EATON — National FFA Week kicked off on Saturday, Feb. 22, but Eaton Miami Valley Career Technology Center (MVCTC) FFA Chapter members started their celebrations Monday, Feb. 24 with daily school-wide dress up days — from America day on Monday, all the way to Blue and Gold day on Friday.
Other celebrations included:
•Tuesday, Feb. 25, pop-up visit from State FFA Officers.
•Wednesday, Feb. 26 students came in at 6 a.m. to cook breakfast for staff and faculty, as a show of appreciation for all they do to support FFA.
“FFA is an extremely involved organization, even during school hours. There is a lot of time [staff] has to be understanding [to us] taking students out of class. We want to show our appreciation to them for allowing our students to be involved in FFA,” Elizabeth Fields, Ag Education Teacher and FFA Advisor, said.
•Friday, Feb. 28 the Chapter hosted a school-wide pep-rally and assembly, featuring games and challenges. Throughout the week they collected money for a Kiss-a-Pig contest. The teacher with the most money raised in their name had to kiss a pig during the assembly.
•Throughout the week, there was an FFA emblem hidden in the school with students actively searching. The winner earned a doughnut party for their advisory class.
According to Fields, they wanted to involve the entire school in FFA Week to show the entire community that the FFA is more than “just farming.” They also sought to highlight the chapter members who don’t live on farms and are still involved in FFA, in hopes of getting more students involved in the chapter.
“I believe it is important for our chapter to celebrate FFA Week, because we work so hard throughout the year that it is important to be able to take a break from the more serious things we do throughout the year and celebrate all the fun we actually have,” she said. “From FFA Week, I hope my students learned that coming together and working together isn’t just for a job, but also for fun.
“This week is a week of togetherness and I want them to learn that we all may have our differences, but FFA Week brings us all together.”
Eaton FFA Chapter Treasurer Tiara Miles agreed, saying, “I like that we come together as a chapter [during FFA Week] and have bonded as a chapter. It is bringing us closer together than we were before. It is important to celebrate FFA Week in order to show off how much FFA has encouraged us to be better people and to show how FFA has changed us to be better people. I feel like FFA Week is a great way to support FFA in general.”
“I like that people are dressing up outside the chapter, not just FFA members. I also liked that we [got] to wear cowboy hats,” Vice-President Kendale Hamilton said. “Most other people in the school don’t really understand what FFA is about or how many people are in FFA, so it is really nice for the other people in the school to be able to see how many people are really in FFA and kind of get a gist of what it is about.”
Fields thanked the entire faculty and staff at Eaton Community Schools and MVCTC, as well as her entire chapter for their efforts throughout the year.
