Newsletter - March

Winter 2017

Volume 5, Issue 3

Inside this issue:

West Jackson Middle FFA

Holiday Social

2-3

Discovery Conference

4-5

Officer Message

7, 18

CDEs

6-7

NAILE

8

Ice Skating

9-10

Livestock Shows

11-14

FFA Week

15-18

West Ja ckson Middle FFA

Newsletter

West Jackson Middle FFA Completes Community Service Project Savannah Page - West Jackson Middle FFA Reporter

to thank everyone who donated to this wonderful community service project to help members of the JackThe West Jackson Middle School FFA son County community. Please folChapter sponsored a community low us on Facebook service project during the month of (www.facebook.com/wjmsffa) and November. When looking for ways Instagram (@westjacksonmiddleffa) they could help members of the Savannah Page – West Jackson Midcommunity, the WJMS FFA Chapter dle FFA Reporter found that socks are one of the most needed yet rarely donated items.

With that in mind, the community service project Box O Socks was born. The WJMS FFA Chapter set out to collecting new socks to donate to citizens in need in Jackson County, and during the month of November, WJMS FFA challenged homeroom classes at WJMS to collect new pairs of socks to fill their homeroom’s box. Our goal was to collect 1000 pair of socks, and we were happy to have some help from Gum Springs Elementary School and West Jackson Elementary School to meet this goal as well. We partnered with iServe Ministries to distribute the socks to those in need right here in Jackson County. In the end, we were fortunate to have 1092 donated from West Jackson Middle School and 336 pairs donated from Gum Springs Elementary and West Jackson Elementary School.

West Jackson Middle FFA would like

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West Jackson Middle FFA

West Jackson Middle Hosts Annual Holiday Social The West Jackson Middle FFA held its annual Holiday Social on Tuesday, December 6th. FFA members attended a short meeting afterschool and enjoyed a holiday movie. While there, FFA members created their own Christmas ornaments as they mingled with others At 6PM, parents and guests joined us for a meal and fellowship. Each family was responsible for bringing a side dish for our meal while the FFA chapter provided the drinks and the meat. The FFA officers introduced themselves and Mrs. Davis made announcements. There were 93 people in attendance!

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West Jackson Middle FFA

Holiday Social continued

Page 4

West Jackson Middle FFA

West Jackson Middle and East Jackson Middle FFA Chapters Make UGA Visit and Attend Discovery Conference Members of the West Jackson Middle and East Jackson Middle FFA chapters attended the Georgia FFA Association’s Discovery Conference on January 27-28, 2017, at the Georgia FFA-FCCLA Center near Covington.

The Discovery Conference is for middle school students and allows them to meet other members and get excited about the opportunities the FFA has to offer.

On the way to the Discovery Conference, the FFA members stopped at The University of Georgia for a campus tour around Ag Hill, the UGA Bookstore, and Sanford Stadium. After visiting these popular landmarks, the group traveled to the Bear Hollow Zoo at Memorial Park in Athens. While there, students learned about popular wildlife species in Georgia and participated in their own Instagram challenge to find information about the wildlife animals and share it through the social media app. The FFA members then loaded the bus and headed to the Georgia FFA-FCCLA Center for the Discovery Conference.

At the conference, FFA members were challenged to expand their comfort zones, set goals, and realize the importance of agriculture in today’s world. Members engaged in a personality test to determine their strengths and weaknesses, took part in an FFA quiz competition, and met with nearly 250 members from across the state of Georgia. The Georgia state FFA officer team presented the conference and said they worked to show young agricultural education students the many benefits of being a member of the FFA. “The Discovery Conference is an amazing opportunity for young FFA members,” said State FFA Vice President, Sadie

Lackey. “The conference provides an engaging, interactive experience for students that attend, and we hope to encourage their exploration of the FFA and all it has to offer.”

Those West Jackson FFA members attending the conference included: Cole Akins, Peyton Boyd, Sydney Buck, Alexis Diaz, Anniston Flanigan, Christopher Hays, Riley Konarski, Joseph Ledford, Chase Morgan, Jay Dailey, Jacob Holland, and Joseph Holland.

Those East Jackson FFA members attending the conference included: Makayla Gooch, Bevlynn Parkey, Faith Hollis, Aubrey Miller, Evan Gates, Gabe Merk, Austin Ackerman, Shamaya King, Shyanne Westmoreland, Rylee Morgan, and Rylee Sosebee.

