Brian Jones and The Last Crusade
Throughout the school’s history, many teachers have joined and left the faculty. Some teachers leave, and some complete their entire careers here, but Mr. Brian Jones returned after one year.
Last school year, Mr. Jones left the faculty for a job opportunity in Malvern, Arkansas, where he spent is time as the head baseball coach for Malvern High School and as an eighth-grade math teacher at Malvern Middle School.
After his time in Malvern, Mr. Jones has developed a comparison about teaching there versus here. Mr. Jones said, “Though I taught eighth grade, I could tell that students in middle school and on the high school baseball team certainly knew fewer things compared to Catholic High students; they seemed to lack the drive to learn. I had to go back to the basics.
“There also was a giant difference in maturity between the students I saw and those here. Catholic High’s students definitely have a stronger drive to learn and be successful. I’m glad to be back here where there is more respect.”
Mr. Jones is not the only teacher who has previously worked in Malvern. Mr. John Fogleman used to be the head football coach at Malvern High School, and he seems to have experienced Malvern differently. Mr. Fogleman said, “I was there for seven years, and there was nothing I disliked about Malvern. I thought the people were nice, and I didn’t have any problems with students or my team.”
Mr. Fogleman said, “I grew up in Little Rock and had always heard about Catholic High. When the football job opened up here, I saw it as a second opportunity to be a part of something that I couldn’t be a part of as a kid. I love it here because of the tradition and expectations that set Catholic apart from the rest. I am glad to be here, and I am glad to see Mr. Jones come back too.”
Mr. Jones returned for similar reasons. Mr. Jones said, “ I came back because I knew I belonged here. The atmosphere, teachers, and tradition here are great. It was tough for me to leave for Malvern because I knew what I would miss.”
While Mr. Jones missed Little Rock last year, Mr. Steve Aday missed him. “When he told me that he was leaving, I started calling him a traitor, and I told him to take the knife out of my back. Pretty much everyone who was part of the Party Zone felt that way.”
The Party Zone is a school tradition in which music plays throughout the hallways in between classes on Fridays. Many teachers are part of it including Mr. Aday, Mr. Matthew Dempsey, Mr. Scott Boone, Mr. Richard Heien, Mrs. Jennifer Wilcox, and Mr. Jones. The members took a hiatus last year because Mr. Jones left. [Note to editors: Keep this in if the Party Zone has not started yet. If it has happened, delete it but keep the Mr. Aday quote] Mr. Aday said, “The Party Zone is an enigma wrapped in mystery and cloaked in riddle.”
Unfortunately for Mr. Jones, the Party Zone was not allowed in Malvern. Mr. Jones said, “I didn’t have it there, and I missed it a lot. There was a piece of me missing, and I was drawn back by the echoes of Rebecca Black’s ‘Friday’ song’ in my dreams.”
Throughout the Party Zone’s life, there have been several memorable moments, but one in particular stands out. Mr. Jones said, “One time, we had the KARK news ladies dance in the halls for three minutes between classes.”
Mr. Aday said, “I remember seeing all of the boys walking down the halls while the news anchors were there. They would stare in awe while they were far down the hall, and as they got closer, they began to look at the floor in embarrassment. As they walked away, they would turn around to stare at the news ladies again. Some of the boys would walk by several times.”
The KARK news anchors’ appearance started a chain of events that ended with cardboard cut-outs of them in the school. Mr. Jones said, “During one year’s student body election, one of the candidates brought a cardboard cut-out of himself. A little while later, a student brought a Justin Bieber cut-out, and those two cut-outs started a cut-out craze at school. That year, some of the students were doing the usual Christmas can drive for KARK, and they noticed some cut-outs of the news ladies. The news ladies let the boys take the cut-outs to school because they asked so nicely.”
When Mr. Jones decided to return, Mr. Aday was one of the first people he called. Mr. Aday said, “I was incredibly thrilled when he called me about an hour after the job offer. He is a great addition to the school, he is a great teacher and the students love him, and everyone respects him. I’m glad he is back.”
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