The Plank

On Friday, Nov. 22, Jesuit High School Sacramento will host its first ever Thanksgiving Interfaith Prayer Service. In light of the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, the service will center on the theme of gratitude; more specifically, how we can be thankful in our everyday lives.

As the first interfaith Campus Ministry event, the service will feature Jesuit student speakers and guest speakers from various religions.

Environmental justice is a globally recognized issue that the current generation of students needs to confront now in order to protect the future of our planet. Jesuit High School Sacramento’s Environmental Justice and Sustainability Club seeks to address this issue. 

The club aims to help the environment by spreading awareness for environmental justice among Jesuit students. 

The Jesuit High School Sacramento Sportsman’s Association helps students develop their passion for trap shooting in a controlled and welcoming environment. The club is led by Math Teacher Mr. Keegan Smith, and Mr. Mark Smith, the father of Cooper Smith ’25 and Griffin Smith ’27. Every week, Mr. Smith leads practices where members hone their skills, preparing for the several competitions they attend throughout the year.

“The club is primarily focused on giving the boys an opportunity to learn and practice clay target shooting in a safe and fun environment,” Mr. Mark Smith said. “We accomplish this by having practices at the [Sacramento] Valley Shooting Center on Sunday afternoons.”

When many people think of Kansas City, Missouri, they think of Arrowhead Stadium, Royals baseball, and flavorful barbecue. This past summer, however, a group of Jesuit students learned that there is much more to Kansas City than they previously thought. As a part of a special immersion trip, they spent a week living and serving at the Jerusalem Farm (JF), a nonprofit organization based in Kansas City. 

The group departed from Jesuit on June 2, 2024. Upon arrival, they were greeted warmly by members of the JF community serving and living there. The community members had varying levels of history with the program’s four cornerstones: community, prayer, simplicity, and service. The Marauders lived and grew in these values through daily life on the farm.

Before my trip to Jerusalem Farm, the only thing on my mind was that I wouldn’t have my phone all week and would have to eat vegan. I spent the week with some of my classmates, Director of Campus Ministry Mr. Paul LeBoeuf, and Science teacher Ms. Amy Becker. On arrival, we took a tour of the place and got to meet the all-girls school from Chicago alongside whom we were working. 

Over the summer, I had the opportunity to travel to Oregon to tour colleges – one of which was Oregon State University (OSU). Upon arriving, I noticed the expansive size of the campus. At 420 acres, it is roughly eight times the size of Jesuit, but with over 30 times the number of undergraduate students. While the campus is nowhere near the largest for a college, it is dense and large enough to host over 200 undergraduate programs and 16 great sports programs.

On Friday, Nov. 8, the Jesuit High School Sacramento varsity football team beat the Lodi High School Flames 42-14, advancing to the quarterfinals of the Division 2 CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Football Playoffs.

After forcing a punt on the opening drive of the game, the Marauders started out strong offensively with running back Jack Patock ’25 scoring an 11-yard rushing touchdown early in the first quarter. Kicker Yudiel “Dragon” Mondragon converted the PAT to take an early 7-0 lead.

The University of Oregon (UO) is a top public university located in Eugene, Oregon, that offers more than 300 undergraduate programs and 120 graduate programs to its 29,000 students. UO gives students the ability to continue their education surrounded by, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful campuses in the country and many engaging student events that you are able to attend.

In my opinion, one of the best parts of the UO is the beautiful campus. Situated on 296 acres of land, you can walk across it in 15 minutes, under shade the whole way. Because the school was built in 1876, the campus has many renovated historic buildings, which have been mixed in with newer buildings as the university has grown. 

From Oct. 28 to Jan. 9, Jesuit High School Sacramento is welcoming middle and high school students who are interested in attending Jesuit. 

The STAR Team is looking to offer prospective Marauders a glimpse inside an average day on campus. The “shadows” will be assigned to a current Jesuit student, who will chaperone the shadow through the first three periods of the day. After experiencing life inside the classroom, shadows will have the chance to eat food from Epicurean and then depart with their parents during lunchtime.