*Sent to all schools in District 1

1. District 1 Ag Education CDE- 4/8/20 (Lesson Plans due 3/6/20)

2. District 1 Agriscience Fair- 4/8/20 (Registration due 4/1/20)

3. Torchmate Workshop- 4/25/20 (Registration due 4/10/20)- REGISTER SOON, SPOTS ARE FILLING UP!!!!

1. District 1 Agricultural Education Career Development Event

Due to popular demand, District 1 FCAE will be hosting a D1 Agricultural Education CDE on April 8, 2020 in conjunction with the D1 Public Speaking and Job Interview CDEs at Geneseo High School.

General information regarding this event can be found below and the rules with resources are attached.  If you have any questions regarding this event, please email jsolomonson@agriculturaleducation.org.

General Information:

-Each chapter can submit one entry for the Ag Ed CDE. 
-Participants must wear official dress.
-Contest will be broken into two parts, Preliminaries (Lesson Plan) and Finals (Demonstration & Judge’s Questions).   
-Lesson plans & supplemental material- powerpoints, handouts must be submitted for scoring to jsolomonson@agriculturaleducation.org by March 6, 2020.
-The top ten participants (based on lesson plan scores) will be invited to the finals on April 8, 2020.  Participants will be notified by March 25th as to whether or not they placed in the top 10.  

See original list-serve for attachments with contest rules here

2. 2020 District 1 Agriscience Fair

The 2020 District 1 AgriScience Fair will be held in conjunction with the District 1 Public Speaking and Job Interview LDEs on Wednesday, April 8th at the Geneseo High School (set up at 4:30 with judging at 5:00).  If your student(s) is/are competing in either Job Interview or Public Speaking that night, we will work around their interview times.

Click here to register your students. 

The registration is due on Wednesday, April 1st at 5:00 p.m.  If you have multiple AgriScience Fair projects from your school, complete the registration form for each project.  This event is not a requirement for a student to compete at the state AgriScience Fair but is a good "practice" before the state event.

Click here to see the original message with the copy of the Illinois Agriscience Fair handbook which contains the rules and scoring rubrics for the contest Students will need to bring 2 copies of their completed written project report, their logbook, and their display for this event. State rules apply as to format for report, display, and interview.  Resources for the event can be found here. (These are the same resources distributed at the district 1 agriscience fair workshops this past fall).

Awards will be provided to the top 10 individuals and/or groups in this event.

If you have any questions about this event, please email Jay Solomonson at jsolomonson@ilaged.org.

3. Introductory TorchMate Workshop- SPOTS ARE FILLING UP, REGISTER SOON TO GUARANTEE YOUR SPOT!!!!

The Facilitating Coordination in Agriculture Education (FCAE) is hosting a one-day workshop for teachers interested in learning more about TorchMate CNC plasma cutting system use. The focus on this workshop is developing and enhancing participants’ knowledge and skills related to TorchMate. An additional emphasis will also be placed on examining and incorporating teaching methods which increase student participation and engagement.

The workshop will be led by John Rasty, agriculture teacher at Sherrard HIgh School. Please contact Jay Solomonson at jsolomonson@ilaged.org or (309) 798-6571 if you have any questions or need additional details.

This workshop is limited to 20 participants.  Please register early if you would like to guarantee a spot.

WHERE:  Sherrard High School, 4701 176th Ave, Sherrard, IL 61281

WHEN:  Saturday, April 25, 2020; 9:00 A.M. - 4:00 P.M.

Schedule:
•Torchmate system evaluation
•Setting up a Torchmate system
•Torchmate system operations and maintenance
•Torchmate CAD software basics and functions*
•Torchmate CAD software usage and project design
Lunch
•Project design
•Project file management
•Project cutting and finishing
•Teaching and learning ideas

*Please bring a laptop to install the CAD software AND a MOUSE.

You can download the software prior to the workshop by following the instructions on the following link.  If you do not already have a version you use, you will want to download the "CAD 9 EDU Student Software."

https://torchmate.com/training-header/torchmate-cad/cad-cam-downloads

COST:
•Free to Illinois Agriculture Teachers AND College Ag Ed Students! 
•Lunch and snacks are provided
•6 CPDU’s Offered!

REGISTRATION:
Please register at the following link.  Remember, space is limited for this FREE professional development.

https://forms.gle/zAPtEGYtXYkdRG5v7