FMS October Family Newsletter
October 3rd, 2026
One of our three pillars at FMS is Family & Community Engagement, and we believe strong communication between home and school is essential to student success.
Through our Families and Schools Thriving Together (FASTT) nights, we partner with families to build connections, answer questions, and provide practical tools to support students. This year, one of our goals is to have 100% of FMS families connected and actively engaged through Campus Portal and ReachMyTeach
.
Campus Portal helps families stay informed about grades, assignments, attendance, and other important updates, while ReachMyTeach allows families to receive direct messages from teachers and staff.
Our goal is simple: Every family connected, informed, and included. If you need help accessing Campus Portal or ReachMyTeach, please reach out to FMS. We're happy to help!
FASTT Technology Night Slides from Tuesday, October 13th, 2026
When school and home work together, our students thrive!
SOAR at FMS: Building a Positive School Community
At FMS, we believe students thrive when expectations are clear, relationships are strong, and positive choices are recognized. Through PBIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports), we teach, model, and reinforce the behaviors that help every student learn and succeed.
Our school wide expectations are summed up in one important word: SOAR!
S — Safe
O — On-Task
A — Accountable
R — Respectful
We want to see SOAR in every classroom, hallway, activity, and interaction throughout our school. These expectations help students make safe choices, stay engaged in learning, take ownership of their responsibilities, and treat others with kindness and respect.
We’re excited about the progress our students are making! Teachers report an average of approximately 5.43 student referrals or redirections per day, down from about 12 per day three years ago. This is encouraging progress and reflects the work our students and staff are doing to build a positive school environment.
SOAR is about more than following rules. We want students to develop habits and skills that will serve them well beyond FMS. Mistakes are part of learning, and our staff will continue to teach, encourage, redirect, and support students as they grow.
We are proud of the way our students have started the school year. When we SOAR together, we create a school where everyone can learn, belong, and succeed!
FMS conferences are right around the corner!
Join us on Thursday, November 12, from 3:30–7:00 p.m. or
Friday, November 13, from 7:30 a.m.–3:30 p.m.
These are student-led conferences, giving families the opportunity to visit each classroom, hear updates about their child’s progress, and celebrate successes while identifying areas for growth.
Your child’s attendance is especially important because students will do most of the talking, sharing their learning, reflecting on their progress, and taking ownership of their education.
Teachers will also be available to answer specific questions and discuss how we can work together to support your child’s success.
When families, students, and teachers work together, great things happen! We encourage every family to attend and make this valuable opportunity to connect, celebrate growth, and plan for continued success a priority.
Families can pick up their student’s FastBridge and MCA results in the Main Office area during Student-Led Conferences.
FastBridge assessments help us monitor student progress in reading and math throughout the year, while the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments (MCA) measure how well students are meeting Minnesota’s academic standards in these subjects.
These results provide valuable information about your child’s academic strengths and areas for growth.
We encourage families to pick up their results and use this information as another way to celebrate progress and support continued learning!
To help students stay organized and ensure their iPads are ready for learning each day, FMS students are expected to leave their school-issued iPads at school overnight. At the end of each day, iPads will be stored in the charging station in students’ 7th-period classroom.
Daily Procedures:
Morning Pick-Up: Students are responsible for picking up their iPad each morning before their 1st-period class.
End-of-Day Storage: Students will return their iPad to the charging station in their 7th-period classroom at the end of the day.
Taking an iPad Home: If a student needs to bring an iPad home to complete missing work or catch up in a class, they must first receive permission from the teacher of that class. Students must then share the teacher’s note, pass, or email with their 7th-period teacher, who will authorize the iPad to go home.
Returning the iPad: Students who take an iPad home are responsible for bringing it back to school the next day, fully charged.
Why this policy?
In the past, we experienced frequent issues with iPads being lost, forgotten, damaged, or brought to school without a charge. Keeping devices at school has significantly reduced these problems and helps ensure students have the technology they need for learning each day.
Thank you for partnering with us to help students stay organized, responsible, and ready to learn!
The Freddy Mart is FMS’s new school store where students can put their SOAR points to use! Students earn points by following our SOAR standards—Safe, On-Task, Accountable, and Respectful—and can spend them on exciting rewards and everyday essentials.
From fun experiences like Mystery Envelope Drawings, Spin the Wheel of Chance, and VIP Lunches to prize raffles, leadership opportunities, special privileges, Falcon gear, FHS activity tickets, and school supplies, there’s something for everyone!
The Freddy Mart gives students a fun, meaningful way to celebrate positive choices and recognize their hard work.
Earn your points, SOAR high, and enjoy the rewards!
At FMS, AVID is one of our three pillars, working alongside PBIS and Family & Community Engagement to support the success of every student.
AVID helps students build the skills and habits they need to succeed in school and beyond, including organization, time management, goal setting, collaboration, and critical thinking.
Through AVID, we want every student to develop the confidence to take ownership of their learning, overcome challenges, and prepare for future opportunities. These skills don’t just help students succeed in middle school—they help prepare them for high school, college, careers, and life beyond the classroom.
We’re proud to continue growing AVID at FMS and helping every student recognize their potential!
Learning to Ride a Bike in Ms. Schoeb's PE Class
Learning to Ride a Bike in Ms. Schoeb's PE Class
Learning to Ride a Bike in Ms. Schoeb's PE Class
World Cultures for the Win!
This has been a great week at Faribault Middle School. Some of the greatest things happening at this school are about challenging each students to do better and then watching them soar.
This week 8th grade World Cultures students transcribed words in Arabic and identified these letters; this is not an easy task for someone just learning a really different language that looks nothing like English.
