Sleepy Eye Elementary February Students of the Month: Apollo Saari- K, Brandon Hardin- K, Jada Schauman- 1, Natlie Martinez- 1, Mila Boomgarden- 2, Breckin Peterson – 2, Taya Bastian- 3, Mayanna Wiley- 3, Michael Aspelund- 4, Aaron Garcia- 4, Ava Kunkel- 5, Karly Wendinger- 5, Gavin Fischer- 6, Rheanna Stone- 6.

Four FFA members from Sleepy Eye were interviewed for their State FFA Degrees. Pictured left to right: Morgan Hoffmann, McKenna Dockter, Kadon Strong, and Sophia Portner. 

Adam Johnson placed 1st in Region VI for Poultry Production.

  Morgan Hoffmann was elected the Vice President for the Region VI 2021-22 FFA Officer Team.

Jake Price placed 1st in Region VI for Turf Grass Management.

By: Katelyn Capacia, Chapter Reporter

The Region VI FFA interviews were held in the last two weeks for Region Office, State Degrees, and Proficiency Awards.

This year, four Sleepy Eye FFA members applied for State FFA Degrees and two members completed Agricultural Proficiency Awards. The State FFA Degree is the second highest degree attainable in FFA, behind the American FFA Degree.

All proficiency interviews, region officer interviews, and delegate voting were done online/virtual. The State FFA Degree interviews were conducted by Larry Baumgardt, Advisory Board Chair using current Covid guidelines.

In order to receive a State FFA Degree, the following qualifications must be met. Having a Chapter FFA Degree, being an active FFA member, completing at least 2 years of agricultural classroom instruction, having earned and invested at least $2,000 or worked 300 hours through an SAE, as well as completing at least 25 hours of community service.

The members who applied for the State FFA Degree included: McKenna Dockter, Morgan Hoffmann, Sophia Portner, and Kadon Strong.

Two members also interviewed for their Proficiency Applications. The Sleepy Eye Proficiency results were:

Jake Price – 1st place in Turf Grass Management

Adam Johnson – 1st place in Poultry Production

The State Degrees and Proficiency Applications will now go to the state level and the State Proficiency Judging will take place in March.

Region VI Officer Interviews were also held. Becoming a Region Officer helps FFA members be more active in FFA beyond the chapter level. Serving on an elite team of FFA Members simulates working with others in a professional work environment.

Wyatt Barnes and Mackenna Fischer served as the Sleepy Eye FFA Chapter voting delegates for the Region Officer Interviews. They voted on the 2021-22 Region VI Officer Slate. Morgan Hoffmann was elected as the Region VI 2021-2022 Vice President.

FFA helps teach specialized skills in hundreds of agriculture career areas. Opportunities such as this can add up to big life achievements!

Lacey Mathiowetz & Emily Helget of St. Mary’s Catholic School dropped off their group’s National Honor Society service projects for Divine Providence Grandfriends. DPCH Grandfriends will have their winter days brightened by a multitude of sun catchers and handmade cards.

 Ag. students in action in many different classes with many different hands-on projects.

February CTE Month: Hands-on, Minds-on

Career and Technical Education Month^®, or CTE Month^®, is a public awareness campaign that takes place each February to celebrate the value of Career and Technical Education and the achievements and accomplishments of CTE programs across the country.

Governor Waltz dedicated February, 2021 as CTE Month in Minnesota. These were the main points of the proclamation.

• Profound economic and technological changes in our society are rapidly reflected in the structure and nature of work, placing new responsibilities on our educational system;
• Career and technical education is the backbone of a strong, well-educated workforce, fostering  productivity in business and industry and contributing to America’s leadership in the international marketplace;

• Career and technical education gives students practical, meaningful experience by offering  integrated programs of study, thus improving the quality of their education and giving students leadership opportunities;

• Career and technical education offers individuals opportunities to learn new skills, providing them  with more career choices and better potential for job satisfaction;

•     The increasing cooperative efforts of career and technical educators at the secondary and postsecondary levels, along with business and industry, are stimulating the growth and vitality of the entire nation by preparing graduates for career fields that are forecasted to experience significant growth in the next decade.

The Ag. Department at Sleepy Eye Public School has three CTE teachers: Mary Hoffmann, Hunter Manderfeld, and Adam Manderfeld who are proponents of hands-on learning in all of their classes.

The coursework is in the areas of Animal Science, Plant Science, Foods, Natural Resources, Woods, Mechanics, Business, and Exploratory Classes. We are happy to celebrate what we do every day during CTE month and showcase our students in numerous hands on projects.

By: Carmen Lendt 

Officer of The Month 

Miah Brown is in 11th grade and has been in FFA for five years. This year she is Officer-at-Large for the FFA officer team. She joined FFA to experience new things and to meet new people. She likes being an officer because she gets to assist all officers in planning and conducting all chapter events, and welcome new people into FFA. Miah likes being on the Vet Science team because she likes that she gets to learn more about smaller animals and discover different breeds. Her favorite activity in FFA is Timberland Camp. Something Miah is looking forward to is what her officer team can do the rest of this year and bonding with them. By being in Ag classes and FFA, Miah has learned that working as a team is very important and that having strong leadership can take you far. Miah is most proud of her Officer of the Month Award as well as Crop Show Awards, Summer All-Star ,and Chapter Star Leader Awards.

Member of the month 

Wyatt Barnes is in 11th grade and has been in FFA for five years. He joined FFA because he likes agriculture and wanted to learn more about it. He is on the Fish & Wildlife CDE team and he likes this team because they get to learn about different types of wildlife- birds, mammals, and fish. For his SAE project he works at Sellner Dairy Farm for a Placement in Dairy Production SAE. His favorite FFA activity is the farm fest. Wyatt is really looking forward to working the safety booth at farm fest this summer. By being in Ag Class and FFA he has learned what kinds of animals are raised as well as out in the wild. Wyatt is very proud of this Member of the Month Award.

Member of the month 

Sophie Portner is in 12th grade and has been in FFA for four years. She joined to be apart of more agricultural opportunities and to develop more leadership and communication skills. Her CDE is Dairy Evaluation and she enjoys going to events to see different cows and using and developing her dairy judging skills. Sophie’s SAE is working at her family dairy farm milking cows, feeding calves, and other miscellaneous chores. She also owns 30 Brown Swiss cows. Her favorite activity in FFA is working at the Kiddy Barn at the County Fair and taking welding class last summer. Sophie is really looking forward to earning her State FFA Degree. Something she has learned by being in FFA is to step more out of her comfort zone and pursue things that interest her. The award that Sophie is most proud of is earning 4^th place at State for Dairy Evaluation.

Member of the month 

Abigail Hornsby is in 10th grade and this is her fourth year in FFA. She joined FFA because she loves agriculture and wanted to do more. Abi is a member of the Fish & Wildlife CDE Team. She likes being on this team because she likes to learn about all the different animals. Abi’s favorite FFA activity is the Crop Show. Abi is really looking forward to the State Fish & Wildlife Contest. She has learned a lot in Ag. Classes in FFA including more about animals, baking, and a lot of other stuff. Abi is most proud of her Soybean Champion Award from the 2020 Crop Show.

Sleepy Eye Schools named Caleb Oscarson (5th grader) as their January Patroller of the Month.