This month’s spotlight focuses on our very own Newspaper teacher, Holly Jones! Besides Newspaper, Ms. Jones teaches Intro to Journalism and Senior Level English in upstairs House 4, as well as being certified in Physics.  Get to know Ms. Jones more in the interview below!

How long have you been teaching?

This is my first year.

Did you have any jobs before teaching?

I’ve been a tutor, so basically all of my jobs so far have been teaching. I tutored in Physics and English, along with some math. I’m a little bit of an anomaly.

What lead you to teaching?

All of the fantastic teachers I had in high school led me to teach. So many of my high school teachers were fantastic and so good at their jobs, and they inspired me to follow in their footsteps.

What is your favorite movie?

The Princess Bride

What is your favorite book?

That’s a really hard question for me to answer. I love reading, and if it’s a well written it usually ends up on my favorites list. I really enjoy “In the Path of Falling Objects” by Andrew Smith, but anything written by Tamora Pierce usually ends up on my favorites list.

Who is your favorite fictional character?

It’s a three-way tie between Nightcrawler from the X-Men, The Flash, and Michaelangelo from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Who or what inspires you?

My mom inspires me. She’s been battling pancreatic cancer for the past year and she’s such a trooper. She has chemo pretty much every week, and still goes to her job at Mayfield Elementary and doesn’t slack off. If she can feel as terrible as she does after her chemo treatments and still go to work and get everything done, then I can push through whatever is causing me problems.

Why did you choose your teaching concentration?

I love English, I always have. I knew that I wanted to do something with it in my life. My junior year of high school, I took a physics class and I loved it. That’s when I decided that I wanted to go to school for both.

Where did you go to high school?

Graves County High School.

What is your favorite thing about teaching at MCHS?

I really enjoy the teacher community and the students.

What is one thing that you wish your students knew about high school?

I wish my students realized that while this isn’t the exact same as “real life,” you do learn valuable skills of getting along with people you don’t like and doing what your boss (in this case, teachers) ask of you when they ask you. In life, you have more “freedom” to do what you want than you do in school, but you also have more responsibility to yourself and to others. Enjoy your time in high school, but get your work done and take responsibility for your actions.