National FFA week is used to celebrate the organization by its members. This year, the celebration took place between February 22 and February 25. The week consisted of dress up days, sectional activities, and many more events to both celebrate the organization and recruit more members. 

On Tuesday, students had a Disney dress-up day. On Wednesday, students had a country vs. country club day. On Thursday, the members wore their FFA shirts and on Friday, they wore red white and blue.

“This year’s national FFA week has definitely been different from past year,” says Selma FFA chapter President, Kendall Hinton. “We were able to actually have dress up days and the chapter even got to attend a sectional meeting at Blackbeards, which hasn’t been done in three years.”

FFA stands for Future Farmers of America and is based around agriculture and presents different career pathways. Such pathways include Agriscience, Ag Mechanics, and Floral Design. 

During National FFA week, members are to share information about the impact of agriculture and the organization. FFA is a chapter that has members all across the United States. In order to be a part of FFA, students must be enrolled in an agriculture course.

“FFA is an agricultural organization that focuses on premier leadership, personal growth, and career success,” says FFA advisor Grace Mendes. “We have so many opportunities in our program. From plants to animals to technology to science and mechanics. There’s literally something for everyone.”

Ms. Mendes is one of three FFA advisors. Alongside both Mr. Calvert and Ms. Chambers, Ms. Mendes takes care of the FFA officers. She also takes care of the show sheep, breeding sheep, show goats, breeding goats, farm emus & chickens, pasture, greenhouse and nursery, and floral design shop. She has been an FFA teacher for 14 years.

This year is appreciated more by both students and teachers after a year away from in-person classes. 

“I definitely don’t take hands-on learning for granted anymore,” explained Ms. Mendes. “I’ve incorporated a lot more labs into the curriculum this year since we haven’t had as much of an opportunity over distance learning to do them.”

“Personally this year’s FFA week felt very special to me,” says first year member Cheyenne Allen. “I have been very impatient to become a member and am glad I finally go to be a part of the National FFA week. The week is important because it helps students become more involved in the program. It also allows members to embrace their role in the organization.”

Overall, this year’s FFA week was more appreciated by members and advisors and gave back a sense of normalcy to Selma High.