While all the kids are enjoying the summer break, Jones High School is inviting all incoming freshmen to attend a special orientation session in July. This 2-day session that will be held July 11 and 12 is a great opportunity for all newcomers to the school – including transfer students – to learn about the school’s rich history and traditions, as well as opportunities that Jones offers. The two-day session will begin at 7:30 a.m. and end at 1:30 p.m. Breakfast, lunch, and snacks will be offered. This event is only for incoming students; parents do not need to attend. Attendees are asked to complete a registration form that you can get by  clicking here . Jones is at 801 S. Rio Grande, near Gore and the Orange Blossom Trail. The new school year begins August 13. For a free subscription to 32805,  please click here .

What a year to be a Jones High School Tiger! This past school year Jones High students scored big time in academics, the arts, and athletics. Much has been said and written about the Jones High choir and wind ensemble’s historic trip to perform at the world-famous Carnegie Hall. The students, their parents, the community and supporters – including TV host Ellen DeGeneres and Walmart – rallied to raise more than $200,000 to make that trip. But Jones High proved that it is much more than a one-trick pony. The Tigers football team won its first district title since 1996. The team capped its 2017 season with a 10-2 record. But there’s more! The Jones High graduation commencement showcased a constellation of academic stars that featured National Honor Society graduates Chelsea Cosme, Ernest K. White IV, Chelsea Thomas and Michael Thomas-Loving. Michael Thomas-Loving was the class valedictorian and Alyssa Wilson was the salutatorian. Members of the g...

The Jones High choir and wind ensemble’s trip to New York’s Carnegie Hall got a huge boost from TV host Ellen DeGeneres and Walmart, but the young musicians still need some additional financial assistance. Director Jamaal Nicholas conducts the wind ensemble During the musicians’ performance, Sunday (March 11) at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church, the head of the school’s foundation publicly thanked the community, Ms. DeGeneres and Walmart for providing $200,000 for the 4-day trip in April. Retired Admiral David Brewer, a Jones alumni, told the audience that at least another $5,000 is needed to pay baggage fees and ship the wind ensemble’s musical instruments. Jones was just one of a handful of schools selected to participate this year in the Worldstrides music festival at Carnegie Hall – one of the world’s most esteem performance venues. You can contribute by clicking  www.supportjoneshigh.com The school’s foundation is chartered as a n...

Thanks to TV talk show host Ellen DeGeneres the Jones High Choir and Wind Ensemble have all the money they will need to travel to New York City and perform at Carnegie Hall. Jones music teachers with Ellen Now the choir plans to thank the community with a free performance this coming Sunday, March 11, at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church, 4851 S. Apopka Vineland Road. The performance begins at 4 p.m. Jones was one of only three high schools in the United States invited to perform this spring at Carnegie Hall, which is one of the world’s top musical performance venues. Since last year the student musicians at Jones have been performing and holding a variety of events to raise the $200,000 they needed for the trip this April. Principal Allison Kirby wrote to Ellen, and the rest is history. Thanks to Ellen, Walmart contributed $100,000 to help pay for the trip. Click here to see Jones on the show. For more news, click www.32805OrlNews.com

The folks at Orlando City Soccer Club need to learn how to spell and get their facts right. There are two glaring errors on a large metal-etched plaque installed on the exterior of   Orlando City Stadium in Parramore where the stadium was plopped down. Notwithstanding the lingering controversy about the gentrification of the historically black Parramore community, the plaque – on the east side of the stadium where the new farmers market is held Saturdays – needs to be fixed. Mistakes in this plaque One of the people honored on the plaque is the late Norris Woolfork , one of Orlando’s first black lawyers. In 1962 Woolfork successfully sued the Orange County school board to integrate the local schools. Unfortunately, on the plaque, Woolfork’s name is misspelled with a “d” in place of the “l”. (How would you feel if your relative’s name was misspelled? Doesn’t anybody check this stuff?) The plaque also includes an image of the Callahan Center but identifies i...