By: Carmen Lendt, FFA Reporter

Antonio Ruiz is an 8th grader at Sleepy Eye Public Schools. It is his second year on FFA, and he wanted to be in FFA because it sounded cool and he wanted to learn more about what FFA has to offer. Antonio is interested in trying Dairy Evaluation for a Career Development Event (CDE). His favorite FFA activity is games at the FFA Fun Nights! He is looking forward to meeting all the FFA members in the region. One thing he has learned is that agriculture is a very important part of the economy in Minnesota. He is most proud of his Discovery Degree that he earned through FFA.

Samantha Ulrich is a 7th grader at Sleepy Eye Public, and it is her first year in FFA. She decided to join because she thought it would be fun and she loves getting out and doing things! She would like to try the Poultry Evaluation Team for a CDE. This year she is looking forward to getting to do projects, going on trips, and getting to know new people. Through FFA she has learned about different animals, plants, and the importance of agriculture to Minnesota.

Jorden Niebuhr is an 11th grader at Sleepy Eye Public Schools. It is her 4th year in FFA, she joined because she wanted the experience of meeting new people. She likes being on the Milk Quality CDE team because the people make it fun. For her SAE project, she works at a nursing home in Sleepy Eye and prepares food. Her favorite FFA activity is the FFA Lock-in! This year Jorden is looking forward to all of the activities including service projects. By being an Ag. class and FFA, she has learned about how to work together. She is most proud of being Member of the Month!

Officer of the Month

Leisha Martinez is a 10th grader at Sleepy Eye Public. It is her 4th year in FFA, she joined to help out in school and it also sounded really fun. She is the Historian on the officer team, she likes being the historian because she likes making posters full of pictures for the Ag room displays. Leisha is on the Nursery and Landscape CDE Team, she likes this team because her and her brother are both on it and she likes learning about different kinds of flowers and trees. For her SAE project, she does Community Development where she participates in many service projects. She especially liked doing the Food Redistribution Lines where she puts food in people’s cars as they drive through the line. Her favorite FFA activity is the Lock-In! This year she is looking forward to FFA Week and all the dress up days. Leisha has learned that your taste buds regenerate in 1-2 weeks in Foods class. She is most proud to know that her actions are helpful to others!

Hailey Meinert, Sleepy Eye FFA member and Leisha Martinez, Sleepy Eye FFA Chapter Historian, are ready to load boxes into cars for the Brown County Food Redistribution Line.

Maddi Helget and Nayzeth Luna, both Sleepy Eye FFA officers, hold up signs to direct people to the food redistribution line. 

By: Katelyn Capacia, FFA Reporter

On Tuesday, September 22nd from 3:00 to 5:00 pm, we handed out 29,500 pounds of food to 499 families, which included 1310 people.

The food was given out each as a meat box, a dairy box, and a produce box. The items inside included, but was not limited to: MEAT BOX- chicken patties, chicken hotdogs. DAIRY BOX- milk, cheese, cottage cheese, cream cheese, yogurt, French onion dip. PRODUCE BOX – squash, cucumbers, apples, carrots.

Volunteers for the event included: 16 FFA members – Isaac Lendt, Marcus Martinez, Leisha Martinez, McKenna Dockter, Katelyn Capacia, Kyle Capacia, Maddi Helget, Morgan Hoffmann, Adam Johnson, Nayzeth Luna, Miah Brown, Presley Bauer, Gracie Sellner, Wyatt Barnes, Victoria Poplow, and Hailey Meinert. FFA Advisors – Mary Hoffmann, Hunter Manderfeld, and Adam Manderfeld as well as student teacher – Amy French. Other volunteers included: Trinity Lutheran members, Sleepy Eye Food Shelf board members, Mark Thomas Co employees, and several community members and the Sleepy Eye Police Department.

Advisor Mary Hoffmann states, “It’s hard to believe that we have helped with 3 food lines this summer and fall. We helped redistribute over 90,000 pounds of food! I am so proud of all of the officers and members who have helped with this service project. They are the muscles behind this operation, but also the heart!”

