January 2022 Students of the Month

Kdgn- Jaella Schauman         Kdgn- Waylon Schauman

1^st – Antonio Sanchez            1^st – Brinley Peterson

2^nd– Logan Hinderman            2^nd – Reed Arkins

3^rd – Katelyn Ludewig             3^rd – Liliana Trevino

4^th –Gabriel Garcia                 4^th – Ryder Braun

5^th – Caiden Helget                 5^th – Oziel Lozano

6^th – Breanna Lopez                6^th – Caleb Oscarson

By: Chapter Reporter, Brooke Arneson 

Member of the Month

Jake Price is in 11th grade and has been in FFA for 5 years. He joined FFA because he wanted to learn more about agriculture. Jake’s CDE (Career Development Event) Team is Fish and Wildlife. For his SAE (Supervised Agricultural Experience), he has his own lawn mowing business and also works part-time at Kibble Equipment. Jake’s favorite FFA activity is Timberland Camp and he is most looking forward to going to camp again this upcoming summer. So far from being in FFA, he has learned that there are many different opportunities to have a good paying agricultural job. Jake is most proud of earning State Runner-up and State Winner for his SAE project in Turf Grass Management.

Member of the Month 

Nora Coulson is in 9th grade and has been in FFA for 3 years. She joined FFA to have leadership opportunities and to have fun working as a team in activities. Nora’s CDE Team is Small Animals. She enjoys gaining more knowledge about animal development from her CDE. Nora’s favorite FFA activity is playing volleyball at the monthly meetings. Something she is interested in doing this year is the Summer Ag. Tour. From being in an Ag. class and FFA, Nora has learned about different Ag. careers in our rural community. She is most proud of earning top-seller in the fruit sales.

Member of the Month 

Yuridia Fernandez is in 8th grade and has been in FFA for 2 years. She joined because she thought it would be fun and decided to take an Ag. class. Yuridia is on the Meats CDE Team. She is glad she joined the team because she has a lot of fun. Yuridia’s favorite FFA activities are the monthly Junior High meetings. She is looking forward to competing in the Ag. Bowl for her CDE this upcoming week. From being in an Ag. class and FFA, Yuridia has learned information about plants, animals, and how to cook. She is most proud of earning 9th place in her first ever crop show.

Officer of the Month 

Gracie Sellner is in 11th grade and has been in FFA for 5 years. She joined FFA because she wanted to learn more about agriculture, get involved with hands-on organization, learn new leadership skills, and meet new people. Gracie has been serving as the Student Advisor for our FFA Officer Team. As the Student Advisor, she likes that she gets to work with the advisors and her fellow officers to plan Jr. High meetings, National FFA Week, and the High School meetings. She also gets to learn leadership skills. For Gracie’s CDE she is on the Dairy Team. She likes to take her skills from judging dairy cattle to her family farm, as well as her skills to pick out dairy that she shows at the Brown County and State Fairs in the summer. For her SAE, she works on her family’s robotic dairy farm. She overall mostly works with the baby calves, does vaccinations, and does a lot of field work. Gracie’s favorite FFA event is FFA Week. She is most looking forward to meeting new people and making more friends this year. FFA has taught Gracie how to be more confident when speaking publicly. It has also taught her to be a leader when no one will step up and take responsibility. Gracie is most proud of winning 4th individual at Regions for Dairy her freshman year. She is also proud of winning the leadership award her freshman and sophomore year.

     December 2021 Students of the Month

Sleepy Eye Ag. Teachers, McKenzie Wagelie, Mary Hoffmann, and Katie Emmett, attended the Minnesota Association of Agricultural Educators Ag. Technology Conference at St. Cloud, January 20-22, 2022.

Mary Hoffmann, Katie Emmett, and McKenzie Wagelie, Sleepy Eye Public School Ag. Teachers, attended the Minnesota Association of Agricultural Educators (MAAE) Ag. Technology Conference in St. Cloud  January 20-22, 2022.  This conference included attending professional development workshops, a meeting for the Agricultural Diversity and Leadership/Technical Skill Challenge Grant, award winner recognition, and updates from all major partners in Team Ag. Ed.

Hoffmann led a community building activity as part of her duties on the State Teach Ag Results Committee and gave an update on the National Council for Agricultural Education as President Elect of that board.

Hoffmann was named the Minnesota ACTE Teacher of the Year and will now complete an application for the Region III ACTE competition level. She was also recognized as a Teacher of Teachers as Wagelie was a previous student of hers at Sleepy Eye.

Emmett and Wagelie were participants in and recognized for the Teacher Induction Program (TIP) while at the conference. As new teachers, they heard from many different panelists on pertinent topics for first year teachers.

