Waterford FFA - Newsletter
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October 2012:
Hello FFA members, parents, and supporters!
The 2012-2013 school year is now in full swing, and things are looking as optimistic as ever for the Waterford FFA! Among the many positive items going into this school year, highlights for the FFA include:
- Congrats to our Environmental Science Judging Team (or CDE Team), which won the state-level contest and will represent the Wisconsin FFA at the National FFA Convention at the end of October in Indianapolis, IN. Phil Davis, John Beneke, Jesse Bouffiou, and Sarah Heyer will compete for the title of National Champions and stand an excellent chance of excelling with this highly challenging and competitive national event. Wish them luck as they compete later this month!
- Welcome to our new ag instructor and FFA Advisor, Mr. Adam Wolf! Mr. Wolf is a graduate of UW-Platteville with licenses in agricultural education and technical education. Mr. Wolf will be teaching the veterinary science courses and landscape design this year, and will serve as the co-advisor of the Waterford FFA. We are very pleased to have Mr. Wolf join our program and look forward to many more expanded opportunities with multiple instructors.
- Congratulations to the Waterford FFA for winning a PRIDE Award for the second consecutive year. PRIDE Awards are given to chapters in Wisconsin that have shown initiative in member recruitment and retainment and who have shown a significant increase in membership compared to the previous year.
- Congratulations to Hannah Waldron, our Farm Manager and Chapter President, whose shrewd handling of our FFA Research Field enabled the chapter to make several thousand dollars off of our wheat crop this year. This is pretty impressive given the weather conditions this year and the volatile commodities markets (and the fact that Hannah is a high school student and not a commodities expert [yet]) – great work Hannah!
- Congratulations to our newly hired Greenhouse Managers Jesse Bouffiou and Maddy Maerzke. Jesse and Maddy will be overseeing the large crop of poinsettias we currently have growing in the greenhouse. The plants are already growing strong and look fantastic – we look forward to another beautiful crop for sale this December!
- Currently over 80 students have registered with the FFA – more are expected to sign up in the coming weeks. Once again, we will likely be the largest student organization at Waterford High School!
- Congrats to our successful student-led projects during Homecoming! FFA took home two awards during Homecoming week. The first was an award for our Paint the Town Window, for which the FFA received the “Best Use of Wally” Award. FFA won the same award for their Homecoming Float, featuring a giant Wally Wolverine in an FFA Jacket. Thanks to everyone who helped out – we had a great turnout for both events!
- Congrats also to all exhibitors at the county fair – we had a great year free of major problems with lots of great cooperation and sportsmanship.
- Congrats to FFA members who competed at the Wisconsin State Fair – Abby Ball, Cody Eulgen, Caitlyn Eulgen, Ben Himebauch, Kyle Jacobs, Kallie Jo Kastenson, Brett Waldron, Hannah Waldron, Austin Wenck, Taylor Wenck, and Andrea Wenck
- Good luck to our WIHA Team, consisting of Kaila Frank, Andrea Plohocky, and Taylor Briglevic. These students will compete on October 13-14th at the District 1 Wisconsin Interscholastic Horsemanship Association Show.
- Congratulations to our National FFA Convention attendees - Hannah Waldron, Alissa Maerzke, Kallie Jo Kastenson, and Gerrit Pearson. They will represent the Waterford FFA at the National Convention as they attend sessions, hear national speakers, and attend leadership workshops through the 3rd week of October
Things to be aware of:
- If you haven’t done so already, please go to the Agriculture Department (http:bit.ly/AgDept) website to register for the FFA. Look for the “2012-2012 FFA Registration Form” link at the bottom of the page – you aren’t a member until you’ve completed this form, and you must re-do the form each year! Please see Mr. Kohn or Mr. Wolf with any questions.
o Members must be registered and have their $20 dues paid by Monday, October 1st to receive their FFA T-shirt! Don’t delay!
- Reminder that FFA dues are $20 for this year. These dues cover the cost of national and state registration. Dues can only be paid in the Ag Office – please be sure to use a fully-filled-out deposit envelope and deposit your dues in the Deposit Box in the office.
o Reminder – the FFA picks up the cost of FFA dues for students enrolled in Agriscience due to the fact that FFA is part of the course curriculum per the state standards for the subject.