With more than 42,000 members, the Georgia FFA Association is the third largest state association in the nation. The National FFA Organization, formerly known as the Future Farmers of America, changed its name in 1988 to reflect the growth and diversity of agriculture. The mission of the FFA organization is to make a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth, and career success through agricultural education.

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UGA Visit and Discovery Conference Continued

Volume 5, Issue 3

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Volume 5, Issue 3

West Jackson Middle FFA Livestock Judging Team Advances to State Competition Savannah Page – West Jackson Middle FFA Reporter The West Jackson Middle FFA Livestock Judging Team competed at the Area II Livestock Judging Career Development Event. The contest was held at the Habersham Central High School on November 30, 2016. Members of the team (pictured) include Morgan McDaniel, Jesse Cronic, Savannah Page, and Madyson McDaniel. Twenty-two teams competed in the junior contest where middle school and freshmen teams judged six different classes and gave two sets of oral reasons to defend their decisions. The West Jackson Middle FFA team placed 2nd overall, and they are now headed to the State Livestock Judging CDE in March! Each member earned a gold ranking for placing in the top one third of the contest. Savannah Page was 2nd high individual for the contest and 6th graders Jesse Cronic and Morgan McDaniel were 8th and 12th overall! Also, Madyson McDaniel earned the highest reasons score of the contest.

West Jackson Middle FFA Member Competes in Creed Speaking CDE

Savannah Page—West Jackson Middle FFA Reporter The Sub-Area II Creed Speaking Career Development Event was held at Madison County High School in Danielsville, GA on February 9th. FFA members competing in the Creed Speaking CDE learnthe five paragraphs of the FFA Creed, recite the Creed to a panel of judges, and then answer a series of questions about it. Sixth grader Kate Dutton represented West Jackson Middle FFA in the Creed Speaking CDE and competed against more than 50 other middle school and freshman members. Kate was one of the youngest competitors in this event, and she had a wonderful experience representing the West Jackson Middle FFA Chapter!

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Volume 5, Issue 3

West Jackson Middle FFA Wildlife CDE Team Competes in Area II Event West Jackson Middle FFA Reporter – Savannah Page Four members of the West Jackson Middle FFA Chapter competed in the Area II Wildlife Career Development Event. This event was held at Oglethorpe County High School on January 24th. For the Wildlife CDE, four students must become proficient in four different areas of wildlife management including aquatics and pond management, whitetail deer management, general wildlife identification, and game bird identification. WJMS FFA members competing in this event were (pictured) Charlie Brooksher, Trevor Slaick, Michael Howard, and Cole Moon.

Each student’s score is ranked among all the competitors in his area, and each student’s score is added together to get the team’s composite score. Individually, Trevor Slaick tied for first in his area of Deer Management. First time CDE competitor, Cole Moon, placed fourth in his area of General Identification. Overall, the West Jackson Middle FFA Wildlife team placed 4th out of more than 30 Junior teams which included both middle school and freshmen teams. They were the highest ranking middle school team in the contest!

Officer Message: Madyson McDaniel

Hi I am Madyson McDaniel, and I am serving as the West Jackson Middle FFA President this year. I show cattle and, have shown cattle for four years. However, you don’t have to show an animal to be in FFA! There are so many different activities and Career Development Events that you can participate in through FFA. You don't have to live on a farm to be in FFA….anyone can join! I would really encouraged anyone to join FFA, and I would tell you that you will find something that you will like. There is something for everyone! Some CDEs include Wildlife, Livestock Judging, Floriculture, and so many more. Check out the CDE wall in the Ag Room to see how you can get involved!

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Volume 5, Issue 3

WJMS Show Team Exhibits at the North American International Livestock Expo West Jackson Middle FFA Reporter – Savannah Page The West Jackson Middle School show team competed at the North American International Livestock Exposition. The North American is held in Louisville, Kentucky and is November 4-16, 2016.

The students on the show team are Savannah Page, Madyson McDaniel, Morgan McDaniel, and Jesse Cronic.

The North American International Livestock Exposition (NAILE) is the largest all -breed, purebred livestock event in the world, with 10 livestock divisions and nearly 30,000 entries from the 48 contiguous states — all under one roof.

Savannah Page exhibited her market hog at this national show. Nearly 1,000 head of hogs were exhibited at the North American ranging from various purebred breeds to crossbreds. Her hog, Scout, received first place honor in his market weight class. He weighed 279 lbs. and was in the heavy weight division. The highlight of Savannah's trip was winning Division 2 of the NAILE Hog Showmanship contest. There were more than 125 exhibitors in the 9-12 yearold age division that she topped.

