Pennsylvania FFA ACES Conference!!

 On February 18th through the 19th, I had the opportunity to attend the ACES conference for the Pennsylvania FFA with a great group of students, my cooperating teacher, Neil Fellenbaum and another agriculture teacher from Penn Manor, Mara Tate.    We departed in 2 vans from Penn Manor HS at 10:30 on Saturday and returned on 11:10 am on Sunday.  The time between that was packed with fun, laughter, learning, and reflection for the students and myself.  

On Saturday, we got Chick-fil-a for lunch on the way to the hotel and ate it in the car.  After eating, we attended the opening session of ACES from which the teachers were dismissed to their workshop and the students were later dismissed to theirs.  At the teacher workshop, 2 men representing the Conservation science curriculum spoke about the curriculum that the one presenter had developed and walked us through what the curriculum contained.  He took the teachers through what he had developed and had us complete a few of the labs that are included in the curriculum.  These included a lab on clinch fishing line knots and another on water filtration systems for hikers and backpackers.

The handout for the conference.

The fishing knot lab consisted of us making and testing the strength of a fishing knot that we tied.  We completed three trials and then calculated the average and mean strength of the knot/string.  My average for the three trials of my knots was 13.3.  I had 2 that had a strength of 13 and 1 with a strength of 14.  This was super neat to participate in and also learn about for future reference for using the knot while fishing but also to possibly use in a wildlife course in the future.         

In the second lab, we got to play around with a lifestraw, UV light water filter, and some chlorine water purification tablets and test how well each of the water filtration/purification systems works.  We tested the lifestraw first which resulted in perfectly clear water to which we were amazed.  The chlorine tablet resulted in a yellowish water, even more yellow than it already was, and one that smelled VERY much like chlorine.  The LED water purification device didn't change the appearance at all of the water, but purified and killed all of the harmful organisms nonetheless.

Following the teacher workshop, we checked into our rooms, unloaded our things from the vans, and headed down to the ballroom for dinner.  The dinner as delicious and the activities after the dinner were hilarious for the students, but as all of the student teachers in attendance would find out, slightly terrifying. After the dinner, they had all of the student teachers in attendance, which included 2 of my cohort members from Penn State, participate in a sort of game show called "Finish that Lyric."  It was terrifying but oddly fun at the same time.  Overall, I was pretty happy to see the joy in he eyes of the 600 some FFA members across the room, but was even happier to see my students over at the Penn Manor tables cheering me on.  Thus, it made it all worth it.

Liz Holtry and myself at the ACES dance supervising and working on student teaching assignments and materials. 

That night, there was a dance for the FFA members in which some advisors joined in as well.  During this time, I was enlightened to learn about new dances, line dances, and songs that I had never heard before but all of the students seemed to know.  Needless to say, I felt old. After the dance, three of the Pennsylvania FFA state officers told stories that impacted their lives and encouraged everyone in attendance to find their purpose, defy the odds, and value 5 minutes.  Following this, all of the FFA members headed to their rooms for bed, and some of the advisors walked the halls, assuring that all students were following the 11pm curfew.  

The next morning, we attended breakfast, completed a short workshop, and were soon on our way back to Penn Manor.  Throughout the weekend, I completely enjoyed getting to know some of my students better, networking and talking with other ag teachers and FFA advisors in the teacher workshop, and meeting up with and talking with 2 other members of my Penn State Ag Ed 2023 cohort.