Jesuit High School (New Orleans)
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| Motto | Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (For the Greater Glory of God) |
|---|---|
| Established | 1847 |
| Type | Roman Catholic, all-male secondary school |
| Affiliation | Roman Catholic Church (specifically the Society of Jesus) |
| President | Fr. Anthony McGinn, S.J., '66 |
| Principal | Mr. Michael Giambelluca, '82 |
| Founder | Fr. Jean Baptiste Maisonabe, S.J. |
| Students | 1,425 -- 2006-07 (1,458 in 2005-06, pre-Katrina) |
| Grades | 8 - 12 |
| Location | 4133 Banks St., New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.A. |
| Colors | Blue and White |
| Mascot | Jayson the Blue Jay |
| Website | [1] |
Jesuit High School is an all-male Catholic high school in New Orleans, Louisiana. The school was founded in 1847. It is located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans.
Over 99 percent of Jesuit graduates have gone on to attend college. Jesuit ranks among the top private schools in the nation in number of National Merit semifinalists.[1] The class of 2006 received $16,683,228 in college scholarship offers, an average of $64,000 per student.[2]
In 1966, Jesuit became the first high school in the country to have a Marine Corps Junior ROTC program. For several years, this program was mandatory for all students; the combination of Jesuit priests and Marine Corps JROTC instructors made the school's disciplinary system unique among American high schools. Guest speakers such as authors Tony Hillerman, Sister Helen Prejean, Orson Scott Card, Dana Gioia, Chaim Potok, New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin, former New Orleans Mayor and alumnus Marc Morial, actor Jim Caviezel, theologian George Weigel, Black Pope Peter Hans Kolvenbach, ESPN announcer Mike Tirico, theologian and former U.S. Ambassador Michael Novak, and United States President William Howard Taft have addressed the student body over the years. Novelist Pat Conroy addressed the school in the spring of 2008.[citation needed]
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[edit] History
The College of the Immaculate Conception was founded in 1847 but did not open until 1849; it was both a secondary school and a college, and both were located in the Faubourg Ste. Marie of New Orleans (now the New Orleans Central Business District), a block upriver from the French Quarter, at the corner of Baronne and Common Streets. In 1911, the high school and college divisions were split, and the college division relocated to St. Charles Avenue, eventually becoming Loyola University New Orleans. The high school remained on Baronne Street until 1926, when it was moved to its current location at 4133 Banks Streetin Mid-City. The Church of the Immaculate Conception [3] remains on the original campus and plays an active role in the Jesuit community.
Since 1926, several additions have been made to the campus. In 1953 a wing was added along Palmyra Street; the addition included an auditorium, the Chapel of the North American Martyrs, a cafeteria, a library, several classrooms, and a band room.
The school's current president is Fr. Anthony McGinn, S.J. (Class of 1966), and its current principal is Michael Giambelluca (Class of 1982).
[edit] Mascot
The mascot is a blue jay posed with his fists raised, designed by cartoonist Walt Kelly. A contest was held to name the mascot, and the name "Jayson," submitted by a student, won. The school's colors are blue and white to honor the Virgin Mary, which led to the "Blue Jay" mascot. Student athletes wore a white sweater with a blue letter "J" on it and they were referred to as the "Blue J's". As with most Jesuit schools, this school's motto is Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam ("For the Greater Glory of God"). Jesuit holds various local and state records for its academic and athletic achievements.
Alma Mater
Hail Alma Mater Dear!
Loyal sons acclaim thee
Thy sacred name revere
For its majesty!
Star of our youthful years!
By thy beams illumined
Souls advanced in wisdom's bright careers
Minds and hearts enlightened
Friend and guide 'neath standards bright!
Trumpeting valor's cry
Skyward stream thy blue and white!
Thy gallant fighting sons climb high
So shall thy banners be
Guides to heaven's sphere
Lead, O lead us onto victory!
Mother Alma Mater dear
Jesuit Fight Song
Jesuit High, our Alma Mater
Hear thy sons thy name proclaim to every ear
We pledge our lives to thee
our love, our trust and loyalty
Blue and white through all the days of life
We'll honor thee in victory and strife
Hail thee we'll acclaim thee
Jesuit High, our Alma Mater fair
To the front for success
Onward we'll ever stride
Thro' the years
We thy sons ever will be thy pride
We'll conquer side by side.
