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St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Lee Enterprises

Tuesday, February 24, 2009 10:30 PM CST
Students develop teamwork during National FFA Week

By DAVE FOPAY, Staff Writer
dfopay@jg-tc.com

CHARLESTON — How easy is it for four high school boys to try to walk together on top of long pieces of wood?

It can be tough, but it’s easier if the four work as a team, and that’s what the students in Charleston High School agriculture classes learned Monday. The board walk event was part of the “Ag Olympics” in conjunction with National FFA Week.

“Take bigger steps, guys,” junior Justin Thomas said, as he led the first team of four trying to walk down a hall in the CHS ag building, using loops of rope they held in their hands to lift the boards as they went.

“It’s not that hard if you work together,” Thomas said after his team’s heat. He’s also a school FFA chapter member and said he thought the “olympics” fit in well with the national observance.

“It’s building leadership in the classes and it’s fun to do,” Thomas said.

Ag teacher and FFA adviser Paul Stranz timed the students as they trudged down the hall on the boards. The students weren’t allowed to touch the walls or the floor, including when they had to turn around at the end of the hall and make a return path.

“Somebody’s got to take charge,” Stranz said.

All the school’s agriculture classes took part in the Ag Olympics, which also included an egg race in which the students had to carry an egg in a spoon while stepping onto and over chairs on the way. They had to make sure they put both feet on the chairs’ seats before they moved on.

“You’ve got to concentrate on what you’re doing,” Stranz said of that exercise. “You’ve got to think step by step.”

The CHS FFA chapter has a week of activities planned for the national observance. Included is a joint meeting with the Mattoon High School chapter at the Coles County Council on Aging LifeSpan Center near Loxa on Wednesday evening, which will feature a speech by Riley Branch, the national FFA Western Region vice president from Texas.

Today will be “Tractor Day” and some FFA members will drive their families’ tractors to school. Students are also encouraged to wear tractor T-shirts, and that along with participation in wearing FFA ribbons during the week will determine which ag class wins a pizza party on Friday, Stranz said.

Thursday is “Blue and Gold” day when students are supposed to wear the FFA’s colors. FFA chapter members will also participate in a public speaking event in Oblong Thursday evening and in a basketball game in Dieterich on Friday.

The Charleston and Mattoon chapters also met for a skating party on Monday evening at Silver Star Skate Center in Mattoon.

Contact Dave Fopay at dfopay@jg-tc.com or 238-6858.

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Kevin Kilhoffer/Staff Photographer -- Charleston High School student Cody Cox steps onto a chair while balancing an egg on a spoon during an egg race at the school in Charleston on Monday as part of National FFA week.