Member Work Experience Fundraiser/Auction

The chapter is hosting the 8th Annual Community Appreciation Supper/Worker Auction:

• When: Tuesday, November 22, 2011
• Time: Serving Supper from 5:30 to 7:30
• Where: Warsaw Community High School Cafeteria
• Member Auction: Begins at 6:30

Members, it is encouraged that you go through the auction. You will be auctioned off for 4 hours of community service which is either donated or you work for whoever bought you. Everyone coming to the auction is well known, so no worries! Invite any relatives or family friends that would be interested in donating to the chapter through your community service.

If you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions, see Mrs. Markley or Mr. Hays!

Also, if you know of any places that would be willing to advertise our flyers, feel free to stop by the ag room and ask Mrs. Markley or one of our FFA officers for extra copies!

REMEMBER! This is our biggest fundraiser of the entire year! I hope to see all of you there! Have a great weekend!

National Convention Results

During our Fall Break, members from our chapter attended the 83rd National Convention in Indianapolis, IN. We had a team competing in the National Dairy Food competition which consisted of Lauryn Steffe, Kyle Quick, Maryssa Hawley, and Mallarie Stookey.

We would like to congratulate Lauryn and Kyle who walked away with a silver placing and Maryssa and Mallarie with bronze.

Congratulations to the four of you! You hard work and dedication paid off! :)

Agriculture Scholarships

This is to all graduating seniors:

If you are interested in the pursuing a career in the agriculture field in the school year of 2012-2013, then take a look at this scholarship.

The American Soybean Association is offering a $5,000 scholarship to any high school senior with the interest as stated above. The deadline for this scholarship is November 15, 2011. Specific academic, leadership, membership, and references are required.

If you are interested in applying or looking for more details, visit the link provided below:
http://www.soygrowers.com/soy/scholarship.htm

October FFA Meeting

The October Meeting will be held on Wednesday October 26, 2011.

The fun will begin with a party at 6:15 pm with the meeting following at 7 pm and concluding at 7:45 pm. There will be games and lots of fun!!

Costumes are also optional but ENCOURAGED! Prizes will be awarded for the scariest, most unique, and most creative costume.

This is going to be a HUGE meeting and very important since we won't be holding a meeting in the month of November.

Hope to see everyone there!!

FFA Parent and Community Member Help

Members, As an active chapter, we often need assistance from parents or people around the community. If you might know anybody interested in helping, please come to the Mrs. Markley's room and take a form to fill out and bring back. This form includes the areas we need help in:

• Snacks at monthly meetings
• Helping with Citrus Fruit when it arrives
• Providing hot dishes for the Christmas Dinner/Carry-in on December
• Helping with the set up and the clean up for the Christmas Dinner and meeting
• Organizing meals/snacks for area contests throughout the year
• Providing food for District II Leadership Contest
• Chaperoning chapter activities
• Assisting with organizing FFA files
• Attending crops, forestry, and entomology contest to assist with scoring
• Assisting with Community Service Projects like PALS or our Winter Community Service Project (TBA)

Please let us know if anyone is interested. Thanks!

Proficiency Areas

New members, if you are interested in completing a Proficiency Application for the 2012 Leadership Competition, here are some areas to help you get started on your search:

