The ear-splitting fire alarms suddenly erupted in the halls and offices throughout Jesuit on Tuesday morning, prompting the orderly evacuation of more than 1,400 Blue Jays, faculty, and staff. Routine as fire drills have become, they are always taken seriously. They are critical to ensuring the safety of everyone at Jesuit. Blue Jays empty the school quickly and quietly, their destination: Will Clark Field. Along the way, minds wander, imagination takes flight, as if these Blue Jays were actually slogging through waist-deep water on Banks Street, a steady rain pelting them through the gates of delirium.

When Mr. Julio Minsal-Ruiz, S.J. is looking for a little spiritual solitude with a view, he sometimes heads up to the Jesuit roof, where he could be found on Monday reading Magnificat Magazine. When this photo was taken at 7:22 p.m., the sun had disappeared beneath the horizon some 14 minutes earlier, but was still strong enough to illuminate downtown New Orleans, bathing the familiar skyline in a blueish hue. Mr. Minsal-Ruiz — a Jesuit scholastic who teaches theology (Morality and Vocations) to Blue Jays — was taking full advantage of the new deck, complete with expanded bench seating, that the school’s maintenance workers recently built… naturally, alongside the pool.

Members of the Board Games Club occupy a table in the Student Commons after school on Friday to engage in the relatively lost art of gamesmanship. The club, moderated by Dr. Cyril Lagnavec II, meets every other Friday in the Commons to, well, play board games. Not “bored” games, as a few cynics out there might be thinking, but challenging ones, such as “Betrayal at House on the Hill,” which requires concentration and strategy. Enjoying “a new twist on terror,” as advertised on the front of the box, are game enthusiasts (clockwise from Dr. Lagnavec) pre-freshman Matthew Richards, junior David Senentz, pre-freshman Christian Lacoste, and juniors Jared Ohle, Clayton Lococo, and Douglas Dillon.

Students who are studying the writings of C.S. Lewis in Mr. Jeremy Reuther’s theology class, met in St. Ignatius Hall on Thursday September 5, with Jesuit’s president Fr. Raymond Fitzgerald, S.J., who team-teaches the single-semester senior elective course with Mr. Reuther, who serves as Jesuit’s director of campus ministry. After spending the first couple of week’s reading “The Pilgrim’s Regress” – Lewis’s first published work of prose fiction – the group turned its attention to the author’s high fantasy novel – “The Magician’s Nephew.”

One of the joys of being president of Jesuit High School is meeting new Blue Jays. On any given morning, at lunch, and after school, Fr. Raymond Fitzgerald, S.J. can usually be found in the Traditions Courtyard, where in the shade of the oaks, he meets and greets Blue Jays coming and going. After the Mass of the Holy Spirit, students were dismissed for the Labor Day holiday weekend. These four pre-freshmen chatted with Father while waiting for their ride home. From left are Will Landrieu, Chris Freibert, Jacob Bordelon, and Brett Power.

This quintet of pre-freshmen in the Student Commons (from left) James Mason, Jeremy Poissenot, Ryan Guillot, Blair Loupe, and Evan Alphonso take a break from their homework to smile for the Wild Photographer Wednesday afternoon.

Creating their own stage, seniors Gui Kirsch on saxophone and Patrick Doell on trumpet practice a few tunes in Traditions Courtyard during lunchtime on Tuesday, September 3.

Mr. Obie Ortega gets a laugh from freshman Nolan Lambert in his Spanish II class in the last period of the day.

Pre-freshman Gregory Buisson enjoys the discussion of this year’s Big “J” Read novel, A Lesson before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines. Students participated in the Big “J” Read on Tuesday, August 27 to earn extra academic credit in English.

Pre-freshmen (from left) Andrew Hemelt, Benton Moore, Caleb Rogers, and Seth Rocha work on word problems at the board in Mr. Weiss’ math class.

Juniors Matt Subervielle (left) and Andrew Liang make room for some of the many MCJROTC trophies accumulated in the past few months.

Workers on a scaffold renovating the arches of stained glass in the Chapel of the North American Martyrs claimed window seating on Thursday, August 15, while Blue Jays attended Mass on this Feast of the Assumption, followed by the 2013 Investiture ceremony.

Using a Sympodium, Blue Jays in Ms. Yvonne Leger’s fifth period math class learn about functions.

Junior Miles Beech stands in the shade of an oak on Banks Street while patiently waiting for a ride to his home in Metairie.

Members of Jesuit’s Student Ministry program – an arm of the school’s Office of Campus Ministry – attended Mass in the Holy Name Chapel on Friday, August 2. About 50 of the group’s 70 members – all juniors and seniors – spent two days in retreat, which included prayer, small group discussion, discernment, and planning the school’s spiritual activities for the upcoming year. The group is directed by Mr. Jeremy Reuther ’01 and Fr. John Brown, S.J., who celebrated Friday’s Mass.

Members of the Blue Jay Band and Jayettes pack their luggage into a truck as they prepare to head out to Band Camp. As the start of the school year nears, many clubs and organizations are meeting for the first time since the spring to prepare for the new year.