PPE, Plumbing Squares, PAAE, and Parent Teacher Conferences!... Student Teaching ATHENS Style

Well, this was another short week (academically), but we certainly weren't short on things to do! From plumbing squares, PAAE meetings and Parent Teacher Conferences, it was a busy week (as always ha ha!)

In Horticulture class, we are wrapping up our unit on Pesticide Safety and Application! I was excited to discuss First Aid practices, go through some case scenarios for pesticide exposure, and then have the students explore Personal Protective Equipment!

Two students putting on PPE for applying pesticides

 Mr. Steinfelt also has a neat activity where he spreads a powder wherever students will put their hands (desks, door handles, etc.) This powder can be seen with a black light, so at the end of the lesson on PPE, I had the students list out everything they thought they touched. I then told them that the powder I spread is supposed to simulate pesticide residue, and when we turned on the black light, the students were amazed by how much powder or residue had traveled. From their pencils to their faces, there was powder everywhere! This was a very satisfying lesson, and there were a lot of ah-hah moments!

Items that were passed around to students (that may or may not ALSO have been covered in powder!)

 

Introduction to Agriculture consisted of learning all about Animal Health. From how an animals' environment affects health, to diseases and parasites, the students were asking a lot of interesting questions. Here are some!

1.  If you can check a cow's health by feeling their ears, how do you check a whales? They are mammals too!
2. Since chickens don't have teeth, how do they eat?
3. Should I isolate my new rabbits?

It was awesome! So many questions, I really enjoyed the inquisitive 9ths graders this week!


It's always more fun when students can help to write the notes on the whiteboard!

In Ag Mechanics we were able to continue working on electrical wiring and plumbing squares! We officially are done with ALL but one plumbing square! How exciting :) The Ag Mechanics II class also had quite a lot going on this week. From a trailer, to building a new chicken coop, to fixing Mr. Steinfelt's chainsaw, we had a lot to do this week.

Mr. Steinfelt's chainsaw was leaking fuel... WHY! We are trying to figure it out.



 

The SAE/FFA Leadership class consisted of planning for our Banquet, which is on April 22nd! That's right, I am going out with a bang and have the chapter banquet on my last day of students teaching! So much to do, from ordering supplies from National FFA to choosing the menu and writing the script! Mr. Steinfelt and I also were able to review the applications for Outstanding Greenhand, Sophomore, Junior, Senior and Overall Member! This was no easy task!

Students' applications! These awards were very hard to choose.





 

 

Then it was time for Parent Teacher Conferences... and it was time... and it was time... and no one came! The way that Athens does it is we send the office the list of parents/guardians we want to talk to, and they try to set it up. So this was a little disappointing, I was looking forward to not only experiencing this, but also to be able to talk to some of the parents. Mr. Steinfelt said that oftentimes parents are unable to come because of their schedule, or they have other meetings with different teachers.

Thursday I was also able to experience an active shooter training with the faculty and staff at Athens Area School District! This was a pretty intense experience! Trained law enforcement officials used guns with blanks in it, and tried to get into our rooms. Other officials screamed in the halls to simulate a true shooter scenario. This training was stressful, but very helpful. I was thankful to be with Mr. Steinfelt, who is the Assistant Chief at the local fire company, and has a lot of experience and training in stressful situations like this!

Our Active Shooter Training made it onto the front page of the paper!

What an interesting week! Thursday night ended with a PAAE meeting in Williamsport. Mr. Steinfelt was unable to attend so I actually drove down with Troy FFA students and Advisor Mr. Shanbacher. It was really fun getting to spend time with some other students and get to know Mr. Shanbacher better. The meeting was also nice to see other Northern Region Agricultural Educators and two of my follow student teachers!

Looking forward to actually having 5 full days in school next week!

GOALS:
- Make the most of the last two weeks!
- Get our students ready for Dairy Judging and Public Speaking CDEs coming up
- FINISH Electrical Wiring! Whew, long unit but lots of great learning is happening friends!
- Get students prepared for the Banquet!

Best
Sarabeth