Quentin Pettinato
Mrs. Jones
Mrs. Jones’ well known greeting, “Buenos dias, Spartans!”, is one that we will sadly hear for the last time this May. Mrs. Jones has dedicated thirty-four years of her life to teaching Spanish at Hempfield Area High School, and she is someone who will most definitely be missed.
Jones says she knew she wanted to be a teacher because she has always liked Spanish and high school; for her, there were no other options other than teaching. She started her college education at IUP and finished at Millersville obtaining her masters before she got a job here at Hempfield Area.
During her years here, she gave her all to teaching. She is most remembered by students as the teacher for her efficient grading, returning tests and assignments in what seemed like minutes after students submitted them. Jones seemingly never stops working.
However, this year she has made the tough decision to retire. Jones says, “It’s just time. I’m ready to travel and see the rest of the world”. She will leave with no regrets, but she says she will miss the friends she has made and watching the process of students learning to speak another language.
She has learned a lot over three decades, but most importantly to her, she says, “I have learned to not make a quick judgement, to talk an issue through before taking action because you never know what’s going on in someone’s life”.
For someone who never stops teaching, Jones is surprisingly ready to pursue other passions, “I love to read, and I’ll volunteer some too, probably something with the food pantry and Black Burn Center. And, over the years, we have done a lot of mission work with faith Methodists”. Despite still striving for more to do, her bucket list also includes traveling, watching soccer, and sleeping normal hours for once.
Jones is notorious for catching students cheating. She laughs admitting that for everyone who she has caught, she’s probably missed ten.
That said, Jones leaves students with one last piece of advice, “Put forth your best effort,” something that Jones herself has modeled for the last thirty-four years.