Meet Mrs. Jones

I am Mrs. Jones, and I am very excited about being your Business/Computer Education teacher at Youth Middle School this year.  I am the daughter of two educators and grew up in our neighboring county—Gwinnett county.  I married my Parkview High School sweetheart, Jeff, who I actually met in Middle School.  (Students…Can you believe I met my husband when I was your age?)  My husband and I were both very involved in sports and clubs when we were in middle school and high school.  I try to encourage my students to do the same.  He played football and wrestled in middle school and high school, and I was a cheerleader through all of those years--Lilburn Middle School, Trickum Middle School, and Parkview High School.  We were both members of Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and I was a member of  the BETA club and Future Homemakers of America.  I was one of the top 10 honor graduates in High School, and I also graduated with honors from college.  I received my Business Education degree from Georgia State University.  We have lived in Georgia for all but 2 1/2 years of our 34 years of marriage.  My husband’s job took us to the Tampa, Florida area for 2 1/2 years.  For many years of my married life, I was fortunate enough to be a stay-at-home wife/mom while finishing college and raising our children, and in the most recent years I have been fortunate enough to be in a career that I love.  Once my children were older, I began my teaching career which I thoroughly enjoy and feel very passionate about.  I make it a point for my students to know how much I care about them and care about what I am able to teach them EVERY day that they are in my classroom.  This will be my 16th year as a teacher.  I have taught high school Business/Computer Education, as well as, middle school Business/Computer Education.  I, also, taught middle school Math for 4 1/2 years.  I have had 10 years of experience as an FBLA Adviser.  I was one of four FBLA advisers for the high school, and this will be my 4th year as the Youth Middle School FBLA Adviser.

My husband and I have two wonderful adult children.  Our daughter, Ashley, received her master’s degree in counseling with a specialty in eating disorders.  Unfortunately for us, she lives and works on the other side of our country in Malibu, California.  We miss her terribly, but she loves her work and she loves the beauty and the perfect weather that she has EVERY day in the Venice Beach and Malibu area.  Our son, Daniel, recently graduated from the Police Academy.  He was ,also, a member of the Military Police in the Army National Guard.  We are thankful that he still lives close to home.  My parents, who are two of the most loving and wonderful people that I know, live on 9 acres at Clarks Hill Lake which is on the Georgia/South Carolina line.  My in-laws, who I am very blessed to have in my life, live in Gainesville, GA.  We are very close to our family and enjoy spending a lot of time together.  We, also, have 2 dogs and 2 cats that we consider to be part of our family.  Our dogs are Chip and Sassy and our cats are Hocus and Pocus.  Since my parents were both educators, we spent many Summers traveling the United States and Canada.  We visited almost every state during my childhood.  As an adult, I have had wonderful opportunities--mainly through my husband's work and  his work reward system--to travel in our country as well as other countries.  Some of the other countries that we have been to are Germany, Austria, France, Italy, Puerto Rico, Bahamas, Grand Cayman, and Jamaica.  Our favorite vacation scenery would be the mountains.  Our favorite place to go is Alaska.  We have been fortunate enough to have enjoyed five Alaska trips—cruise and land—over the past 11 years.  It is one of the most beautiful places in the world.  I hope that you will be able to see it for yourself one day. 

We moved from Gwinnett county to Walton county in August of 2000 in order to buy a beautiful piece of property.  We live on 15 acres in the Gratis area which is between Monroe and Bethlehem.  Shoal Creek, which is also the name of one of our neighboring roads, actually runs across our property.  We really enjoy the ability to see all types of wildlife on our property.  We see deer daily.  We have seen as many as nine at a time.  We are able to watch fawns running, jumping, and playing with each other.  We, also, see raccoons, turkeys, and opossums quite often.  We saw a beautiful red fox walk right by our window.  Unfortunately, we have even had an experience with a skunk when it and one of our dogs decided to have a STINKY battle.  We, also, have a beautiful barred owl who lives on the property.  We love being able to live this “rural” life while still having a relatively short commute to town and work.  I, also, enjoy living in the same county where I teach.  I see many of my students in restaurants and stores in Monroe, Loganville, and Athens.  I always enjoy getting to meet and speak to my students and their families.  If you see me before I see you, please be sure to get my attention so that I can have the opportunity to tell your family how wonderful you are.