On October 19, the freshman class participated in the Freshman Day Retreat in person. The retreat took place over three separate sessions where students, organized by their home room teacher, arrived at various times throughout the day. Because of COVID restrictions, the retreat could not take place in the Smith Gym like it typically would but instead on Cronin Field. 

Months of planning were put into making the Freshman Day Retreat. Campus Minister Don Clarke along with the assistance of English teacher Konrad Reinhardt planned, altered, and insured the retreat followed CDC guidelines frequently. 

Retreats at Jesuit are always student led. Those who have experienced the retreat before are too pass their wisdom on to those students who have not. For this retreat, seniors were the student leads. 

“It works better when it is student led,” Mr. Reinhardt said. “Especially a senior to a freshman because you are their finish line. You are what they want to be when they are done with their four years here.”

On the day of the retreat, students arrived one group at a time where they checked in at their specific gate, had their temperature taken, given hand sanitizer, and finally instructed to sit in their assigned area. This was the first time the freshman had been on campus at the same time and, for some, the first time ever seeing their classmates outside of a screen. 

“I knew a couple of people coming into Jesuit but my home room was full of unfamiliar faces,” freshman Avery Fritz said. “It was super cool to be able to actually be able to interact with my classmates even though we could not be super close. It just made me excited for when I will get to go back to school”. 

The retreat held as many of the same activities as possible from the following years, though many were not within the COVID-19 restrictions. Students learned new songs, participated in Bible trivia, listened to choir singing, and of course, participated in the infamous Rock Paper Scissors tournament. 

“I still remember the Rock Paper Scissors tournament from my freshman year,” senior lead KJ Tinsley said. “It was such a fun way to bring us together as a class and I could tell it was doing the same thing with this class, no matter how different it was”.

The final part of the retreat was student talks and interaction. Each small group consisted of two senior leads along with a home room class of freshman. The small group started off with a couple ice breakers such as “what is your favorite comfort food,” following with senior talks. The first talk given surrounded friendships, specifically detailing friendships during quarantine. Students were then given questions of interpretation to discuss with a classmate and eventually share with the group. Freshman got to know new classmates while getting advice from their two senior leads. 

“As much as I loved the Rock Paper Scissors tournament, my favorite part of the retreat was definitely the senior talks,” Fritz said. “It was cool to hear about their lives when they were freshmen, it made high school seem a whole lot less scary”. 

This retreat could not have been done without Mr. Reinhardt and especially Mr. Clarke. Over the last weeks, Mr. Clarke has been fine tuning this retreat so everyone who wanted to participate would be able too. 

“Overall I think the retreat was a success,” Mr. Reinhardt said. “ I texted a couple of the freshman parents just saying ‘how did they come home?’ And they said they came home with smiles on their faces”.

This October the cast of Godspell and the Freshman Ensemble has been lucky enough to rehearse in person on campus. The plays were originally imagined to be completely virtual. Meetings surrounding the plays, auditions, and even the first couple of rehearsals were virtual. However, after discussing with the administration, the drama program has recently been granted access to rehearse in person. Drama teacher Elaine Kloser explained how the drama program is able to meet.

“Small cohorts of the cast of Godspell and the Freshman Ensemble are able to hold rehearsal at school now a few times a week,” Ms. Kloser said. “t’s been nice to have such lovely fall weather lately because the groups can meet outside, and the administration has put up some tents in the Hayes Plaza, so even when the weather changes, we will still be able to meet outside!”

Cohorts of students vary from around eight-to-nine kids on campus at a time. Performers, as well as tech theatre students gather together to rehearse and work  on technical elements. Although the numbers are small, the drama program enforces strict rules regarding masks and social distancing.

“I overall think rehearsals have been going great,” Senior Mackenzie Jaimes said.  “They are pretty much the same as last year except for our warmup games and the fact that we need to sing in masks at all times.”

Rehearsing during COVID-19 is drastically different than rehearsing during the normal school year.