All attended the conference to participate in the professional development workshops, learn from the stakeholders in Agricultural Education, network with over 225 Ag. teachers from around the state of Minnesota, and hear updates to stay informed on legislative efforts for agricultural education as well as programs from the Minnesota Department of Education.

Sleepy Eye High School has named Brooklyn Moldan and Mason Sellner as their 2021-2022 school-year Triple A Award Winners.

Triple A recognizes and honors high school seniors who have excelled in the classroom, on the athletic field, and in the fine arts.

Sponsored by 

hese FFA members, officers, and students helped to pack the Holiday Boxes for the Trinity Backpack Program for families in need at Mark Thomas Company. It is a joyful experience to do something for others! A total of 11 students along with advisors, Mrs. Hoffmann, Mrs. Wagelie, and Ms. Emmett, helped with the packing. Pictured l to r – Alex Joramo, Jacob Mellen, Maddi Helget, Carmen Lendt, Kamille Capacia, Leisha Martinez, Morgan Hoffmann, Daniel Armstrong, Adam Johnson, and Jose Castorena.

Katelyn Capacia, Chapter Historian, helped with the packing of the Birthday Boxes along with several other FFA Officers.

By: Leisha Martinez, Chapter Reporter

Some know this line – Living to Serve – as the last in the FFA Motto. For Sleepy Eye FFA members, service may be one of the first words they think of when they think of what FFA is all about.

This summer, the Sleepy Eye FFA chapter applied for a National FFA year-long living grant for $3000 in order to help with the holiday boxes which include food bags each week and Holiday Gift Boxes. With the generosity of Trinity, Central Region Cooperative, Land O Lakes, Tractor Supply Company, Cargill, CoBank, Dominos, and Elanco, the grant became a reality for the Sleepy Eye FFA Chapter

The Backpack program is where students at risk for hunger receive bags of food for the weekend with a family meal – main dishes, fruit, vegetables, and a snack. The FFA grant money is being used to help with several extensions of the Backpack Food Program including: Birthday Boxes for each elementary participant, Fruit and Snacks in each Food Bag, Personal Care Item Pantry for Grades 5-8, Personal Care Items for the Holiday Boxes, and Food Pantry for Grades 7-8.

The Holiday Boxes for the families include: 8 meals and some extra snacks and goodies for the long holiday break as well as a gift certificate for meat and produce at the local grocery store, ornaments, family game/puzzle, personal care items (shampoo, body wash, deodorant, lotion, toothpaste, toothbrush).

20 of our members have been helping with this project in many ways. Whether it is packing the meals at Mark Thomas, making the Birthday Boxes, or shopping for the items, our members are excited to help out. Advisor, Mrs. Hoffmann, and Morgan Hoffmann, the Chapter President, along with members Alexis Garza and Jorden Niebuhr, shopped for the personal care items that went into the holiday boxes for the families. New this year was a special family gift of a game/puzzle and an ornament.

The FFA is thrilled to be a part of this amazing project that the Trinity church conducts, along with numerous community partners, providing food to students all school year long.

Happy Holiday cards have been made by the members and will be given to all residents at the local nursing homes and Countryside along with ornaments the FFA chapter purchased. Members also wrote a special note to Veterans and sent cards to the VA Hospital in Minneapolis as another way to serve this year.

Receiving the Living to Serve grant and helping with these projects were a great way for our members to contribute to the community and build relationships while doing so! One of the FFA members favorite things to do is participate in service projects. We are always trying to find ways to help out in the community and spread a little holiday cheer!

By: Chapter Reporter, Brooke Arneson

Member of the Month

Manny Poplow is in 9th grade and has been in FFA for one year. He joined FFA because of the encouragement of his friends and teachers. Manny’s CDE (Career Development Team) is the Best Informed Greenhand (BIG) Team. For his CDE, he enjoys memorizing all of the FFA facts. So far competing on the BIG team is Manny’s favorite FFA activity. One thing he wants to try in the future is trapshooting. Manny has learned so far that agriculture isn’t just about plants, but includes so many other things. His top achievement is winning 2nd place on the BIG Team at regions.

Member of the Month 

Lily Kallevig is in 9th grade and this is her first year in FFA. She joined FFA so that she could meet new people and make new friends. Lily is a member of the BIG Team for her CDE. She enjoys her CDE because she gets to hang out with her friends. Lily’s favorite FFA Activity was the lock-in. She is most looking forward to going to state for BIG Team. Lily has learned that there is more to agriculture than farming, that the opportunities are endless. She is most proud of earning the Member of the Month award.

Member of the Month 

Trevor Rathman is in 7th grade and this is his first year in FFA. He joined FFA so he could be more involved with agriculture. Trevor does not have one specific favorite FFA activity, as he enjoys all of them. Something he is interested in or looking forward to the most is trapshooting. From being in an Ag. class and FFA, Trevor has learned more about plants and animals. He is most proud of the award for being the top junior high seller for fruit sales.