On the heifer side, West Jackson Middle was represented by sixth graders Morgan McDaniel and Jesse Cronic as well as eighth grader Madyson McDaniel. Jesse Cronic exhibited his two Angus heifers during the Junior Show, and he placed seventh and eighth. Madyson and Morgan McDaniel exhibited their Simmental and SimAngus heifers in both the Junior Show as well as the Open Show.

The Junior Show was for people 21 years of age and younger while the Open Show was open for the world with no age limits. Madyson placed 8th in the Junior Show and 6th in the Open Show with

her Simmental heifer. Morgan was 4th, 2nd, and Reserve Division VI Champion in the SimAngus Junior show. Morgan also went on to place 1st and Division VI Grand Champion.

West Jackson Middle FFA was well represented by these show team members while exhibiting at this national show.

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WJMS FFA Makes a Trip to Athens for Ice Skating Forty-three FFA members from West Jackson Middle School recently traveled to the Foundry Pavilion Ice Skating. The Foundry Pavilion Ice Skating Center is located at The Classic Center in Athens, GA and hosts open public skating as well as hockey practices for the UGA Hockey team. Before leaving for the ice skating event, FFA members enjoyed a short meeting and fellowship. The members enjoyed over an hour of skating, and a good time was had by all!

WJMS FFA members attending this event were: Abby Zipfel, Morrigan Saylor, Thora Saylor, Raven Saylor, Abigail Rodgers, Cadence Thao, Kylar Parton, Elizabeth Russell, Kayla Dungan, Faith Simmons, Emmalee Holder, Morgan McDaniel, Madyson McDaniel, Cassidy Rowan, Kate Dutton, Sydney Buck, Patsy Riggleford, Lilly Farmer, Katelyn Howard, Sadie Dial, Chelsea Samples, Jade Mercardante, Hannah Robertson, Savanah Page, Riley Skinner, Jesse Cronic, Cole Mercardante, Austin Robertson, Joseph Ledford, Alex Diaz, Michael Howard, Peyton Boyd, Tray Gooch, Aiden Stone, Charlie Brooksher, Aaron Khiev, Alex Yang, Andrew Jones, Juan Zamarripa, Aidan Propst, Jaret Douglas, Camron Vermillion, Jordan Carroll, and Cade Camalier.

Volume 5, Issue 3

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West Jackson Middle FFA

Ice Skating Trip Continued

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West Jackson Middle FFA

Students Participate in Annual Local Livestock Shows The 2017 Jackson County Market Hog Show and Ed Tolbert Memorial Steer and Heifer Show was held on February 17th-18th, 2017 at the Jefferson Ag Barn.

Friday night's activities included the Market Hog Show, Steer Show, Honorary Showmanship Showdown, Supper, Sale of Champions, and the annual cake auction. In the Market Hog Show, we had three divisions of showmanship Novice (6th grade), Intermediate (7th9th grade), and Senior (10th12th grade). West Jackson Middle FFA's Morgan McDaniel and Savannah Page and walked away with champion showmanship honors in the Novice and Intermediate divisions, and Jefferson City FFA member Whitley Dale was chosen as champion Senior Showman. The weight classes followed showmanship and Savannah Page of West Jackson Middle FFA received Grand Champion honors while Whitley Dale received Reserve Champion.

Also participating in the Jackson County Market Hog Show were Sarah Langley of West Jackson Middle FFA, Kaytee Lee, Wes Martin, and McKenzie Edminsten of Jefferson City FFA, and Kaylie Boone, Peyton Bragg, and Rachel Baker of Jackson County FFA. The Steer Show was next and exhibitors included Madison Abbs, Taylor Davis, and Wyatt Chandler.

Taking home Grand Champion honors was Wyatt Chandler of East Jackson FFA, and the Reserve Champion Steer was exhibited by Taylor Davis of Jefferson City FFA. One of the highlights of our show is the 4th Annual Honorary Showmanship Showdown where we in-

vite local members of our community to participate in our showmanship lesson with some of our showman and a showmanship class of their own.

These community members serve within our schools and on our school boards and are always excited to have the opportunity to work with the showman and their animals. This year’s Honorary Showman included William Smith, Derrick Maxwell, Selena Blankenship, Greg Worley, Kim Johnson, and Gene Cathcart. After much deliberation, the judge chose Dr. Selena Blankenship, Director of Human Resources for Jackson County Schools, as the 2017 Honorary Showmanship Champion! Dr. Blankenship, along with her coaches Drew Brooksher and Jesse Cronic were beaming with pride, and Dr. Blankenship received a shiny new belt buckle for her accomplishment.

