13: When Life Throws You a Curveball...

This week was planned. My EEE classes were going to work on research, learn about soil textures, and take their cumulative exam. My animal science class had finally hit the poultry unit and would have guest speakers to talk about contract growing and vertical integration.

On Wednesday morning I woke up to the text message from my Dad that my grandmother had passed away. Of course this is something that I hadn't planned for. I drove to school with a heavy heart and tried to figure out how the rest of the week was going to play out. I am so glad that my student teaching experience has taught me the fine tuned art of adaptability and preparation.

The key from this week is that because I had better planned I am able to be at home with my family helping them to make it through this tough time while they do the same for me. It has been a few days and things haven't gotten any easier as I watch my Dad cope with this loss. The moral of the story is that planning ahead can make your life much easier when you can't use "Plan A." I feel that some days we make it all the way to "Plan Y" before anything seems to work out. AND THAT IS OKAY.

Planning and preparation will be something that I continue to hone in during my upcoming years and would love to have any advice that you, my reader, can share with me.

11: Going Visiting

There was a lot of snow to clear off my car before
heading to Selinsgrove.

One of the best ways to expand your knowledge is to travel to other places. Travel can be across the globe or even as close as right down the street. On Thursday, March 22nd I had the great opportunity to visit my fellow cohort member Macy Fisher at Selinsgrove Area High School. It was great to see a friend and her cooperating teachers.

Macy overseeing students working on their
electrical wiring in the shop!

I took notes on what Macy was teaching, the ag program facilities, and the thoughts of the students. Some fun things that I saw were the tiny trout in the back of the classroom, the large greenhouse being fully utilized, and the four sided wall frame to practice electrical wiring on. With a 2-hour delay, the day went by incredibly quickly but I was glad to meet Mr. Curt Swineford and Ms. Valerie Fry in the short time that I was there.


My major takeaways from this visiting trip are as follows:

1. As I transition into a program of my own I aim to act as a mentor to those who come after me. This means saying "yes!" when I am asked to serve as a mentor whether that be through allowing program visitors or taking on a student teacher. 
2. Seeing other programs can give you some neat ideas to implement in your own. I saw many things that I would like to use on day in my own classroom. 



Lots of plants are growing in the greenhouse!

3. Continuing to build a network of support from other ag teachers is incredibly important and as I grow I hope to never cease in adding names and faces to those who I can help and that can in turn help me. 

8: "Next Generation Day"

Our schedule for the day!

The Manheim FFA Chapter had the amazing opportunity this Friday (3/2) to take a great group of students to the Farm and Home Center for the county speaking contests and a few workshops and some speakers. This was awesome! 

I was a judge and interviewer for Red Rose "Star Awards" which was a great learning opportunity. I listened to five students share their hard work and growth over three years of a production SAE. My fellow judges were Deb Seibert and Stephen Geib who made the judging experience quite fun to say the least. I gained a sense of what interviewing looks like from the other side of the interview table which may be helpful to me in the upcoming weeks! After analyzing our scores we called the five competitors back in to give them our remarks and tell them who the winner and runner up were. We had all good things to say as these FFA members have clearly worked hard on their projects and are going to continue to do great things.

Manheim FFA Members "try" to take a non-serious photo

While we were judging Star Awards, the other students were listening to a great motivational speaker and heading in and out of rooms to compete in creed, senior prepared, junior prepared, and extemporaneous speeches. 

After lunch students had the option to pick one out of three workshops: Precision Ag, Plant Science, or Animal Science. I participated in the Precision Ag workshop where new ways of using technology to advance crop production were shared with the audience. 

Following our workshops, everyone was gathered back together so that we could hear the results of today's contests. I am proud to say that Miss Reilly, one of my students, won first place in the creed speaking contest and will be heading to regionals! It was a wonderful way to spend a Friday. 

5: The Lunch Bunch

In preparation for student teaching, I had heard that having lunch in the faculty room can lead to some "issues" when you are a new teacher. Sometimes a group lunch can bring negative conversation where complaints are scattered through the room like confetti and all teachers try to outdo each other with their horror stories.

Allow me to be the first to say that I am not encountering that scenario with my lunch buddies! I am lucky to have "A" lunch during third block with an amazing group of teachers. There are eight of us "regulars" that come to eat lunch together in the faculty lunch room. This includes myself, the three ag teachers, a photography/cinema teacher, two power and structure technology and engineering teachers, and one wood shop teacher. Some days are more lively than others but it is common to hear jokes and laughter every day. We swap stories, talk about what is happening around the county/community, and jest about what time lunch is over. It is from our time at lunch where I have learned a lot about the school district demographics and fun things to do while I am here in Lancaster County.

My takeaway from this week is to explore what you've been given. If I would have entered the lunchroom with a predetermined mindset that all conversation should be avoided for a fear of negativity then I would be missing out on some great stories from great teachers. My advice would be to scope it out! Don't miss out on a great connection or friendship because of one example that you heard. Have a great week!

Let's Travel to Manheim!

In preparation for my student teaching experience I have been learning about my cooperating center. Below is my video, check it out and be sure to comment with questions!

Angela's Cooperating Center: Manheim Central High School