West Jones High School administration is pleased to announce J. Cooper as this year's HOBY recipient. This prestigious award is given to a deserving sophomore. For over five decades, Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership (HOBY) has inspired young people to make a difference and become catalysts for positive change in their home, school, workplace, and community. HOBY aims to inspire and develop our global community of youth & volunteers to a life dedicated to leadership, service, and innovation. The vision of HOBY is to motivate and empower individuals to make a positive difference within our global society, through understanding and action, based on effective and compassionate leadership. Cooper is the son of Scott and Heather Cooper of the Matthews Community.

Mr. and Miss NEJ 2016-2017 are T. Landrum and H. Nowell. Landrum is the son of Kirk and Lori Landrum of Ovett. Nowell is the daughter of Matthew and Tracy Nowell of the Myrick community.

Mr. and Miss NEJ Junior High 2016-2017 are J. Jones and Courtney Lee. Jones is the son of P. T. and Laquetta Jones of Hattiesburg. Lee is the daughter of Timothy Lee and Jennifer Mozingo of Laurel.

The Northeast Jones FFA Junior Poultry Evaluation Team recently brought home a second place win from the recent FFA State CDE Competition held at Mississippi State University. Northeast Jones FFA AgEd Instructors/FFA Advisors are Dr. Aaron Scammahorn and Mr. David Walters.

On Good Friday, FCA athletes and sponsors from all over the Pinebelt gathered at Southern Miss for the 3rd annual Breakfast of Champions. The Buddy Garner FCA Coach of the Year award is given to a coach who leads in the school and in the community. South Jones FCA has grown to have an FCA weekly huddle in each sport, hosted their own Spring FCA county-wide rally, and gathered food and funds for several charities in the area. The 2017 FCA Coach of the Year is Coach Suzanne Manning. She is the South Jones head softball coach and leads FCA on campus. Her contributions to the students on and off the field are changing lives, and Coach Manning is a shining light for South Jones and our community.

Recently selected to the 2017 Northeast Jones Hall of Fame were:
(front, l-r) Hanna Wilson, Savannah Smith, Hayden Nowell, Tyler Landrum;
(middle, l-r) Sadie Braddock, Camille Hankins, Kyla Mann, Hayleigh Rogers;
(back row, l-r) Parker Cruise, Katie Windham, Taylor Manning, Brett Benigno.

West Jones Middle School Student Donates Project to School

B. Bishop, West Jones 7th grader and member of the West Jones Jr. Beta Club, recently created a recycled art project using wooden pallets. She constructed a bench and then painted it green and gold and lettered it with "West Jones Beta" to promote the academic club. She donated the bench to West Jones Middle School.

West Jones High School administration is proud to announce M. Follis and W. Harrelson as the 2017 Lindy Callahan Scholar Athletes. These two dynamic Mustang athletes were chosen for their academic accomplishments as well as their participation in high school athletics and extracurricular activities.

Missy Beech is a special education teacher at Glade Elementary School. She has been a teacher for 20 years, and 10 of those years have been at Glade Elementary. Mrs. Beech is a graduate of South Jones High School, Jones County Junior College, and the University of Southern Mississippi where she obtained B.S. and M.Ed degrees. She lives in Ellisville with her husband, Dwayne, and daughters, Sydney and Darcy. Mrs. Beech and her family are active members of West Ellisville Baptist Church where she is the church pianist.

Sixth graders in Ms. Holifield's class were asked to recreate the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius using a two-liter bottle of Diet Coke and Mentos. Each group was responsible for constructing a model of the ancient city of Pompeii using basic crafting materials. By employing the Scientific Method, students devised a means to insert Mentos simultaneously into their "volcano" to bring about the destruction of the ancient Roman city.

West Jones Junior Beta students place 2nd in the Battle of the Books competition division II. The Book Battle competition is a literature-driven, written test that consists of multiple choice questions and a written response portion based on the books listed. This competition provides an opportunity for a group of three students to use an integrated study.

The group consisted of: (left to right) A. Segrest, S. Knotts, and I. Shelby.