• Agricultural Communications- Entrepreneurship/Placement
• Agricultural Mechanics- Entrepreneurship/Placement
• Agricultural Education- Entrepreneurship/Placement
• Agricultural Mechanics Repair and Maintenance- Entrepreneurship/Placement
• Agricultural Mechanics Energy Systems- Entrepreneurship/Placement
• Agricultural Processing- Entrepreneurship/Placement
• Agricultural Sales- Entrepreneurship/Placement
• Agricultural Services- Entrepreneurship/Placement
• Aquaculture- Entrepreneurship/Placement
• Beef Production- Entrepreneurship/Placement
• Dairy Production- Entrepreneurship/Placement
• Diversified Agricultural Production- Entrepreneurship/Placement
• Diversified Crop Production- Entrepreneurship/Placement
• Diversified Horticulture Production- Entrepreneurship/Placement
• Diversified Livestock Production- Entrepreneurship/Placement
• Emerging Agricultural Technology- Entrepreneurship/Placement
• Environmental Science and Natural Resources Management- Entrepreneurship/Placement
• Equine Science- Entrepreneurship/Placement
• Fiber and/or Oil Crop Production- Entrepreneurship/Placement
• Floriculture- Entrepreneurship/Placement
• Food Science and Technology- Entrepreneurship/Placement
• Forage Production- Entrepreneurship/Placement
• Forest Management and Products- Entrepreneurship/Placement
• Fruit Production- Entrepreneurship/Placement
• Grain Production- Entrepreneurship/Placement
• Home and/or Community Development- Entrepreneurship/Placement
• Landscape Management- Entrepreneurship/Placement
• Nursery Operations- Entrepreneurship/Placement
• Outdoor Recreation- Entrepreneurship/Placement
• Poultry Production- Entrepreneurship/Placement
• Sheep Production- Entrepreneurship/Placement
• Small Animal Production and Care- Entrepreneurship/Placement
• Specialty Animal Production- Entrepreneurship/Placement
• Specialty Crop Production- Entrepreneurship/Placement
• Swine Production- Entrepreneurship/Placement
• Turf Grass Management- Entrepreneurship/Placement
• Vegetable Production- Entrepreneurship/Placement
• Wildlife Management- Entrepreneurship/Placement

If you see an area that you think you would interested in, ask Mrs. Markley or Mr. Hays for more information.

Point System

As many of you know, Rheann has put together a point system this year that will record the activities you participate in throughout the year in the chapter. The more activities you participate in, the more point you will recieive. The determined amount of people that have the most points at the end of the year will get to attend a retreat of some sort which is yet to be decided.

After every activity, please fill out a blue half sheet which is located on the counter is Mrs. Markley's room. Once filled out, please turn into the box that is unlabeled on her desk. Events in October that are worth points:

• October 3rd: Crops, Forestry, and Entomology Practice
• October 6th: Community Appreciation Supper Committee Meeting
• October 10th: Crops, Forestry, and Entomology Practice
• October 12th: Crops, Forestry, and Entomology Practice
• October 13th: PALS Committee Meeting
• October 17th: Crops, Forestry, and Entomology Practice
• October 19th-22nd: National FFA Convention (all 4 days)
• October 24th: Crops, Forestry, and Entomology Practice
• October 26th: Halloween Party
• October 26th: FFA Meeting
• October 31st: Crops, Forestry, and Entomology Practice

We hope to see everyone participating and don't forget to turn in your points record papers!

Crops, Forestry, and Entomology Practices/Contest Dates

If you are still interested in joining either crops, forestry, or entomology, but missed the call-out, see Mrs. Markley or Mr. Hays.

October Practices:

• October 3 from 3-4 pm
• October 10 from 3-4 pm
• October 12 from 3-4 pm
• October 17 from 3-4 pm
• October 24 from 3-4pm
• October 31 from 3-4 pm

November Practices:

• November 2 from 3- 4:30 pm
• November 7 from 3- 4:30 pm
• November 9 from 3- 4:30 pm
• November 28 from 3-4:30 pm

Contest Dates:

• November 12: Possible Crops Invitational at Purdue University
• November 14: Area X Contest at LaVille High School

Good luck to everyone this year at all competitions!

Community Day Booklets

Community Day 2011 is approaching quickly!

If you are interested in selling booklets, see Mrs. Markley or Brooke Kline for a packet. There are 5 booklets in a packet, each book sells for $5. The money you earn goes into your FFA account and can be used for your dues, jackets, or other FFA related things.

Also, if you are interested in selling at the front of the store, please let Mrs. Markley know ASAP so you can get in early.

Crops, Forestry, Entomology CDE Call-out

If you are interested in either Crops, Forestry, or Entomology and would like to be a part of a competitive team, then come to the call-out meeting on September 22 from 3-3:30 pm in Y-187. This call-out is open to all, new and returning, members. If you are unable to attend but are interested in knowing either more about it or joining, let Mrs. Markley know. What is Crops, Forestry, and Entomology?

• Crops: identification of plants and seeds of both weeds and crops
• Forestry: identification of seeds, leaves, and wood of trees in Indiana
• Entomology: identification of bugs

FFA Dues

For every FFA member: FFA Dues will be $20 and are due on October 3. If you have any questions or concerns, please ask Mrs. Markley, Mr. Hays, or Brooke Kline.

