My first experience at ACES!

This weekend I got to experience another FFA event for the first time - ACES! On Saturday morning, Mr. Fellenbaum, Ms. Glock-Cornman, 7 bright-eyed first-year FFA members and my self loaded up into the van and headed off to the conference. Here are some highlights from the weekend!

1. Catching up with Ag Teacher friends!

This weekend was a great opportunity to catch up with some of my ag teacher friends and cohort members, as well as get to know some of the other ag teachers in PA! One of the things I love most about Ag Ed is that we're truly one big family, and it's great to see such strong friendships among colleagues. I laughed a lot this weekend and am looking forward to next time!

2. Professional Development!

While students were participating in their own workshops, we got to attend a workshop by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation! The workshop was all about one of their programs: Meaningful Watershed Educational Experiences (MWEEs). MWEE's are a program structure that educators can use to guide students in learning about environmental science topics such as water quality, nutrient management, and more! There are four essential elements to MWEE's:

1. Issue Definition
2. Outdoor Field Experiences
3. Synthesis and Conclusions
4. Action Projects

MWEE's are learner-centered, inquiry-based, and often involve community engagement - sounds a lot like ag ed, doesn't it? The health of our watershed affects everyone who lives in it, and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation is eager to be a resource for classrooms. 

3. The chance to spend time my students outside of the classroom.

ACES was a great chance to get to know some students that I have in class better, as well as make connections with FFA members that I don't have in class! We sang, we laughed, enjoyed meals together, and learned together.

Having fun at ACES!