The Exit-Interview: Ms. Jennifer

After an illustrious career of over 11 years at Alsion, Ms. Jennifer has decided to move on from our community. In honor of the work and role she played within Alsion, Witherly Heights conducted an interview and survey that covers some of her favorite experiences at Alsion and the career choices that led her to land within our tight-knit community. We hope Ms. Jennifer finds happiness wherever she plans to move on to and are glad for the time she spent with us. Thank you for all that you have done Ms. Jennifer, and best of luck in your future!

1. What was your favorite class you took with Ms. Jen?

• 65% (13 Students) said AP Environmental Science
• 20% (4 Students) said 7/8th Life Sciences
• 10% (2 Students) said 7/8th Physical Sciences
• 5% (1 Student) said Choices 

2. Why was X class your favorite? 

• “It was the most enjoyable in terms of material and activities.” 

• “Everyone was very relaxed and the environment of the class was a lot more comfortable than the others.”

• “Although the work may not have been the most fun, Ms. Jen taught the content well and it was fun learning.”

• “Ms. Jen just made it really fun and it was enjoyable to learn about environmental science.”

• “We learned so much about the environment which is such an important subject and Ms. Jen was so passionate about it and always helping us learn more with fun labs and field trips. I also think we are very well prepped for the AP exam which is a plus.”

• “Material was the most interesting and we had a lot of fun labs.” 

• “We got to take lots of field trips together and really talk and learn.” 

• “Learned the most; it was a subject I was inherently interested in anyways.”

• “Really changed my perspective on the world”

• “APES had real world implications and fun activities/field trips.” 

• “We learned so many interesting things about the environment, which is such an important topic right now. We also did a lot of fun activities in the class which I loved.”

• “I liked 7/8th Life Sciences because I had the chance to dissect many cool organisms and loved the videos that were provided for us to watch.”

• “It was really fun!! It felt like less of a class and more like a nice conversation with scientific facts sprinkled in.” 

• “It wasn’t choices, gardening, PE, or APES, and I was in 8th grade then.” 

• “I loved how enthusiastic Ms. Jen was almost for the whole year, she makes the arduous task of studying and working for the exam enjoyable. Ms. Jen teaches with a passion and tries to make us like the material, rather than teaching us so we can pass the test.”

• “We learned a lot but still had a lot of fun.” 

• “I’ve never found science particularly compelling but the connection to environmental law and sustainability really got me interested.”

• “It was so fun and sparked my interest in Biology, which is what I want to study in college.” 

• “Most laid-back, and was the most fun :)” 

• “Cause Ms. Jen made the class fun and interesting when I thought it would actually be hard.” 

• “It was very fun and I learned about the nitrogen cycle !!”

3. What is your best memory w/ Ms. Jen?

• “Making cell cookies in 7th grade life science”

• “In APES, Ms. Jen would blast some environmental songs before class started and before everyone was there.”

• “When she walked around with those loud noise makers to distract us while test taking.”
• “Eggism”

• “Showing her our parody of “Yummy” and seeing her reaction.”

• “I have a lot of good memories about ms.Jen it’s hard to pinpoint just one.”

• “I don’t know if this one counts but driving back from field trips was always fun. Especially if the Ohlone parking lot was empty.”

• “Not actually from class, but on the service trip the whole experience was amazing.”

• “All of it.”

• “8th grade physics class, all of the labs were chaotic.”

• “My favorite memory was when we played minecraft for APES, and Josh kind of crashed our server.”

• “Playing Minecraft during APES to simulate environmental issues.”

• “Collecting data in the field such as our work in Death Valley.”

• “As a part of the biome trip, we visited a rocky shore.”

• “Probably yelling? I forgot what we were yelling about but I think she had us yell to de-stress after a test or something.”

• “Her celebrating our last quizzes, last practice tests, our last worksheets…”

• “Cookie mining or the Don Edwards field trip!”

• “Playing Jeopardy in Physics.”

