1st Semester

Maintain your blog and respond to prompts as assigned and by the due date.

SAE records up to date using AET.  We’ll be working together to get our records punched in and up to date. Your Records will be a portion of your quarter grade.  Please work along with the rest of the class instead of waiting until the end of the quarter/semester!  We’ll get started as a class soon, but, you can get logged back in and get your summer recorded anytime you have your data together.  Don’t forget – if you are a “green industry” person – get your photos NOW and upload them.

Proficiency Applications:  We”ll be working through the application together, a little at a time.  Proficiency awards come with CASH prizes for first through third placings on the state level.  Our members could be very competitive in Proficiency awards, last year we brought home a couple thousand dollars thanks to proficiency awards.  This is one of the Officer Team’s goals for the year.  Proficiency apps will be completed online within AET.  The more thorough you are in recording things for your SAE, the easier the process will be.

Seniors (with three years or more of membership – counting this year) will  complete the State FFA Degree Application – due January 13, 2017.  Some of you should consider completing the Star battery for either star in placement, agribusiness, agriscience or farmer.  The star battery requires quite a bit of writing and 6 photos  and captions (very similar questions to the proficiency apps), start early!  Our work on records in AET will help to streamline this process as the information will simply “fly” into the application which we will be completing online.

Complete the BIG Idea.  Your entry is due October 13, 2016

We’ll be working on an Agricultural Advocacy initiative throughout the year.  Our efforts will be to educate ourselves and others and dispel some of the common agricultural myths floating around out there. **The Soybean Video Contest may or may not be happening this year.  The last I heard they had not decided yet.  If they do host the contest, it will fit well into our Ag Advocacy Initiative.

Prepare for Leadership CDEs – whether competing or not, everyone will complete at least the following prior to November 1, 2016:  We will discuss how these items will be handed in.

Choose two or more from this list: **If you are preparing to compete at nationals – i.e.  Job Interview or Horse team – you must complete ONE or more items from this list.  I’d like you to invest your time in preparing to do your best in Indianapolis in October!

Rules for all Leadership CDEs are posted here.  Check the rules for the CDE you are working on.

Ag Sales Products, pricing and discounts info as-2016-ag-sales-product-information

Job Interview job descriptions job-interview-descriptions-2016

Ag Communications Media Plan Scenario 2016-agricultural-communications-scenario

• Complete the letter of application and resume for the Job Interview CDE.
• Prepare for the Ag Broadcasting CDE.  Have three 30 second commercials for fictitious agricultural products written and memorized.  Develop an outline for a 4 minute broadcast complete with times for each section (markets, weather, news etc).
• Using the 2015 National Extemp Speaking Topic list, available HERE, collect and compile reference materials for each topic in preparation for the Extemp Speaking CDE.  (Print articles on the various topics and compile in a folder or notebook.)
• Prepare a written manuscript for the prepared public speaking CDE – 6-8  minutes in length on an agricultural topic.  In your own words with a works cited/bibliography page.  No plagiarism!  Check the rules for proper formatting (MLA vs APA)
• Form a team and complete all necessary product and presentation for the:
• Ag Communications CDE (team of 4) Prompt for this year’s Media Plan will be linked above when available.
• Prepare for the Ag Sales CDE – research the specified products, develop a portfolio of product information for your category.  Develop sales pitches for each of the  products in your category.  Search for and study Written tests
• Market Plan CDE (team of 3)
• Ag Issues (team of 7)

There are a lot of samples available on the national ffa website at ffa.org.  You’ll need to log in (I can help you with that) and surf to Participate>CDEs> on the right hand sidebar there is a link to “Free CDE Q & A 2008-2015”  From there you can select any year in that range and it opens up materials for all 24 CDEs!  If you’re thinking about Market Plan, Ag Issues, Job Interview, Prepared Speaking etc – go read the samples – which happen to be the top four in the country.

Our District includes 9 chapters.  To advance to the State Leadership CDEs you must place in the top three individuals or top two teams. District Leadership CDEs will be held either Monday, November 14th after school here at West Central.  Each Chapter may enter two individuals and one team in each CDE at the District Level.  We will attend preliminary CDEs at the Jackrabbit Invite November 1st.  We may also compete at the Harrisburg Leadership CDEs on November 7th – we also have Parent Teacher Conferences that night so, I’ve got some things to figure out there before we commit to attending.

These requirements and expectations are subject to change at the discretion of the instructor!

Finally – for today:

What did you want to be when you grew up?  Remember when you were very little – what is it you dreamed of becoming?  A fireman, a doctor, a teacher, a nurse, a vet?  How has that dream changed over time?  What precipitated that change? What have you learned in your life that has lead you to a different dream? What was it about that childhood dream that spoke to you – why did you want to be that thing when you were little?  Are you still trying to decide what your future career path will look like?  Don’t feel bad if you are – I think that’s very normal!  What kinds of things can you do to help you to make a sound decision about your future career and educational plans?

Your post is due Tuesday, September 6, 2016 at 8:15 a.m.