[edit] Sports
Since 1933, Jesuit has won 18 state championships in baseball and 2 American Legion World Series. The 1946 athletic year yielded undefeated state champions in baseball, basketball, track and field, and football.[2][citation needed] It has been said that Jesuit had "All the Tricks in '46." In the 2004-2005 school year, Jesuit won state championships in baseball, cross country, soccer, tennis, wrestling, rugby, and swimming, and went to the state playoffoffs in football with an undefeated regular season. In 2005, Jesuit became the first 5A school in Louisiana history to win three state championships in a row in the sport of cross country. In 2006, they continued with an unprecedented 4th cross country state championship. Jesuit Swimming holds the LHSAA record for most consecutive state championships in any sport, with 18 straight. The streak was broken in 2005, when the team, still feeling the effects of Hurricane Katrina, was only able to field 12 swimmers, yet still managed to come in second place, only a few points out of first. In 2006, however, the team was able to recapture the state championship.
In football, Jesuit High School vs. Holy Cross High School is the oldest continuous high school rivalry in Louisiana and one of the oldest continuous high school football rivalries in the United States. The first game was played in 1922 (Jesuit won by 52-0) and the two teams have played every year since (twice in 1963: once in regular season and another time for the state crown which Holy Cross won) Blue Jays vs. Tigers.
Jesuit also this past 2006-2007 season had one of the best soccer teams in the nation, winning the Louisiana state title and posting an incredible 31-0 record ranking #2 in the nation. The rugby team won the State Championship for the fifth consecutive year with an undefeated regular season, before going on to sweep the Southern Regionals. They placed 7th in the nation in Tier B of the USA Rugby Boys High School National Championship.[3]
[edit] Hurricane Katrina
When the flooding following Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, Jesuit High School was inundated, five feet (1.5 m) of water destroying the ground floor. When the school announced that it was closed indefinitely, many students enrolled in schools in cities to which they had evacuated. The largest concentration of students attended a satellite school at Strake Jesuit College Preparatory in Houston; at one point, approximately 420 displaced students attended classes at night with their own teachers and classmates. In mid-October, Jesuit opened another satellite school at St. Martin's Episcopal School in Metairie in unincorporated Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, which about 500 students attended until Thanksgiving. After Thanksgiving, Jesuit's students and faculty returned to their own campus, becoming the first flooded school in New Orleans to reopen—albeit with an unusable first floor. The school held its annual Thanksgiving Drive for the poor living in the surrounding neighborhoods. Most of the reconstruction of the first floor is scheduled to be completed by August 2006, in time for the 2006-2007 school year. On 23 January 2006, 1285 of the 1450 students returned to attend Jesuit for the second semester. The neighborhood around the school is still heavily damaged.
[edit] Notable alumni
- Dr. John, Musician
- Harry Connick, Jr. (Class of 1985), musician, actor.
- Will Clark (Class of 1982), Major League Baseball player, 6 time All-Star, Gold Glove Winner
- John Favalora, (Class of 1954), Archbishop of Miami, Florida (1994-present)
- Jimmy Fitzmorris, Lieutenant Governor (1972–1980).
- F. Edward Hebert (Class of 1920), U.S. Congressman (1940-1976)
- Corey Hilliard (Class of 2003), 6th Round Draft Pick of New England Patriots in 2007 NFL Draft.
- Moon Landrieu (Class of 1948), Mayor of New Orleans (1970–1978) and Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development "HUD".
- Mitch Landrieu (Class of 1978), current Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana
- Christian LeBlanc (Class of 1976), actor (Michael Baldwin of "The Young and the Restless")
- Fred LeBlanc (Class of 1981), drummer, singer in rock band Cowboy Mouth
- Ellis Henican, journalist (Class of 1976)
- Marc Morial (Class of 1976), Mayor of New Orleans (1994–2002).
- John Petitbon (Class of 1947), Notre Dame & National Football League player.
- Pat Screen (Class of 1961), State Champion quarterback 1960, LSU Quarterback, Mayor of Baton Rouge
- Rusty Staub (Class of 1961), Major League Baseball player, 6-time All Star, New York Mets Hall of Fame
- Jay Thomas (Class of 1966), actor (Eddie LeBec of "Cheers", "Murphy Brown") and radio personality (Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 102)
- Donald Wetzel (Class of 1947), inventor of the modern, networked Automated Teller Machine (ATM)
- Edward Douglass White (Class of 1865), Chief Justice of the United States
- Walter Schindler (Class of 1969), poet (author of The Napoleon House, Voice and Crisis), corporate lawyer, venture capitalist
- Chris Brown (Class of 2004) , Current tight end for the Jacksonville Jaguars
[edit] References
- ^ 2005 recruiting brochure (PDF). Jesuit High School.
- ^ New Orleans Times-Picayune, July 20, 2003
- ^ USAR
[edit] See also
- Jesuit High School, disambiguation page
[edit] External links
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