By Jack Schreiber ‘19 (via The Plank)

Physics teacher Mr. Lawrence Simon ’13 is one of the newest members of our staff at Jesuit High School. Just like other faculty alumni, Mr. Simon once roamed the halls as a student. However, physics did not come to Mr. Simon naturally.

“I sucked at physics pretty hard,” said Mr. Simon. “[With] AP Chemistry, I had not done very well, and I barely made it into AP Physics. And in AP Biology, I nearly failed the class. I liked physics; I liked the challenge and the idea that I can discover the world around me.”

When Mr. Simon was a student, he was involved in a variety of extracurriculars from German Club to Philosophy club.

“This place [I] called home has never changed,” said Mr. Simon. “It is still my home. Mondays were FBLA [Future Business Leaders of America]. Tuesday [was] peer mentoring through CSF [California Scholarship Federation], Wednesday [was] LPC [Liturgy Planning club], German club, and Philosophy club. I went back and forth on Thursday, and, on Friday, I wrote for the Plank.”

Mr. Simon is known to students as an exciting and fun loving teacher. His excitement for physics seemingly translates to interactive lessons for his students.   

“He is very upbeat, seems like a pretty chill guy, high energy, and he is all about the students. He is very interactive and tries to help the students as much as he can whenever he can,” said Spencer Vigil ’19, one of Mr. Simon’s physics students.

Faculty have also noticed Mr. Simon’s lesson planning and are impressed by his enthusiasm for teaching his subject.

“His enthusiasm for physics was especially terrific,” said Principal Michael Wood ’99. “We actually got the chance to see him teach, and he put together a lesson plan that was fun, relevant, and well-prepared, and so we knew he had all the right instincts to be a great teacher.”

The students and faculty are overjoyed to see what Mr. Simon has planned for the future of Physics at Jesuit High School