By: Sara Meng, Staff Writer

New teacher, Mr. Jonathan Lee joins the math department this year. Outside of class, he is an athletic person who enjoys running, swimming, and playing mobile games. Mr. Lee, also recently began helping coach the cross-country team and is excited for the upcoming season. After teaching at Taylor, he saw Mills as a great opportunity to reconnect with his former students and continue supporting their journey. Looking towards the future, Mr. Lee shares his hope for the school year. He says, “I’m excited to help my students— both old and new—be successful.

Mr. Nyah Manasala Smith is a 12th-grade teacher in the Social Science Department this year. He specializes in American Government and Economics. Being a very athletic person, Mr. Manasala enjoys a multitude of sports in his free time. Recently, he has been interested in playing pickleball, soccer, basketball, and going on long hikes. Now what attracted him to Mills? Mr. Manasala expresses that he loves the tight-knit community of the school along with the physical location and overall student
body. He finishes by saying, “[I’m] looking forward to getting all my students to pass Government
class! I’m also excited to attend sports games this semester.”

10th-grade English teacher, Ms. Brown currently teaches English 2. In addition to being
the chair of the Multilingual department, she’s involved in the English and CLA (Content
Language Acquisition) departments. She explains how CLA helps develop and refine academic
skills across reading, writing, speaking, and listening, with the ultimate goal of reclassification. At the start of 2024, Ms. Brown discovered a newfound interest in sewing. A long-time crocheter, she enjoys how sewing doesn’t require starting from scratch and views it as a creative outlet and stress reliever. After previously teaching at San Mateo High School, she found the community there lovely and was eager to bring that same energy to Mills. So far, she feels extremely welcomed here. Finally, she shares
her hopes for the semester: “I’m excited to get to know the Mills community—students, faculty, and
staff—better as the semester progresses!”