As the first day of 1st quarter exams end, a trio of pre-freshmen, from left, Mel Allen, Andrew Dufour, and Joshua Candies, patiently wait under one of the oaks in the Traditions Courtyard for their rides home to materialize. The three Jays hail from three distinct neighborhoods – Gentilly, Gretna, and River Ridge.

Blue Jays relax in the Traditions Courtyard on Wednesday following their taking of standardized tests such as the PSAT, PLAN, and Explore. Blue Jays hold animated conversations under the oaks while devouring snacks that are washed down with ice cold refreshments. Students can take a deep breath knowing that come Thursday and Friday, they will have completed their first quarter exams.

Fr. John Brown, S.J. was determined to relocate a possum that had sought refuge in a small tree in the Traditions Courtyard. When Morning Assembly was over on Friday, Oct. 11, Fr. Brown coaxed the critter out of the tree and chased it all the way to the front entrance of the auditorium on S. Solomon Street. There, the lumbering 20-pound nocturnal animal did what it is best known for — it played possum. This gave Fr. Brown an opportunity to grasp the only native North American marsupial by its tail and move it from harm’s way. “We released a happy and healthy male possom in a much larger tree where he will be safe,” said Fr. Brown, a native of Patasá, a town of some 250 Cajuns just south of Eunice, LA. Growing up on a crawfish/ rice/ wheat farm with his parents and 11 siblings, Fr. Brown learned at an early age to catch all sorts of God’s creatures.

(Photo courtesy of Mr. Matt Orillion ’98, Jesuit’s director of student activities.)

After taking a quick in-house jog, freshmen Jackson Melnyk blows bubbles in a blue liquid solution to test for levels of carbon dioxide during biology class taught by Ms. Holly Smith. Freshmen Matt Nguyen and J.P. Tujague watch the solution turn from blue to green.

Junior Trevor Laborde (left) and sophomore Arsis E’Etessam show off their recently purchased Jesuit-Holy Cross football t-shirts, which they will wear to the Great American Rivalry game between the two teams on Friday, Oct. 11. The special game day T-shirts cost $10 each and are on sale before school and during lunch in the Student Commons. Students can show their Blue Jay Spirit by wearing these Great American Rivalry t-shirts to school on Friday, which happens to be a Blue and White Day.

With 1st quarter exams scheduled next week, Blue Jays feel the inexorable pull of the Resource Center, where  knowledge is gleaned, answers are discovered, and confidence to do well on their tests is attained.

Freshman Matthew O’Neill — one of the assistant student managers for the Blue Jay varsity football team — is perfectly content flying solo with a deck of cards and deals himself a hand of solitaire during his free period on Monday in the Student Commons.

Juniors in Ms. Nilda Rivera’s Spanish IV class spent the last period on Friday telling jokes as an exercise to demonstrate the management of both English and Spanish. The original joke is a simple one in English, geared for kids 5-10 years-old. The challenge is to translate the joke into Spanish, retaining the nuances that make it funny. This is more difficult to pull off successfully because culture does not translate. The trio of jokers, from left, Nick Rosenson, Anthony Taffaro, and Josh de Boisblanc discovered that a thorough understanding of the language is the key to delivering an effective punch line.

Freshman Troy Reilly laughs in amazement at a magic card trick performed by Mr. Mike Dardant in Mrs.Kate Arthurs-Goldberg’s speech class. Mr. Dardant is the coach of Jesuit’s improv team, the J-Troupe. He visited speech classes today to introduce improvisational skills which are useful public speaking skills. J-Troupe auditions are being held Friday, Oct. 4, and Friday, Oct. 11 at 4 p.m. in the auditorium.

Sophomores Brady Stiller (left) and Nick Slay use the time afforded during a free period to conduct research in the Resource Center for a project that was assigned by Mr. Ron Rossi, longtime history teacher at Jesuit High School.

Pre-freshmen in Ms. Katie Single’s Spanish 8 class enjoy CBI – computer based instruction – that is becoming an important supplement to the curriculum. CBI provides immediate feedback with self-quizzes and features videos of tutorials for review prior to tests. Additionally, CBI engages Blue Jays with grammar and vocabulary games such as “Battleship” and “Rags to Riches,” as well as music videos that convey grammatical concepts. Rote is out, CBI is in. CBI: a new, different, and interesting way to learn Spanish, as these Jays will readily affirm. From left are Mike Hull, Joey Dupepe, Cari Robinson, Ryan Hamilton, Mason Peres, and Anthony Kelly.

There is always humor to be found in analysis class, right? Well, yes, especially in Mr. John Lavie’s learning laboratory where these juniors react with amusement during Monday’s lesson which focused on graphs of typical functions and shifts.

Freshman Austin Ros almost jumps out of his uniform during Friday’s lunchtime pep rally after he was the first to successfully sail his paper airplane into the front seating area of a very special Blue & White Mercury Grand Marquis parked in the Traditions Courtyard. Only three other Blue Jays – junior Peter Kim and freshmen John Crowson and Michael Scillitani – were able to accurately navigate their planes into the unique looking car from 20 feet away. The winners get to choose a free treat from whatever bag of goodies Br. Billy Dardis, S.J. happens to be selling to raise money for the Jesuit Missions.

View 16 Images in the Pep Rally Photo Gallery.

Freshman Aaron Baker buys a frozen treat from Br. William Dardis on a too-warm autumn day after school. Br. Dardis regularly sets up a table outside the Student Commons to sell sweets to raise money for Jesuit’s Mission Drive.

Sophomores work diligently painting banners Jesuit Blue and White in anticipation of Friday’s match up against Pensacola, a game that will re-ignite a classic rivalry from the 1940s through 1960s. From left, sophomores Justin Vlosich, Ryan Nguyen, William Brewster, and Mark Jaunet paint their banner as Student Council Moderator Mr. Chris Bowes looks on. Throughout the football season, homerooms within the same grade level will compete in a homeroom banner contest. The winner of each grade level will receive 50 Homeroom Showdown points. The spirited sophomore class banners will hang in the Traditions Courtyard Thursday and Friday.

Ms. Mona Anchan sent her Physics students on a campus-wide scavenger hunt using scientific measurements as directions. Senior Brock Lingle, senior Jorge Galdamez, and junior Thomas Eggleston gathered this item on their hunt — an envelope from the President’s office.