Four Teachers Honored by Their Peers 
Four of Jesuit High School’s faculty members recently were honored by their peers.
Here’s Why!
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Jesuit High School Holds 161st Commencement Exercises for 269 Graduates of the Class of 2008
Blue Jays Turn in "Classic" Performance on National Latin and Greek Exams 
Congratulations to all those Blue Jays who participated in the
2008 National Latin and Greek Exams this year.
Five Blue Jays distiguished themselves by earning perfect scores:
pre-freshman Stuart Wilson (left, Latin I), freshmen Donald Ward (Latin II),
Sal Maffei (Latin II), and Jacob Moore (Attic Greek).
(Freshman Daniel Cooper, not pictured, earned a perfect score in Latin I.)
To see how Jesuit performed at the National Latin and Greek Exams,
visit the National Latin and Greek Exam Results. |
Blue Jays Soar at State Literary Rally 
Congratulations to all of the Blue Jays who participated at the State Literary Rally earlier this month at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge.
Five Jesuit students, pictured above, achieved first place status:
James Burvant (left, World Geography), Jacob Moore (Latin II),
Joseph Hart (American History,Overall First Place),
Nikhil Gopal (Biology II, Overall First Place), and
Daniel Cooper (Biology I, Overall First Place).
To see how Jesuit performed at the 2008 State Literary Rally (Division I),
visit the State Literary Rally Results.
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Blue Jays Shine at District Rally; Jesuit Places 30 Students in State Competition in April 
Congratulations to all the Blue Jays who participated in the
2008 District Literary Rally this past Saturday, March 15.
Jesuit advanced 30 students to the State Literary Rally in April.
Pictured above are a few of the Blue Jays who will travel to Baton Rouge:
(Back row, left)- Taylor Hillburn, Stephen Lee, Joe Hart, Tripp Faia,
Ross Bourgeois, Bobby Butera, Travis Smith, Paul Mickan,
James Burvant, Christopher Tosh; (Middle row, left)- Nick Lacour,
Will Glass, Cory Cacamo, Eric Begoun, Raymond Fuenzalida,
Nicholas Johnson, Alex Yacoubian, Paul Leingang, Chris Reuter,
Daniel Cooper; (Front row, left)- Stephen Merritt, Jacob Moore,
Nikhil Gopal, Lee Gresham, John Rose, Ian deBoisblanc,
Jorge Bucki, Nicholas Braud, Michael Ceraso.
To see how Jesuit performed in district competition (Division I),
visit the District Rally Results.
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As Second Semester Begins, Blue Jays Experience that Special "Chemistry" 
New and beautiful: After a lengthy and thorough renovation, two fourth floor
science labs see action for the first time as Mr. Clark holds class for his students.
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View Photo Gallery of the Chemistry Labs' Renovation and First Day. A comprehensive renovation of two science labs has formed a “chemistry alley” of sorts
on the fourth floor of the Palmyra Street wing of Jesuit High School.
When the second semester began Monday, there was much anticipation, joy, and a beaker of relief among a trio of teachers -- Messrs. (Harry) Clark, (Dave) Storm, and (Justin) Zabrecky, who are the primary occupants of this new and spacious chemistry hub, along with their pupils, of course. The overhaul of science labs 401 and 403 increases to seven the number of labs in use on Jesuit’s campus. Each of the labs affords Blue Jays the opportunities to perform a wide range of complex experiments and to acquire the skills necessary to conduct intricate research in a highly structured scientific environment. The newest labs feature similar, and in some respects, even better, cutting-edge technology that Jesuit’s third floor science laboratories introduced to Blue Jays following a major renovation some five years ago. In addition to students having the capability of visualizing chemistry concepts in real time, the two freshly renovated labs provide access to an extensive array of sensors, probes, and lab table ports for the collection of experimental data for computer analysis. All seven science labs are equipped with Sympodiums, which help teachers creatively bring to life their lessons with the use of an interactive pen display, computer, and projector. Sympodiums, which are a central feature in the labs and most classrooms, are powered by the same award-winning software as SMART board interactive whiteboards.
Jesuit’s teachers are increasingly utilizing such sophisticated equipment in their daily lessons. With Sympodiums, Jesuit’s faculty may access any website or multimedia file and display information on students’ computer monitors. At the same time, the work is also projected onto a large screen. “With the renovations of these two science labs, Jesuit continues its commitment to provide Blue Jays with a terrific academic environment in which to excel in chemistry and the other sciences,” said an enthusiastic Mr. Clark, who kept a close eye on the project throughout the course of its seven-month duration. Besides cooperatively working with the contractor and construction crews, Mr. Clark ensured that the appropriate equipment and supplies were timely ordered and delivered.
Ryan Gootee General Contractors, L.L.C. was the general contractor for the project. Fire up those new bunsen burners and let the experiments begin!