• “My best memory was when we all were working together to remove the big weeds in the garden.”

• “Well I only had Ms. Jen for a year but i think hiking was one of the best memories.”

• “Maybe not the best but the most memorable was one time in 7th grade when we did a lab and we had to look for bugs or something and there was a really large piece of glass outside and I accidentally dropped it and it shattered and I panicked but then Ms. Jen was super chill and everyone escaped unscathed.”

4. What was your favorite Biome Trip?

• 40% (8 Students) said Death Valley
• 30% (6 Students) said Yosemite
• 25% (5 Students) said Cambria

5. Why was that Biome Trip your favorite? 

• “We went on so many cool hikes and Ms. Jen came on all of them which was pretty awesome and fun to talk to her, not in a classroom setting. Ms. Jen is a very good hiker.”

• “There was a lot less stress because I had experience with the assignments which allowed me to enjoy my time in Cambria and treat it more like a vacation rather than a school project.” 

• “It was funny.”

• “We got to sleep on actual beds.”

• “We were able to go kayaking and do a bunch of science experiments with Ms. Jen.”

• “I had a lot of fun in Yosemite; the hikes, the camp fires, everything was great.”

• “I liked the amount of down time we had.”

• “It was an overall positive experience that really felt like camping away with friends.
• Well planned and very fun.”

• “We had the most freedom, (not counting death valley) and a good balance of educational stuff and fun!”

• “We had way more freedom and there were a lot more things to do in our free time.”

• “Death Valley had the nicest rooms we stayed in and more opportunities to be independent.”

• “Stayed in a hotel, swam in the pool, drove in fun car groups, went on fun hikes, and spent a lot of quality time with friends.”

• “We haven’t gone on any other. Only Cambria.”

• “I saw a lot of cool rocks!!! Also I remember I was in Ms. Jen’s car and she was not obeying the law which was very funny.”

• “It was the only one from those 3 choices I actually went on.”

• “I enjoyed all the biome trips but in Death Valley we went to so many interesting places that had such unique landscapes, and the hotel we stayed in was awesome.” 

• “Was the most active, we visited a lot of really cool locations, and the lodging was really nice.”

• “There were so many activities and things to try.” 

• “I did not have a biome trip but my sister said it was really nice and she had a great time.” 

• “Death Valley because it was the best and we saw cool fish”

6. What do you think made Ms. Jen unique as a teacher?

• “I think Ms. Jen’s passion for the subjects she teaches is so clear every time you are in class and you can tell she cares a lot about making school fun by organizing fun trips and activities and keeping class lively.”

• “Ms. Jen was very excited to be in class and to have everyone there and that rubbed off on me and allowed me to enjoy and look forward to my classes more.”

• “No matter what’s going on she’s always so optimistic and ready to listen to all of us, she really cares. She wants to make things fun and engaging, which made it so much easier to learn with her.” 

• “Ms. Jen has so much energy and was genuinely passionate about the environment and the science she was teaching.” 

• “Ms. Jen has a vibrant personality which can light up any room and was always willing to help out to create a better environment.” 

• “She really cares about her students and she’ll put in extra effort if you’re not understanding something.”

• “She really cares about us which I’ve come to find out is very rare in science teachers.”

• “You can really tell that Ms. Jen is passionate about what she is teaching.”

• “Unrivaled motivation to be a good teacher.”

• “She’s very energetic and flexible; she’s willing to change things so that it’s better for us, always checks on us to make sure we’re doing ok in school but also mentally, and her teaching style is great; she includes us in discussions, and makes sure we understand the material well.”

• “She cared a lot about us, and she focused on making us do our best in her classes.”

• “Her style of teaching.”

• “She’s caring, nice, understanding, and knows her stuff. She’s also really chill.”

• “Interactivity and activities during school trips.”

• “She always seemed like she cared about whatever she was talking about. I felt bad most of the time because she sometimes seemed stressed but overall I really appreciate how much thought was put into the class and her teaching as a whole.”

