Fox Lane Middle School Community Shines During First CARE Fair

During the half day before Thanksgiving break, Fox Lane Middle School celebrated its first-ever CARE Fair. CARE (which stands for Collaboration, Appreciation, Relationships and Empathy) is the school’s Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) program —something that has been updated and reimagined this school year.

“CARE has been a part of FLMS for many years, but this year, it was reinvigorated,” said Assistant Principal Amanda Gerber. “As we work to build our social-emotional learning (SEL) and multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS) structures, we decided that CARE needed to match where students and society are in 2024. We changed the words that make up the acronym and, in an effort to bring these principles together and build community, the CARE Fair was born.”

Pulling the event together took a lot of planning. Gerber reached out to teachers and staff in early October to gauge interest in the idea. She asked them to give her an idea of the workshops they might want to lead and how many students they could host.

“I was nervous that there would be a minimal response, but the responses were overwhelming,” Gerber said. “Teachers and staff came up with some really creative ideas.”

Workshop facilitators ranged from administrators to teachers, teaching assistants, teaching aides, front office staff and security monitors. They led students through everything from sports and board games to crafting, an escape room, manicures and karaoke.

“The only guidelines were to make this a fun day,” Gerber said. “An opportunity for mixed level grades to interact and build relationships with one another and with adults they might not interact with daily.”

Students and staff alike had a fantastic time.

“This is so satisfying. I love the feeling of smoothing out the paint,” a student said while painting a mural.

“That was so fun! My team won!” another student yelled as he ran off the soccer field.

Another room was filled with soothing, meditative sounds as students colored by electric tea candlelight. They also learned some relaxation techniques like breathing and stretching.

“My favorite part of the experience was the excitement from the whole school community,” Gerber said. “Faculty and staff were so gracious with their ideas and their time. Students were grateful to have fun and do something productive and different on the half day. Everyone was so engaged and enthusiastic to be a part of this experience. Faculty and students have sent me emails asking to do this once a month!”

Meant to be a community-building event that strengthened the school’s PBIS program and brought a positive energy to the building, the CARE Fair was a huge success.

“I hope students were able to connect with one another and build new relationships,” Gerber said. “This was a community-building event that was intended to bring everyone together and explore similar interests, have conversations, help one another and exemplify CARE.”

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