National Teach Ag Day

 

 

In honor of National Teach Ag Day on March 15^th, 22 Paynesville Area FFA members from Paynesville and ROCORI schools taught an agricultural lesson at the Elementary Schools. The members from Paynesville taught the 1^st graders and multiage students in Paynesville. They chose a lesson titled, “Cheeseburger Storybook,” which focused on agriculture literacy and teaching the students where their food comes from and some fun facts of the cheeseburger. Each student received their “cheeseburger kit” that contained the different layers of a cheeseburger. Then, they cut out the pieces of a cheeseburger (bun, pickles, ketchup, meat, cheese, etc.) and glued the agricultural products (wheat, eggs, tomatoes, etc.) onto the correct layer. Finally, they were assembled so they could take their cheeseburger storybook home and share with their family. We also went through materials donated by the Minnesota Ag in the Classroom organization that was handed out to the students. These included two issues of Ag Mag Jr’s and a cheeseburger placemat. The members from ROCORI taught the 1^st graders from Cold Spring Elementary. Since the first grade classes were studying life cycles of plants and animals, the FFA members chose a lesson titled “All in the Family.” It focused on the life cycles and different names for agricultural animals (calf, heifer, steer, cow, bull, etc.). This was done as an interactive game on the Smartboard with the students. Following the lesson, the 1^st graders created their favorite animals out of homemade play dough, which was made by an FFA member prior to the event. They were able to learn more from their animal packets (coloring & activities), animal terminology bookmarks, and two issues of Ag Mag Jr’s that were also donated from the Minnesota Ag in the Classroom organization. Overall, it was a very enjoyable activity for the elementary students and the FFA members. They loved working with the younger students, teaching them about agriculture, and some even have a hidden “knack” for teaching. Great job FFA members and thank you to the 1^st grade and multiage teachers and classes for this opportunity.

 

 

FFA Bowling results
 
1. First Strike: Abby Kascht (1st Frame)
2. First Turkey: Ashley Barker
3. Highest Score: Maria Molitor (146)
4. Most Strikes: Jon Frenchick (6)
5. Most Spares: Kyle Willenbring (5 spares)
6. Most Unique Throw: Amy Grotsun
7. Most Splits: Abby Molitor (4)
8. Most Spares in a row: Alex Engel (2 spares in a row with 121 score)

Bowling was on Sunday, Jan 8th at 7:30 PM. It was tons of fun! It was cosmic bowling at the Koronis Bowling Alley in Paynesville. We had a good turn out that night. The people listed above all recieved a prize. We do bowling instead of a meeting in January every year. It's like a whole fresh start for the FFA that brings more fun every year!!!
-Respectfully Submitted, Tammy Schackmann, Chapter Reporter

National Convention Poem
    Created by: Sabrina Ley, Brittany Utsch, Maria Molitor, and Tammy Schackmann
National Convention was a blast
to bad it went by so fast.
We went to a couple sessions
that gave us life long lessons.
We then traveled to the birth place of Wilbur Wright
and saw the plane he took on his first flight.
The career show was grand
although the free stuff got out of hand.
The booths with Red, Blue and Green
had the prettiest tractors we had ever seen.
The concert was on Thursday night
and it was a really great sight.
Blake Shelton had blue eyes,
it gave us all butterflies.
We did a radio interview at KDUZ
and that nice man thought we were crazy.
The police officer was very kind
but he made us fall behind.
Which made us super late
for the group picture of our state.
The Rodeo Clown was super funny
but definitely not a honey.
The bull riding was crazy
but some bulls were extremely lazy.
The opening session was a wonderful surprise
that made us all open our eyes.
When the magnificant speaker came out
we couldn't help but give out a loud shout.
Meeting all the cool people on the bus
was definitely a major plus!
If it wasn't for your generous donation
we wouldn't have been able to go on this educational vacation.
The End
-Respectfully Submitted, Tammy Schackmann, Chapter Reporter