Kyle Capacia, member of Sleepy Eye FFA, adds, “For my first time volunteering for this event, I really enjoyed taking part in the food line and helping out community members. If we were able to have another one, I would definitely do this again!”

The food that was given out was part of a $3 billion USDA Food Box program. The USDA bought it from regional and local distributors who bought it from farmers and didn’t have any place to distribute it because of closings of restaurants due to COVID-19.  They partnered with Second Harvest Heartland to get it into the hands of those who could use it!

The Sleepy Eye Ag Department celebrated National Teach Ag Day on Thursday and Friday, Sept. 17 & 18. Pictured l to r – top row: Jake Price, Mason Sellner, Kegan Heiderscheidt, McKenna Strong, Jacob Ulrich. Row 2: Envy Morales, Isaac Lendt. Row 3: Sophie Kyllonen, Nora Coulson, Katelyn Capacia, Taylor Lambrecht, Leisha Martinez. Bottom row: Brandon Flores, McKenna Dockter, Winsten Nienhaus, Presley Bauer.

By Carmen Lendt, FFA Reporter

     Thursday, September 17, was National Teach Ag Day, which is celebrated across the nation to recognize the agricultural education profession. Mrs. Hoffmann, and Mr. and Mrs. Manderfeld are always encouraging their students to explore careers in agriculture, one of those being an Ag. Teacher! They “tagged” 16 individuals in grades 8 -12. Those students were given a Tagged to Teach Ag. T-shirt that Mrs. Hoffmann designed. Students that have been previously tagged were entered into a drawing to receive either a t-shirt, water bottle, sunglasses, or Hootie owl!

     Congratulations to these students for being Tagged to Teach Ag!

-8th: Nora Coulson, Brandon Flores, Jacob Ulrich

-9th: Isaac Lendt, Envy Morales, Evan Thompson

-10th: Emma Braulick, Leisha Martinez, Jake Price

-11th: Katelyn Capacia, Sophie Kyllonen, Taylor Lambrecht, Mason Sellner

12th: Kegan Heiderscheidt, Jack Nelson, McKenna Strong

     Some Agricultural Education statistics from our region of the United States include:

• 106 of last year’s 139 agricultural education graduates in Region 3 are currently employed as agriculture teachers!
• There are 41 new agricultural education positions.
• The average base starting salary for this job is $43,048.
• There are currently 24 new agricultural education programs and 119 positions to fill.
• Agricultural education programs are offered in Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.

   Right now there is a big need for more students who are interested in and passionate about agriculture to pursue a career as an agricultural educator! National Teach Ag Day draws more attention to the shortage of teachers and hopefully inspires students all over the country to become Ag. Teachers!

“LOVE WHAT YOU DO, DO WHAT YOU LOVE— TEACH AG!” Mrs. Hoffmann, Mr. & Mrs. Manderfeld

Josh Sellner (left) checks out the Horse Evaluation Career Development Booth operated by Adam Johnson (right), Chapter Treasurer at the Junior High FFA Discovery Camp.

Miah Brown (left), Chapter Officer at Large, talks to Antonio Ruiz (right) about the Vet Science CDE opportunity at the Group 2 Discovery Camp. 

By: Katelyn Capacia, Chapter Reporter

On September 1st and 2nd, 17 Jr. High students participated in a FFA Discovery Camp. These students spent their afternoon learning about FFA and all of the opportunities it has to offer. The seventh and eighth graders were separated by either Group One or Group Two and the event was held outside.

The camp started with a fun game of bean bags. After bean bags, the students got to explore a variety of Career Development Events or CDE’s. During this activity, students could go to several tables where they would complete an activity while also learning more about that specific CDE team. Some CDE’s included: Ag Mechanics, Fish and Wildlife, Milk Quality, Floriculture, Vet Science, Trapshooting, Nursery Landscape, Poultry, and much more!

Following the CDE Fair, the group ate supper. After eating, the chapter officers introduced themselves and proceeded to tell the group what fun activities FFA has to offer, how many skills they can gain from being involved, and what they enjoy most about being a part of FFA.

After introductions, the students participated in a hula hoop contest to see who would come out on top. This event was very successful and encouraged many Jr. High students to be more involved in FFA because the experiences can be life-changing.

