Even as the month of February is short and sweet, Newman FFA has been busy throughout this month! On February 4th, many of our FFA members took the time out of their busy day to talk to the incoming freshman about the wonders FFA can bring not only for their next four years of high school but also the values it brings to their lives. There were different stations to demonstrate the values of FFA such as having an ag science station where the 8th graders had the opportunity to make elephant toothpaste. There were also stations such as floral, ag mechanics, and vet science. Through these stations it was important to talk about the pathways these classes provide for our members that they can accomplish through high school. Hope to see our Newman FFA family grow and unite as one!
On February 5th Turlock FFA hosted a super day for the whole Tri-Rivers section where our members had the opportunity to compete for their speaking contests they had been working extremely hard for. Our best informed greenhands received 2nd place overall and Isabella Rodriguez in 1st place. Our two el credo speaking members also placed high with Kamilla Gonzalez in 3rd and Jessica Abrica in 2nd. We also had Arely Reynoso placing 4th overall in extemp radius. Extremely proud of all our hard-working members that took the time and effort to participate in these speaking events.
The weekend from February 7th to the 8th, our advisors took 18 members to participate in the Made For Excellence conference which is for only sophomores and the Advanced Leadership Academy which is a conference specifically for juniors. Here our members learned how to develop leadership skills they can use in their lives and bring back to our chapter to become a growing family. That same day 8 different members woke up at the crack of dawn to leave our school department at 4am to participate in their first field day of the year! This field day took place at Chico State where four of our best informed greenhands participated and four of our vegetable team members also participated. Our members truly demonstrated their dedication to represent the Newman FFA chapter, way to go guys!
In honor of FFA week our chapter officers planned a week full of activities and dress up days to embrace the true meaning of FFA. he week took place from February 18th to the 21st. On that Tuesday we started off the week with a dress up day of “Stationed By The Flag” by having members embrace their red, white, and blue. Our lunch time activity was Mario Kart where each student had to tie a balloon around their ankle and try to pop others balloons without having their balloons popped as well. On Wednesday, the dress up day was to dress as an advisor or an officer with our lunch activity being musical cups. As there was music in the background one of our officers would direct instructions to the members gathered around the table to get instructions to get the cup in the middle. This activity truly showed the competitive side of all our members as they celebrated with victory after they won. On Thursday the dress up day was “Hunters vs Prey” by dressing out in camouflage or dressing up as an animal. With our daily activity being a scavenger hunt around the ag department and having our members take a picture with the item after they have found it. Last but not least Friday comes around with our dress up day being wearing any FFA gear and our lunch appreciation of a sweet treat of cotton candy. This week certainly could not have been a success without all of the help we had from all of our members.
As February being the shortest month, it sure has been one of our busiest months. Even as the month was busy it brought much laughter and joy as it maintained our members busy with upcoming events and looking forward to participating in the events Newman FFA offers for everyone. Sad to see this school year coming to an end, but this chapter will make the best of these upcoming months.