“It’s definitely been so much different from past years,” Jaimes said. “In our warmup games we cannot touch at all so games like tag, which are super fun, are out. It’s also really hard to see where we need to be placed on the stage.  Being so far from each other is definitely a challenge.”

Mackenzie is lucky enough to have her ensemble to perform in person. The other ensembles will also be performing, but in a mix of pre-recorded videos and virtual appearances. The hope is that soon all ensembles will be able to perform on stage together, but for now, it’s amazing that they can even meet in person during these challenging times.

While Godspell is a very important play, it is not the only one being performed this year. The Freshman Ensemble is also rehearsing for a digital performance.

“The freshmen ensemble has created a safe place where I’m free to express myself through acting,” freshman Isabel Diab said. “Each rehearsal has taught me so much about drama, and I’ve been able to form some amazing relationships through this experience”.

During the pandemic, it has been hard to make new connections with other students, especially for the freshman who have not met most of their classmates. In a time where it is very difficult for groups to congregate together, it is amazing that drama students have the opportunity to rehearse in person and create new relationships.

“Come November, we will be sure to share with the Jesuit Community the way in which we will be presenting Godspell,” Ms. Kloser said.  “If none of the metrics for the State of Oregon change between now and then, at least we know that Jesuit students will be able to watch Godspell in recorded format.  We think that whatever way our audience is able to view it that they will find much relevance to the world around them in the songs and parables!  Our goal is to keep Art and Hope alive during this uncertain time!”

Jesuit and the Children’s Cancer Association have been partners for 22 years. It all started at Doernbecher Children’s Hospital 27 years ago when two young girls named Melissa Zimel ‘01 and Alexandra Ellis shared a room. Sadly, only one of the two girls survived their battle with cancer; Alexandra passed away at the young age of five. Her mother, Regina, was inspired to start a charity in her memory to help young cancer patients live a more joyful life through friendship, joy and music. This was the beginning of the Alexandra Ellis Memorial Children’s Cancer Association(AEMCCA). 

When Melissa entered Jesuit High School in 1997 as a freshman, she knocked on Academic Vice Principal Paul Hogan’s door and told him about the wondrous things the AEMCCA  had done for her and other children, hoping Mr. Hogan could instigate Jesuit support for the organization. He did. The school, along with the leadership of Melissa, organized the first Fat Daddy Ball rock concerts at the Crystal Ballroom, in support of what was soon  the Children’s Cancer Association (CCA). 

Four years later, Jesuit decided that throwing rock concerts so close to graduation was a bit much for students, so they participated in the first ever Walk for Joy. The Walk for Joy is a fundraiser in which the six Portland Catholic schools, Jesuit, Central Catholic, De La Salle North Catholic, Valley Catholic, La Salle, and Saint Mary’s Academy, walk together to raise money, show support, and spread awareness for CCA. While the CCA Walk currently operates smoothly, the first walks were not as glamorous. 

The first Jesuit-only walk was a 19-mile trek, which was difficult for many participants. For the next ten years the walk became the last six miles of the Portland Marathon route.  

The latest version of the  Walk for Joy began when four sophomores, Ruby Gray ‘17, Tim Haarmaan ‘17, Carli Wood ‘17, and McCall Phillips ‘17 came to Principal Paul Hogan’s office in hopes of expanding the walk to incorporate rival school Central Catholic. The walk served as a branch to bring the schools together outside of athletic and academic rivalries while raising money to support CCA.

As the Walk continued over the years, it evolved. Instead of just two schools participating, all six of the Catholic schools walked together in 2017 and congregated for a Mass at Sellwood Park.

The Walk for Joy became a huge success over the years, raising money and creating new relationships between schools.

Sadly, due to Covid-19 and social distancing restrictions, the Walk for Joy was forced to become all-virtual. Meetings started in late May to discuss planning the Walk and how it could carry on in the age of COVID.

