Norco High Agriculture Department
NEWSLETTER
September/October 2013
Norco FFA had 3 teams compete
at the Riverside Section Opening
and Closing Ceremony Contest.
Congratulations on your outstanding team work!
FFA Basics
FFA makes a positive difference in the lives of
students by developing their potential for
premier leadership, personal growth and
career success through agricultural education. To accomplish its mission, FFA:
Develops competent and assertive agricultural leadership.
The Future Grows in Your Hands
Norco FFA Members are energetic and excited for a new year! There has been record numbers at our first two Chapter FFA Meetings, students have seen success at
the LA Fair Judging Day, and with the Riverside Section Opening and Closing Ceremony Contest. Norco FFA was also well represented at the Riverside Section Volleyball Tournament where team B earned 3rd place.
With such driven and active members, it is no surprise that Norco FFA was the only
Chapter in California to earn the highest National FFA ranking of 3 stars.
Our Program of Activities this year is in a digital format. You can review it at the
following link. You will find basic information on our program, opportunities for
leadership development, as well as the calendar of activities for the coming school
year.
We look forward to an exhilarating year of leadership. personal growth and career
success.
Norco FFA Program of Activities
Increases awareness of the global and technological importance of agriculture and its
contribution to our well-being.
Strengthens the confidence of agriculture
students in themselves and their work.
Encourages achievement in supervised agricultural experience programs.
Encourages wise management of economic,
environmental and human resources of the
community.
Develops interpersonal skills in teamwork,
communications, human relations and social
interaction.
Builds character and promotes citizenship,
volunteerism and patriotism.
Promotes cooperation and cooperative attitudes among all people.
Promotes healthy lifestyles.
Encourages excellence in scholarship
Floral Design ~ Learn by Doing!
What could be better than taking a floral design course? Designing
arrangements for weddings and other special events!
Students who are enrolled in Mrs. Grundmeyer’s Floral Design and Advanced Floral Design
courses have skills! Students not only learn about flowers, design, and business aspects of
the floral industry, they also have the tremendous opportunity to learn by doing.
It is not uncommon to see Mrs. Grundmeyer with her students completing floral arrangements, bouquets, or boutonnieres after school or on Saturdays. The professional results that
the students achieve is of no surprise to our regular customers. Andrea G. had the following
to say regarding centerpieces done for a life celebration; “Everyone commented on the
Common Core
professional lovely arrangements!”
If you are in need of floral arrangements for special events, weddings, birthday parties, or
funerals, please contact the NHS Cougar Boutique at rgrundmeyer@cnusd.k12.ca.us.
The Common Core State Standards
(CCSS) were recently adopted by the
State of California and forty-five other
states to replace current state standards. The CCSS will provide students
with greater rigor and depth of learning that results in better critical thinking skills and the ability to apply what
has been learned in class.
Students will be expected to not only
know the how and why of processes,
but must be able to apply, analyze and
evaluate information.
CCSS is very similar to the Agricultural
Education Model.
Ag Ed. involves three circles that all
intertwine. Students are gaining skills
in all three circles. Information, theory,
and research done in the instruction
circle, leads to the ability to apply
those learnings in the form of a Supervised Ag Experience (project). Students
are responsible for analyzing and evaluating the effectiveness of their projects on a regular basis. The FFA circle
provides leadership development, interpersonal, and time management
skill building. These skills make Ag Ed.
students competitive in their chosen
fields.
Food Science
The NHS Ag Food Science class
offers students the opportunity
to learn about food from farm
to table.
Veterinary Science
Veterinary Science is a year-long course designed for Juniors and Seniors who want to learn
about animal body systems, disease, and medical terminology. Students have the opportunity
to take part in a numerous laboratories that enrich the learning done in class. Veterinary Science
is the capstone class in our Agriculture Science Pathway.
Our Food Science students are
working on producing their first
batch of vegetables for use in
class. The current crop includes
carrots and beets. The students will also be doing work
with some of the farm raised
pork.
Another aspect of the class
covers nutrition and the importance of fresh healthy foods
in the diet.
California Ag License
Plates
Did you miss your opportunity
to purchase your California Ag
license plate during the introductory period?
