FMS Staff Spotlight!

Mrs. Caris 

How do you help your students?

So I help my students by getting to know them personally at the beginning of the year and from those early connections I'm able to help them on an individual level when it becomes hard for them to learn. 

Are you connected to your students? If so how?

 I am very connected to my students. each year it's fun to see how many different personalities we have in our classrooms and building those connections with them is ongoing throughout the year. 

How do you like teaching at FMS?

I have worked at Fruita middle school for 8 years now. I really enjoy our student population because it's so diverse. the students that live in the city of Fruita all the way out to Mack and everywhere in between definitely bring a lot of different perspectives into our classrooms. I might be a bit biased but I guarantee you that we have the best students in the whole valley. I enjoy being able to work with them and do fun things like go rafting. 

Did you like the last year of teaching at FMS?

This past year of teaching at FMS has been really fun. it's the last year that we have in this old building, so it's been kind of cool to do some fun things. For the boys' and girls' basketball getting people to show up and bring that “old gym energy” (Mr. Bonner).  I am excited about moving forward and looping up with some of these seventh graders, but this has definitely been one of the best years yet. 

How do you make your teaching interesting for kids?

I try to make my teaching interesting for kids by allowing them choices of what they get to read or study. For example, we're doing an Argument Research Unit now and they'll get to pick what topics they're passionate about. I think teaching ELA is a benefit for engagement of students because it allows us to talk about real world issues and situations that are relevant to these students while still learning the skills that they need to be successful. 

Mr. Cole 

How do you like teaching at FMS?

 well, it's great at a lot of fun and the staff is fantastic I really enjoy it a lot. Fruita is a wonderful town, and this is a great middle school 

Did you like the last year of teaching at FMS?

Well, it's kind of too bad that the FMS building isn't going to be used anymore because even though it's very old, it is a great building, but the last year has been kind of bittersweet exciting that we're moving to a new format but I'm excited for New Beginnings.

How did you help your students?

One of the things I like most about Ela is Workshop time where we do a mini lesson which is about 10 to 15 minutes and then we spend the rest of the class doing group work and I can move from table to table seeing what students have done helping them answering any questions they have and really helping them with their writing and comprehension that's what I really enjoy about Ela 

How connected are you to your students?

Well, there are good days and bad days, but I really hope that I do have some connection with the students and that they can count on me and rely on me even when times get tough.

How do you make your teaching interesting for kids?

I really like teaching Ela because it's not so much getting the answer right or wrong as clear as math may be, but can you support any type of argument or opinion with evidence so what I really like is that we have we can have multiple different perspectives and still be able to have an academic argument where each person has their own evidence and can present their own argument.

Mr. Blackburn

How do you like teaching at FMS?

I try and find ways to make the content relevant to the students make it something they connect to and then have a greater interest in it.

How did you help your students?

I would say I'm more connected now than I have been throughout the year as we've been able to work together for the last or 3/4 of a year to build a relationship.

How do you like teaching at FMS?

I enjoy the opportunity to work with kids that are at an age when they're learning to navigate the world and starting to grow up a little bit not to be so young anymore it is a bit challenging at times though as they seem to want to be more independent than they are at times ready to be.

Did you like the last year of teaching at FMS?

I've enjoyed the last year working at FMS it's been nice to move out of an elementary setting into a middle school setting working with older kids.

How do you make your teaching interesting for kids?

Try to make teaching interesting for kids by again helping them to relate to the content and make it something that's applicable to their life and something for their future. 

Mrs. Shibata 

How connected are you to your students?

I feel very connected to my students because I feel like the creative process is a two-way street and we learn a lot from each other. Also, I think I get to see students in a different capacity than some of the other teachers because we are working on Creative Endeavors, and it uses a different part of the brain than some of their other class work. I find people get absorbed in their artwork and I get to see a whole new side of them. 

How do you like teaching at FMS?

I love teaching at Fruita Middle School this is my third School I've taught in, and I've Loved all of them and this is by far my favorite. that's because we have kind and fair leaders as Administration but more so than that I think the students are funny kind and respectful. I also feel like the families are quite involved and that makes a really big difference in the school culture. Generally, I look forward to coming to work every day and seeing the kids. I also feel like I'm allowed a lot of freedom and what I teach and how I teach, and it allows the students to be successful even though the quarters are short. 

Did you like the last year of teaching at FMS?

I feel really fortunate to have been at Fruita middle school I love this building and I love my art room and I love my ancient kiln. I found lots of weird Treasures in the art closet and that's been fun. I also really love my view of the field and having lots of space to run around. I'm quite sad that we're leaving this building as I think it fits us well. I'm hoping that we can commemorate the building through some drawings and paintings at the students are working on to help all of us remember the magic of the building. and although the Acoustics of the gym are challenging, I do think it is fun to be in such a historic space. 

How do you make your teaching interesting for kids?

Well, I think in art that's an easy one to do. I think art is interesting and fun almost no matter what you're doing. I love to get to know the kids and try to find out what they are interested in and see if we can incorporate it into what we're doing. I also try to empower students so that they can learn the basic techniques and really fly on their own to put their creativity into their projects. I also try to encourage Grit and gross and trying hard so they can get the results that they want which will naturally keep them interested in what they're doing.