Tis the FFA Season (STB#10)

My students and I touring the Capitol as part of our SLLC experience 

It’s a time of year where it seems that the Christmas season has ended and the FFA season has started. Almost every weekend I have been away for an FFA conference or event. Although a lot of running around, I see the impact that these events are making on my students and it is rewarding to see the outcomes. This past weekend was the FFA State Legislative Leadership Conference (SLLC) in Harrisburg. We left with five students on Sunday and returned to school Tuesday. We then had a Small Gas Engines competition to go to on Wednesday. I returned to teach at school Thursday and Friday. 

Although I was gone from school most of this week, it was a great opportunity to spend time with my FFA students at these conferences and competitions. These events have allowed both me and my students to explore more of what all FFA has to offer. I have never been to SLLC before and so it was a great learning experience for myself. My students, however, were like new individuals when they returned to school. They had such a great time! On our way home I asked the students to reflect on their highlights from the trip and how the conference could improve. Most students said that their highlight was making new friends. I was constantly seeing my students talking with students from other schools and I was proud of them for branching out and meeting new people. My students also said that they would improve some of the bills that were discussed during their workshops the first day. Overall, it was a great trip and I am pleased with the way my students were open to helping others, learning and making new friends.

Our Small Gas Engines team putting their engine back together

This past Wednesday Octorara traveled to Solanco High School to compete in a Small Gas Engines and Creed Speaking CDE contests. This was another excellent experience for both myself and my students. I have never judged the Small Gas Engines competition before and it was quite the experience that I thoroughly enjoyed. Octorara came in third place for this competition and fourth for creed speaking. I was very pleased with this outcome but more importantly seeing the motivation the students had to do even better next time was very exciting to see. As we returned to school the participating students were talking all about their success and competition with the other students at school. They were excited to be able to advance and they were anxious to get out to the shop and tinker with their engine even more. I hope that the next unit which happens to be small gas engines will help them perform even better at the State Summer Conference. 

As I returned to my two days of classes, I was surprised to return to a well behaved bunch of students. I thought they would have enjoyed not having their teacher for a few days, but what I found was that they were excited to see me. They were more well behaved when I returned which made me wonder what they were trying to cover up from the beginning of the week! But all reports that I got back were positive, so I kept moving through my lessons as usual for these past two days. I am looking forward to having a longer and more productive week next week. 

The following are pictures from our community service project at the Neighborhood Center in Harrisburg: