With the conclusion of the 2023-2024 school year, several members of the PDS community will be moving on to new chapters of their lives. One such member is Science Teacher Jenny Lee.
Ms. Lee started teaching at PDS in the 2021-2022 school year. She has always been interested in being an educator and helped teach many chemistry classes while she was in college. Tutoring her peers was something she enjoyed, which led to her wondering if she had a career in high school teaching. She took a “leap of faith” and joined as a teacher at PDS, and ended up loving it! Currently, Ms. Lee teaches four sections of tenth grade Chemistry. She thoroughly enjoys interacting with her students, noting that it is her favorite part of teaching, “They’re all so nice, and they crack me up!” She has also formed great friendships with her colleagues within the science department and deeply values her conversations with them.
During her time at PDS, Ms. Lee also served as the faculty advisor for the Science Olympiad team. She guided the team through their studying and preparations for competitions and accompanied them at events. Ms. Lee takes great joy in seeing students so motivated and “in the groove” when preparing notes and constructing builds. Even though the Science Olympiad invitationals and meets might have been long and tiring, the “students [made] it worth it” for Ms. Lee.
Ms. Lee is a triple threat: a teacher, faculty advisor, and student advisor. Last school year, she was given the opportunity to lead her own group of advisees. These students praise Ms. Lee’s positive spirit and approachable personality. Always willing to lend a helping hand, Ms. Lee genuinely cares about her students’ wellbeing. Advisee Anya Gruteser expressed, “Ms. Lee is so supportive of everything I do! From thoughtful and funny conversations during morning check-ins, to delicious snacks during advisory, Ms. Lee is a deeply involved advisor.”
After leaving PDS, Ms. Lee plans to move to a new city and continue her passion for teaching at a different school! Though she will no longer be in the building, her optimism, approachability, and stellar teaching strategies will always be held dear in the halls of PDS!