Continued on next page

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West Jackson Middle FFA

Local Show continued Another annual tradition for the Friday night festivities is the live auction that takes place just after dinner. The funds raised during this exciting auction go directly to sponsoring awards and prize money for next year’s show. During the live auction, the sale of cakes and other donated items totaled $6,560! With the addition of other sponsorships and donations, our grand total raised was $13,255! The exhibitors are very grateful for these generous supporters of our local show.

On Saturday, we began the cattle show with showmanship which consisted of three divisions: Novice (5th and 6th grade), Intermediate (7th – 9th grade), and Senior (10th-12th grade). East Jackson Elementary 5th grader, Keely Shultz, took home first place honors in the Novice class, East Jackson Middle FFA member Bella Chandler was named winner of the Intermediate division, and Jefferson City FFA’s Whitley Dale received first place in the Senior division.

We had 11 different breed classes represented in the heifer show, which followed showmanship. The Grand Champion and Reserve Champion Angus heifers were exhibited by Savannah Page and Jesse Cronic while Madison Abbs and Savannah Page exhibited the Grand and Reserve Champion Chi-Influence heifers, respectively. In the Low Percentage Simmental Division, Peyton Puckett was chosen for Grand Champion and Cameron Watts was chosen as Reserve Champion. Keely Shultz exhibited the Grand Champion Limousin and Madison Abbs exhibited the Grand Champion Composite Charolais.

Kayley Edwards exhibited the Grand Champion Maintainer, Luke Fulcher exhibited the Grand Champion Shorthorn Plus female, and Samantha Ayoub had the Grand Champion Shorthorn. In the Simmental division, Madyson McDaniel exhibited both the Grand and Reserve Champion. Top honors in the High Percentage Simmental division went to Whitley Dale and Savannah Page who had the Grand and Reserve Champions. Grand and Reserve

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West Jackson Middle FFA

Local Show continued Champion Commercial Heifer honors went to Madison Abbs and Josh Franklin, and we rounded out the day with the Cow/Calf Pair Show where Morgan McDaniel exhibited the Grand Champion Pair and Keely Shultz received Reserve Champion.

In the end, all of the champions came together for the Supreme Champion Heifer Drive. Morgan McDaniel’s Cow/Calf Pair was chosen as Supreme Champion, and Whitley Dale’s Percentage Simmental was chosen as Reserve Supreme Champion Heifer.

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West Jackson Middle FFA

WJMS FFA Member Earns Numerous Accolades at Recent Shows Savannah Page, Jefferson, GA, has been busy showing her hogs this winter show season. Traveling to livestock shows every weekend, she has found much success.

Her first trip was to the AgGeorgia Farm Credit Winter Pig Classic January 13-15 in Perry, GA. At this show, more than 1,100 hogs competed for championship titles, making this event the world's largest jackpot show. There she exhibited the Grand Champion Prospect Hampshire, Reserve Grand Champion Prospect Crossbred, Reserve Grand Champion Prospect, Grand Champion Progress Yorkshire, Reserve Grand Champion Progress Duroc, Grand Champion Progress Crossbred, Grand Champion Progress and ended the show by bringing home the Reserve Supreme Grand Champion honors. Additionally, Savannah won the 7th Grade Showmanship Champion honors.

The next weekend, Savannah traveled to Fitzgerald, GA, to exhibit at the Georgia Junior Swine Boosters Throwdown. Nearly 600 head were exhibited at this show. Savannah captured the Grand Champion Light Cross banner and later on captured the Supreme Champion Market Hog banner.

Next, Savannah traveled back to Perry, GA on January 25-29 for the National Junior Swine Association's Southeast Regional. This national show brought in exhibitors from all across the country. She had several highlights of her trip. First, Savannah topped the Junior Showmanship Division where she claimed the Champion Showmanship title. Next, one of her gilts captured the Grand Champion Crossbred Gilt title. She also exhibited a first place in the Crossbred barrow show and a second in class in the Yorkshire gilt show. While at the show, Savannah participated in the Skill-A-Thon contest. Her

success throughout the show gained her the Junior Sweepstakes Champion. This award is based on the best all-around exhibitor where points are gained in their participation of all the activities including showmanship, purebred and crossbred classes and Skill-A-Thon. As the recipient of this award, Savannah brought home a belt buckle for her achievement.

