Mark your calendars! The Blue Jay Band kicks off Carnival season this weekend, beginning with the Krewe of Carrollton parade, set for Sunday, Feb. 4 at 12 p.m. along the Uptown parade route. The revelry continues the following weekend when the Blue Jay Jazz Band performs on the Captain’s band float in the Krewe of Mid-City parade which rolls at 11:45 a.m. on Sunday, Feb. 11 (following Okeanos) while the Blue Jay Marching Band hits the streets for the Bacchus parade later that day, rolling at 5:15 p.m. Both Sunday parades follow the Uptown parade route. You can also catch Jesuit’s MCJROTC band and color guard performing in the Knights of Sparta parade this Saturday, Feb. 3 at 6 p.m. and next Friday, Feb. 9 in the Krewe of Hermes parade at 6 p.m., both following the Uptown parade route. Happy Mardi Gras!

Starting tonight, the senior-directed One Act Play and Improv Comedy Festival celebrates its 10th year with nine plays directed by 11 seniors. More than 50 cast and crew members, along with the J-Troupe Improv comedy team, are donating their time and talent to support Second Harvest Food Bank. The festival features the world premieres of two new plays written by Phils. Senior Thomas Sagona’s “The Shattered Looking Glass” and senior Will Hite’s “Before the Third” will each be performed three times this weekend. Pictured here, pre-freshman Matthew Busenlener, Sydney Worthy (senior, Ursuline), Jennifer Hawkins (senior, Haynes Academy), Emily Bennett (senior, Cabrini), and senior Andrew Busenlener act out a scene from “A Murdered Mystery.”

Showtimes are tonight at 6:30 p.m., Friday, Feb. 2 at 7:30 p.m., and Saturday Feb. 3 at 2 p.m and 7:30 p.m.  The full festival line-up can be found here. Admission is $5.00 or five canned goods to benefit Second Harvest of Greater New Orleans and Acadiana.

The 2018 Blue Jay Bazaar, held annually in March, will celebrate its 45th anniversary on the luckiest day of the year—St. Patrick’s Day (March 17). This year’s t-shirts are just the icing on the (green) cupcake and won’t cost you a pot o’gold! Junior Joshua Stedman and senior Kaden Knecht show off their new Bazaar threads, which are only $10 and available for purchase in the Volunteer Office (Rm 126). Pick one up today before they sell out!

Pre-freshman David Martin faces fellow 8th grader Ben Waguespack in a fencing duel while seniors Matthew Richards and Ryan Tucker monitor the match. A unique club rarely found in other high schools, Jesuit Fencing is a game of agility, strength, and wit. Proctored by Mrs. Kathy Juhas, the club meets every week after school to play either saber or foil after quick warm-ups. Read more about fencing at Jesuit.

Filled with laughter, seniors Frank Sclafani and Wilder Maguire head to their first class of the day. Students enjoyed all of last week away from school after their two-day Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday was extended due to inclement weather. Blue Jay Spirit was evident at Monday’s morning assembly as students prepare for upcoming events.

Junior William Mentz, sophomore William Hellmers, and junior Peter James join seniors David Hart, Clayton Merwin, Michael Plessala, and Luke Pertuit in saying hello to former Spanish teacher and Jayette moderator Nilda Rivera. Profe Rivera stopped by her old workplace from Puerto Rico to catch up with students and faculty. Rivera is always one to reminisce about the good times at Carrollton and Banks and stays connected with campus news and activities. Her love for Jesuit and her former students is so great that she was sure to tune in to the livestream of the Christmas Concert in December!

An immersion trip to eastern Asia may not be feasible to the average Jesuit student, but roughly 70 members of the Sodality from all grade levels were treated to a fascinating piece of Japanese culture. Fr. Bill Farge, S.J., who spent nearly 20 years of his Jesuit life in Japan, presented to the Sodality during lunch about “the Catholic samurai,” the Japanese warrior whose way of life synthesized well with the Catholic faith in the time prior to (and even during) the Christian persecution of the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. Fr. Farge now lives in the Jesuit residence on campus and gives spiritual direction to diocesan seminarians at St. Joseph’s Abbey in Covington.