The final plan was for a student-led Coffeehouse to take place completely virtual on the night of September 26th, and the following morning of the 27th would be Mass hosted by Central Catholic, with all six schools attending. Immediately following the mass, students and their families were encouraged to go outside and do their own, now called “Walks for Joy,” while dressed in purple and sharing their photos via social media. 

The excitement surrounding the Walks for Joy spread during the second week of school. Each school created a “hype” video to be played during a virtual assembly to excite students and introduce a more serious message from CCA founder, Regina Elis.  In addition, on Monday, September 14, Jesuit held its annual brown bag meeting over zoom led by senior student lead Gwynne Olson. The meeting was a success, teaching almost 100 students how to create fundraising pages, and reach out to donors. 

Within two weeks, not only did Jesuit reach the goal of 10,000 dollars, but surpassed it by over 5,000 dollars. So far, the schools raised almost 50,000 dollars. 

The Coffeehouse included performances by the students of all six schools. The Jesuit emcees of the night were senior Alannah Connolly and senior Mackenzie Jamies and student performers included senior Gregor McKelligon, and junior Denyse Gallardo. Supporting the musicians were technicians senior Grace Sopko and senior Luke Motschenbacher. Overall, the students were a hit, but they were not the only music performers invited to play that night. After the event, the world renowned Lumineers performed some of their hit songs. 

The next morning students woke up early for 10 a.m. Mass. With speakers from all six of the schools, a beautiful service was produced. The Mass was presided by Fr. David Shaw from Central Catholic and Fr. Pat Couture from Jesuit, with student reflections by junior Mary Lou Lux from Valley Catholic, Gwynne Olson from Jesuit, and junior Emma Watson from Central Catholic. The service was concluded with a reflection from Regina Ellis. 

Following Mass, students were encouraged to go out and walk with their families. Though the walk was significantly different from past walks, it was still greatly embraced by many students. 

“I loved the CCA Walk for Joy the previous years I participated because I got to walk with my classmates,” senior Roxana Abtin explained. “However, this year I really enjoyed being able to walk with my family.”

Looking back, the weekend was a complete success. Students were as involved this year as they have been in the previous years and had an amazing time. This weekend seemed impossible when planning began in April but ended up being amazing thanks to everyone who pitched in. 

“CCA, like a lot of charities, is hurting in the age of COVID-19 because they do most of their fundraising at events.” Principal Hogan said. “ My view was that things went astonishingly well. We could very well have just said,’Yeah, you know what, this is not going to work this year. We can’t gather everyone in the Saint Mary’s gym.how are we going to have a Mass?’ In the end, I’m super grateful that students did not give up on it and I am so proud of our Catholic school student leaders!”

People need people. This is a phrase that has been carried through centuries and surely still rings true today. 

It has been proven that people who experience loneliness and disconnection are more likely to develop signs of anxiety and/or depression. In a New York Times article highlighting the importance of human connection, personal health columnist Jane E Brody wrote “People who are chronically lacking in social contact are more likely to experience elevated levels of stress and inflammation” (www.nytimes.com).

The isolation imposed due to quarantine has left people feeling that they have no control over the situation; they feel cut off from the world. Though many are surrounded by family members during this time, the sense of isolation and cabin fever can be powerful. That being said, humans’ mental health, especially teenagers, cannot be impacted well due to quarantine and isolation. 

In what can be thought of “normal times,” statistics show that  20 percent of teens experience signs of depression and 25 percent experience signs of anxiety before they reach adulthood. With numbers that have increased rapidly, research everywhere says there is no single cause for what teens are experiencing. Although some indicators include bullying, high expectations, substance abuse, or lack of confidence. Teenagers already have so much stress that fills their lives with sports, grades, and expectations, and generally social interaction is a good release. 

Due to quarantine, these social interactions have been cut down to the bare minimum with limited outlets and opportunities to find a safe haven. 

“I still talk to my friends over FaceTime and Snapchat and other things like that,” an anonymous student said. “But it’s not the same as communicating with someone in person. Honestly, I feel like I need genuine human interaction or it really just doesn’t count. Over the phone is just so impersonal.”

