Jesuit High School of New Orleans

Welcome Week Kicks Off with Safari Obstacle Course in Traditions Courtyard

Posted August 31, 2015 / Last updated September 10, 2015

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The Student Council kicked off their annual Welcome Week festivities with a Game Preserve Obstacle Course in the Traditions Courtyard. The activity was the first lunchtime activity of the safari-themed Welcome Week.

The wild obstacle course pitted two teams of two against each other. One Blue Jay was blindfolded and seated on a scooter while his teammate pushed him around various safari obstacles and “elephants” soaking them with water. After stopping at a station to paint a picture of a zebra at a watering hole, the pairs then competed in a three-legged race to the finish line.

Photo gallery below. More photos coming soon.

Earlier in the day, Student Council introduced the themed week of activities with a skit they performed at Morning Assembly.

Monday’s lunchtime activity was just the start of the safari-themed Welcome Week for Blue Jays of all classes, hosted by the Student Council. Each day will bring a new wild adventure in the courtyard:

Tuesday, Sept. 1 – Hungry Hungry Hippos (Human Edition)

Wednesday, Sept. 2 – Zoo Maze

Thursday, Sept. 3 – Blue and White Day, Pep Rally

On Friday, the school will celebrate Mass of the Holy Spirit in the Chapel of the North American Martyrs. Blue Jays are reminded to wear a coat and tie and to bring their Student Prayer Book with them to Mass. Dismissal is after Mass, at approximately 9:15 a.m. Yearbook and photo ID make-ups and retakes will take place after Mass.

Galleries

Welcome Week, Monday, Aug. 31, 2015

  • Assembly_Welcome Week Skit_08312015_01
    Welcome Week is here! At Morning Assembly, a skit inspired by The Lion King unfurled before the student body. At the podium, juniors Will Hurley '16 (flowered shirt) and Myles Kuss ('16) explain that they signed up for a safari while on a service trip sanctioned by Mr. Murphy. John Nimmo, senior class president, join them in an absurdity-tinged dinosaur costume that Hurley and Kuss couldn't believe ''made it through customs.'' Hurley is Student Council treasurer and Kuss is an executive aide.
  • Assembly_Welcome Week Skit_08312015_02
    Senior Andre Nguyen, secretary of the Student Council, takes on the role of Simba.
  • Assembly_Welcome Week Skit_08312015_03
    Kuss confesses that all he really knows about Africa is from The Lion King. Suddenly, ''Circle of Life'' begins playing over the loudspeakers.
  • Assembly_Welcome Week Skit_08312015_04
    The music causes a parade of ''lions'' to stampede hither and yon across the second floor balcony.
  • Assembly_Welcome Week Skit_08312015_05
    The lions attract the attention of their enemy.
  • Assembly_Welcome Week Skit_08312015_06
    A pack of hilarious hyenas charge from the parking lot and into the student body.
  • Assembly_Welcome Week Skit_08312015_07
    The hyenas have come to kidnap Simba (in the form of a stuffed Simba).
  • Assembly_Welcome Week Skit_08312015_08
    The hyenas overpower Nguyen and steal Simba.
  • Assembly_Welcome Week Skit_08312015_09
    The hyenas are bad, bad, bad, and they rough up the gentle lion.
  • Assembly_Welcome Week Skit_08312015_10
    The hyenas eventually swipe Mr. Juilo Minsal-Ruiz's beloved fedora.
  • Assembly_Welcome Week Skit_08312015_11
    Where is Simba (the stuffed lion)?
  • Assembly_Welcome Week Skit_08312015_12
    John Kemmerly, playing the role of a monkey, looks out over the forested Traditions Courtyard where Simba has been hidden.
  • Assembly_Welcome Week Skit_08312015_13
    Hurley and Kuss consult their maps and explain that the only way to recover Simba is by participating in Welcome Week activities at lunch throughout the week. Nimmo the dinosaur agrees.
  • Assembly_Welcome Week Skit_08312015_14
    Students, especially 8th and 9th graders, are encouraged to sign up for the events at the Student Council office at 10-minute break and before school.
  • WelcomeWeek_LunchActivities_Monday_20150831_005
    Seniors Robert Weiss and Andre Nguyen move through the obstacle course.
  • WelcomeWeek_LunchActivities_Monday_20150831_007
    Seniors Jackson Scott (left) and R.J. Jackson (right) work their way through the safari.
  • WelcomeWeek_LunchActivities_Monday_20150831_011
    Andre Nguyen and Robert Weiss quickly prepare for the three-legged race to the finish.
  • WelcomeWeek_LunchActivities_Monday_20150831_012
    Andre Nguyen abandons his teammate Robert Weiss and the three-legged race and sprints solo toward the finish line.
  • WelcomeWeek_LunchActivities_Monday_20150831_047
    Evan Dudenhefer acts as an ''elephant'' as he soaks the safari-themed obstacle course participants.
  • WelcomeWeek_LunchActivities_Monday_20150831_050
    Seniors Dominic Sunseri and Felix Rabito run head-first into a herd of "elephants."
  • WelcomeWeek_LunchActivities_Monday_20150831_054
    Dominic Sunseri and Felix Rabito are surrounded on three sides by Francesco Pineda (left), Even Dudenhefer (second from right), and John Kemmerly (far right).
  • WelcomeWeek_LunchActivities_Monday_20150831_061
    Dominic Sunseri and Felix Rabito race through the final leg of the obstacle course.
  • WelcomeWeek_LunchActivities_Monday_20150831_083
    ... And they're off! Two teams of pre-freshman battle it out on the obstacle course.
  • WelcomeWeek_LunchActivities_Monday_20150831_107
    Bert Gilmore (left) and Francesco Pineda (right) soak obstacle course contestants.