Savannah is the daughter of Phil and Christy Page and is a 7th grader a West Jackson Middle School where she is actively involved in the FFA.

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Volume 5, Issue 3

West Jackson Middle FFA Celebrates FFA Week February 27th—March 3rd Students, teachers, and staff at West Jackson Middle School celebrated National FFA Week from Monday, February 27th – Friday, March 3rd. During this week long festivity, FFA members and supporters celebrated with fun activities, FFA Awareness events, and community service projects.

WJMS FFA also offered the FFA Week Challenge where 6th, 7th, and 8th grade could compete for points each day by answering FFA trivia, participating in the different dress up days, and donating money to the WJMS FFA Penny War. This year’s national theme for FFA Week was “Transform: Purpose into Action”. Before National FFA Week, West Jackson Middle FFA Committee met several times to develop plans for transforming the students, FFA chapter, and community.

The committee also created a video about the theme which included themselves, Jackson County School System’s Dr. April Howard, Jamie Hitzges, and Dr. Selena Blankenship, past National FFA President Andy Paul, current State FFA President Willie Sizemore, and many other volunteers. The video reached more than 1800 people before and during FFA Week, and it helped spread information about FFA Week activities happening at WJMS and how others could get involved. The FFA Week Committee decided one of the big “transformations” they wanted to make was to create an outdoor classroom behind WJMS. Agriculture students at WJMS would work on this task throughout the week. And donations from the community were sought after through the transform video as well as the WJMS FFA Facebook page.

The FFA Week activities started on Monday with ‘Merica Monday! Students and staff were asked to dress in their best red, white, and blue outfits!

This was also the beginning of the FFA Week Challenge! FFA related trivia questions were given during the announcements and the homeroom that returned the correct answer the quickest was given points!

Tacky Tourist Tuesday was next, and students and staff were encouraged to channel their inner tourist and wear the tackiest getup possible! After school, members of the FFA Week Committee traveled to West Jackson Elementary to conduct the monthly Aggies Program meeting.

While at WJES, FFA members helped the students to sand and stain their own plank of wood so that they could use it for a project at the next meeting.

Wednesday was Squad Day, and participants found a group (or their squad) to dress alike for the day.

Some homerooms really took the squad idea to heart by creating their own tshirts or even planning to all dress alike. Homerooms that got their whole class to dress for squad day earned extra points in the FFA Week Challenge. After school, FFA members enjoyed the monthly FFA meeting with special guest, State FFA Vice President, Nicole Bridges. Ms. Bridges lead some team leadership initiatives and a transform activity, and FFA members had a great time interacting with her. Later, the FFA members participated in the Leadership Circus – a super fun, leadership and team building activity where students are divided into groups and race to complete a set of 20 different tasks all while working around other teams trying to accomplish the same goals.

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FFA Week continued Thursday was Turn Up Thursday, and faculty, staff, and students were encouraged to wear something representing their favorite musicians. Before school, FFA members delivered donuts to the Board of Education staff as well as all 125 bus drivers and transportation staff members. We wanted to thank them for always supporting us with our many trips and events throughout the year.

Friday was FFA Spirit Day, and participants were encouraged to wear their favorite FFA tshirt or blue and gold. The Jackson County FFA Alumni purchased WJMS FFA tshirts for every faculty and staff member at West Jackson Middle School, so every staff member had an FFA shirt to wear! It was so exciting to see the school covered in blue and gold!

During school, agriculture education students worked on completing the outdoor classroom at WJMS they began working on Monday. Now, the outdoor classroom is complete for all students at WJMS to enjoy! Members of the FFA Week Committee stayed after school to create custom floral designs for residents at a local assisted living center.

The 2017 FFA Week Celebration was jam packed with all kinds of events to get students, teachers, and the community involved in FFA activities. The West Jackson Middle FFA Week Committee would like to thank everyone for participating in the FFA Week festivities and donating to the community service projects!

Volume 5, Issue 3

West Jackson Middle FFA

West Jackson Middle School 400 Gum Springs Church Rd Jefferson, GA 30549 Phone: 706-654-2775 Extension: 503 E-mail: adavis@jcss.us

Officer’s Message: Morgan McDaniel Hi! My name is Morgan McDaniel, and I’m the Treasurer of West Jackson Middle FFA. I’m in 6th grade, and I have been showing pigs and cattle for the past 3 years. I have to wash and work cattle hair to make sure it is all going the same way, and we have to walk both cattle and pigs to get them used to working in the ring. There is a lot of work that goes into my SAE. What kind of SAE will you choose?