This year, FHN gained a new Senior leadership and Foods and Nutrition teacher, Kristin Justis.

“I love having new teachers because they’re still excited about teaching,” Diane Fingers, said. “It’s like a freshness, a new energy.”

Justis is dual-certified, meaning she can teach Food and Nutrition 1 and 2 as well as special education classes.

“I started teaching because I didn’t know how to learn in school,” Justis said. “I had a teacher who taught learning styles. I wanted to help kids figure out how to learn best, their way.”

She uses the textbooks in her room, the cooking lab, and life skills to teach. Justis puts everything she does each day in class, from notes and fun videos to worksheets, on her Blendspace.com profile, so students can access it if they miss a day of school or lose an assignment.

“The homework and class time is ratio’d very well,” senior Marty Aubuchon said.

During class, her students are attentive and interested. Justis has BYOD, or bring your own device, days sometimes to help students learn a topic or do a project.

“I like for my kids to discover learning on their own,” Fingers said. “I don’t want to hand everything to them because that’s reality. If I hand them a bunch of things to memorize, they’re only qualified to play Jeopardy. I want them to want to learn.”

Outside of school, Justis is involved in Boy Scouts, and enjoys cooking, singing, fishing, hunting, and camping. She caters parties, sings at weddings, funerals, and churches, and has a recipe book of things she’s made.

“I think I have a talent for them and enjoy doing them,” Justis said. “I love to cook because it’s my way to love people. I love to sing to honor people. They are my source of entertainment.”

In the past, she has taught for St. Charles school district, in Washington, Missouri schools and at an inner city school district.

“I’m really happy here at North,” Justis said.