Pie Auction

 We had another very successful pie auction which raises money for a variety of projects around SBA including some of our FFA activities.

 The students have fun displaying the pies and do a great job hosting the event.

 Thank you to all the students and supporters who come and give generously to the school each year at this event!

Restored Ford 9N Tractor

 A generous donor has given us a completely restored Ford 9N tractor to use for our chapter and school activities.  We are having a "name the tractor" contest for students with a $50 cash prize for the best name voted on by our FFA officers.  What a great illustration of how Christ has "restored" us to a right relationship to God for those of us who have placed our trust in Jesus as our Lord and Savior!

Value and Purpose of Agricultural Education

In my graduate studies I come across several other professionals in Agricultural Education.  The following link is to an article written to Ag Ed students at Penn State University on the importance of both knowledge and skills in the world of agriculture.  It is lengthy, however, it lays out a great foundation for why we do what we do.
http://psuaee412.blogspot.com/2016/09/guest-blogger-problem-solving.html

January Highlights

 We are back in the saddle again after a much needed Christmas Break.  The semester started off with a couple of students helping out our director of development at the Miller Farm and Home Show.

 The Landscaping class received a package of PPE for competing in the ATV video safety project.  Here they are showing off their goods!

 We started on our swing-set project last week.  A generous supporter of our program is helping us assemble it in his shop.  It is a joy to see the passions and ideas of the students become a reality!

 We constructed the A frames of the swing-set using cedar logs and strapped them together with bands of steel.

One of our alumni from the first year of our program came back and gave a leather working lesson to one of our students interested in doing leather projects.  Another generous community member donated a bunch of leather working supplies and materials to our chapter.

Here are a couple more pictures from our swing set project.  Thanks for tuning in!

Matthew Commentary

My friend John Strohman has written an Application Commentary on the book of Matthew that he would like to make available free of charge.  This is an excellent tool for personal study or to use in a group setting.  Follow the link for a free ibook, kindle, nook, or google play edition.

http://www.crosscenteredmissions.org/thefakecommission/

Video Contest

Our Landscaping students entered an ATV safety video in contest through the Central States Center for Agricultural Safety and Health.  Please use this link to view our video and then vote for our chapter.  The chapter with the most votes on their video receives $1000 cash.  Thanks!

https://www.unmc.edu/publichealth/cscash/news/video-contest.html

Semester Review

 We are wrapping up a very productive semester here at SBA.  First of all, we want to thank all of our supporters who have given of their time, talent and treasure to help our chapter grow.  We are blessed!

 The students worked on a variety of projects for the auction including picnic tables for kids, saw horses, edible treats and horse trimming stands.

 All of these projects provided excellent hands-on learning opportunities as well as giving the students ownership in the school benefit auction.  They worked hard and took a lot of pride in what they made.

Thanks to all the students for their hard work so far this year!