RETIRING SOON-Due to a foot injury, physical education teacher Jan Kelly of Redwood Middle School will be retiring sooner than she had anticipated."Well," Kelly says, "I can still throw a spiral-I just can't run to catch it." BILL SPARKES Acorn Newspapers It's inevitable.

At some point in the school year, a former student of Redwood Middle School physical education teacher Jan Kelly will come strolling into her office, looking to share a few stories, talk about their latest endeavor or simply catch up on old times.

While these impromptu reunions may last only a few minutes, they're cherished moments for Kelly, who's helped shape thousands of young lives during her 16 years in Conejo Valley Unified School District-15 of them at Redwood in Thousand Oaks.

"Usually, they just want to tell me how they're doing, or what they're up to," Kelly explained. "It means so much to me. Only next year, I won't be here anymore, and it makes my heart hurt just to think about it."

Kelly is retiring from her longheld position at Redwood for personal and health reasons. She's relocating to Orlando, Fla., to live with her daughter, Betsy, and hoping to find a job in education that's less physically demanding.

"I've still got some teaching left in me," Kelly said. "I just don't think it's in physical education."

Though she's as spunky as ever at 63, Kelly's body has finally begun to act its age. This past year, the mother of three underwent her second foot surgery in as many years, causing her students to ask the question, "Didn't the cast used to be on the other foot, Ms. Kelly?"

Though Kelly has been able to work through the pain, she said her injuries have left her unable to do the job to the best of her abilities-a situation the dedicated educator simply can't accept.

"With my injuries, you have to be able to rest, and I can't rest. When you're a PE teacher, you can't," Kelly said. "I guess I could. I could go out and just sit there and say, 'Okay, guys, just do this.' But that's not me."

Years of living an active lifestyle and trying to get preteens to do the same, Kelly said, has taken its toll.

"I always said I'd give it up if I couldn't spiral a football anymore," Kelly said. "Well, I can still throw a spiral-I just can't run to catch it."

Timothy Carpenter, now the principal of Thousand Oaks High School, spent 11 years with Kelly at Redwood while he was the principal there. He said her enthusiastic, child-centered approach made her a perfect fit for a middle school gym teacher.

"She's high-energy, she's innovative, and the kids she teaches learn to love physical education," said Carpenter, who frequently runs into his former employee at TOHS athletic events.

"The high school kids are always glad to see her-they seek her out," Carpenter said. "(Her leaving is) a huge loss to the community and to the students. She's affected a lot of lives."

Steve Johnson, longtime basketball coach at Newbury Park High School, was introduced to Kelly in the mid-1980s when he was teaching her oldest daughter, Susie, at Simi Valley High. They've maintained a friendship ever since.

"I think she's the kindest person I've ever met," Johnson said. "She has this unconditional support for her students and willingness to be there for them that I've always admired."

Johnson has also witnessed the Kelly magnet at work at NPHS.

"It's amazing. She'll walk into a gym during a basketball game and all these high school kids who had her at Redwood . . . will just flock to her to see how she's doing," he said. "It's great to see someone who's had such a positive, lasting impact on our kids."

Looking forward to years ahead with her two grandchildren, Peyton and Delaney, Kelly said she'll be leaving the district with only good memories. Known for giving every Redwood student a four-leaf clover at graduation, Kelly said she hopes she'll continue to hear from those former students after she leaves, even if they can't just come strolling into her office.

"They can always send me a letter or an e-mail," Kelly said. "I just don't want them to think I've disappeared."

Kelly's new contact information in Orlando can be obtained by calling Redwood Middle School.