** 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.
ELEMENTARY BOYS COOLING OFF AT RIVER COUNTRY WATER PARK IN MUSKOGEE.
Alexis Lyons is a member of the Omaha Tribe of Nebraska and attended Jones Academy from 2014-2018. While at Jones Academy, she played basketball, softball, ran track and was a member of the Jones Academy BOTBALL robotics team and was a tutor. Alexis was chosen as an Oklahoma All-State, Oklahoma Native American All-State, OCA, OGBCA, and All Area Defensive Team in basketball.
She was a member of the National Honor Society, National Technical Honors Society, and Hartshorne Student Council. Alexis attended East Central University from 2018-2022 and earned her bachelor's degree in Kinesiology (Being a Jones Academy graduate, she received scholarships that supported her while at ECU) . While attending ECU she was a member of the Women’s Basketball Team (2018-2022) and the Deans Honor Roll (2019-2020). She was chosen for an internship at the University of Utah with the Native American Research and had two papers published. Alexis has modeled for the Teton Fashion Summit, the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma Winter Magazine, and the Pop Swap and Shop in Oklahoma City. She was chosen as a background actress for seasons two and three of Reservation Dogs and season one of Tulsa King. She is currently attending the University of Central Oklahoma and working on obtaining her Master of Athletic Training (Yakoke to the Chata Foundation that has funded her master's degree because she is a Jones Academy graduate). She has completed clinical rotations at Edmond Santa Fe and clinical rotations at UCO with hopes of obtaining an internship with the NBA or the NFL. Alexis plans to own a business in athletic rehab/gym in the future. She wants to continue to give back to the Native Community and help with tournaments, highlights, scouting, training, education, etc. We are so proud of you Alexis! Keep doing BIG things!
Back to school bash evening activities were a blast. Grilling, Foam Pit, Inflatables and pools were just a few of the things that went on during the evening party.
Back to school is in full swing with the library photo booth!
Welcome students and staff to a new school year at Jones Academy!
Jones Academy is being represented at the 23rd GCER Botball competition in St. Augustine, Fl. With leading by Coach Zach Duffy, Samuel and Fichik work hard at coding their robots to perform tasks to accumulate points among competitors from across the globe.
Hartshorne has released the 2023-2024 school calendar. Please check back regularly for changes as the year progresses.
Students and staff attended the UNITY (United National Indian Tribal Youth) Conference in Washington, DC and enjoyed site seeing around the U.S. Capitol.
Jones Academy UNITY Student Council is in DC!
Jones Academy UNITY Youth Council is off to Washington D.C. to attend the UNITY National Conference. This years theme is “Healing the Spirit of Native Youth”. We can’t wait to see what they learn and hear about their experience!
Jones Academy students participating in the summer work program at Jones Academy serve food at the Antlers Community Center today.
Jones Academy is now accepting applications for consideration of attendance. Info and application forms can be found at the following link.
https://www.jonesacademy.org/o/ja/page/admissions
Last week, Jones Academy hosted their first Open House Event. This was a day set aside for Choctaw Nation departments to come onto our campus for us to show and tell what we do. The day included Introductions of leadership, departmental presentations, lunch together in our cafeteria, and campus tours. Yakoke to everyone who attended!