While talking over the phone is fulfilling for some students, for others it simply is not enough. Without true human contact, many students have had trouble maintaining good mental health while keeping social distances. 

“For a while school was a place that I dreaded going because I felt so lonely,” an anonymous student confessed. “However as time went on it became the only place where I really wanted to be. Having to stay cooped up in my house has been bringing back that lonely feeling that I used to feel at school.”

School has been a place, for some students, that brings a great deal of stress into their lives. However, without the added social interactions that come with being a student, many yearn to go back. 

There is not a singular solution that can benefit every teen who has experienced depression and anxiety, however, there are many things that can be done to help during these unprecedented times. 

First, it is important to establish a routine. Having a structured plan can minimize the feeling of being out of control or the feeling of directionlessness. Planning out activities to keep busy will put the mind at ease; it is important to stay active. Feelings of hopelessness and helplessness can be triggers for depression.

“Maintain a regular schedule, including wake and sleep times,” Jesuit  counselor Michelle Strear said. “Schedule in time to socialize, to be active/exercise, and other things you enjoy.”

Second, it is important to communicate with others. Though it may not be the same communicating over a screen versus in person, it is important that you try and maintain those relationships for two main reasons. First of all it gives you some form of human contact that you need, because after all people really do need people. And second, quarantine will not last forever and you will need those friendships once social distancing is lifted.

It is also important that you communicate how you are feeling and resist keeping your feelings bottled up. Talk to your friends, parents, siblings, school counselors, or one of the many teen hotlines for those feeling depressed or anxious.

Finally, remember the reason that we are complying with quarantine. It is not a punishment, but a precaution to avoid spreading a virus that has caused thousands of deaths. Keep yourself informed but not overwhelmed. Many people can feel stressed if they feel they do not have access to information about their surroundings. Make sure you know enough to be satisfied but not stressed. 

 Remember that by complying to quarantine you are saving lives and it will be over soon. Stay true to yourself and never lose sight of your future ahead. 

“It was really hard at first, being by myself everyday,”an anonymous student said. “But it’s gotten a lot easier now that I have become more optimistic. I know that this will clear up someday so I might as well try some new things and enjoy some ‘me time’ until that day comes!”

Trevor Hotline for LGBTQ Youth: 1-866-488-7386 | thetrevorproject.org

Suicide Prevention (United States): 1-800-273-TALK (8255) | suicidepreventionlifeline.org

Youth Hotline: 1-877-968-8491 | oregonyouthline.org or text “teen2teen” to 839863 

Due to the Caronavirus spreading so rapidly many spring break travels have been cancelled or postponed due to either travel restrictions or self quarantine. 

For those planning on traveling internationally, those plans are to be put on hold. All travel to or from China, Iran, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK or Ireland has been banned. All US citizens who have visited one of these high risk areas for enhanced screening after reentering the US.

Unless your family is prepared to remain outside the US for an extended period of time, your trip might as well be cancelled. 

As for travel within the US, the biggest restriction is self quarantine rather than actual travel restrictions. Mandated social distancing has been enforced along with proactive monitoring for signs of ill passengers has been implemented in many states. 

On March 16th, Governor Kate Brown announced that seated dining is banned along with gatherings of more than twenty five people.With the amount of restrictions in place, most people have been finding it easier and less stressful to either travel within Oregon, or just stay at home. 

This was very frustrating to many students.

““I understand how important it is to keep everyone healthy, especially my grandparents who I was going to stay with in Hawaii,” junior Damon Grim explained. “It’s still so frustrating to get spring break canceled. I had been looking forward to this trip with my grandparents all year.”

However, some disregarded suggestions to self quarantine and went on their vacations anyways. 

“My family was planning on going to Palm Springs anyways and we decided it was still worth it to go to the sun,” junior Maria Breault said. “It’s just so quiet here. My family goes to Palm Springs a bit and I have never seen it so void of people.” 