7th grade World Cultures students also pushed the boundaries to create their own designer clothing lines, acting as fashion designers and in many cases creating their own unique clothing that doesn't currently exist.
My favorite moment this week was helping a student process a really challenging assignment in her Global Studies class. Eventually, this student began to realize the benefit of being challenged now and throughout life. This, to me, is one of the most important lessons we can learn at school. I'm calling this a "win" for that student and for all FMS students learning that same lesson.
Mrs. Peterson-Linde
Our SOAR Celebration Night on Tuesday, October 13, was a huge success! More than 100 FMS students joined us for an evening of fun, laughter, and connection outside the regular school day.
From watching a movie in the auditorium and playing games to open gym, Ghost in the Graveyard, arts and crafts, and, of course, enjoying concessions, there was something for everyone!
It was wonderful to see students spending time with friends, trying different activities, and building connections with our FMS community.
A big thank-you to everyone who helped make the night so much fun! We’re already looking forward to our next celebration in December and hope to see even more Falcons join us!
What a great fall season it has been for FMS activities! Our Falcons have shown tremendous growth, teamwork, determination, and sportsmanship across all of our teams. We are especially proud of our boys’ soccer B team, which finished the season undefeated! All of our teams experienced successes, built new skills, and created lasting memories along the way.
At FMS, activities are about more than wins and losses. Students learn to work together, encourage one another, overcome challenges, take responsibility, and celebrate each other’s accomplishments. We are proud of every student who stepped out of their comfort zone, tried something new, and represented FMS this fall!
Winter Activities Registration Is NOW Open!
As we wrap up a successful fall, we’re excited and ready for a fantastic winter season! Opportunities include boys’ and girls’ basketball, dance, boys’ and girls’ hockey, gymnastics, wrestling, and boys’ swim and dive. Whether students are returning to a familiar activity or trying something for the first time, we encourage everyone to get involved and be part of the Falcon community.
Register today at GoBound – Faribault
A Note About Attending Faribault High School Activities
FMS students attending FHS activities, events, or competitions as spectators must be accompanied by an adult chaperone who is not a current FHS student. Each chaperone may supervise up to six FMS students and is responsible for their behavior and supervision throughout the event.
Students are expected to represent themselves, their families, and FMS positively. If a student is asked to leave because of behavior or failure to meet expectations, the chaperone and all students under their supervision must also leave.
These expectations help ensure a safe, respectful, and positive experience for everyone in our Falcon community.
Thank you to our student-athletes, activity participants, coaches, directors, families, and fans for making fall such a success. We can’t wait to see what winter brings!
Get involved, try something new, and be part of something bigger than yourself. Go Falcons!
Faribault Public Schools Newsletter
FPC Community School Newsletter
Faribault Middle School Handbook
Important Reminders for FMS Families
Holiday Observances
Faribault Public Schools will provide learning opportunities throughout the year to help students understand the history and significance of important civic holidays. Upcoming observances include Indigenous Peoples’ Day (October 12) and Veterans Day (November 11). Activities may take place schoolwide or in individual classrooms.
Learn more through the Faribault Public Schools Teaching & Learning resources.
Minnesota Family Tax Resources
Minnesota families may qualify for tax credits and other savings, including the Child Tax Credit, K–12 Education Credit and Subtraction, and free tax preparation services through VITA or AARP Tax-Aide.
Explore eligibility and available resources through the Minnesota Department of Revenue.
Attendance Line
School Lunch
FMS Bell Schedule
FMS Main Office: 507-333-6300
Dr. Stacy Fox (Principal)
FMS Student Services: 507-333-6312
Mr. Jesse Armbruster (Assistant Principal)
jarmbruster@faribault.k12.mn.us
Mr. Jake Staloch (Dean of Students)
Mr. Kyle Krzenski (Counselor A-K) 333-6396
Ms. Anne Price (Counselor L-Z) 333-6359
Ms. Abigael Stroup (Student Support Attendance Specialist) 333-6351
Mrs. Melissa Dobbs (School social Worker) 333-6377
Mrs. Zulema Nieves (Spanish) 333-6353
Mr. Mohamed Mohamed (Somalia) 333-6321
Mrs. Susan Pelkey (School Nurse) 333-6304
Mrs. Allison Fillipi (Student Resource Officer) 333-6415
Faribault Transportation: 507-334-5121
Our FMS student musicians have been working hard, and it’s almost time to share their talents with you! We invite families and friends to join us for our upcoming fall concerts and celebrate all the time and effort our students have put into preparing.
Mark your calendars!
Thursday, November 5: Band Concert
Tuesday, November 17: Choir Concert
Tuesday, December 8: Orchestra Concert
We hope to see you there! Your support and encouragement mean so much to our student musicians. Come enjoy an evening of music and help us celebrate their hard work and accomplishments!
11/5 - 6-8 Band Concert at 7:00 in FMS Gyms
11/6 - End of Quarter 1
11/12 - Student-led Conferences; 3:30-7:00
11/13 - Student-led Conferences; 7:30-3:30
11/13 - First Quarter Grades Due
11/16 - Lockdown Drill
11/17 - 6-8 Choir Concert in the Auditorium; 7:00
11/18 - WIN
11/20 - No School for Students; Falcon PD Day for Staff
11/25-25 - No School; Thanksgiving Break
Website: https://fms.faribault.k12.mn.us/
Location: 704 17th Street Southwest, Faribault, MN, USA
Phone: 507-333-6300
Facebook: facebook.com/fms.faribault.k12.mn.us