Former Jesuit basketball players Cody Castle ’13, Tomi Akingbola ’12, Jay Pyburn ’12, Alex Yacoubian ’12, Josh DeBlieux ’12, Cameron Dobbins ’12, and Rob Brock exchange laughs after Friday night’s Jesuit-St. Augustine district opener that ended in the Blue Jays’ favor. Many basketball alumni, parents, and friends stuck around after the game to greet the 12-3 team and congratulate them on a great start to the new year. Basketball alumni and their families are also planning ahead for the 2018 Basketball Homecoming event, which is set for Friday, Jan. 26 when the Jays take on Warren Easton.

For the 17th year in a row, Jesuit’s MCJROTC program sponsored a holiday toy collection for the Toys for Tots Foundation. Homerooms collected a whopping of 1407 toys, the majority of which will go to “Christmas Angels”— a program run by the Louisiana National Guard. The rest will be distributed to Children’s Hospital and the New Orleans Police Department’s District 4 Headquarters.

Mr. Jason Giaccone and sophomore Marc Munoz shop at the same store, apparently! Both Mr. Giaccone and Munoz wore the same sweater for the 2nd annual Ugly Christmas Sweater contest last week. Follow Jesuit High School (@jesuitnola) on Instagram to see more great photos from Christmas Week.

The Student Council hosted the second annual Ugly Christmas Sweater Contest on Friday during second half of lunch. While many entered, only few made it to the list of finalists. Of the 100-plus students who participated, honorable mentions went to (from left) Ben Hunn, Trey Aucoin, Patrick Bandi, Dowen Fife, and Garrett Derbes for the various designs and colors on their ugly Christmas sweaters.

…of Christmas Week, the Student Council prepared a brown-bag concert in the courtyard. Throughout lunch, the Jesuit Jazz Band performed a combination of jazz music and classic Christmas songs, including a guest appearance by Br. Terry Todd, S.J. Christmas cookies and hot chocolate were provided to all students in attendance. On Friday, the Student Council holds an ugly sweater contest during lunch in the Commons. Students are allowed to wear their Christmas sweaters throughout the school day. Khaki shirts must be worn underneath, but name tags are not required on the outside of the sweater.

On the third day of the annual Student Council Christmas Week, the Gingerbread House Building Competition took place during lunch in the Student Commons. Anyone brave enough to get a little messy was encouraged to compete. Decorating pre-packaged houses, teams battled it out with gumdrops, icing, and other assorted candies, while a sneaky few tried to bribe judges (seniors) with cash. Spectators were encouraged to attend this frosty contest of candy and architecture. Left to right: Lucas Deane, Ashton Stevens, Adam Francis, Byron Washington, Remy Lavie, and Michael Buisson desperately try to finish their gingerbread house before time is up!

Senior Cooper Arnold strolls up to the celebrity-Santa table to purchase the top-selling CD of the winter season. A Very Terry Christmas, a Christmas album starring Bro. Terry Todd S.J. (left) and Coach Terry Ursin (right), is on sale throughout the week during lunch in the Commons. The cost is $5 each, and all proceeds will go toward the Jesuit Toys for Tots Drive and the spring Mission Drive.

Jesuit is no stranger to new clubs and activities on campus. The newly-formed Fishing Club has these students – Brady Smith, Trevor Chase, Carter Morris, Joseph Finger, and Jacob Reinhardt – taking their co-curricular interests even off campus. Last weekend the club traveled to Shell Beach for an adventure, which was in addition to a freshwater outing for bass in City Park a few weeks earlier. The club is moderated by Mrs. Helen Swan and is open to any students interested in fishing.

When Coach Terry Ursin gets into the Christmas spirit with a host of carols and cheer, Blue Jays can be assured that they will have a Terry Christmas indeed. Add to that the musical stylings of Br. Terry Todd, S.J., and now it’s a Very Terry Christmas. Students are producing the first-of-its-kind Christmas album, A Very Terry Christmas, set to drop on the Monday of Christmas Week, Dec. 11-15. Proceeds will go to Jesuit’s Toys for Tots drive and the annual Mission Drive in the spring.