Jesuit English Teacher Publishes His First Novel 
Gary Wyss, second year English teacher at Jesuit,
published his first novel, Tiny Clubs, this year.
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Jesuit English teacher Gary Wyss has published his first novel
Tiny Clubs. Set in Bombay, the novel follows eight ophthalmologists who are on a charitable mission to help the poor of India.
A native of Peoria, Illinois, Gary has lived for the last fifteen years in New Orleans, where for the last two years, he has taught English at Jesuit High School. He attended Truman State University and Kansas State University, and has received NEH fellowships to study at Columbia University and the University of Pennsylvania. His short stories have appeared in The Chariton Review, Seattle Review, Mid-American Review, Northwest Review, and Image, among others. His story “Kids Make Their Own Houses” was included in the 2006 New Stories from the South.
38 Blue Jays From the Class of 2008 Named National Merit Semi-finalists 
Congratulations to the 38 National Merit Semi-finalist and
the Achievement Scholarship Semi-finalist from Jesuit High School.
View the list of Blue Jays recognized as
National Merit Semi-finalists and a National Achievement Scholarship Semi-finalist.
Jesuit Welcomes 16 New Faculty Members 
On a steamy Tuesday morning, 16 new faculty members gathered at the main entrance
of the school for a group photo. On the front row, from left: Maria Dawsey (Spanish),
Corey Bordelon (Social Studies, Football), Rachel Meillieur (Library),
Anita Clinton (English), Marc Belloni (Social Studies, Philelectic Society),
and Joseph Mueller (Theology).
Back row, from left: Jean Marc Duplantier (English, Yearbook),
Troy Holley (Social Studies, Basketball), Tim Parenton (Physical Education,
Head Baseball Coach), John Lavie (Math), Derek Mitchell (Guidance),
Brett Meliet (Science, Basketball), Tim McCaffrey (Theology),
Wayde Keiser (Physical Education, Social Studies, Head Football Coach),
Richard Bohn (Physical Education, Football, Track), and Joey Latino
(Science, Assistant Athletic Director)
Profiling the Jesuit High School Teacher
The Jesuit priests, brothers, and scholastics currently serving at Jesuit High School
include, from left, Bro. Larry Huck (Theology), Fr. Norman O’Neal (alumni chaplain),
Mr. Aaron Pidel (Classics), Mr. Jay Hooks (Spanish), Fr. Don Saunders (English),
Fr. Anthony McGinn (president), Fr. Nick Schiro (Theology), and
Bro. Billy Dardis (director of special projects).
Jesuit High School now has a document that outlines the ideal characteristics of the teacher at the school. After five years of work, with one timeout year thanks to Katrina, the school's Ignatian Identity Team has produced the document, Profile of a Jesuit High School Teacher.
In capturing the traits of the ideal composite teacher, the committee relied on the history of Jesuit’s past faculty, the documents of the Jesuit Secondary Education Association (JSEA), and the views of the school’s present faculty and administration. Ultimately, the teacher at Jesuit High School of New Orleans was determined to be Open to Growth, Religious, Loving, Intellectually Competent, Professionally Competent, and Committed to Justice. The Ignatian Identity Team presented the document to the faculty at an in-service to open the 2006-2007 school year. The Ignatian Identity Team hopes that the document honors teachers of Jesuit’s past, guides those teachers of Jesuit’s future, and inspires those teachers of Jesuit’s present. At the in-service, Fr. Ralph Metts, S.J., president of the JSEA, delivered the keynote address in which he provided the context for the development of such a document. The day then shifted to a presentation of the six characteristics, each in its own form -- a live interview with Jesuit’s senior teacher, Paul Frederick; alumni testimonials, via video, of Jesuit teachers who made a difference in their lives; a prayer service; and movie clips focusing on teaching experiences. The document is being used as a formation piece. As teacher contracts are reviewed, Jesuit’s principal, Mike Giambelluca ’82, asked faculty members to reflect on how they had fulfilled at least one aspect of each characteristic. At the conclusion of the 2007-08 school year, monetary awards will be given annually to four faculty members who, in the judgment of their peers and administrators, have best fulfilled the characteristics of the Profile. Profile of a Jesuit Teacher will be published in a series of articles in Jaynotes, accompanied by testimonials from alumni about teachers who had positive impacts on their lives. Originally, these testimonials were to be published in a special edition of Jaynotes, but Katrina forced us to scuttle that plan. We still welcome essays from our alumni and will publish selected ones in Jaynotes as well as on Jesuit’s web site. If you have any questions about submitting an essay, contact Mat Grau in Jesuit’s alumni office, 504-483-3840. Alumni can e-mail their 400-700 word essays as a Word document to: grau@jesuitnola.org. Essays also may be mailed to: Mat Grau Alumni Director Jesuit High School 4133 Banks St. New Orleans, LA 70119
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