Rising ninth graders representing over 120 middle schools gathered in the Terry Center to experience their first day as Jesuit students. The Class of 2016 is the largest freshman class ever to set foot on school grounds. In addition, they are the first freshman class to use iPads as a part of their learning tools. These 287 young men made the commitment to be Jesuit students as soon as they were accepted to be a part of the ever-growing community.
Mr. Tim Host, Admissions Director and freshman counselor, commented on the admissions process and gave his thoughts about the freshmen at first glance.
“This year we had a record number of applications for the freshman class, which resulted in a very competitive admissions process and the largest freshman class we have ever had. Other than requiring all students to apply online for the first time, the procedure was the same, including transcripts, recommendations, ISEE testing, and interviews. My initial impressions are that they are very bright, very engaged in a wide range of activities, and are very cooperative. It looks like it’s going to be an outstanding class.”
Mr. Corey Marr, another freshman counselor, noted that “the freshmen of 2016 are a great class. They exemplify a good balance between academics and talents (athletics, arts, etc.). I have a very good feeling that they will be very involved with the school and the community.”
Two seniors, who are also Big Brothers to the freshmen, commented on the class of 2016.
One senior Big Brother, Cameron Kerl, gave his first impression of the class.
“Although I have only met a small handful of the students in the freshman class, I feel that they already show promising signs of excitement to embark on an entirely new journey. Even better, very few of the freshmen appeared to be uncomfortable, even though it was their first day in a new school and environment.”
“The class of 2016 seems excited to be entering a new chapter in their lives,” added senior Big Brother Dennis Kamara.
Freshman Orientation – Introductory Speeches
Jesuit officially welcomed the new freshman class of 2016 at Freshman Orientation this past Thursday on August 23, 
2012. The large number of young men gradually streamed into the Terry Center to begin their first day of high school, a day that none will ever forget.
Before the fun and games began, the senior and executive staff made a few introductory speeches regarding the mission statement and the types of behavior students should exhibit.
The day started with Mr. Michael Earsing, President of the Dallas Jesuit chapter, who opened up with a prayer based on the single question: “What time is it?”
The answer: “The time is Now,” consists of four simple words that explain how Jesuit both offers students the opportunity to experience a fun high school experience and the opportunity to transform from immature kids into young men who embody the tenets of the ‘Profile of a Graduate.’
Next, Principal Tom Garrison stepped up to the microphone to introduce himself.
“Welcome to Jesuit. I am excited to be sharing this moment with you as this is your first day of high school with your newfound brothers. I want to start out with an introductory activity that has you all introducing yourself to the person sitting on your right and left.”
Mr. Garrison then stepped back to allow the guys time to introduce themselves to those sitting around them.
He continued: “Now, these students, too, are a part of Jesuit. These are the guys you will get to know and spend most of your time with here at school. Just know that we are in this together, from start to finish.”
Mr. Donahue then walked up to the podium and did his usual speech where he used his booming voice to command the attention of the incoming freshman class.
“Good morning Class of 2016!”
After reprimanding the freshmen for their responding mumbles, Mr. Donahue taught them to respond with enthusiasm when speaking to him.
Mr. Donahue then introduced the three characteristics of a Jesuit graduate: brotherhood, integrity and commitment. “Brotherhood is the way one cares for his brother in the best way possible. Each one of you has the job to make sure that your brother does the right thing. You boys are here because you chose to come here. You made a commitment to Jesuit. Do the best you can do at Jesuit. The faculty chose you and have made the commitment themselves to help you all succeed in your time at Jesuit. Last is integrity. Integrity is always doing the right thing even when no else sees you do it.”
Then Mr. Rich Perry, Director of Community Service Endeavors, took the stand to explain to the students the importance of Community Service. He emphasized that community service is just as important as the academic aspect at Jesuit; without the sufficient amount of community service, one is unable to graduate.
First Class with iPads
The Class of 2016 will go down in history as the first freshman class at Jesuit Dallas to use iPads. As she had done with the other grade levels, Mrs. Michele Williams, Director of the iPad committee, introduced the basics of the new technology resource to the incoming freshmen. For about an hour, Mrs. Williams patiently showed the freshman class a how-to presentation on the use of the iPads.