September FFA Meeting/New Member Orientation

The FFA Meeting for the month of September will be held on Wednesday, September 28, 2011 in Y-187.

If you are a new member, you are encouraged to attend at 6:15. We will have information for both you and your family. There will also be ice cream for enjoyment. If you have any questions, ask either Mrs. Markley, Mr. Hays, or one of the officers.

Ice cream will be available for all other members at 7 pm. The meeting is expected to conclude around 7:45 pm. Hope to see everyone there and let's make it another successful meeting!

Give Hope/ Penny Pinch

Give Hope is a fundraiser that the whole state of Indiana will be starting. All the donations will go to the Indiana FFA Leadership Center. The money raised will help to maintain and guarantee a place for FFA members to have to themselves and for camps and conferences to be held. It also helps to pay for renovation to the State Officers house.

To make this fundraiser more exciting, it is a competition between each district and chapter. Also, to make it even more fun, we extended the competition to make it between Mrs. Markley's classroom and Mr. Hays'.

Rules:
Bring pennies or loose change in for your class. The change will be added up and the class with the most will win! In order to make the game more exciting, you may drop dollar bills in the opposing classes container to subtract from their total.

All proceeds will go to Give Hope. Be sure to get your money in the jars before September 26, 2011!

District II Kick-Off

If you are interested in going to District II Kick-off this year, it will be held on September 26, 2011 from 5 - 8:45 pm. It will be at Bremen High School this year.

If you've never attended previous years or you are a new member, this is a great opportunity to meet new people to learn more about FFA and yourself. You'll get to enjoy team-building activities with members from our district and meet your district and state officers!

Please sign up in the Ag Room if you are interested in going.

Hope to see everyone there!

Welcome Back!

Hey everybody!

Hope everyone is enjoying their school year so far. As you know, we have many things coming up this month along with this year. To keep informed, be sure to check, the Warsaw FFA Chapter Facebook page along with this blog and the Ag Room. Good luck to everyone this year and let's make it another successful year! :)

List of upcoming events this month:

• District II Kick-Off
• Give Hope/Penny Pinch
• Crops, Forestry, Entomology CDE Call-out
• Community Appreciation Committee Meeting
• PALS Committee Meeting
• Community Day Booklets Event
• National Convention

Echo's of the Past

Saturday, April 30, 2011, Echo's of the Past will be taking place at Parker's and Sons, on the east side of 15. It is taking place across from the location we were at last year. There will be signs out telling you where to go.

If you haven't signed up for a shift, be sure to sign up in the Ag room ahead of time. We will be there from 8-3 pm.

Hope to see everyone there!

2011 Spring Banquet

The Annual Warsaw FFA Chapter Spring Banquet will be held on Friday, April 29rd. The evening will begin at 6:00p.m. in the WCHS Cafeteria with a carry-in meal followed by the awards ceremony taking place in the Performing Arts Center. Our Spring Banquet is a time for our chapter to recognize our members for their successes over this past year.

Each member should bring a dish to share for the carry-in meal that feeds a minimum of 8-10 people. We ask that each person bring in a specific dish according to their grade:

• Seniors and Freshman: Dessert and/or hot dishes
• Sophomores and Juniors: Hot dishes or salads
• Junior High: Salads and/or appetizer items

All members are encouraged to attend and MUST be in Official Dress.

Be sure to turn in your RSVP slip to either one of the officers or Mrs. Markley and Mrs. Jarrett.

Hope to see everyone there!

Officer Applications

The 2011-2012 Officer Applications are in! Grab an application and be sure to have it turned in April 13, 2011 by 7:40 am.

Officer Interviews will be held on April 13, 2011 at 3:30 pm. See Mrs. Markley or Mrs. Jarrett to sign up for an interview time.

The officer slate will be handed out during the April FFA Meeting on April 20th. This meeting is very important since we will be voting on the officer slate.

Officer Positions:

• President
• Vice-President
• Secretary
• Treasurer
• Reporter
• Sentinel
• Student Advisor

Good luck to everyone!

Warsaw FFA Seniors

Seniors, be sure to turn in your pictures and information sheet for the senior slide show to Taylor or Mallarie by Wednesday, March 30th.

Thanks everyone!