• “She seemed to empathize with students; she pretended to be the harshest teacher but never really was. Similarly, everyone pretended she was our least favorite teacher but she never really was.”

• “Ms. Jen always encouraged us and rooted for our success, and since our school is so small, we always had such a close-knit class.”

• “Her teaching style was very easygoing and nothing ever felt overly difficult, but we ended up learning a lot.”

• “Her willingness to teach us in a way that we enjoy and like the subject is unique, she understands the students and makes the material in a way that everyone can do it.”

• “Her humor used during class.” 

• “She’s very good at driving the van and she makes her classes fun and interesting and exciting and takes so much time to make sure we understand everything!”

7. What will you miss most about Ms. Jen?

• “I’ll miss Ms. Jen’s constant energy and the random, off-topic conversations we can have in class about Florida or recycling or anything really.” 

• “The fun and camaraderie of the class not only when we were learning but also during free periods when she would drop by and say hello.”

• “Ms. Jen is literally the life of this school, she’s always energetic and happy, and genuinely cared so much about us.”

• “She’s so easy to talk to and funny.”

• “Her ideas of how to make Alsion a better and more unique environment.”

• “All the fun stuff that she plans for us so that we don’t get bored.”

• “How interesting she could make things.”

• “She’s always happy to answer your questions, regardless of how silly they may be.”

• “The vitality she always brought with her.” 

• “Her personality! Her classes were so much fun. She also puts a lot of effort into organizing trips and activities, which i’ll also miss :)”

• “I’ll definitely just miss her presence cause she’s a very cool and chill teacher.”

• “Her energy.”

• “The fun activities that she plans and her chill attitude on field trips.”

• “Field Trip stuff!”

• “Probably waving at her? That sounds weird but I’d wave at her a lot and I thought it was nice.”

• “She was always so positive about anything.”

• “Her encouragement and fun classes.”

• “Her personality, which not only made class really interesting but made her a fun person to hang out with outside of classes and in other school programs.” 

• “I will miss Ms.Jen’s fun and energetic personality. She truly lights up Alsion with her bright spirit.”

• “I will miss how Ms. Jen always makes sure her students are okay with doing work and makes sure we (students) understand everything. Overall, just how she cares for her students.” 

• “everything”

8. Any Final Words?

• “I’ll miss having Ms. Jen at Alsion even though I may not see her often regardless but the experiences at Alsion that could have been dry and boring were made so much more exciting and allowed me to connect with my peers better.” 

• “Ms. Jennifer is the best teacher I’ve ever had.”

• “Thank you so much for being there to witness my growth even when there were troubles. I really hope that we get to see eachother once more when quarantine is over.”

• “I’m really glad I got the chance to take all my science classes in middle school with such a great teacher :)” 

• “Thank you for everything that you’ve done and sacrificed for us, and I wish the best of luck for you and your family.”

• “Ms. Jen is genuinely a great teacher, one of the best I’ve ever had; very thankful for everything she’s done :)” 

• “Come visit us often and tell the other teachers how to make the Ex-Term fun.”

• “Good luck, Ms Jen! Pursue happiness.”

• “Not sure if you’re showing her this part but bye!! Sorry I wasn’t able to see you that much before this but I hope you enjoy whatever you move on to after Alsion 🙂 Also recently my mom and I were talking about how cool porous pavement is and everything I said came from what you told us in APES haha.”

• “We will miss you a lot, Ms. Jen! You have been a fundamental part of my middle school years and helped me develop into the student I am today. I wish you lots of luck in your future endeavors.” 

• “Thank you for teaching in Alsion, you really changed the way I look at science. You made my stay at Alsion Middle School 100% more enjoyable.” 

• “Though I did not have Ms. Jen as a teacher for that long, I had a great time in her science class and I will miss her.” 

• “I’m so happy and grateful I got to take so many classes with you and I’ll miss you and all the energy and fun you bring wherever you go! Wishing you the best :)”