The Warriors’ Word

Botball 2016 -Big Success for Jones Academy

Oklahoma Youth Expo Livestock Show

KTC Employees Tour Jones Academy

Horseback Riding At Jones Academy

STEM Program: Summer Fun While Learning

STEM Camp-Round 2

Language Fair Awards

Summer Enrichment Camp

Serving Native Americans Concerned With The Education of Native American Children

Selena Roebuck keeps a tight rein on the horse she is riding. She loves the animals and the fresh air she gets while spending time riding at Jones Academy.

Summer 2016 Issue

www.jonesacademy.org

In This Issue....

What is more stimulating to the brain than being a part of a robotics team that has successfully built a robot that can per-form various tasks on command? How about competing in a regional Botball tournament where almost 50 teams take on the challenge of becoming the sole winner of a double elimination competition? On March 5th, 2016, Jones Academy’s robotics team did just that at Norman,Oklahoma. Vying against other schools’ teams, Jones Academy’s robot fought its way through debris and obstacles, built paths, transported supplies and made radio communications in a simulated mis-sion to Mars, as well as other competitive tasks. Jones Academy’s team was awarded fourth place in the tournament; an outstanding outcome for the relatively new team. Jones Academy has only had a robotics team for two short years and had only competed once before, in the 2015 regional tournament, where they placed fourteenth out of fifty-seven teams. This is an exciting new venue for students engaging in the area of robotics. Students participating in robotics during the 2015-16 school year, under the supervision of robotics coaches Zach Duffy and Lindsey House are: Hunter Battles, Naomi Christmas, Cody Clark, Cristefer Trejo-Rains, Danielle Murillo, Kirklan Loman, Casey Ludlow, LaBrae Jim, Alexis Lyons, TeQuanna Poor Bear, Jesina Ellison, and Aricelli Ortiz

Botball tournaments are hosted by The Botball Educational Robotics Program. The program engages students in a team-oriented robotics competitions and is an outlet for students to learn common core standards. Students use science, engi-neering, technology, math, and writing skills to design, build, program, and document robots in a hands-on project. The competition is nationally sponsored by organizations such as the Oklahoma Aeronautics Commision, iRobot, NASA, as well as other benefactors. Robotics in education truly is the wave of the future, and Jones Academy’s students are in the center of this growing entity. Congratulations, Team Jones Academy!

BotBall

Tournament

2016

Naomi Christmas makes some needed adjustments to keep the robot running in top condition.

Calvin Billy and Hunter Battles work on the body of the robot.

Students participating in the Botball tournament from Jones Academy for the 2015-2016 year are: (back): Danielle Murillo, Kirklan Loman, Casey Ludlow, LaBrae Jim, Alexis Lyons, TeQuanna Poor Bear, Jesina Ellison, Coach Zach Duffy(front): Ariceli Ortiz, Christefer Trejo-Rains, Naomi Christmas, Cody Clark (not pictured, Coach Lindsey House and Hunter Battles)

Kirklan Loman, a senior at Jones Academy, exhibited the 2nd place heavyweight and premium sale qualifying Duroc barrow at the 2016 Oklahoma Youth Expo. This event, known as the World’s Largest Jr. Livestock Show, was held March 14th – 18th in Oklahoma City, OK. Over two thousand barrows were entered in the show with only sixty – five selected for premium sale honors. Kirklan and his barrow “Big Red” were among this elite group of champions. “Big Red” was bred and raised at Jones Academy. Kirklan is from Haworth, Oklahoma and a proud member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. Other students from Jones Academy participating at this event were Cody Clark from Ponca City, OK. and Kasey Ludlow from Smithville, OK.

