By: Sydney Bartels
February 21-27 was National FFA Week. This week is for FFA members to raise awareness about FFA and celebrate agricultural leadership around the country. The Silver Lake FFA officers took this time to really enhance the FFA program. They decorated the school, had dress-up days, taught the elementary students, and hosted a cornhole tournament for the high school students. Monday was blue and yellow day. Everyone dressed up in the FFA colors, National Blue and Corn Gold. The officers also went to the elementary to teach the younger students about FFA, and get them interested to join FFA in the future. The classes were split up into 5 groups, so one group went to each station. The first station was about lambs. Georgi tenBensel and Reagan Rust brought in a live lamb for the kids to pet and learn about. The second station was led by the chapter President, Samantha Bonifas. She played a fun game of FFA bingo with the students. The next station taught the students about the FFA emblem. Brock Karr taught this station by teaching the students each part of the emblem and then giving them a fun coloring sheet to work on. At the fourth station, taught by Sydney Bartels and Ashley Bonifas, the students watched videos and learned about SAE’s. Finally, at the fifth station, Maddie Karr told the students about FFA Jackets and let each student try one on to see how it fit. This wrapped up the day at the elementary. Both the FFA Officers and the elementary students had a great time. Tuesday was pajama day. This dress-up day let the students and teachers get comfy for a day and just relax. Wednesday was husker day. Students and staff dressed up in their red husker clothes to show our state pride. Thursday was your favorite tractor day. Everyone dressed up in the color of their favorite tractor brand, whether it be green, red, blue, or any other color. And finally, to wrap up a long, fun week, the high school participated in a cornhole tournament put on by the FFA Officers. Everybody dressed up in flannel and got their game face on. There were 44 teams competing in total. After some tough competition, Trista Hanson and Eric Blythe received 2nd, and Quinn Rosno and Tayten Menke took 1st. The week was a great success for the FFA Chapter and they hope to grow the program more.