@WellsboroAg takes on #FFAces16!

Opening Ceremonies

 On February 13th and 14th, the Grand Canyon FFA and about 500 other FFA members from around the state attended the second weekend of the Agricultural Cooperation Establishes Success (ACES) Conference. This conference focuses on enhancing students leadership, team work, and social skills so they can develop personally and  utilize those skills to benefit their FFA chapters.

Workshop time!

It has been a very different experience for me than in the past. Although I never had the opportunity as a student, I travelled to ACES to present to students with other Penn State students and the State FFA officers. Although I had to prepare lessons for ACES in the past, being an advisor was a different level of being prepared. Being in charge of more than 30 students for an over-night trip is no easy task to conquer. I learned how essential it is to have everything organized including all the necessary forms and schedule planning. Luckily, this time around my cooperating teacher was there to guide the process. It was nice seeing my students in a different environment and being an advisor in a different environment as well!

Breakfast - Rockin' the pink shirts!

In the past I had never stayed over for the second day so it was interesting to see more of what the students experience. My favorite part of the conference was the reflection put on by the state officers. Reflection is essential to grow - in any aspect of life! To see a reflection take place for these students was great. It was impressive to me that they could get a huge room of rowdy teenagers to be quiet and focus on what was going on. Although I'm not an FFA member, it really had me reflecting. I may have been reflecting on different things than the students were, but it really had me thinking about my student teaching process and what I want to accomplish before it's over.

It was a new experience seeing the students I have been encountering these last five weeks have so much fun while developing these new skills. I hope they got as much out of it as I thought they did... or as much as I got out of it!