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Wasco High School FFA students recently participated in the South Valley Speaking Competition.
Shafter High School FFA hosted the competition on Jan. 23 and 30. Students spent two weekends competing.
"This year it was different compared to prior years," said Recorder Sofia Reyes. "Each competition was online, which was new to a lot of us. It was divided into two different weekends. The first weekend was Creed, Prepared, and Job Interview."
The Creed Recitation's purpose is to get members to have a strong belief in the industry of agriculture and the core values of citizenship and patriotism.
"This competition is at the freshman level and this year's winners were Elizabeth Milar in fourth place and Natalia Crane in fifth place," Reyes said.
"In the Prepared competition, students write and deliver a six-to-eight-minute speech about a current agriculture-related topic," Reyes said. "Students research a topic of interest and then put together a creative, informative speech. This year's winners were Ixchel Sanchez in firth place and Mackinley Wankum in fifth place.
Reyes said that the job interview contest helps you succeed in future careers by developing the skills needed to seek employment in the industry of agriculture. It simulates real-world activities used by employers and tests a student's ability to perform effectively throughout the employment process. Students submit a cover letter and resume, complete an application, and participate in a face-to-face interview. Sofia Reyes took sixth place.
"The following week was Impromptu and Extemp," Reyes said. "Impromptu is to promote and improve the abilities of FFA members to communicate, as well as develop their self-confidence and contributes to their advancement in the achievement of interpersonal skills and the growth of leadership. The students have seven minutes to select a topic, brainstorm their ideas, outline the speech, and finally, deliver the speech without any notes."
Extemp is based on a study and original review, a limited-preparation speech case. Lindsay Lee placed fifth and Vianey Padilla placed fourth and will move on to the regional contest.
School Farm You-Pick
In other FFA activities and due to the pandemic, Wasco FFA School Farm You-Pick was the highlighted activity in January.
"Starting from the first weekend of January we gave our members, families, and our community the option to come out to the school farm and pick their own oranges and lemons," Reyes said. "Our fruit trees were fully packed with a lot of fruit."
Anyone that wanted to come out and pick had to make an appointment and follow all covid-19 guidelines.
"Each family had 45 minutes in which families stated that they were able to harvest a big amount within that time," Reyes added.
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