some of these teenagers, just thinking about their hair falling out sets off waves of panic, helplessness, dread, and despair — frenetic genetics.

Defensive Coordinator and Defensive Line Coach Troy Baglio follows the football team to the gym after a pre-game dinner in the cafeteria. The Jays face the Purple Knights of St. Augustine tonight at 7 in Tad Gormley Stadium. Tickets at the gate are $8 for adults and children. Jesuit student IDs and season passes will be accepted. Jesuit is the visiting team so fans are asked to sit on the side of the stadium facing Marconi Drive. Review the football season as Jesuit heads into the playoffs.

Senior Christian Latino (left) and junior Trent Forshag put the finishing touches on the Baseball team’s table on the third floor of the Roussel Building in preparation for tonight’s Open House. Prospective students and their families will be led across campus by student tour guides. The final stop on the tour is the Roussel Building, where prospective students can browse tables for some 60 co-curricular organizations, including Baseball. Latino and Forshag will be two of hundreds of current Blue Jays, faculty, staff, and alumni welcoming 4th-8th graders and their families at Open House.

Seniors Joseph Hauth, Anthony Genova, Daniel Abadie, Rahul Mirpuri, and C.J. Blagrove examine a brain and spinal cord specimen in psychology class taught by Mr. Rudolph Horvath ’86. Thomas J. Hebert, Ph.D. (center) brought the specimen to the class to help students better understand the chapter of neuroscience that they just studied. Dr. Hebert is a behavioral neuroscientist and psychology professor at Tulane University.

Sophomores Tyrus Norcise, Jacob Dubos, and Stephen Hoorman spend their Monday afternoon studying and working on homework in the Student Commons. Many students sit together in the Student Commons to study or finish class assignments. Others avoid schoolwork altogether, preferring to watch television on the big screens located throughout the room or enjoy a conversation with friends.

At a lunchtime Pep Rally on Friday in the Traditions Courtyard, Blue Jays are pumped up for the big football game against crosstown rival Brother Martin.

Juniors and seniors in Mrs. Kate Arthurs-Goldberg’s Public Speaking classes performed radio theater versions of Rudyard Kipling’s “Mark of the Beast” and Edgar Allan Poe’s “Cask of Amontillado” today in the auditorium for fellow Blue Jays. The performances included always-entertaining Foley sound effects. Performers included seniors Ryan Bergeron, Mitch Bourgeois, Austin Lanier, Coury Miller, Ashton Queyrouze, Preston Raffray, and Dalton Stieffel; and juniors Nathan Cusimano, Dylan Daboval, Garrett Perez, and Paul Stapp.

Several Blue Jays used their lunch time Wednesday to think about their college careers. These Blue Jays met with a representative from the University of Notre Dame. Students were able to ask questions about the university and college life. Representatives from a colleges throughout the United States regularly visit Jesuit to give out informational materials and answer student’s questions. Check the calendar on the College Planning page for upcoming college visits.