With Coronavirus being so new, many people are not sure how to react. Many people are taking it very seriously and staying in door while others and taking advantage of no school and exploring nature. To learn more about COVID-19 go check out articles by senior Shawna Muckle or junior Rosa Madden that discuss the recent outbreak. 

Stay safe and have a good spring break! 

Recently the mock trial team competed in the state competition. 

Jesuit has a strong mock trial team consisting of almost all seniors and two juniors. Tryouts were held in November and students were placed on one of four different teams. The top team, or gold team, was confident they would have a good season. 

“I was confident that we would have two really strong teams that could compete well this year and that is what we had,” coach Dr. Exley said. “We had a really strong and experienced gold team and our black team, the second team, was also pretty strong and had potential to make it to state.” 

In a mock trial competition, each team is issued the same case and has months to prepare an argument for either side. Three witness statements are given each side and the case is supposedly written so each side has an equal chance of winning. Witnesses must memorize the information in their statements, lawyers must figure out ways to get in evidence complying with the Federal Rules of evidence, and openers and closers must memorize five minute long statements proving their argument. 

When competition day arrives, all teams assemble at a courthouse and are given their matchup there. Teams go head on and are scored both individually out of ten and by ballots.

“So how ballots work is in each trial there are 3 judges: the presiding judge, someone who judges the attorneys, and someone who judges the witnesses,” senior Grace Hershey explained. “The witness and attorney’s judges sit in the jury box. Each of the three judges have a ballot that they fill out and it’s basically a vote for one of the teams,” 

Ballots are given to the teams who have the best witnesses, lawyers, and overall court preparation. In the end the team with the most ballots wins the case. Individual points generally decide tiebreakers. 

Mock trial had a very successful regional competition taking eight ballots out of nine ballots securing their place at State. The black team just barely missed state losing by ten points in a three way tie. 

There was not a lot of time between regionals and state so the team put in many hours in preparation for the competition. 

“For the last 5 weeks of the season, we did daily doubles practices in preparation for regionals and state, and that hard work definitely paid off,” Hershey explained. “We went against some pretty tough teams, but we held our own. Overall I am really proud of how my team did this season.” 

Junior  Joe Vranizan is a recent commit to the Georgetown University for Lacrosse. This was not an easy feat to accomplish. It required much hard work, dedication and persistence.

In January of last year when Joe was playing in a club Lacrosse game when his career was put off track. Vranizan was tripped and sent flying towards the grass. As he fell he stuck his right arm down to soften the fall.

“I rolled over my right side and felt the biggest pop of my life,” said Vranizan, “ It sounded to me like a firework went off and I rolled over and saw my arm bending in a different way than it should have been.”

With the impact of the fall his right elbow was so severely dislocated that it was fractured. Joe was rushed to the hospital but it was clear that he would be out for a while.

“I still have a flash memory of me screaming and looking at my arm bending outwards insteads of inwards,” Vranizan recalled.

Vranizan was crushed he would be missing out on the beginning of his sophomore season, but it would not be the end of his Lacrosse career. After his surgery he spent time in rehab. At first they focused on simple movements such as straightening his arm, but soon he was back to passing and catching. His injury was in 2019 and by spring break he was back and playing.

That summer Vranizan spent countless hours in the gym and on the field building up his strength and confidence. He was getting some quality college looks but his dream school turned into Georgetown. It took a couple tournaments of the coaches watching him but his dream became true when Georgetown made him an offer in January. He was ecstatic.

“I committed almost instantly and with the season almost upon me I am more than ready,” Vranizan said.

On January 26, the basketball world’s heart was broken when a helicopter crashed in Calabasas, California and ended the life of Laker Kobe Bryant. Bryant, a five-time NBA champion and 41 year-old father of four, was headed to the Mamba Sports Academy at the time of the tragedy. Bryant truly was a legend. He joined the NBA straight from high school and was immediately seen as a game changing player. Originally drafted to the Charlotte Hornets, Bryant was traded right away to the Lakers in 1996. It was there that Bryant would begin to obtain his Mamba mentality.