2011 Leadership Convention

"How about 11 wins in 2011?"

This question asked by Mrs. Markley and Mrs. Jarrett at the beginning of year challenged us to succeed and excel. At the 2011 District II Leadership Convention, we walked away, not only with 11 wins, but the District II Star Farmer and the District II Star in Ag Placement, as well!

• District II Star Farmer: Devan Ostrom

• District II Star in Agriculture Placement: Jesse O'Hara

On March 11, 2011, members competed in various categories, results follow:

• Creed- 1st place Lindsey O'Hara
• Ag Business Management Demonstration- 1st place Mallarie Stookey
• Novice Food Science Demonstration- 1st place Lindsey O'Hara
• Natural Resource Demonstration- 1st place Taylor Hartman
• Essay- 1st place Kyle Quick
• Freshman Extemporaneous Speaking- 1st place Madison Dobbins
• Freshman Prepared Public Speaking- 1st place Mikaela Conley
• Leadership Ambassador- 1st place Kyle Quick
• Prepared Public Speaking- 1st place Mallarie Stookey
• Multimedia Scrapbook- 1st place Kristin Quick, Bridget Engle, & Melanie Wilson
• Discovery Degree Demonstration- 1st place Cole Troutner

We also had several other placings:

• Tradition Scrapbook- 2nd place Kelsey Sponseller
• Extemporaneous Public Speaking- 2nd place Kyle Quick
• Food Science Demonstration- 2nd place Bryce Owens & Carrie Hawley
• Animal Science Demonstration- 4th place Melissa Howard & Maryssa Hawley
• Quiz Bowl- 5th place Madison Dobbins, Mitchell Hall, Mikaela Conley, & Caleb DeBoest.

The following FFA members also received recogition for placing in their respected proficiency area:

• Kyle Quick- 1st place Ag Service
• Maryssa Hawley- 1st place Diversified Livestock
• Taylor Hartman- 1st place Agriculture Education
• Rheann Weaver- 1st place Small Animal Care & Production
• Carrie Hawley- 2nd place Ag Sales
• Brooke Kline- 2nd place Equine Science
• Jesse O'Hara- 3rd place Sheep Placement

All first place winners will be advancing to State competition which will be held during State Convention. Congratulations to everyone who competed for their hard work and excelling to their "Infinite Potential" in 2011.

Good luck at State!

Greenhand Banquet

The Warsaw FFA is holding the Greenhand Induction Ceremony on February 17, 2011 at 6:30 p.m. It is very important that all Greenhands attend. If you are not at the ceremony, you will not be able to receive your Greenhand Degree this semester and will have to wait until next fall. It is open to any member to attend as well.

We would like the Greenhands to be here at 6:20 p.m., IN OFFICIAL DRESS. It will be held in the Agriculture Room, Y-189. There will be a special guest attending. Our Indiana State Secretary, Megan Klotz, will be here to inspire all the new Greenhands. The banquet will conclude at 7:30 p.m. with refreshments.

Official Dress for Guys consists of:

• White button down shirt
• FFA tie
• Black dress pants
• Black socks
• FFA Jacket

Official Dress for Girls consists of:

• White button down shirt
• FFA scarf
• Black dress pants or black knee length skirt
• Black shoes
• Black nylons
• FFA Jacket

If you do not have an FFA jacket, wear official dress still, you just will not wear a jacket.

Big Reminder Members!

REMINDER! Sign up to bring supplies for the Staff Appreciation Breakfast and bring your money for bowling on February 20th. It is $7 per person. For the Staff Appreciation Breakfast, we still need sausage, bacon, gallons of orange juice, gallons of milk, and muffins.

It's February - The Month of National FFA Week!

National FFA Week is quickly approaching! This is one of the most exciting weeks for FFA chapters across the country. We hope to see all of our members participate in all of the wonderful activities we have planned this year!

Staff Appreciation Breakfast: Our Staff Appreciation Breakfast is one of our biggest chapter activities! It will be taking place on Friday, February 25th. FFA Officers and Seniors are to arrive at the high school at 5:45a.m. and all other members at 6:15a.m. During the breakfast, FFA members will be cooking and serving breakfast to over 100 staff members at WCHS. It is a way for us to show our appreciation for all they do. In order to be properly prepared for the breakfast, we ask that every member bring in at least 2 items. There is a sign-up sheet in the Ag. Department of items that need to be brought in. Also, it is MANDATORY that FFA members wear Official Dress to the breakfast!! After breakfast has been served to the staff, members will have the opportunity to sit down and eat breakfast together before they are dismissed to their first period class. We hope to see you there!

