Posts

A Connection of Ag Teachers!

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 On Tuesday April 2nd, I got to attend the Eastern Regional PAAE Meeting at Conrad Weiser High School! This brought back a lot of memories because this is where our County Speaking Contest was held when I was in high school! This was a fun evening that I got to attend with other Ag Teachers from across the region.  For Dinner, we had Panera Sandwiches and Salads which were very good! Then we moved into their Large Group Instruction Room where we held the meeting. It was very interesting to hear from some of the leaders in our region and all of the awesome things going on in the Agricultural Education World.  The first up to speak was Sherisa Nailor who is our organization's current President. She talked about the success of the Annual region 6 NAAE Conference that was held in Harrisburg. I loved hearing about the things that happened during this event, as I was not able to attend. She also mentioned the importance of stepping up into leadership roles, as there will be spo...

Student Leadership Conferences

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 During my time at Cedar Crest High School, I got the opportunity to travel with a group of students to the ACES and SLLC Leadership conferences. For ACEs, we took 24 students with us and they really enjoyed learning during the workshops. I loved getting to experience this conference from a teacher prospective, rather than from a student's point of view. I attended the last weekend of ACES and I was the only student teacher that was there during this weekend. The one thing I remember is that the ballroom was really cold and I didn't pack a warm enough sweatshirt! Since I was the only student teacher there, I got the hotel room to myself, which was a nice surprise.  During the time that the students were in the workshops, the teachers attended a concrete/ masonry workshop. Although it is something that I thought I would never use, I think it is something that I could incorporate in my plant science class during a possible landscape/ hardscape unit! During this workshop, we got ...

An Adventure Coming to a close!

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 I seriously cannot believe it.....Student teaching is coming to a close! You never believe someone when they say this experience flies by, but it really is true! My 15 weeks at Cedar Crest High School is very quickly coming to an end. It is causing a whole bunch of emotions as I am closing one chapter in life and opening another. Although I am sad to be leaving Cedar Crest High School and all of these amazing students, I can't help but think that I will be in my own classroom before I know it!  There are many different things that I am going to take with me from my time here at Cedar Crest. Number 1, is the importance of building relationships with students. This is something that is very important to my Cooperating Teacher! It was something that I thought of before stepping in here, but I think after these 15 weeks, I think I will focus more on it, in my own classroom. I have realized it has helped me to feel more relaxed in the classroom as I can see the students at a diffe...

A Day at Big Spring Middle School!

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On Friday February 16th, I got the Opportunity to travel to Big Spring Middle School, to observe Ms. Emily Jay! It was a great day, and a change of pace as 6-8 graders have a lot more energy than 9-12 graders.  I arrived around 8am, and got there during their first period planning time. I got to observe Emily getting ready for her back to back classes of 7th and 8th graders in wood shop! I loved Emily's first activity of hide and seek with tree ID cards. On their virtual day students got the chance to learn about different trees and how to identify them. Emily reviewed this, by hiding 6 index cards around the room with 6 different facts about an Ash tree. Students had fun doing a scavenger hunt to find these cards and then read them to the class. They were able to use critical thinking skills to determine that the tree they were describing was an ash tree. After they figured out the tree, they were able to re-hide the cards for the next class, which they loved. I realized that with...

Science Classroom Visit

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For my Science Classroom Visit, I got to observe Mrs. Erin Rhoades, a biology teacher here at Cedar Crest. On January 23rd, I got to observe her Biology CP course, where she was teaching a lesson on Di-hybrid Punnet Squares. On January 24th, I got to observe her Biology 2 course and she was having a cow eye dissection day.  Biology CP- Di-hybrid Punnett Squares She did not have the objectives listed for her lesson, but she started the class by stating that they were going to be learning about how to complete a di-hybrid cross in a Punnet Square. She started the lesson by completing a class example of how to complete a cross, by walking the through each of the steps and asking for student volunteers to answer the questions. Then she allowed the students to work through an example in their packets. She walked around and answered any questions that students had. At the end of class, she put the answer on the board for the punnet square, but then she asked students to complete the phen...

Market Goat Ownership- SAE visit #2

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My second SAE visit was at Alex Heisey's Market Goat/ Lamb Operation. Alex is a junior at Cedar Crest High School and is also the FFA Chapter Sentinel. He is an active participant in my Agriscience 3 course. He is a vital member of our Parliamentary Procedure team that placed 1st at Big E last year, and is helping to train a younger team.  Alex, in the middle, with his 2 brothers and his parents, with Goats they showed at the 2022 Lebanon Fair.  Alex has a heard of 15 does and 2 bucks, that they breed and then kid out in December- February. They focus on breeding their heard for genetics in market goats, and they sell the kids to local 4-H'ers, so that they can show goats. His main focus for his SAE project is feeding/ watering and cleaning out their pens. He puts a lot of time and effort into walking and bracing his goats and lambs, to prepare to showcase them inside the ring. His favorite places to show his animals are at Lebanon County Fair, PA Farm Show, PA Youth Livestock...

Growing Faith Farms- SAE Visit #1

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My First SAE Visit that I completed was at Paige Heigy's Entrepreneurship Project. She helps at her Family Business, Growing Faith Farms, where her focus is on Fall Decorations. The Business is a road side stand, that sells freezer beef cuts and pork year round, and then Fall Decorations from September to November.  Paige is a senior at Cedar Crest High School and is the President of the FFA Chapter. She is also a student in my Agriscience 4 class. This SAE Visit occurred at her farm, which houses the business stand.  I am grateful I got to visit her SAE Project in Prime time of the Fall decoration sale. Paige said that they grow their own pumpkins, and she helps to harvest them from the fields. Another one of her tasks is to price out the pumpkins with stickers, based on their size. Another one of her tasks is to cut and tie corn stalks into bundles, as well as bring in mums that they purchase from a wholesaler. A good chunk of Paige's time is spent preparing and decorating t...