Seniors George Contreras and Brock Hughes stand before the class to play different roles in Hamlet for Mr. Sam Ferguson‘s English IV class. Students have two full days of classes on Monday and Tuesday as they spend their free time and homeroom periods preparing for one of the best days at Jesuit High School—the Thanksgiving Drive. Wednesday is a Special Order: Delivery of Thanksgiving Baskets as the day begins for most students before 6 a.m. at Robért Fresh Market. Offices close at 12 p.m. on Wednesday.

The Jesuit swimming team loads the coach bus with Sulphur, La., as its destination. Last month, Jesuit swimmers swept the relays and scored multiple swimmers in each of the individual events to secure the team’s 36th consecutive metro title. The Blue Jays, who were fresh off winning their 36th straight district title, scored 433 points (more than 200 points higher than the second place scorer) at metro. However, the past is the past. None of that matters now. What’s on the road ahead of them is what matters…what counts. Follow JesuitNOLA Swimming (@JesuitSwimming) on Twitter for LHSAA Swimming State Tournament updates! Go Jays!

Freshman class president Manny Espinoza and Aidan Couvillon share a grin with freshman class rep-at-large William Waguespack as the trio listens to Top’s end-of-the-day announcement: “Wednesday is a faculty meeting day.” Faculty meeting days, or “8:50 days” as some students call them, allow students more time in the morning to arrive to school, well-rested and ready for a shortened day of learning.

Backstage at the Mahalia Jackson Theatre (pictured, back row left to right) are LSU Tiger Bandsmen Michael Plessala ’18 and Jacob McCaffery ’19, Jesuit band director Joe Caluda ’79, and LSU Bandsmen Phillip Gerarve ’16 and Kyle Richoux ’16 with (seated, left to right) Blue Jay Bandsmen Michael Melancon, Hunter Richardson, Michael Nair, and Jacob Tobler. The band alumni and current band members enjoyed this moment right before the “Tigerama” show started! Also before the show, the Blue Jay Band cooked for and fed over 400 LSU Tiger Band Members, the Golden Girls and their instructional staff. 

Senior Joel Guerra, Jayson, and events coordinator D.J. Galiano ’07 are ready to launch t-shirts at Thursday’s Jesuit-Shaw football playoff game. Be there for the 6:00 p.m. kickoff, and cheer on the Blue Jays as they start their quest towards a state title!

Science teacher Mr. Joseph Nolfe, who coaches football and baseball at Jesuit, could not help but notice the conservation of infrared radiation in this picture. As Coach Nolfe reports to duty in the freezing cold courtyard at lunch, a group of close-knit friends keep warm. John David Whitsell, Thomas Grady, Gabriel Cruz, James Bostick, Jackson Becker, John Paul Ciaccio, Mason Wolff, Christoper Valdes, and others came up with the idea.

Senior Milan Mardia, who recently earned a perfect score on the ACT, has a blast in the WGSO studio as he appears on the “Delta Dispatches” radio show of alumnus Jacques Hebert ’03, who served as last year’s Career Day speaker. Hebert had great things to say about Mardia in this tweet from @RestoreTheDelta: “Such an honor to have @JesuitNOLA senior Milan Mardia on to discuss his work (while in high school!) on coastal restoration. You’ll no doubt hear more from him in the future!” Listen to the episode here! Milan is the featured guest in the first 20 minutes of the episode led by Hebert and Simone Maloz, the Executive Director of Restore or Retreat.

Freshman Nick Kapusta demonstrates how to care for his hedgehog “Chewie” (Chewbacca) in Mrs. Kate Arthurs-Goldberg’s Speech I class. Throughout the week each freshman in Speech I developed public speaking and presentation skills by giving a demonstration speech, a form of informative speech where the speaker’s primary purpose is to teach the audience how to complete a task (or process) by demonstrating that task through a series of steps. Other examples of demonstration speeches were the following: Patrick Rowell on how to make a healthy veggie salad, Hunter Oufnac on how to make the perfect “pain perdu” or “lost bread,” and Bennett Ducasse on how to make his great-grandma’s chocolate chip cookies.

Blue Jay seniors Dylan Oliver and Sam Quinn take time during their free period to help set up the lights in the auditorium for Open House. #ExploreJesuit at Open House on Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2019. Tours begin at 4:30, 5:30, and 6:30 in the auditorium. Read more about Blue & White Night by clicking this link: Blue & White Night Hosts Prospective Jays with Picture-Perfect Weather

Upperclassmen Jeremy Howat, Momin Asif, and Marcus Banks arrive early to the 4th-floor hallway and wait for the start of Mr. White’s Physics class. As the trio waits, one of them spots Jayson’s wild photographer on the 3rd-floor balcony. The rest is history.

Less than 62 days remain in Mission Homestretch, and winter sports teams are preparing for their seasons while appreciating their locker room upgrades. Find out what else the campaign is doing for Blue Jays today and tomorrow. Be part of it! Join the Mission! 

Those with interest in Minds & Heart Enlightened can find out more, pledge online, or reach out to the campaign coordinator Jason Britsch for more information about this exciting vision for Jesuit High School. 

Less than 64 days remain in Mission Homestretch, and the north side of Banks Street is open. Find out what else the campaign is doing for Blue Jays today and tomorrow. Be part of it! Join the Mission! 

Those with interest in Minds & Heart Enlightened can find out more, pledge online, or reach out to the campaign coordinator Jason Britsch for more information about this exciting vision for Jesuit High School. 

Less than 65 days remain in Mission Homestretch. Find out what else the campaign is doing for Blue Jays today and tomorrow. Be part of it! Join the Mission! 

Those with interest in Minds & Heart Enlightened can find out more, pledge online, or reach out to the campaign coordinator Jason Britsch for more information about this exciting vision for Jesuit High School. 

During a lunchtime presentation, the Service and Social Justice League hosted a presentation by Dr. Sue Weishar from the Jesuit Social Research Institute. Having spent time as the Director of Immigration and Refugee Services with Catholic Charities of New Orleans, Dr. Weishar shared a wealth of knowledge and experience to help students understand the complexities of U.S. immigration policy and how Catholic social teaching calls them to respond. The members of the Service and Social Justice League hope to use the presentation as a jumping-off-point to continue the conversation on immigration on campus.

The Biotechnology Club meets after school in one of the school’s nine science labs to hear from retired Chief of Police Eddie Compass. Chief Compass spoke about the importance of forensic science in solving crimes, and members of his team showed a presentation displaying photos and visuals for Blue Jays to better understand certain crime-solving situations. The Biotechnology Club invited students, faculty, and staff to attend the presentation. 

Director of professional development Malcolm Villarrubia ’66 closes out the Research for Better Teaching (RBT) workshop in St. Ignatius Hall. The nine new teachers completing the workshop are as follows: Fr. David Paternostro, S.J., Mr. Scout Serpas ’13, Ms. Delmy Banegas, Ms. Andrea Schalker, Mr. Darrell O’Neill ’06, Mr. Anthony Taffaro ’15, Mr. Daniel Augustin ’15, Mr. Connor Hartupee ’15, and Maj Jarrod Friloux, USMC, ret. Jesuit High School strives to empower to be open to growth, intellectually and professionally competent, religious, loving, and committed to justice and the pursuit of leadership growth. New teachers at Jesuit are not only required to attend and complete this “pedagogical boot camp,” they are also assigned experienced mentors and participate in a three-year formation program.