Columbus FFA students help community prepare for holidays – WiscNews

Gift Wrapping at NICC, Dec. 19: Columbus FFA members have an opportunity to give back to the community by helping wrap gifts for the NICC Foundation. These gifts will go to local families to help them enjoy the holiday season. The FFA is scheduled to help from 5:30—6:30 p.m. FFA members may sign up in the Ag room.

FFA Officer Half-time, Dec. 19: The FFA officers will be meeting Dec. 19 to plan their banquet and National FFA Week activities and review their Program of Activities to finish out the year. The officers will also share their Secret Santa gifts and do some team building!

FFA Awards and Scholarships: January and February are busy times of year for FFA members, especially those that are applying for awards and scholarships. Winter break is a good time to get a head start on these applications. If any FFA members or parents have questions or need assistance contact Mrs. Crook: gcrook@columbus.k12.wi.us

SAE-The students participated in the Week 3 lesson at the high school and discussed where in the world they could work for their future career. The students looked at a U.S. map and world map to highlight places they would choose to work if they had a choice. They also looked up the most popular careers in the U.S. and world today to see if their future career was on those listed.

Ag Careers and Leadership: The students shared their “Me” poster, career pathway poster and T-shirts this week. They learned that the career cluster they chose in fourth grade is probably the cluster they will stay in their adult career. They also learned how important their career is, because as adults the first thing we share after our name when we meet someone new is our job. The students found these pieces of information interesting and considered how this will impact their choices. The class started their career portfolios this week by making resumes and cover letters. They are also using Google sites to create their portfolio, uploading artifacts to demonstrate their skills and knowledge. Etiquette Friday was how to tie a tie! The students loved this lesson and tried several different tie tying methods.

Agricultural Food Science: This class performed several labs this week learning about food science. They finished the tomato lab: “Keeping it Fresh” and learned that ripening fruit releases a gas called ethylene that contains an enzyme that speeds up the ripening process. They now understand why tomatoes and bananas are kept separate from all other produce in the grocery store. The class also conducted a potato chip taste test to learn how the food industry conducts market research for their new products. The students took their potato chips and created an experiment to determine “How does light affect the flavor of potato chips?” The class continued to work on their PBJ packages and marketing strategies. They are using their creativity and physics to design a package that is appealing to the consumer, sturdy, economical, environmentally friendly, and safe for their PBJ sandwiches.

Food, Forests and Wildlife: The sixth grade students shared their Wildlife Cards this week and Mrs. Crook brought plaster tracks and animal furs to add to their presentations. The students liked comparing the size of the tracks to their own hands to get an idea of the size of Wisconsin’s wildlife. The students also began their Food Science unit and learned about how chemistry is related to food science. They made lemon soda in their first lab to learn about solutions, color changes and chemical reactions. The students were wowed by the chemistry, but not so wowed about the taste of their lemon soda!

Pizza, Pets and Plants: The seventh grade students shared their crop presentations this week. They are learning about the groups the crops belong in such as, grain, oil, forage, fiber, etc. and they are learning about the equipment and machinery used to plant and harvest these crops. The students have been very interested in learning about the wide variety of agronomy crops we produce in Wisconsin. The students are still watching their corn and soybean seeds grow and have learned that overwatering has a detrimental affect on their seeds (we had a lot of mold). The students were introduced to biotechnology this week and learned about the five “F’s” – Food, Fuel, Fiber, Feedstock, and Pharmaceuticals. They watched a video that talked about scientists putting spider genes in goats to spider silk in the goat’s milk. Spider silk is the strongest fiber in the world. They can use it to create smaller ropes to stop aircraft on aircraft carriers in the ocean and lighter Kevlar vests for the police and military.

Animals, Plants and Food Science: The students shared their presentations on food preservation this week and conducted several food labs. The students dehydrated fruit and were amazed by how much weight the apple slices lost during the process. The class also made mozzarella cheese on Friday, demonstrating a different type of fermentation. The students really enjoy helping with the lab demonstrations and tasting the foods. The class started their animal unit on Friday by looking up the correct terminology for many animal species. The students are learning that not all cattle are cows! There are different terms for adult males, adult females, young males, young females, etc. They will be practicing these terms next week.