Mrs. Williams then took the time to go through each of the options in the general settings on the iPad. She taught the students how to use Dropbox, save battery life, and manage storage.
The students were then introduced to the Jesuit database, Moodle, where teachers post schedules, homework, quizzes, and other class-related materials.
Finally, Mason Amelotte ´14 and Cameron Kerl introduced the Jesuit issued apps Notability and iBooks.
Freshmen had positive remarks about the use of iPads in a classroom setting. Blake Buell ’16 said, “It was a really good idea for Jesuit to allow the use of iPads in classes.” “I think that the use of iPads will allow us to do better things,” said Ryan Murray ’16.
Freshman Orientation – First Day of School
The freshman class reached the point where they finally got to experience a typical day of the Jesuit student. Following the Wednesday schedule, they were released from the Terry Center to find their classes and meet their teachers. Afterwards the freshmen communed with their newfound brothers as a community for a Jesuit Mass.
Mass chaos erupted as soon as Mr. Marr gave the word for the Terry Center doors to open. With some walking and others running, the freshmen scrambled to find their classes. Many were confused by the room numbers and by the various hallways and abbreviations. Faculty and staff gathered at the crossroads of the two main halls to help the confused students find their classes.
By about sixth period many finally understood the layout of the school and were able to find their way through the labyrinth of hallways. The ‘running of the freshmen’ wrapped up in the Terry Center, where Coach Charles Delong, head soccer coach, gave a brief speech about the standard athletic period at the end of the day.
After walking around the school campus and scurrying about through the hallways in an attempt to find the teachers, the freshmen settled down for Mass. As head of Campus Ministry, Mrs. Gretchen Crowder stepped up to the podium and gave an introductory speech explaining the importance and concept of Mass. Father Billy Huete S.J. and Father Anthony Wieck S.J. began the Mass with prayer and readings from the New Testament and Holy Gospel. Father Huete then gave a homily that corresponded with the idea of AMDG.
“Jesuit education has been around for a long time, and now you are a part of the tradition. We are asking of you to accept the invitation from not only the faculty but the Holy Father himself to become a part of the community and follow through with the obligations of being a Jesuit student.”
During Communion, the students shared their first act of brotherhood and community when they held hands and sang the “Our Father.”
For the next half hour, the freshmen were asked to come down from the bleachers and organize themselves into their miscellaneous homerooms. From there, groups of eight to ten seniors met and greeted the newcomers and formed large pinwheel-type circles around the Terry Center. The seniors, all part of the school organization ‘Big Brothers’ headed by senior counselor Mr. Chris Blackwell, broke the ice and got the freshmen to open up.
After the Big Brothers activity, the freshmen were released for lunch in the main cafeteria. After lunch, the students went back to their homerooms where two to three senior Big Brothers had been assigned. In the classrooms, the guys partnered up with one other person whom they did not know, played guessing games and shared information about themselves. At 2:00, Jesuit held its annual freshman Activities and Clubs Fair in the cafeteria. Though it was very loud and crowded, the students seemed to have fun as they wandered from one booth to the next seeming to find interest in one club but not the other. The top interests included: The Community Service and Leadership Corps, debate, rugby, AAOS, and crew, as well as many others.
At the end of the day, the students gathered sluggishly on the bleachers in the Terry Center to enjoy a pep rally hosted by the Jesuit and Ursuline band. Directed by Mr. Donovan Putnam, the band played a series of songs such as the ‘Jesuit Fight’ that pulled the freshmen up from their seats and wiped the exhaustion from their eyes. As the final drum beat sounded, the freshmen gathered in the Terry Center foyer to receive their Class of 2016 t-shirts, which they proudly wore as they exited the building.
As freshmen waited in the heat for their afternoon rides, the mood was still upbeat. Jeremy Lane said that, “even though it was long, it was fun.”
As a final note, Mr. Knize summed up his impression of the day.
“Freshman orientation went smoothly because of the organization from the freshman counselors and the presence of the faculty to help the freshman class. I was excited that after a long day, this class showed much energy in the last activity when they were introduced to the Jesuit fight song and drum line cheers. The thing that really touched my heart was that I also saw a lot of incoming freshmen having fun.”
