Red Bud Middle School Ag/FFA

Ag teachers love to see these email announcements come thru…Congratulations to the following students and teachers and good luck at the state contest in February.
Area 1 Middle School
1st Place - Henry Smith - Red Bud Middle
Very proud to head to state for our 3rd year in a row in the Lawnmower Maintenance & Operations competition.

Another round of FFA competitions tonight for Vet Science (Evelyn Brannon, Sandi Morss, Abby Mulkey, and Candy Romero) and Lawnmower Operations & Maintenance (Hank Smith). Vet science had to identify animals, take a general knowledge test, and complete a vet science practicum. Lawnmower Operations and Maintenance had to complete a pre-check, drive safely and accurately thru a course, and complete general knowledge and problem solving tests. Results will be posted tomorrow.

8th graders extracted DNA from soybeans last week during our ‘All About Genes’ study. Students learned that extracting DNA from one plant into another allows for GMO plants. As consumers, it’s important to understand these terms and the science behind them, as companies use them in their food marketing. A big thank you to Indiana State Fairgrounds and Glassbarn for providing this experience.

7th graders are busy sawing, drilling, sanding, and painting in the Ag room these weeks. After completing our tool unit, students get hands-on experience with several tools as they make their peg games.

SAE presentations- I appreciate the excitement of students willing to share their project learning experience with the class.

Week of 12/4-12/8

FFA members enjoyed wishing the Fairmount crowds a Merry Christmas in tonight’s parade. A big thank you to the Smith family for arranging our float.

RBMS FFA members- reminder of tonight’s Christmas parade in Fairmount. Come join us on the float around the ballfields around 5:30.
Text to 81010 if you need to reach Mrs. Carr beforehand. See you soon

Reminder to let Mrs. Carr know today if you will ride on Saturday’s Christmas parade float in Fairmount. Just send me a message if you did not get the form turned in. [email protected]

RBMS FFA will have a float in the Fairmount Christmas parade this Saturday. Please RSVP by Wednesday so we have a headcount of members riding.

Ag students finished the week making butter and enjoying it on crackers and warm pop tarts.

RBMS FFA competed in the following events yesterday.
Aaron Romero-4th high overall in FFA Quiz!
Wildlife team-placed 15th overall (37 total teams)
6th grader, LaneyKate Bennett, placed 6th overall in General ID
Other team members were:Hank Smith-aquatic; Aria Jenkins- birds; Cara Byers-deer.
Floriculture team placed 12th overall (33 total teams/more than 100 competitors). Team members were: Bristol Waters, Gabby Johnson, Anslie Roden, Kaitlyn Crow.

7th and 8th grade Ag students visited the Georgia Ag Experience, a mobile agriculture classroom, on Friday. Students engaged in Agriculture based STEM activities while learning about Georgia’s top commodities and future careers. Thank you to Gordon County Farm Bureau for sponsoring this opportunity.

All FFA members- morning meeting this Tuesday till 8:15.

6th grade Ag students studied corn plants and byproducts this week in our ‘The Journey of Corn from Farm to Me’ lesson. We took a virtual field trip to an Indiana cornfield, planted 5 varieties of corn, made oobleck, and corn plastic. Thank you to Indiana State Fairgrounds and Indiana Corn Marketing Council for providing this hands-on fun for our students!

A very busy. but fun-filled week for RBMS FFA & Ag classes... Ag Supporters, please attend the community meeting at SHS on 11/7 to give us your input .

We love to honor our veterans at RBMS. Please share so we can celebrate them on Friday, November 10. ❤️🤍💙

Especially 8th grade parents- I want to encourage you to attend this with me. We need your feedback.

Dear Parents, Community Members, and Leaders,

We invite your active participation in shaping the future of the agriculture program at Sonoraville High School. Please mark your calendars for our upcoming Agriculture Advisory Meeting on November 7th, 2023, at 6:00 PM. Join us in the SHS Ag room for an insightful discussion.

This meeting presents an excellent opportunity for you to gain a deeper understanding of our program, share your valuable insights, and become an essential contributor to the program's direction. Your presence and input are highly appreciated as we work together to chart the course for our agricultural program.

We look forward to your presence and contributions at this important event.

FFA Quiz, Wildlife, & Floriculture tryouts this week.

RBMS FFA officers served as group leaders today at Gordon County Ag Literacy Day.