- Reminder that school activities fees are $20 for FFA Members. You only have to pay this fee once and you are eligible for all student clubs and organizations at Waterford High School. This fee can be paid to Gail Dummer in the locker room hallway.
o Please note that the school activity fee that you may have paid at registration is not the same thing as the FFA dues. Activity fees cover some of the administrative costs of organizations at the school level. FFA dues pay the administrative costs of running the organization at the state and national level. Both are required to be paid for FFA membership.
o The FFA and forensics are charged an extra $5 due to the large number of field trips these organizations take. If you only paid $15, you simply need to pay the extra $5 to Gail Dummer in the locker room hallway.
- FFA Meetings are held at 5:30 pm on the second Wednesday of each month. The next meeting will be at 5:30 on Wed, October 10th in Rm 209. Milk and cookies (or other refreshments) will be provided by the FFA.
- Highway Cleanup will be Saturday, October 13th at 9 am. The FFA adopts the stretch of Highway 20 from the Cotton Exchange to the Maple Road. Cleanup usually takes 1-2 hours. This event is a great resume builder and is perfect for college and scholarship applications! Plus it’s fun, you get to meet new people, and doesn’t take long at all!
- The FFA Alumni will be hosting a bonfire and chili dump at Don North’s house on the evening of October 13th. The North Farm is located at 27610 Washington Ave. All students and parents are encouraged to attend!
- The FFA uses a text-messaging service to contact members from time to time. Using the cell phone you provided on the online registration form, the FFA will contact you about meetings and major events periodically by texting. If you would prefer not to be on this messaging list or if you would like to have a second number added to the list, please email Mr. Kohn to have your number removed/added.
- The FFA Fruit Sale will begin at the end of October. This is the major annual fundraiser for the FFA and we need all FFA members to contribute. Our goal is for all members to sell at least $200 of fruit (roughly 10-12 boxes) – this is easier than it sounds because the fruit is so good that it practically sells itself! The fruit is shipped directly from orchards in Texas and Florida. Also included are Wisconsin meats and cheeses, nuts and chocolates, and Waterford’s very own poinsettia flowers.
o All FFA members receive 10% of their total sales back as a check (assuming the student is registered and have all dues and fees paid, all fruit was delivered and all payments were collected and submitted for the sold fruit).
- This means that if you sell $200 (our minimum goal for each member), you get $20 back!
o Our previous high seller sold over $7000 in fruit, netting hundreds of dollars back in cash when the sale concluded.
o More details will be provided at the October chapter meeting.
- Speaking contest practices will start in November and December. The FFA offers several speaking competitions to members throughout the state. These are excellent opportunities for students to become proficient public speakers and speech writers. Events include prepared speaking (6-8 minute prepared speech from memory), extemporaneous speaking (4-6 minute speech written at the competition based on a topic drawn from a hat), creed speaking (recital of the FFA Creed – freshmen only), parliamentary procedure (running a business meeting using Roberts Rules of Order), job interview, and discussion.
o These are one of the most valuable opportunities available to students, and we strongly encourage all students to consider participating – few events can have a more positive impact on college admission, scholarship competitiveness, and professional preparation.
o Other than parliamentary procedure, practices can occur at your pace and work around your schedule (meaning that if you’re in sports, in other organizations, or have a job, we can make it work for you!)
o See Mr. Kohn or Mr. Wolf for details or to sign up.
Upcoming Events:
October 2nd – World Dairy Expo, Madison WI (leave 7 am from WUHS, Door 11)
October 10th – October FFA Meeting, 5:30 – Rm 209 (we will likely play bingo at a retirement home in Waterford afterwards – this is optional but makes for a great community-service opportunity).
October 13th – Highway Cleanup, 9 am at the Cotton Exchange.
October 13th – Alumni Bonfire and Chili Dump, 7 pm at Don North’s farm
October 13-14th – WIHA District 1 Horse Show
October 23rd – 27th – National FFA Convention
October 24th-27th – National Environmental Science CDE Competition
End of October – Fruit Sale Begins (concludes the Monday of the week of Thanksgiving).
Reminder that our goal is for each member to sell at least $200 of fruit. Last year we sold a total of $27,000, with our all-time high being roughly $54,000 in 2008.
November –December – Speaking Contest Practices begin
Ongoing – Lab Nights (for students who want to conduct independent research using the department laboratory and facilities – no experience necessary!). See Mr. Kohn if you wish to take part in this amazing resume-building experience!
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