Oklahoma Youth Expo Livestock Show

Pictured left to right: Joe Snedden, RALCO Nutrition, Brandon Spears, Jones Academy Agriculture Supervisor, Kirklan Loman, Braylon Spears and Jones Academy Superintendent Brad Spears

KTC Employees Tour Jones Academy

Pictured left to right: Clyde Spears- KTC Agriculture Business Management, Shelly Free- KTC Superintendent, Jodie Dunn-KTC Atoka Campus Director, Kelli Cantrell- KTC Students Services Coordinator, Brad Spears, Jones Academy’s Superin-tendent

Jones Academy recently hosted a tour for representatives from Kiamichi Technology Center. Visiting from KTC were: KTC Superintendent Shelly Free, Jodie Dunn- KTC Atoka Campus Director, Kelli Cantrell- KTC Student Services Coordinator and Clyde Spears- KTC Agricultural Business Management Coordinator.

During the visit, they spoke with Superintendent Brad Spears and David Sanchez, Academic Career Counselor, and got a better understanding of the history, culture, and background of Jones Academy and were given a tour of the facility.

This year Jones Academy will have the largest number of students to ever attend KTC, with sixteen students enrolled for the 2016-2017 school year.

“Attending KTC is an excellent opportunity for students to get real job training while still in high school. After they complete their training at KTC they are ready to join the work force and make a good living to support themselves and their families.” ~Superintendent Brad Spears

H o r s e B a c k R i d i n g a t J A

Dorm Matron Monica Haskins leads Adolpho Hernandez during the elementary residents riding session.

High School Student Truvon Willis assists Jimmy Trejo-Rains (left) and Octavius Posadas-Gabino in getting back to the stables after an evening ride.

There are many exciting activities for residents to en-gage in year round at Jones Academy. But perhaps one of the most reward-ing is participating in Jones Academy’s horseback riding program. Many stu-dents sign up for the program because of their sincere love for the animals. Jones Academy houses fifteen horses, in all. There are currently five mares avail-able for the resi-dents to ride, four colts that are being trained while they continue to grow to maturity, and four brood mares, some of which will foal in the spring.

STEM: Camping At OSU

On July 10th, Jones Academy STEM camp attendees loaded up on a bus and took a road trip to Oklahoma State University in Stillwa-ter. There, they experienced college living by staying three nights in the dorms and attended many exciting educational endeavors in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). The camp concluded with a tour of the Eastern Oklahoma State College campus in Wilburton on Thursday and a cultural dinner provided by KTC in Talihina, on Friday. Camp attendees received the opportunity to explore the science of hydraulic engineering at a local USDA lab, learned how drones are becoming valuable in the field of agricultural science, and tested their skills in catching and identifying the aquatic life in a local waterway while studying water quality. All of these activities provided hands-on experience that the attendees don’t normally get to participate in, such as flying a drone and visiting an official USDA lab. The students were very zealous in participating in the activities that peaked their interests in the STEM areas, and that is exactly what the Oklahoma Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR), in conjunction with Choctaw Nation, has set out to accomplish. The goal of this program is to provide positive experiences while planting a seed to encourage Native American students to enter the STEM field.

Students from Jones Academy attending STEM Camp at OSU this summer : Serena Santos, Hunter Battles, Mayan Fox, Kanani Watashe, Alexis Lyons, Naomi Christmas, Latasha Beall, Alexandria Stroble, Maria Mackey, Heather Dillashaw, Calvin Billy, TeQuanna Poor Bear and Truvon Willis

STEM Camp 2016

Jones Academy student, Naomi Christmas stated about the program “ I am here for a wonderful program for STEM. We are staying on campus (at OSU) and we are get-ting a wonderful chance to try things in the STEM field!”

Jones AcademySTEMCamp: TheSeQuel

The week of July 17-22 was another busy one for returning STEM Camp attendees at Jones Academy. Throughout the week campers participated in many activities including:

A campus tour of Oklahoma University in Norman, followed by a presentation on Forensic Entomology with Dr. Heather Ketchum

A visit from the traveling Oklahoma Science Museum, in which a gigantic conveyer belt was built by camp attendees

A visit by Steve and Carol Goodgame from the KISS Institute of Practical Robotics located in Norman, in which every student attending got the opportunity to build a robot that they could take home with them from camp

A tour of the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation in Oklahoma City

A hands-on activity introducing 3D printing at Kiamichi Technology Center in Talihina, followed by a delicious meal

Campers also enjoyed an evening at Yogi Bear Lake Resort in Eufala, a bow shoot taught by Rowdy Givens in McAlester, swimming at Robbers Cave in Wilburton, skydiving simulation at iFly in Oklaho-ma City and an evening at Frontier City Amusement park in Oklahoma City. Many memorable moments were made at Jones Academy’s STEM Camp ~ where learning is fun!

