By: Katelyn Capacia, Reporter
Member of the Month
Caleb Suess is an eighth grader at Sleepy Eye Public School and has been in FFA for 2 years. He joined FFA because he wanted to be more involved. Caleb is on the Soils CDE team and likes it because you get to learn more about real world things. His SAE is working on Suess Dairy Farm helping with fieldwork, feeding calves, and milking cows. Caleb’s favorite FFA activity is the fun nights. Something he is looking forward to is going to new places. By being in FFA and Ag. Class, he learned more about animals that he wasn’t familiar with. Caleb is most proud of his Discovery Degree Award.
Member of the Month
Jacob Schultz is an eleventh grader at Sleepy Eye Public School and has been in FFA for 5 years. He joined FFA because he wanted to learn more about FFA, do crops, and participate in CDE’s. Jacob is on the Fish and Wildlife CDE team and likes it because he gets to use it in the real world. His SAE is milking cows every night at Suess Dairy. His favorite FFA activity is doing crops for the Sleepy Eye Crop Show and County and State Fair. Something he is looking forward to is competing in the Fish and Wildlife CDE contest this year. By being in FFA and Ag. Class, he learned more about the history of FFA. Jacob is most proud of being the Crop Show Champion twice.
Member of the Month
Jasmine Petermann is a seventh grader at Sleepy Eye Public School and has been in FFA for 1 year. She joined FFA because her dad was in FFA and she hopes that one day she can help her dad farm. Her favorite FFA activity is the Crop Show. Something she is looking forward to is trying out a new CDE team. By being in an Ag class, she learned more about the different kinds of animals. Jasmine is most proud of being the Jr. High Champion of the 2020 Crop Show and earning her very own FFA Jacket through the Blue Jackets Bright Futures Program.
Officer of the Month
Adam Johnson is a tenth grader at Sleepy Eye Public School and has been in FFA for 4 years. He joined FFA because he thought it would be a fun activity to do. Adam is the Chapter Treasurer and he likes it because he likes being involved in the chapter’s plans and finances. He is on the Poultry CDE team and likes it because he enjoys learning about chickens and he also likes that it relates to his SAE. His SAE is raising chickens in “chicken tractors” and selling them. His favorite FFA activity is the Crop Show. Something he is looking forward to is the State Poultry Competition. By being in FFA, he learned that anybody can be in FFA and in an Ag. class even if they don’t live on a farm. Adam is most proud of being 1st place Individual in Region VI CDE competition for Poultry and Reserve Champion in the 2020 Crop Show.
The St. Mary’s Elementary School was excited to welcome Minnesota author Kevin Lovegreen. Mr. Lovegreen spoke to the kindergarteners – fifth graders about his successful career writing about fishing and hunting, his love of nature and his experiences as an author. The Knights of Columbus sponsored the virtual visit. Pictured is first grader Maya Murphy during the interactive question and answer portion of the visit.
St. Mary’s High School honored Julia Helget and Jacob Stevens as their 2020-2021 ExCEL winners. Both are juniors and now compete at the state level.
ExCEL – Excellence in Community, Education and Leadership – is a unique recognition program designed exclusively for Minnesota high school juniors who are active in school activities, who show Leadership qualities, and who volunteer in their communities. Every member school of the League is invited to nominate one girl and one boy for the ExCEL Award. Nominees must:
a. be a junior in high school
b. make satisfactory progress toward graduation requirements
c. participate in a MSHSL fine arts and/or athletic activity
d. hold a leadership position(s) in their school
e. work voluntarily in their community.
Sleepy Eye FFA Members tied 16 blankets that they donated in the community. Pictured is Nayzeth Luna, one of 15 members who helped with this project.
These FFA members and officers 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 10 members along with advisors, Mr. & Mrs. Manderfeld, helped with the packing. Pictured l to r – Brennen Meyer, Leisha Martinez, Maddi Helget, McKenna Dockter, Gracie Sellner, Miah Brown, Priscilla Martinez, Carmen Lendt, and Morgan Hoffmann.
Leisha Martinez, Chapter Historian helped with the packing of the Holiday Boxes that are coming soon to the families
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 to Serve Grant for $3000 in order to help with the Trinity Backpack program which includes Food Bags each week and Holiday Gift Boxes. With the generosity of the National FFA, CoBank, Tractor Supply Company, CSX, Chevrolet, and Cargill, the Living to Serve Grant became a reality for the Sleepy Eye FFA.
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 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.
10 of our members were also able to pack the meals for the Holiday Boxes that will go to the 55 children’s families in need. Advisor, Mrs. Hoffmann, and Morgan Hoffmann, the Chapter President, shopped for the personal care items that went into the holiday boxes for the families. These items included: toothbrushes, toothpaste, kids shampoo, and kids body wash. New this year, we added a special family and child gift.
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. This year the Sleepy Eye Hospital and clinic collected food for 8 of the boxes! The money for the rest of the food boxes came from donations from Trinity members.
The FFA Chapter also purchased fleece to make tie blankets for kids and community members in need this holiday season. The blankets were donated to the ambulance, hospital, and students at our school. Members participated in tying the blankets.
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. We are also planning to do a “People Parade” outside these locations before the Christmas holiday.
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!
Sleepy Eye High School honored Morgan Hoffmann and Mason Sellner as their 2020-2021 ExCEL winners. Both are juniors and now compete at the state level.
