"They may forget what you said but they will never forget how you made them feel"
~~Carl Buechner~~
Hello!
For those of you who may not know, my name is Mrs. Jennifer Winey. I graduated in December of 2005 from Penn State University. However, I was not a traditional college graduate. After many positive experiences volunteering in the classrooms of my children, I decided to return to school to become a teacher. I returned to college to change careers when my youngest child entered first grade. Prior to the birth of my children, I was employed as a physical therapist assistant for approximately five years. With my children raised and on their own, I continue to live with my husband in Juniata County.
I began my teaching career at Lack Tuscarora teaching first grade in August 2007 and remained there through December of2018 at which point the school was consolidated into Juniata Elementary School. We moved schools in the middle of the year in January 2019. I continue to teach first grade at JES to date. I was inspired after my first year of teaching to start our district's first Trout in the Classroom Project at Lack Tuscarora and continued that tradition at JES until the onset of COVID restrictions in 2020. This was an exciting program where we raised trout from eggs to fingerlings in a tank in the classroom. The arrival of the eggs in November and the trout release in the spring were events we all looked forward to each year and something the students fondly remember about their time in first grade. After 12 years with the program and many new curriculums to learn, I ceased participation in the program due to time constraints. While I no longer raise trout, we have transitioned to butterfly releases and any other hands-on activity I can integrate into our curriculum.
I consider it a privilege to be your child's teacher. I wanted to take this opportunity to introduce myself to you and begin an open line of communication with you. I look forward to meeting each of you!
Sincerely,
Mrs. Winey