Students from Jones Academy attending round 2 of JA’s STEM Camp: Truvon Willis, Calvin Billy, Te-Quanna Poor Bear, Heather Dillashaw, Maria Mackey, Latasha Beall , Alexandria Stroble, Alexis Lyons Serena Santos, Hunter Battles, Kanani Watashe and Mayan Fox.

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Jones Academy STEM CAMP 2016-Round 2

NativeAmerican Youth LanguageFair Ribbon Recipients

Isaiah Hernandez -1st Grade

1st Place-Elementary(K-2nd Grade) Poster Division

2nd Place-Elementary (3rd-6th Grade) Poster Division

Xavier Ochoa-3rd Grade

Honorable Mention Elementary (K-2nd Grade) Poster Division

Honorable Mention Elementary (K-2nd Grade) Poster Division

Alexis Hayes -1st Grade

Caylee Billy -1st Grade

At the beginning of April each year, the Native American Language department of the Sam Noble Mu-seum hosts the Oklahoma Native American Youth Language Fair (ONAYLF). The fair is a celebration of language diversity and cultural heritage. Participants perform live presentations of songs, speeches and stories; students’ poster art, films, books, cartoons and writing are proudly displayed. Hundreds of pre-kindergarten through 12th grade Native American language students participate in judged written and oral performance categories that celebrate the use of native languages in traditional and modern ways. This year Jones Academy students competed in a variety of divisions in which they used the Choctaw language to speak. Perhaps one of the most tedious divisions in the competition is the making of a video in which participants speak in a Native American language. Much consideration was given to what kind of video the students should produce. Finally, after many hours of deliberation, Jones Academy’s 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade elementary students decided to write their own story and perform it as a play. The play, called “Okcha”, is about how some very helpful animals living in a temporarily dark forest helped a sad and silent mother turkey to find her lost egg. Jones Academy received 1st place for their production in the Video Making Division for 3rd -6th graders. Congratulations to Team Jones Academy on a job well done!

1st Place Honors forProduction of Choctaw LanguageVideo

(left to right): Kaylyn Porter, Tracy Hornsby, Adolfo Hernandez and Abigale Logston rehearse their speaking parts for the play.

Working on props for the play are Morgan Jefferson and Nicolas Sandfur, just two of Jones Academy’s many very talented young artists!

Twenty-three elementary students attended Jones Academy’s 2016 Math and Reading Summer Enrichment Camp. This three week camp is open to students in the first through sixth grade who completed the 2015-2016 school year at Jones Academy. Students completed curriculum designed to enhance math and reading skills as well as provide a fun hands-on learning experience.

In addition to academics, students participated in a variety of exciting educational and entertainment activi-ties. These activities included traditional Choctaw games, stickball demonstration, taekwondo, swimming, horseback riding, skating, art, archery, and a visit from the Oklahoma Wildlife Department.

The students also visited Robbers Cave State Park, The Science Museum of Oklahoma, and Parrot Island Wa-ter park. The Math and Reading Summer Enrichment Camp provided a fun, exciting, and educational experi-ence for all.

In addition to academics, students participated in a variety of exciting educational and entertainment activi-ties. These activities included traditional Choctaw games, stickball demonstration, taekwondo, swimming, horseback riding, skating, art, archery, and a visit from the Oklahoma Wildlife Department.

Educationally EnrichedSummer ForYouth

Jones Academy student, Abigale Logston, observes a turtle during a visit from the Oklahoma Wildlife Department. Bullseye! Campers take aim at their targets during the archery

shoot.

Summer Enrichment Camp 2016