After the Jr. High event on Sept. 1^st, the High School members were invited to a FFA Cookout. 25 members attended this event where there were bean bags and line dancing. Officers also introduced themselves at this event.

FFA is gearing up for online CDE contests, service projects, and other virtual and in person events. We are ready for fun, learning, and serving our community.

The FFA Summer All-Stars are Announced! These members participated in at least five summer FFA events in 2020. Top row, l to r – Antonio Ruiz, McKenna Dockter, Priscilla Martinez, Adam Johnson, Brennen Meyer, Nora Coulson, Leisha Martinez. Row 2 – Alexis Garza, Morgan Hoffmann, Jorden Niebuhr, Jake Price, Sophie Portner, Gracie Sellner, Miah Brown. Row 3 – Mateo Moreno, Alex Joramo. Row 4 – Nayzeth Luna, Carmen Lendt, Maddi Helget, Presley Bauer, Envy Morales, Katelyn Capacia, Gunny Coulson.

The Sleepy Eye FFA chapter would like to recognize a select group of distinguished members who donated much of their time to the Ag. Program and community throughout the summer. These 23 members were named the 2020 Sleepy Eye FFA Summer All-Stars.

In order for these students to become a summer all-star, each student had to attend or participate in at least five FFA events or activities over the summer months. The summer FFA/Ag. activities included: Summer Ag. Courses (Welding, Nail Art, Floriculture 101, Pruning 101, Cooking, Baking, Flying Drones, CO2 Cars, Building Bean Bag Boards, Fair Food, How to Make Cheese, Plant Basics, Wood Burning Signs, Pallet Shelf), Virtual Tour Day, United Way Backpack Project, Making cards for Nursing Home and Assisted Living Residents, Roadside Clean-up, Helping with the Brown County Food Redistribution Line, Attending Officer Workshop, Making Uplifting Posters for the FFA Sign, and Creating the Museum Display.

We truly appreciate all that our members were able to do this summer even with the pandemic! Members learned many new Ag. skills and were able to participate in many service events throughout the summer. We look forward to another great year for the Sleepy Eye FFA Chapter.

This group of FFA members helped to inventory all of the school supplies for the United Way Backpack Project. Pictured l to r – Brennen Meyer, Leisha Martinez, Morgan Hoffmann, McKenna Dockter, Katelyn Capacia, James Mathiowetz (Summer Intern), Presley Bauer, Nayzeth Luna, Miah Brown.

This FFA crew packed the Covid kits, sorted all of the last school supply items, and packed 48 backpacks for the Sleepy Eye Public School students. Pictured l to r – Alex Joramo, Adam Johnson, Miah Brown, Presley Bauer, Morgan Hoffmann, Maddi Helget, Nayzeth Luna, Leisha Martinez, Katelyn Capacia, and McKenna Dockter.

Each year, approximately 400 backpacks are filled with grade and school district appropriate school supplies and given to qualifying children throughout Brown County through the United Way Backpack Project.

Children in grades K-8 in Brown County who qualify for the free lunch program can participate in this program. United Way has teamed up with local school districts, the Salvation Army, Optimist Club of New Ulm, The Caring Tree Program, Bank Midwest and many area businesses to make this opportunity available to families in the Brown County area.

Supplies that have been donated need to be sorted and inventoried to figure out which supplies still need to be purchased. The Sleepy Eye FFA had 8 volunteers come together to help sort the supplies at the New Ulm Event Center.

Then, the following week after all of the supplies had been gathered, 10 Sleepy Eye FFA volunteers helped to pack Covid kits and 48 backpacks as well as deliver them to the Sleepy Eye Public School.  The Covid kits were new this year and included items such as hand sanitizer, reuseable water bottle, Clorox Wipes, masks, and more.

Thank you to the local businesses who helped collect donations in our communities this July for the project. Our FFA members are able to utilize United Way funds to help cover costs for FFA events throughout the year and we were happy to give back by helping out with this project!

