FFA Officer Retreat Adventure!

Binders containing FFA info,
POA, Constitution, Activities, etc.

The last couple of days in June I had the pleasure of spending my time with the 2015-2016 Grand Canyon FFA Officers. Up until this point I had only visited Wellsboro twice to observe the classes so this was my first opportunity to really get to know my cooperating teacher and the FFA Officers. We spent 3 days in New York camping in tents next to a pond (and a garage where we got our FFA work done!).


FFA Officer retreats are designed to develop the officers as individuals and as a team. They get a preview of what is expected of them and set goals for themselves, their officer teams, and their chapter to accomplish in the upcoming school year. Every officer received a binder (upper right picture) containing all sorts of information to help them during the retreat and throughout the year. The binders help the students to stay organized and keep important paperwork in one place. In the binder they could find the POA (Program of Activities which organizes the chapters activities throughout the year) from the previous year, worksheets (developing goals, identifying personalities, chapter officer expectations, etc.), Chapter Officer Manual, FFA committee lists, etc. Just about everything having to do with the FFA can be found in this binder!

FFA Official Dress

I could barely contain my excitement pulling up to the campsite. Like many of the officers at this retreat, I had never attended one before! I didn't have the opportunity to be in FFA or an Agriculture program in high school so this is all very new to me (and I get to enjoy it from an Advisor perspective). Assisting my cooperating teacher, Mrs. B, was a great experience over those couple days. I quickly learned that you must be flexible. Almost immediately and consistently throughout the retreat, we fell behind the predetermined schedule. It reminds me of the Pirate Code in Pirates of the Caribbean, "The FFA Retreat Schedule is more like a guideline than an actual rule." Or at least, that's the scene I kept playing in my mind when we would go 30 minutes over in an activity. Although we didn't stick directly to the schedule, everything that happened was with purpose, and no time was wasted. I think flexibility in the schedule is important to a successful retreat as well as classroom. Knowing what activity/lesson to extend or what needs to be skipped is essential to maximize the learning of those involved.


Having my own binder from the retreat helps me keep some great activities for the future when I have my own program to teach. At this retreat the officers were involved in many leadership activities led by Mrs. Berndtson. They identified goals, learned about themselves as leaders and as people, and they started to work on activities they wanted their chapter to accomplish. I also had the opportunity to present two separate activities while we were there. I had five ready to go if filler was needed, but as I said, a lot of activities and lessons ran late. Better over prepared than under prepared though! Anyway, I presented two different activities with the officers to have them bond as well as problem solve together.

Marshmallow Challenge

The Skittles activity I organized for the officers the first night went really well. It's designed to have each person grab a handful of Skittles and share facts according to the skittle colors they have. Skittle colors represented FFA Goals, embarrassing moments, favorites, etc. It was a great way for each officer to share a bit about themselves so they could know each other better as a group. I also led a Marshmallow Challenge for the officers. They were in two groups with each group receiving a specified amount of marshmallows, string, tape, and spaghetti. The object of the challenge is to be the team with the tallest structure made with the given materials. The only real is that the structure needs to stand by itself for measuring the height, meaning no team members can hold it up. I quickly realized that you can never underestimate FFA Officers. They certainly got creative and it only took a few minutes for the first team to set up their structure basically hanging off the ceiling. I applauded their creativity, but I would make the next group of students do that activity outside!

Mrs. B was nice enough
to give me a shirt too!

Although the officers were expected to participate in many personal and professional development activities, there were numerous opportunities for free time and extra fun! The Color War was something the officers especially loved. I spent hours filling up water balloons that had food coloring and water in them to prepare. Mrs. Berndtson had ordered white shirts ahead of time that had their names, FFA Emblem, and their office. It was a great personal touch that Mrs. B really thought through ahead of time. After the balloons were all popped, they finished off the shirts with diluted food coloring in water bottles. This activity, though short, was a great way to get the students bonding together as a group and giving them a break from the work they were doing to prepare for the year!



The last day of the retreat was probably the most enjoyable for the students, but it is also a very important day for them. Mrs. Berndtson planned for the officers to spend the whole day at BOCES ropes course. The morning was spent performing activities that helped them further get to know each other and problem solve as a team. One activity involved using only four "rafts" to move all nine officers from one end of the room to the other. They couldn't touch the ground and had only five minutes. They brainstormed and figured out they could fit about 3 people per raft then squeeze enough to grab the fourth raft and pass it to the front. It really was interesting to listen to their thoughts on how they could solve problems as a team. The problem-solving skills will be easily related to the obstacles they will run into as an officer team throughout the year. They spent a great part of the day developing trust in one another as well. They had some smaller activities, but this picture (right) shows the "main event". Every officer met their goal of the ropes course whether that was finishing it or at least climbing up and touching the wire. It was quite the experience to watch each officer conquer their goal with the encouragement of their fellow officers. The officer retreat ended on a great note and I couldn't have asked for a more successful retreat!

I look forward to watching them conquer more obstacles as a team throughout the year!