Good-bye summertime, hello school year 2012-2013! Welcome

back to the returning THS FFA members and nice-to-meet-you to all our

aspiring new FFA recruits. All of the officers congratulate you on joining

them for a fun filled year. This summer was positively gorgeous all along

Tomales Bay, they hope everyone had the opportunity to enjoy it while it

lasted. It seems like school just got out for summer vacation, but its time

already time to “Remember the Past, Impact the Future”.

Welcome Back!

The FFA UpdateThe FFA UpdateThe FFA UpdateThe FFA Update August 2012 Volume 7, Issue 1

Inside this Issue:

~Welcome Back!

~FFA Officer Re-

treat

~Sonoma County

Fair

~Summertime

Dessert

~ Vacation Pictures

~September

Calendar

During summertime, Mr. and Mrs. Costanzo collected the new offi-

cers: Janelle Kehoe, Terra Hargens, Jack Strozzi, Mario Passantino, Sum-

mer Cassel, David Guerrero, and Hailee Hankins, and took us on a road

trip along the coast to Fort Bragg for the annual Officer Retreat. At the

retreat, we participated in many challenging team-building activities. One

activity we were given was to get the entire team on a very small wood

board. We all had to stand on it without touching the ground around the

board. During another activity we were given a rope then everyone was

blindfolded, but one person. That person then had to instruct the rest of

the team how to make a 5 pointed star. After a lot of confusion the group

was able to accomplish the task.

Although work was the main focus of the trip, they also spent lots

of time team-bonding and exploring the small, but very intriguing town of

Fort Bragg! They spent time planning important events for this new year

that hopefully everyone involved in the chapter will be able to enjoy. The

officers are all excited about taking on their new duties and serving the

chapter and they hope you are ready for

them to serve you. Have a great year!

FFA Officers David, Mario, and

Jack successfully completing an

activity!

Back to Work By Summer Cassel

This year 20 Tomales FFA members participated in the 2012 Sonoma

County Fair in Santa Rosa. The members showed beef, sheep, swine, dairy, goats

and poultry this year. Everyone did an outstanding job with their livestock, win-

ning champions and reserve champions. This was also the first year that Tomales

had a member show market goats.

Four Tomales FFA members competed in the 2012 Beef Show; Kayla Fur-

long, Jessica Arndt, Ashley Arndt, and Manny Brazil. Everyone did a fantastic job

in showmanship and class. Ashley won Grand Champion Horned Hereford and

she placed third in class with her market steer. Jessica got fourth in Showman-

ship and seventh in class with her breeding animals. Jessica placed third in show-

manship with her steer along with second and fourth with her steers in market

class. Kayla was also very successful with her replacement heifer Queen, scoring

a fifth in showmanship, and fifth in class. Manny placed well with his two Angus

Bulls and his steers in their classes .

This year at the Sonoma County Fair, Katie Arndt showed two market

goats. Katie said, “I had so much fun participating with my sisters and friends

from FFA. I spent one hour each day sweeping the outside of my stalls. I showed

my goats two of the days I was there, and sold on the last day.” Some of her fa-

vorite parts of the fair experience were the hot chocolate and the trolley that gave

people rides.

The 2012 fair was a great for the 11 Tomales FFA sheep students. This

year’s sheep squad included: Kayla Furlong, Christa & Courtney Nygard, Mike Ed-

wards, Kyle & Kaitlyn Bianchi, Ali Azevedo, Jack Strozzi, Terra Hargens, Joseph

Stocker and Hailee Hankins. FFA members Michael Edwards, Joseph Stocker, and

Kaitlyn Bianchi all placed very high with their market sheep. Sheep sold very high

in the auction with prices ranging anywhere from $5-$15 a pound. Two members

showed breeding sheep this year, freshman Hailee Hankins and junior Courtney

Nygard. Hailee showed at both the Sonoma-Marin Fair and Sonoma Fair with her

yearling ewe. Her favorite part about showing breeding sheep is that she can

show the same lamb for two years straight, unlike market lambs where she can

only have her lambs for one year.

Four members showed hogs this year at the Sonoma County Fair during

the first week. Ty Renati, Willie Lepori, Danny Moretti and William Nunes all had a

great time at the fair and sold their hogs for quite a good profit.

Sonoma County Fair By Katie Arndt & Hailee Hankins

Page 2 The FFA Update

Members Kayla Furlong &

Ashley Arndt showing beef

Katie Arndt showing her goat

“Bucket”

Jack Strozzi and Terra Hargens

with their market lambs

Ty Renati with his market hog Cody Strode with his show bird

A Recipe To Keep Summer Alive! By Summer Cassel

Page 3 Volume 7, Issue 1

Rustic Strawberry Shortcake Ingredients: -2 dry pints ripe strawberries, sliced -2 tablespoons sugar -2teaspoons lemon juice -2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour -2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder -2/3 cup white sugar -1 teaspoon salt -1 1/2 cup heavy cream -4 teaspoons lemon zest -4 teaspoons orange zest -1/3 cup white sugar

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Next butter a baking sheet. To prepare the fruit, toss the strawberries in a bowl with the 2 ta-blespoons sugar and lemon juice. Mash a small amount of the berries so they release their juice. Place the berries in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to draw out their juices. While the strawberries are macerating, prepare the shortcake. Mix together the flour, baking powder, cornmeal, sugar, and salt in a bowl. Then stir in the cream, lemon zest and orange zest until just combined. Turn the dough out onto a floured board and form into a ball, then knead 8 to 12 times or until the dough holds a shape (be careful not to overwork it). Cut the dough into 8 equal portions and roll it into balls. Dip each ball into the melted butter, then dip half of the ball into a small bowl with a 1/3 cup of sugar. Place each ball on the prepared baking sheet, sugar-side up. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned and baked through. Cool on a wire rack. Last enjoy your hard work!

Officers Summertime Fun

Remem

ber th

e

Past,

Impa

ct the

Futur

e!

Find us on Facebook! Tomales FFA Chapter

or on the web at

www.tomalesffa.org

Tomales High School Agriculture Department

P.O. Box 25 Tomales, CA, 94971 Phone: 707-878-2286 Fax: 707-878-2787

Email: bill.costanzo@shorelineunified.org

September 2012 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1

2 3 Holiday 4 5 6 7

Ice Cream

Social

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9 10 11

FFA Meeting

12 13 14 15

16 17

UC Davis

Greenhand

Conference

18

Sonoma

CATA meet-

ing 4:30

Forestville

19

Back to

School Night

20 21 22

23 24 25 26 27 28 COLC

Homecoming

29 NC Fall

Regional Mtg

30