Ag Mechanics
Students who are interested in learning skilled trades should strongly consider Ag Mechanics as
an option during their high school course work. Students are able to advance through the 4
course sequence to further skills learned year by year. Ag Mechanics 1 focuses on the basics.
Students will learn about electrical, plumbing, concrete and masonry, as well as arc welding.
Students learn theory and then apply that theory through creation of projects. The students
pictured above are working on completing their first electrical circuit.
It is not too late! Click the link
below to be directed to the
DMV website to order yours
today.
Funds collected support FFA
leadership development
throughout the state. This
means lower conference fees
for our students.
DMV Special Interest Plate
Orders
Question & Answer
Q: Can my student take agriculture classes all four years of high school
and still be UC eligible?
A: Yes! The Norco High Agriculture Department has numerous courses that meet UC a-g
status. The following course have been approved by the UC system:
Agriculture Biology UC d lab credit
Art and History of Floral Design UC fine art credit
Ag Government UC a social science credit
Ag Economics UC g elective credit
Ag Natural Science UC g elective credit
Veterinary Science UC g elective credit
The UC eligible classes offered through the Ag Department, partnered with proper
scheduling, will allow your student to complete a career pathway in the Ag Department
as well as be UC eligible. Contact an Ag Teacher for a sample four year schedule.
Legislative Issues
Carrie Crane and Jon
Dalton with former
Governor Arnold
Schwarzenegger in 2005
Graduate Follow-Up
Graduates featured in our newsletter were enrolled in 4 years of agriculture education and completed one or more of our Career Pathways. Agriculture Education is preparing tomorrows' workforce,
creating competitive individuals who are prepared and motivated. In this issue we will take a look
back at the class of 2005.
Carrie Crane
Jon Dalton
School: Carrie attended Cal Poly San Luis
Obispo where she earned a Bachelors Degree
in Dairy Science in 2009 and her Masers Degree in Agribusiness in 2011.
School: Jon attended Riverside Community
College for one semester. Jon was working 12
hour days, and decided to not continue on at
RCC.
Occupation: Carrie is currently the Tulare
County Farm Bureau Program Coordinator.
Some of Carrie’s duties are to run the youth
leadership program as well as acting writer
and editor for Farm Bureau publications.
Occupation: Jon is currently a Large Equipment Operator for Platinum Construction
Services. He has been with the company for
the past six years.
Benefits of/from high school: “Get involved
in activities outside of class. My involvement
with FFA has been an asset to what I do today. The ability to coordinate and plan for
events, and the ability to manage your time
between work and class and those activities
are an asset to what I do today.”
Pay Range: $40,000- $50,000
Jon will begin working for BNSF Railroad on
October 7th as a mechanics. Congratulations
Jon!
Benefits of/from high school: “Agricultural
Mechanics gave me a good base for what I do
today. I was able to learn about engines and
how they operate, welding skills, problem
solving, and general life and work skills that I
still use today. “
Pay Range: $40,000- $50,000
More than three hundred Agriculture programs across the state rely on the California
Agriculture Incentive Grant (AIG) to fund
their programs and support the 76,000 students enrolled in those programs on a yearly
basis. The AIG funds are distributed to programs based on their ability to meet 12 criteria standards. The AIG currently provides
slightly over $4 million to agriculture programs in California.
For the 2013 budget AIG was saved from being included in the Local Control Formula,
which would have given total control on
funding of Ag Ed programs to the local school
districts. This was done with hesitation by
our Governor who made the following statement before signing the budget: "This program was eliminated in my Local Control
Funding Formula proposal consistent with
my belief that local education agencies are
in the best position to allocate their funding...Given the Legislature's support... I will
direct my Administration to examine
whether this funding should continue as a
separate categorical program into the future."
AIG is in jeopardy for the 2014-2015 year.
We need your help. Can we really afford to
defund agricultural education in the #1 Ag
State in the U.S? Please contact your representatives to express your desire for the
Governor to maintain funding for the Agriculture Incentive Grant.
Representative Eric Linder
Senator Richard Roth
Norco High School
Agriculture Department
Norco FFA
2065 Temescal Ave
Norco, CA 92860
951.736.3241 ext 25427
rgrundmeyer@cnusd.k12.ca.us
jrichartz@cnusd.k12.ca.us
clindsey@cnusd.k12.ca.us