ExCEL – Excellence in Community, Education and Leadership – is a unique recognition program designed exclusively for Minnesota high school juniors who are active in school activities, who show Leadership qualities, and who volunteer in their communities.Every member school of the League is invited to nominate one girl and one boy for the ExCEL Award. Nominees must:
a. be a junior in high school
b. make satisfactory progress toward graduation requirements
c. participate in a MSHSL fine arts and/or athletic activity
d. hold a leadership position(s) in their school
e. work voluntarily in their community
Megan Sellner – 6th grade is the Sleepy Eye School Patroller of the Month for November.
Mary Hoffmann, Sleepy Eye Ag. Teacher, was recognized for her service as the Region III Vice President at the National Ag. Teacher Conference.
Mary Hoffmann, Sleepy Eye Ag. Teacher, attended the National Association Agricultural Educators (NAAE) Virtual Convention November 30 – December 4, 2020. This professional development conference was attended by Agricultural Instructors from across the nation. Hoffmann was able to attend the National Association of Career and Technical Education (ACTE) Virtual Conference as well.
Hoffmann has served as the Region III NAAE Vice President for the past three years. As part of the virtual convention, Hoffmann attended board meetings, conducted the Public Policy committee meeting, and presided over the Region III meeting. Hoffmann also attended many professional development workshops and assisted with awards presentations for the general sessions.
At the conference, Hoffmann was recognized for her service to NAAE and to the position of Region III Vice President. For this position on the NAAE Board, Hoffmann represented all of the Region III Ag. Teachers in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, South Dakota, North Dakota, and Nebraska. She was also the board consultant for the Public Policy Committee, ran the Region III Conference meetings, and attended NAAE Board meetings and functions. There are six regions in the NAAE, each being made of up states grouped by geographic area.
“It was an honor to be chosen to lead and represent Region III Ag Teachers in the NAAE Organization. This organization is essential to Ag. Teachers and I truly appreciated my three years of service as Vice President.”
“It was an excellent opportunity to attend the first ever Virtual NAAE Convention and learn from others in the same profession. It’s great to expand my network of Ag. connections and resources to teachers across the nation.” Hoffmann says.
By Katelyn Capacia, FFA Reporter
The Sleepy Eye FFA Chapter held its annual Crops Show/Greenhand Night Program virtually on Tuesday, November 17th. It was a chance for us to highlight the fall events, the greenhands, and announce the winners of the 2020 FFA Crops Show.
100 FFA members exhibited a total of 430 samples of corn, soybeans, wheat, oats, and miscellaneous crops at the 2020 Sleepy Eye FFA Crop Show. This included 37 JH members exhibiting 111 samples and 63 HS members with 319 samples.
The purpose of the crop show is to exhibit a sample of a crop that will be judged on appearance: uniform color and size as well as having no defects or unwanted debris. Making a crop sample for the show involves a lot of patience and attention to detail. The longer amount of time you spend preparing a crop sample, the more success you will have in the end. After the crop show, the crops are stored until the county and state fairs the following summer.
The 2020 FFA Crop Show was a huge success, and would not have been possible without the involvement of the community! Thank you to everyone who contributed including donating crops and judging the crops.
The Jr. High 2020 champions for each of the crop divisions included the following:
Soybeans Champion: Damazion Porter
Wheat Champion: Nora Coulson
Oats Champion: Caleb Suess
The Sr. High 2020 champions for each of the crops divisions included the following:
Soybeans Champion: Abigail Hornsby
Wheat Champion: Corey Freestone
Oats Champion: Morgan Hoffmann
Combined 7th – 12th Grade Champions:
Miscellaneous Champion: Adam Johnson
Ear Corn Champion: Jacob Schultz
Shelled Corn Champion: Jacob Schultz
TOP TEN OVERALL JR. HIGH EXHIBITORS:
Jr. High Crop Show Champion – Jasmine Petermann
Reserve Champion for Jr. High – Samantha Price
3rd Place – Damazian Porter
4th Place – Caleb Suess
5th Place – Carter Lazatin
6th Place – Bryson Dolly
7th Place – Destiney Dittbenner
8th Place – Ari Krizmarzick
9th Place – Taylor Berkner
10th Place – Jacob Mellen
TOP TEN OVERALL SR. HIGH EXHIBITORS:
Sr. High Crops Champion – Jacob Schultz
Reserve Champion for Sr. High – Adam Johnson
3rd Place – Morgan Hoffmann
4th Place – Isaac Lendt
5th Place – Jon Petermann
6th Place – Abigail Hornsby
7th Place – Carmen Lendt
8th Place – Riana Hernandez
9th Place – Carter Swensted
10th Place – Corey Freestone
Congratulations to all 100 FFA Crop Show exhibitors and good luck at the County and State Fairs!
Caption 1: Jacob
Jacob Schultz, 11th Grader at Sleepy Eye Public, is the 2020 High School FFA Crop Show Champion.
Caption 2: Adam
Adam Johnson, 10th Grader at Sleepy Eye Public, is the High School FFA Crop Show Reserve Champion.
Caption 3: Jasmine
Jasmine Petermann, 7th Grader at St. Mary’s, is the 2020 Jr. High FFA Crop Show Champion.
Caption 4: Sam
Samantha Price, 7th Grader at Sleepy Eye Public, is the Jr. High FFA Crop Show Reserve Champion.
