Spring is in the Air......Maybe

What a week!  Athens had an extremely busy week, from our county public speaking contest, to the delivery of thousands of plugs and cuttings that needed to be planted as soon as possible, to handing back my first class in the middle of the week.  Through it all, there were still a lot of lessons learned!

Monday came before I knew what hit me!  I had ten freshman signed up to compete in the Creed speaking contest on Tuesday, so the entire class period was devoted to allowing students to practice the Creed in front of the class.  The same approach was taken with my FFA/SAE class, who all participated in either junior prepared, senior prepared, or conservation public speaking.  The Horticulture classes both spent the entire period planting seeds of their own, as well as seeds for Project Grow.  We are partnering with Project Grow as a community based unit of instruction.  The organization has partnered with us to grow plants for them, which will then be sold in a plant sell.  The proceeds from the sale are then used as a fundraiser so that the organization has money to sponsor community gardens.  They also put on workshops for community members that teach things such as how to can produce from the garden.  I started my veterinary science class on a project to create a presentation on one of the essential nutrients to kick off the nutrition unit.  To end the day off, I reviewed parts and tools with my Ag Mechanics class, in order to prepare for their quiz on Wednesday.

I spent Tuesday with students at the County Public Speaking and Tractor Driving CDE.  The top three individuals from each event proceed on to the Regional Contest.  Athens FFA took home not only first, but also second and third in the Creed Speaking contest.  We also have a student continuing on in the Extemporaneous contest!  In Senior Prepared and Junior Prepared, our students did really well as well!  Our students were competing against students from Northeast Bradford, Troy, Canton, Wellsboro, and Cowanesque Valley.

Wednesday was quite the blur!  we had our delivery arrive from Jolly Farmer of over two thousands plugs and cuttings that needed planted within the first 24 hours.  Horticulture students worked hard both Wednesday and Thursday to make sure that everything was successfully planted.  With the conclusion of the public speaking unit, I handed back the FFA/SAE class as the begin to plan our banquet. Veterinary Science worked to complete their presentations.  I didn't plan on the projects to take more than three days to prepare, however with the slow connection to the school computers, students were not getting as much done in a days time as planned.  Wednesday afternoon I was also able to work to finalize plans with my student who is participating in the Teach Ag Essay Contest, who planned to teach a lesson to Introduction to Ag. 

The week continued to fly by, and before I knew it we were already to Thursday.  The highlight of Thursday was being able to meet with the high school principal.  We talked about how assessments were used within the school, however I was also able to talk with her about how my experience was going, as well as what my future plans may be.  At the end, I was penciled into her schedule to go through a mock interview after my teaching load lessens.  As far as in the classroom, I conducted a demonstration with my Ag Mechanics class on how to wire a light fixture.  I was excited to see how well the demonstration went!

Friday, Friday, Friday!  I was excited to get Friday started by watching my student teach the first period class.  He taught a lesson on the story of milk, and he did amazing!  He planned several activities to keep the students engaged throughout the lesson.  The horticulture classes were transitioned back inside after a week of hard work in the greenhouse.  We learned about the difference between good bugs, and bad bugs, and characteristics of both.  I finished the day by starting Ag Mechanics on their projects.

Overall, it was a really busy, but really great week!  I can't believe that this experience is coming to an end so quickly.  I look forward to continuing into next week.  Horticulture classes will spend time working on Integrated Pest Management, while also continuing to take care of the needs in the greenhouse.  Ag Mechanics will work on their electrical projects, and Veterinary Science will begin their presentations.  I will also begin a poultry unit with Animal Science.  I would like to continue to work on classroom management as the weeks begin to come to an end.