Officer of the Month 

Morgan Hoffmann is in 12th grade and has been in FFA for 6 years. She joined FFA because it has always been a part of her life. When Morgan was old enough, she joined and participated in everything she possibly could and loved all of it! Morgan has been serving as the Chapter President and she enjoys being a leader for our chapter as well as working with her other fellow officers. Morgan is on the Floriculture CDE Team. For Floriculture, she likes designing different floral arrangements and learning about the different types of flowers. Morgan’s SAE is Ag. Communications where she posts and gets the word out about FFA and agriculture to many people. Her favorite FFA activities include Timberland Camp and FFA lock-ins. Morgan is looking forward to FFA Week and State Convention where she can meet up with the many friends she has made over the years. From being in an Ag. class and FFA, Morgan has learned many skills that will help her in future careers, and she has learned how to be more confident in herself. The awards she is most proud of are the Blue and Gold Award, Sophomore Achievement Award, Star Greenhand, and 1^st Place Agricultural Education Proficiency at State.

The Sleepy Eye FFA members competed in the Best Informed Greenhand Competition on Tuesday, Dec. 14. The greenhands included: l to r, front- Izzy Kunkel, Cadence Okerman, Lily Kallevig, Noemi Rodriguez, Chloe Howe, Adam Rodriguez. Back- Nolan Weicherding, Tim Friton, Cody Schultz, Manny Poplow, Jose Castorena.

By: Leisha Martinez, FFA Reporter

On Tuesday, December 14^th, the regional competition for the Best Informed Greenhand (BIG) Career Development Events (CDE) was held in Windom.

For the BIG Team competition, members took a written 50 question test to show their knowledge of FFA facts, parliamentary procedure, history, and important people in FFA.
The top Sleepy Eye team placed 2^nd at the Region VI Contest out of 17 teams. The members of the top team included: Chloe Howe, Manny Poplow, Adam Rodriguez (all with a 3-way tie for 4th place individual), Cody Schultz (tied for 5th individual).

The other members on the Sleepy Eye teams included: Lily Kallevig (tied for 6th individual), Cadence Okerman, Izzy Kunkel, Jose Castorena, Noemi Rodriguez, Tim Friton and Nolan Weicherding all competed.

All of these greenhands will compete at the State FFA Convention in April.

By: Chapter Reporter, Brooke Arneson

Member of the Month

Megan Sellner is in 7th grade and this is her first year in FFA. She joined FFA because she thought it would be fun to learn more about what it has to offer. Megan is a part of the Milk Quality and Products team for her CDE (Career Development Event). Her favorite part of her CDE is tasting the different kinds of dairy products. Megan’s favorite FFA activities include the monthly meetings. For the upcoming year, she is most looking forward to the State Milk Quality Competition. So far Megan has learned cow breeds and how to identify different milks from being in an Ag. class and FFA. The award that she is most proud of is Member of the Month and being 5^th individual for the Region Milk Quality Contest.

Member of the Month 

Chloe Howe is in 9th grade and has been in FFA for 2 years. She joined FFA to get out of her comfort zone. Chloe’s CDE team is food science. Her favorite part of her CDE is collaborating with friends. Chloe’s favorite FFA activity was having the opportunity to apply for and earn a free FFA jacket. Something she wants to try this year is public speaking. Chloe has learned that communication is key by being in an Ag. class and FFA. She is most proud of earning this Member of the Month award.

Member of the Month 

Hannah Meyer is in 8th grade and has been in FFA for 2 years. She joined FFA to gain new experiences. Her CDE team is forestry. Hannah’s favorite part of her CDE is going to competitions and meeting new people. As a part of her SAE, Hannah feeds her neighbors cats, which falls under the small animal production and care category. Her favorite activities so far have been the monthly meetings. She is most looking forward to Timberland Camp in the forthcoming year. From being in the Ag. class Farm to Table, Hannah has learned how to cook. Hannah is most proud of earning top 10 in the Sleepy Eye Crop Show.

Officer of the month 

Winsten is in 10th grade and has been in FFA for 4 years. He joined FFA because he thought it would be a good experience and so he could learn more and grow personally. Winsten has been serving as the Officer at Large for our FFA Officer Team this year. As the Officer at Large, he enjoys stepping in and assisting all officers. Winsten’s CDE team is poultry. His favorite part of his CDE is practicing and competing with his teammates. Winsten’s SAE is poultry production, which involves him raising egg layers. For fun FFA activities, he enjoys playing in the volleyball tournaments. Winsten is most looking forward to the banquet at the end of the year. From being in Ag. classes and FFA, he has learned more about business and trades. The awards Winsten is most proud of include top 10 in the Crop Show, Best in Show for the county fair FFA poultry show, and the Phoenix Award.