More about One of JMS’s Favorites – Ms. Mergens

Noticeable by her dark red hair and outgoing personality, Ms. Mergens is a 7th grade civics teacher (previously 6th grade world history) who has been working with kids for around 20 years and teaching for 12 years. Whether you’ve seen her in the hallways, around the school, or standing outside her room, 4-7, you probably know her as a kind-hearted person who loves to help kids learn.

Early Life

Although she wasn’t born in Florida, Ms. Mergens moved from New York just in time to start middle school at our very own JMS. And funny enough, she realized that she wanted to be a teacher right around middle school! However, what she would be teaching was never a question. Her love of history has been existent since she was a very young child. “I have always loved history! I have been attending battle reenactments and going to museums since I was in a stroller!”

Teaching

Ms. Mergens has been teaching for over a decade, but she wasn’t always a teacher here. She started with Palm Beach County Parks and Rec Afterschool Programs, moved onto Beacon Cove’s after school program, and then substitute teaching for 8 years before moving to Jupiter Middle. She’s worked with kids of all ages but says her favorite age to work with is middle schoolers. “Middle schoolers just make me laugh and it’s a fun age to teach.”

With her crazy passion for history and her love for sharing it with kids, it’s no surprise that that’s the subject she chose to teach. Although she has taught all history subjects from 6th to 8th, she says her favorite one to teach is world history. “World History has been my favorite to teach because I love discussing other cultures and the variety of topics are fun to go through.” adds Ms. Mergens. 

After teaching at JMS for 12 years, there’s a lot of things that Ms. Mergens has learned. One of the main things she has realized is that each year could be very different from the past, so she should expect the unexpected. But she’s always always ready for a new challenge. Another cool thing about teaching here for a long time, is seeing your students grow up. ”[I love] the relationships with students I have developed over the years and hearing about their progress when I run into them out in the world!” Ms. Mergens says. Seeing the growth of students from the very beginning of her teaching years, and from last year (since she teaches 7th grade this year instead of 6th), is definitely an extremely rewarding part of having taught for a long time.

Outside of School

Outside of school, Ms. Mergens has lots of hobbies. Some of her favorite things to do include going to Orlando theme parks and the beach. Orlando is a place for her to have fun and go on rides, with her favorites being The Mummy Rollercoaster and Haunted Mansion, and the beach is a place for her to go and relax. “The beach is just such a relaxing escape for me. I can slow my mind down for a while there.” And although she doesn’t have any children, she has an eight year old chihuahua named Yuki! Ms. Mergens is more than just a teacher; she is an inspirational person and friend to all!