Range Beef Cow Symposium

Here is a wonderful opportunity and I apologize for not getting this posted sooner.  Please see the link regarding an opportunity out in Rapid City December 3-5 to learn from the industry leaders in cattle and let me know if you are interested in going!  You can either attend all 3 days or for 1 day.
http://beef.unl.edu/web/beef/range-beef-cow-symposium-XXIII

Relating Servant Days/Senior Trip to the mission of FFA

SBA sets aside time each fall where our 9-11 grade classes go all around the state and the 12th graders go to Missouri on missions trips.  The goal of these trips is to teach our students about serving others with the love that Jesus has given to us.  These pictures specifically show snapshots from the junior class trip that splits and loads firewood in Platte and brings it to Wanblee, SD to the Eagle's Nest Ministry Center.  They use the wood to heat their buildings for the winter.

 The class demonstrated great team work in the loading and stacking of the many pieces of firewood!

 The Eagle's Nest Ministry Center in Wanblee also is building the "Glory Ranch" which is the setting of the top picture.  They hope to use this ranch to reach the youth and families of the Pine Ridge Reservation for the "glory" of Christ (Colossians 3:23).  I am excited about the possibilities that SBA has to continue to come alongside this ministry in the future!

Here is a follow-up picture from our Fall SLEW.  My students and I have continued to work with "Dandy" and we've had two good first rides on him!

Assignment:  How does our Servant Days/Senior Trip fit in the context of the FFA mission and motto?  What areas of life do you see God calling you to serve him in?

Assignment for 11-15-13

How does hunting fit in the context of a Biblical worldview?  Does the "creation mandate" in Genesis 1:28-30 apply to hunting?  Are there any other passages of scripture that apply to hunting?  (15 points)

Firearm Safety and Field Trips

We had a busy class schedule last week that included the 6th period class creating a firearm safety video (see a sample of that above) and the 3rd period class giving firearm safety presentations to the upper elementary and middle school classes.  I dare say we have some talented future teachers in our class!  The students had fun with this, but more importantly demonstrated they could both safely handle and teach others to safely handle firearms.
We also had a chance to get out of the classroom last week.  On Friday, the 6th period class went over to Wayne Fawcett's and he talked to us about their family operation.  We spent most of time touring the barn that SBA first used for basketball practice!  The ranch used to be owned by the Marshall family who donated the land that SBA is built on.  The basketball team used to practice in the hay mound in the upstairs of the barn.  The barn is an impressive building that still serves an important purpose!  I love touring old barns and learning the history of them.
The 3rd period class helped me worm our horses and practiced crossing fences with a firearm.
This week we will be looking at the game species in South Dakota.  Thanks for tuning in!    

Assignment for 11-12-13

The first time I went hunting I was in 4th or 5th grade.  My uncle took me rabbit hunting with some of his friends.  I was proud of being able to walk through the woods with my uncle and his dog as we eagerly waited for rabbits to dart out from their hiding spots in the soft snow.  Even though I didn't have a gun of my own, this hunt was a rite of passage for me and got me excited about hunting.  After the hunt was done, my uncle let me shoot his shotgun at some targets.  This was the first time I was able to shoot a "real" gun besides a BB gun!

What about you-what was your first hunting experience like?

A Month's Worth of Updates

Well, I guess it's been about a month since we've updated the blog.  Here are a couple of highlights from the last couple of weeks and I apologize up-front for the lack of photos of our activities:

• Researching and presenting on crops grown in South Dakota
• Parliamentary Procedures
• Firearm Safety
• South Dakota Hunting Regulations
• Conservation and Stewardship
• First official SBA FFA Meeting on October 21st  *Below is a copy of the "unofficial" minutes

The Minutes for FFA             

     By Tricia

            Sunshine Bible Academy held its first ever FFA meeting on Oct. 21^st 2013. The members present were Brian, Faith, Tricia Sierra, Jana, and Jt. Members gone were Trig and Noah. Our advisor Mr. Boresma was present, and our guests were Miss Van Holstyn and Vince Dixon.

            Brian called our meeting to order, followed by the opening ceremony. Sierra gave our treasures report Our FFA chapter did two different work projects in the community to raise money. We had to pay $50 for going to the land and range judging school and $180 for our FFA dues, which leaves us with a total of $865 in our FFA account.          

            Some opportunities for our FFA chapter are on Friday November 8^th for the Jack Rabbit Invitational. Jana informed us that on December 7-8^th(weekend of Auction) there is a cattle showing clinic in Brookings SD. It is done by professional cattle showers and you’ll receive tips on showing and other details on how to do things. It is also free so if people want to go let Mr. Boersma know. We also discussed the BOSDRC (Building Our South Dakota Rural Communities) which provides grants for our FFA chapter to do projects to help our community. It includes Basic which gives you $750 per project and Safety $200 per projects. You would need progression and completion reports. Jana moved to talk about Grant opportunities and Faith 2^nd it. After discussing for a while Tricia moved to set aside the motion to talk about the Grant and move on to new business, and JT seconded it.

            New Business- Mr. Boersma suggested a committee for Thank you cards. Sierra opened the floor to talk about it, and Jana 2^nd it. We discussed how our chapter needs to send Thank- you cards to people who have given our FFA chapter money. Our president Brian appointed Tricia, Jana, and Sierra on a Thank-you card committee. Jana moved to close Thank-you card discussion and Sierra 2^nd it. An auction Fundraiser idea was suggested and Jana moved to open discussion. Sierra seconded it. Some of the ideas were Silent Auction or Fencing Basket. After discussing a bit Jana moved discussion to discussed at a later date and Brian 2^nd the motion. The Rancher Relief Fundraiser in Miller asked our chapter if we wanted to donate a basket to be auctioned off. Brian moved to open discussion and Jana seconded it. During discussion we decided to make a movie basket and to spend $65 on it. Sierra moved for Jana to pick out a movie basket and Brian 2^nd it. After the new business was done discussing, Brian made a motion to adjourn the meeting and Sierra 2^nd it. Meeting was adjourned and dismissed by 9:04.