Front row- left to right: Nayzeth Luna, Gracie Sellner, Carmen Lendt, Maddison Helget, Katelyn Capacia, Presley Bauer, and Miah Brown. Back Row- left to right: Morgan Hoffmann, Adam Johnson, Alex Joramo, Brennen Meyer, Leisha Martinez, and McKenna Dockter

By: Carmen Lendt, Chapter Reporter

On August 3rd, the Sleepy Eye FFA Officers held a socially distanced officer workshop to plan for the upcoming school year, and to get to know their fellow officers better. The team, with the help of advisors Mrs. Hoffmann, Mr. & Mrs. Manderfeld, and summer intern James Mathowietz, covered a lot of business such as officer duties, the chapters budget, and team goals.

The 2020-21 Sleepy Eye Officer Team: President- Morgan Hoffmann, 1st Vice President- McKenna Dockter, 2nd Vice President- Brennen Meyer, Secretary- Maddison Helget, Treasurer- Adam Johnson, Reporter- Katelyn Capacia, Reporter- Carmen Lendt, Student Advisor- Presley Bauer, Student Advisor- Gracie Sellner, Historian- Nayzeth Luna, Historian- Leisha Martinez, Sentinel- Alex Joramo, and Officer-at-Large- Miah Brown. At the workshop, each member chose different activities to help with and organize during the year.

The team chose their goals for the year based on the needs of the chapter. Some of the team goals include:

1- To complete 2000 service hours this year.

2- Have 100% membership by going to Chapter Affiliation.

3- To have 30 high school and 25 junior high members attend their respective chapter meetings.

4- To have 5 officer bonding events.

The team also chose a new theme and motto for the coming year. Theme: Sleepy Eye FFA is Home! Motto: Together our FFA Family makes a Difference.

The Officer team also reviewed their budget which reminded them of how important sponsors are to the chapters program. It is because of them that our chapter is able to operate and provide such amazing experiences for its members. The team was especially grateful for donations and sponsors this year because of the tough times everyone is going through now during Covid.

The officer team will continue to do community service this year, including cards for nursing home and assisted living residents, Wee deliver PALS with elementary, uplifting signs along the highway, roadside clean-up, helping with the Weekend Backpack Food Program, and other service events that arise.

Throughout the business filled meeting, the team did many socially distanced team building activities, and closed the day with a story that reminded them of the impact they as officers can have on other members. The officers are extremely excited about what’s in store for the upcoming year and are looking forward to growing as leaders, serving the community, and influencing other chapter members.

by Emily Reding, Migrant Education Program Coordinator

With the end of July came the end of our Summer School program. It was an interesting summer filled with firsts- first time providing health screenings for students and staff entering the building, first time wearing masks while working for students and staff, and first time working in person with students since March. So the question everyone wants answered…. HOW DID IT GO?

As the trail for how this fall will run, we can say, it went well- with room for growth! Yes, we had to call and verify with parents when young students answered yes to the screener question, “Do you have a new cough?”. Yes, we had to spend the first two days of school talking about new procedures and practiced proper hand-washing techniques. Yes, we sent students home when they had potential symptoms. Yes, it was a good trial run for in-person instruction this fall.

The students were quick to adapt to the new ‘normal’ and needed some reminders—but then again- even without all of this chaos, teachers and parents can agree- children always need reminders!

We could not have completed this feat without several people working together. Our dedicated custodial staff who went above and beyond with extra cleaning and rearranging to keep everyone safe. Our kitchen staff who quickly transformed how they prepared and served meals. Our business office who helped order and secure thermometers, gloves, and sanitizers. Our technology staff who adapted to students learning distantly and quickly got new log-in information for newly enrolled migrant students.

Our local bus company, Sleepy Eye Bus Service for transporting migrant students from Springfield, Clements, GFW, Windom, Mountain Lake, and St. James so they could learn in person. Our teachers and paraprofessionals who overcame a variety of challenges and found creative solutions to continue to educate our students. Our community members who donated cloth face masks for students to use during the day.

Our parents who pre-screened students and kept students home when they were sick and informed school staff of pre-existing conditions.  Our students who came to school with an excitement to learn and a desire to face the new challenges with flexibility and determination.

Our community will continue to learn and problem solve as Covid-19 exposes new challenges, as we navigate the new school year.