National Convention

"National Convention was awesome!!" says Maria, Brittany, Sabrina, and Tammy. We all had a blast! It was held in Indianapolis, Indiana. The theme this year was "I Believe." The sessions that we went to were very informational. We learned a lot about distracted driving  and United States Agribusinesses. We have never seen so many Blue Jackets in our lives, over 50,000!! And all the different states!!! The opening ceremony that we went to was cool! The speaker there was very touching. He was a veteran and told some heart felt stories. Two days were spent at the Career Fair where we visited over 1,000 booths featuring agriculture industries, careers, colleges, military options, and many other areas. One morning we toured the birthplace of Wilbur Wright (of the Wright Brothers) and got to see a replica of the first plane. At Nationals we got to go to a Concert. It was Steel Magnolia, Little Big Town, and Blake Shelton! It was a fun time seeing all those Live! Especially Blake Shelton!!! We were seated on the floor of the Lucas Oil Stadium, which is the Indianapolis NFL Colts Stadium. Another night we went to a Rodeo! That was lots of fun too as it was held at the State Fairgrounds. Those Horse/Bull riders are Crazy! But they are cool to watch! We got to meet some people from Tennessee that were seated in front of us. They were cool kids! I guess Minnesota people have an accent! We thought that was funny! We rode on a coach bus with about 8 other chapters from Western/Central Minnesota and it took us about 13 hours to get to and from Indianapolis. The long bus ride allowed us to make new friends! The bus ride home was much quicker because we talked to all the other people and get to know them very well! The whole trip was a blast and it is the greatest experience a person can have!! We would like to thank all the people and organizations that helped us with the opportunity to go to nationals: The Paynesville Area FFA Alumni and Lake Henry Lions Club for their generous donations, FFA Scholarship Awards through the Corn Drive, Mrs. Utsch, and our parents.
-Respectfully Submitted, Tammy Schackmann, Chapter Reporter


Plot Day


The 6^th annual FFA Educational Plot Day will be taking place on Wednesday, September 14^th from 10 AM to 2 PM. This event will take place in the Paynesville Area Middle School parking lot and the FFA Educational Plot. Throughout the growing season, the FFA members and FFA alumni members have been growing and caring for the 10 acre field just south of the school. Numerous local seed representatives have entered their variety/hybrid of corn and beans in the plot as an educational opportunity for community members and students to learn more about. From 10:00-2:00 community members, local businesses, local farmers, school administrators/faculty, students, FFA members, and alumni members can attend the plot day. A lunch will be served of brats, hot dogs, sauerkraut, beans, chips, cookies, and milk/water. Plot Day attendees can enjoy talking to local seed representatives that will be giving tours, as there will be educational stations focusing on the crop production industry will be set up. This is an educational opportunity for all people and we hope to see you there. Please email nutsch@paynesville.k12.mn.us if you have any questions.

 

 

 

FFA Summer Fun!

 

A few things we did this summer already was the Town and Country Days Parade on Wednesday, June 15th. We also did the Rockfest petting zoo, milking contest and the parade. We didnt get to do the Car wash the first day due to heavy rain fall, but we did get to on the second day. While im writing this today we are doing the richmond parade tonight at 7:00pm. The tractor driver for Richmond parade is Ryan Willenbring. We are going to be handing out stickers, pencils, and mints. I am hoping for a good turn out and no rain!! At the Richmond parade our FFA won the Grand Prize for a non theme float! FFA won $250!! Congrats!!! We have done the paynesville parade also and the tractor driver was Josh Schmitt. Rockfest parade tractor driver was Paul Walz. Now that the parades are done we will be starting the County Fairs. Members are going to be getting ready for the Stearns and Meeker County Fair. Stearns and Meeker County Fair are in early August. In the beginning of August the Officiers; Amy, Brittany, Sabrina, Ashley, Tammy, Paul, Abby, Maria, will be going on a 3 day retreat. They will be heading to Oasksis renting a Cabin. Then in late August there is the State Fair. Members have been busy maintaining the test plot in Paynesville by preparing the plot, and irrigatigation