Family Bowling: On Sunday, February 20th, we will be having our family bowling day. This will be taking place at Northside Lanes (The Bowling Alley on SR 15) from 1-3:00p.m. We are still looking into details for pricing. We expect it to be similar to last year, which was $5.00 per person. This money must be turned in ahead of time! Please pay attention to announcements and bulletin boards for specific details. Since this is a family bowling day, we ask that you only bring family members! Aunts, Uncles, Grandma, Grandpa, Brother, Sister, Mom, Dad, but please, no friends or "significant others".

Luncheons: On Tuesday the 22nd and Thursday the 24th, we will be having a carry-in luncheon in the Ag. Department. No matter what lunch you have, you are welcome to come down to the Ag. Department for lunch and corn-hole. Please pay attention to bulletin boards and announcements for further information!

FFA Meeting: Our next FFA meeting will be taking place on Wednesday, February 23rd during FFA Week. The chapter will be providing dinner at 5:15p.m. In addition, there will also be a corn-hole tournament! Please plan on attending this meeting! Every meeting, we bring up important information that you may miss otherwise. We hope to see you there!

Theme Days: This year our themed days are as follows:

Tuesday, 22nd: College Sweatshirt/T-Shirt Day

Wednesday, 23rd: Favorite Ag. Brand Day

Thursday, 24th: FFA Shirt Day

Friday, 25th: Official Dress

If you have any questions regarding National FFA Week, please ask one of the advisors or officers!

Leadership Contests are Calling!

It is time to begin preparing for District Leadership Contest, taking place on Friday, March 11th. We are scheduled to have our leadership call-out this Wednesday, however, with the weather the way it currently is, we may not even have school! If you are interested in doing a leadership contest, you must attend this call-out in. There are only so many contests in which members can compete!

Throughout this week, we have had information over each of the contests available to members. If you have not had the opportunity to pick of the information, visit this link below. All of the contests highlighted in yellow are leadership contests.

http://www.indianaffa.org/association/cde.htm

Competing in a leadership contest is a great way for members to gain better public speaking skills, self-confidence, and - of course, leadership qualities. Leadership contests are much different than CDEs in the sense that they are not a team contest. Whether it's giving a demonstration, speech, or even competing in quiz bowl, you must be self motivated in order to succeed. Leadership Contests are such a great opportunity for members! If you are interested in competing, please make arrangements to attend the call-out!

Warsaw FFA Dominates at State Dairy Foods Contest

On Saturday, January 29th, 16 FFA members traveled to Purdue University to compete at the Indiana FFA State Dairy Foods Contest. The Warsaw FFA Chapter came out very successful! Our Gold team consisting of Lauryn Steffe, Maryssa Hawley, Kyle Quick and Rheann Weaver placed 1st in the state. They will now have the opportunity to compete in the National Dairy Foods Contest at National Convention this coming October. Our Silver team consisting of Lindsey O'Hara, Madison Dobbins, Bryce Owens, and Mikalea Conley placed 2nd in the state with only being 1 point away from 1st! Placing 7th in the state was our "Young Cheese" team with Mitchell Hall, Bryce Sands, Ashley Bryer, and Mary Bonheimer.

For our individual results, we had three members place in the Top 10. They were as follows:

Lauryn Steffe - 1st place

Lindsey O'Hara - 2nd place

Madison Dobbins - 9th place

Congratulations to our top individuals!

Other Warsaw FFA participants were Morgan Ancil and Derrick Carelson.

In the Junior division, Danielle Olds placed 7th in the state. Andrea Hartman also competed on Saturday.

We are very proud of the performance from our members! Congratulations.

Dairy Foods is a Career Development Event that focuses on getting members more familiar about dairy food products. In this contest, members learn how to identify popular types of cheese based on appearance, texture, taste, and smell. They also learn how to identify non-dairy products from real dairy products, look for defects in milk, and detect problems with milker unit parts. In addition, members take a test that requires knowledge of all aspects of the dairy industry.