Schools celebrate National FFA Week

FFA celebrates its annual National FFA Week beginning Saturday through Feb. 25.

The week that includes George Washington?s birthday was designated as National FFA Week in 1947. National FFA Week always runs from Saturday to Saturday and always encompasses Feb. 22, Washington?s birthday.

?I Believe? is this year?s theme, celebrating more than 80 years of FFA traditions while anticipating the organization?s future, according to the website, www.ffa.org.

?More than half a million nationwide members will participate in National FFA Week activities at local, state and national levels.

?FFA members are the innovators and leaders of tomorrow. Through agricultural education and hands-on learning, they prepare for the more than 300 career opportunities in the food, fiber and natural resources industry,? according to the website.

Fairfield High School

Locally, Fairfield High School?s FFA chapter of 48 members will celebrate the week with FFA dressing on Monday ? officers will wear official FFA clothing and members will wear FFA T-shirts; Tuesday is Safety Color Day, students can wear safety green or hunter orange items; Wednesday is ?drive your tractor to school? day for FFA members. Non-members are encouraged to wear their favorite tractor apparel to school. The annual FFA tractor parade is at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday around the square. Thursday is Pancake/Appreciate Staff Day. Pancakes will be served for staff from 6-8:30 a.m. in the ag shop at FHS.

FFA students will travel Monday to Mediapolis High School to participate in sub-district contests.

?This is my fourth year as FFA advisor at Fairfield High School and I taught for six years before moving here,? said Ann Johnston, FFA advisor and FHS teacher. ?I really enjoy helping students learn about leadership and agriculture.?

As the vocational agriculture teacher, Johnston teaches classes in agricultural explorations, animal science, horses and small animals, horticulture, ornamental horticulture, wildlife management, ag mechanics, advanced ag mechanics and ag business.

She grew up on a farm in northeast Iowa and joined her high school FFA chapter for her sophomore through senior years.

?Being a part of an FFA chapter gives students travel opportunities,? said Johnston. ?It helps them to understand connections between farming and business and gives them chances to learn and practice leadership.?

Not all of her FFA students live rurally.

?About 25 percent of my students live in town,? she said. ?They enjoy learning about agriculture and its many opportunities.?

Looking beyond National FFA Week, Johnston said the FHS chapter is planning a project to visit an elementary school for a day, bringing live animals, tended by FFA students to share with the younger students.

And she makes use of live animals in her high school classes.

?Next week, we?ll begin studying animal anatomy, and my husband is bringing our two dogs to class for demonstration,? she said.

Pekin High School

Pekin High School?s FFA Chapter is marking the annual celebration by participating in sub-district contests Monday at Mediapolis High School; and hosting a friends and faculty breakfast Thursday at Pekin.

Sub-district contests involve 14 area schools in the South Sub-District of Iowa?s Southeast District that includes more than 40 schools. Pekin FFA members will compete in various leadership contests, or Career Development Events, including:

? Public speaking, Nicole Giberson

? Extemporaneous speaking, Tyler Moore

? Job interview, Peyton Greiner

? Ag sales, Colton Swanson

? Ag broadcasting, John Martin

? Welding, Trenton Molkenthin and Nathan Arendt

? Manual quiz, Christian Wittrock

? Creed speaking, Becky Phillips

? Conduct of meetings, Mathew Jones, Cole Reighard, Scott Entsminger, J.D. Hollingsworth, Mathew Bollinger, Kyle Miller and Avery Bennett

? FFA tests, McKenna Gambell, Bridget Fritchen, Ligiea Ervin and Madelyn Baker.

Justin Lamb is the FFA advisor.

Cardinal High School

Cardinal High School also will participate in the sub-district contests Monday in Mediapolis, sending 12 students to compete in seven different contests.

?We plan on having either a team or individuals in creed speaking, welding, parliamentary procedure, greenhand quiz, job interview, ag sales and extemporaneous speaking,? said Tom Cope, FFA advisor and agricultural/industrial technology teacher.

FFA, along with students in the foods department, will serve teachers breakfast once during the week, probably an egg and sausage casserole, he said.

Cardinal FFA has 29 members, most of them freshman.

To participate in FFA students must be enrolled or already have taken at least one class of Vocational Agriculture and have a Supervised Agriculture Experience Program planned.

?This is could be any of several different types of projects, from production agriculture to a research project,? said Cope. ?We have a fine FFA chapter and a very good school. I am proud to be a part of the staff.?

Van Buren High School

Van Buren High School?s FFA chapter is small, with four active members, said Jenny Gardner, FFA advisor and vocational ag teacher.

?But we have great plans for the future,? she added.

Activities at Van Buren for National FFA Week include attending the sub-district competition Monday in Mediapolis entering career development events; serving the staff lunch made with locally grown products; and conducting a week-long quiz for students and staff about ag facts.

The following week, on Feb. 27, the FFA chapter will be participating in Family Fun night with a booth explaining food-serving sizes.

The next day, Feb. 28, students will review and discuss the movie ?American Meat? with local experts, said Gardner.

National FFA Week is sponsored by Tractor Supply Company and Carhartt as a special project of the National FFA Foundation.