I’m just going to brag on my FFA kiddos! A packed room but we had the best time. They sit wherever they find room, make new friends, and have a fun time socializing. Thank you to our wonderful RBMS lunchroom staff for baking delicious cookies and to First Fruit Ministries for donating our cookie decorations.

TOMORROW- ALL FFA members are invited to join us for the group photo. Bring/Wear your red FFA shirt. Still need to sign up?? Come see Mrs. Carr before 1st period.

7th & 8th graders learning the basics of wrapping a stem to make a boutonniere.

6th graders learning how to use floral tape to wrap the stem of a flower.

What does an Ag teacher do when a local retailer has flowers on sale? Use them for a flower design lesson. Earlier in the week all Ag students learned the meaning of flower colors when used in a bouquets. They then made a flower and learned the technique of wrapping the stem. Finally, 8th graders used real flowers to design boutonnières. A fun and engaging lesson with great results.

We will begin practices this week for the upcoming competitions. Our yearbook group photo will be next week. Be sure to join FFA this week, so you can make this photo picture perfect!!

This week, 7th grade Ag students performed a lab simulating the acquisition and transmission of disease in livestock. Students (aka cattle) exchanged their ‘mixtures’ with each other, illustrating livestock drinking after one another. Once they ‘drank’ after six different cows, we used an indicator solution to identify all infected water. Students discovered how quickly sickness can travel and had to guess who was initially infected. The lab illustrated the importance of farmers maintaining healthy herds.

Always a fun finish to RBMS Ag classes…ice cream lab. Thank you Gordon County Farm Bureau for helping with this!

8th grade Ag students measuring and cutting PVC. Students assembled their fittings to construct a marshmallow gun.

What may have looked like RBMS Ag students randomly walking around in the parking lot was actually a practical lesson. Our 8th grade class learned to measure their stride length and used it to calculate given distances.

See Mrs. Carr this week if you are interested in competing in the next FFA competitions.

Our Meat Judging team, Matthew Manning, Laney Kate Bennett, Candy Romero, and Colton Thomas, placed 3rd overall. More than 60 6-9th graders competed in identifying 25 beef, pork, and lamb cuts and placing three classes of meat. Matthew Manning was 3rd high overall; Laney Kate was 5th high overall.

Our Ag Technology & Equipment team placed 9th overall. The team, Seth Carr, Eva McDougle, Owen Sheriff, and Gage Quinn, competed against more than 60 6th-9th graders. The team had to identify 25 tools, take a written exam, measure various items, and complete a wiring skill.

7th grade FFA member, Bristol Waters, competed in the Floral Design Competition and placed 8th overall. Bristol competed against other 6-9th graders and had to design a corsage and identify 25 flowers.

A big thank you to the following friends of RBMS FFA for helping our students prepare for today’s competitions. Sandra Ingle, Nancy & Chloe Johnson with Floral Design (I failed to get photos😬); Carla McMorris with Meat Judging; Taylor Fain with Ag Technology and Equipment. This program is successful because of the many people I can call on to help!!!

Colton Thomas and Matthew Manning showed their hog at the Gwinnett County Fair last weekend. Their placings were:
Colton
3rd place 6th grade showmanship
6th place Market Gilt
4th place Market Gilt
Matthew
3rd place 7th grade showmanship
1st place Market Gilt
1st place Breeding Gilt
3rd place Breeding Gilt
Good job, boys!

In celebration of National Teach Ag Day, our officers visited RBES Kindergarten and 1st grade classrooms to read an Agricultural book. Thank you to the teachers for opening up their classrooms and allowing us to share with our future RBMS students.

Thank you to Owen’s Florist for allowing 7th grader, Bristol Waters, to stop in and practice Floral Design. Bristol will compete Thursday in the FFA Floral Design competition.

As I close out our FFA year, I’m thankful to look back on these gifts and see the impact this organization has made on our ‘22-‘23 President, Gavin Walker, and the impact he made on our RBMS FFA chapter. He did an excellent job leading by example ‘out of darkness of selfishness and into the glorious sunlight of brotherhood and cooperation’. Love you always, Gavin. Stay focused and continue to do good work. 💙💛 🌞

Summer workdays are a great time for me to catch up on visits to students SAE projects. Today I visited with Candy at her Service Learning experience. Candy helped out at the Calhoun H.E.R.D sale where she led the Pledge of Allegiance and helped serve food.
Students, send me a message to schedule a visit so I can learn about your SAE.