Sixty-three former Jones Academy students attended the alumni reunion on Saturday, OCT 21. The group toured the dorms and campus and had lunch. The museum was also opened for browsing. It was a time of warm fellowship, fun, and recounting fond memories.
Jones Academy high school students were invited to tour Eastern Oklahoma State College. Students met with college recruiters and department representatives to prepare for college life.
Two Jones Academy students and three staff spent fall break representing us at the National American Indian Science and Engineering Society conference in Spokane, Washington including a tour of Gonzaga University. The conference focuses on educational, professional, and workforce development for Indigenous peoples of North America and the Pacific Islands in science, technology, and math (STEM) studies and careers.
PSA: Jones Academy will be performing testing on our warning system tomorrow at noon, 10/24. We wanted to inform local residents as we’ve been informed that it can be heard from a good distance away.
Jones Academy Elementary Basketball
September Students of the Month
Dreshawn Williams is a senior from Mississippi. He is a member of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indian. He enjoys playing sports, especially stickball. When he graduates, he plans on going to college and becoming a constructional engineer.
Kelli Williams is a nineth grader from Mississippi. She is a member of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indian. Her hobbies include reading, working out, playing basketball, listening to music, hanging out with her friends, and doing her prayers and devotionals. Her plans for the future include graduating high school, going to college and getting into law school. She isn't quite sure what occupation she wants to pursue as of now, but she knows she wants to give back to her people and to help them in any way she can.
Jaxtin Hatcher is a 1st grade student in Mrs. Ketchum's class. Jaxtin is a Choctaw Nation tribal member. His favorite color is red, and he enjoys playing sports and going fishing. When he grows up, he wants to be a police officer.
Addilynn "Rose" Hutchinson is a 3rd grade student in Mrs. Well's class and is a member of the Seminole Tribe. She enjoys drawing and playing basketball. Her favorite color is yellow. Rose wants to be a police officer when she grows up.
Jones Academy UNITY (United National Indian Tribal Youth) Council Officers.
President - Isabel Lujano
Vice President - Cylas Baker
Secretary - Carlyle Josay
Treasurer - Adrian Perez
Member at Large - Whitney Grizzle
Member at Large - Anthony Robinson
Member at Large - Adi Montejo
UNITY’s Mission is to foster the spiritual, mental, physical, and social development of American Indian, Native Hawaiian, and Alaska Native youth, and to help build a strong, unified, and self-reliant Native America through greater youth involvement.
Jones Academy 2023-24 - 6th Grade class
Jones Academy 2023-24 - 5th Grade class
Jones Academy 2023-24 - 4th Grade class
Jones Academy 2023-24 - 3rd Grade class
Jones Academy 2023-24 - 2nd Grade class
Jones Academy 2023-24 - 1st Grade class
** Alumni Spotlight **
Growing up, Jennifer Woods stayed with her grandmother and grandfather, John and Classie Wallen. They attended the First Indian Baptist Church in McAlester. She would attend quilting with her grandmother and other Choctaw women and lay under the quilt frames listening to their stories as they spoke in Choctaw and broken English. She knew that it was important and private when they spoke in Choctaw in a very low voice. Her grandmother was a servant and a wonderful cook. She would fix food for the neighbors and the sick, make clothes for Ms. Woods and she was very proud of them. They were very poor but did not realize it until she was older. In May of 1973, her grandmother passed away suddenly, and her world changed. The one person who she knew loved her, gave her stability and security was gone. That is when Jennifer Woods came to Jones Academy. She had every job you could have on campus. From working in the kitchen for Taylet Morgan, babysitting for Mr. Cox, walking and bathing pigs with Mr. McCarty, she did just about everything. Mr. Robert Smith and Mr. Delton Cox were wonderful role models of strong caring men and encouraged her to go to college. After graduating from Hartshorne High School in 1977 she attended Eastern Oklahoma State College and East Central University, where she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in human resources in 1983. She returned to Jones Academy as the student counselor in 1986. She would eventually be promoted to Director of Indian Child Welfare, where she worked for nine years. Woods would end her employee tenure at the Nation as the Community Based Social Work Director before being elected for office in 2017. She has been a Council Member for District 6 of the Choctaw Nation since 2017, has served the Choctaw Nation and its people for more than thirty (30) years with distinction and has honored the Nation’s employees, tribal members, and community members with hard work, determination and heart. Her work and determination have inspired many and led to her being recognized for her servant’s heart. She has been affectionately dubbed the “Heart of the Nation” by those she serves and serves with. Ms. Woods sees this job as a privilege and loves serving along with the rest of the Tribal Council, Chief Gary Batton and Assistant Chief Jack Austin, because of their shared compassion for the growth of the reservation and to see our Choctaw people be successful. Just recently, Councilors unanimously voted to rename the tribe's Wilburton Community Center to the Jennifer Woods Community Center to honor her for her hard work, determination, and heart for the community and the Choctaw Nation. At Jones Academy, Ms. Woods met many lifelong friends. She states that "The teachers, staff, matrons, cooks that are working at Jones Academy may not realize now the impact and influence they have on the students they are working with. Sometimes, Jones is the only place a student might hear encouraging words and have people cheering them on. Jones Academy is near and dear to my heart and my strong work ethic is directly from all the jobs that I had on campus as a student." Ms. Woods continues to advocate and support Jones Academy. We are very grateful for her love and continued support for our campus and students. Ms. Woods will be helping with the 2023 Jones Academy Alumni reunion that will be held on our campus on Saturday, October 21st from 10:00 A.M. to 2:00 P.M. Alumni, mark your calendars and check back here for more information. Yakoke, Ms. Woods for all that you do for the Choctaw Nation and Jones Academy. We appreciate you!
Two Jones Academy 2023 graduates moved in to Haskell Indian Nation University to start classes for the fall semester. Hoping for a great year for Samuel and Elijah!
Jones Academy Library recently resumed Maker Club Monday after school for grades 1st-6th. This weekly program allows students to practice creativity and growth mindset through The Makerspace, STEAM activities, books, LEGOs, NASA lessons, and more. Girls and boys alternate weeks. The girls celebrated "International Dot Day," inspired by a children's book called The Dot by Peter Reynolds, by painting "dot" CDs. The boys made their own cars using the Makerspace and some guided instructions, as well as DIY kits, inspired by the book If I Built A Car by Chris Van Dusen.
Elementary Boys and Girls bowling at Great Balls of Fire in McAlester.
SHARK WEEK! JA Elementary students enjoyed Shark Week the last two weeks in the Library. 1st-6th Grade learned about sharks through read-alouds, checking out shark books, various activities and research. They also all received a shark prize and finished off the week with a tasty Shark punch!
Jones Academy students at Lazer Zone for a little Labor Day Fun!
Jones Academy took part in its 1st eSports Competition and the season opener within the OKSE League on Saturday. Engaging with other schools across Oklahoma our students competed in 2 of the games offered in the league.