From the start of his NBA career, Bryant showed his potential to excel. During his second season as a Laker he was voted to play in the 1998 NBA all star game, being the youngest ever to do so at age of 19.
With star player Shaquille O’Neal, the Lakers swept two NBA championships. Shaq was a force and together they were unstoppable.

Although the Lakers struggled a bit with the loss of star player Shaquille O’Neal in 2004, Bryant was there to pick up the slack. It was clear this was officially his team and he soon proved that. Bryant scored eighty one points against Toronto, the second highest scoring mark in NBA history. He led the league in scoring that year and the next.
Bryant not only led his team to five NBA championships, but was also named MVP in 2008, led the Olympic basketball team to two gold medals, and surpassed NBA verteran all star Micheal Jordan on the NBA scoring list in December 2014.

Bryant’s basketball career ended with continuous injuries that became too hard to maintain. He went out with a bang scoring sixty points in his final game in 2016. Kobe Bryant was a great player who never cheated the game nor cheated his fans, played through injuries and has five rings to prove his greatness.

Though Bryant is best known for his basketball success, he was so much more than just a player on a court. Off the court Kobe was a poet, a coach, businessman and most importantly, a husband and father.
Upon retirement, Bryant presented a poem entitled “Dear Basketball” as a tribute to the game. He sought to turn his poem into a short film and with the help of Disney this was achieved. The result was a beautifully rendered 5 minute and 20 second short film that won an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film in 2018.

It did not matter that Kobe was no longer was a player on the court. He made countless appearances at Laker games where he mentored player like Lebron James who soon became a close personal friend. He also shared his love of the game with his kids and family. Kobe was an amazing coach and he taught his kids and their friends growing up. At first it was just a bit of fun, but soon it became something bigger.
In 2018 Bryant announced his partnership with a multi-sport training facility that he rebranded into Mamba Sports. The goal was to educate and empower the next generation of kids through sports. Kobe loved working with kids and teaching them basketball, especially his 13-year-old daughter Gianna.

Gigi, as her father called her, was a female version of Kobe. They shared a special bond, always attached at the hip. She was Mambasita and he was Mamba.

Gianna would carry on the Bryant basketball legacy. She was a rising star playing for Mamba Sports, she quickly became noticeably one of the best players on the court. Her plan was to continue basketball at Connecticut than eventually the WNBA.

Tragically, Gianna was among the nine passengers who went down on January 26th.
Among Kobe and Gigi were seven other passengers.

The Altobeli’s: John (56), Keri (46), and Alyssa(14). Alyssa was a teammate of Giana’s and an amazing player. Her father John, head baseball coach for Orange Coast College, and her mother were on their way to see Alyssa play.

Christina Mauser, (38), was the top assistant coach of the Mamba girls basketball team. Mauser was a mother of three.

Ara Zobayan, (50), was Bryant’s private pilot. He was the only man Kobe ever trusted to fly him.

And finally, mother and daughter Sarah, (45), and Peyton Chester, (13). Peyton was a teammate of Gianna and Alyssa.

Poor visibility due to fog and the lack of a recommended safety device on the helicopter both played a part in the unfortunate crash. There was nothing anyone could have done to help.

NBA players and fans of Bryant worldwide have given respect to one of the all-time greats that formed the game of basketball as we know it today. During several NBA games, players took a 24-second shot clock violation followed by an eight second backcourt violation in memory of the two numbers that Bryant wore during his career. Fans all over have been wearing their Laker gear, the colors purple and gold, or wearing 24 or 8 to show their respect. Jesuit held a “Kobe” day on February 14, many students helped commemorate Kobe’s life by wearing purple and gold and participating in the activities.

The world mourned the death of Kobe, Gianna, and the seven other passengers who were aboard the helicopter. These nine will forever be missed and never forgotten.