One ALL STAR will be selected each year to be the recipient of the ALL Star Driver Award.  The winner will attend the US Agriculture in the Classroom conference all expenses paid. 

What is an ALL STAR?

A teacher that is NOMINATED for showing leadership in agriculture education by initiating a unique agriculture literacy project. (Some examples are; Grade 11 Agriculture course, Farmer pen pal, AAA jeopardy game, agriculture literacy committee member, Organizer of a MIMB or other AITC sanctioned event)

Benefits of being an All Star include;

• Recognition on AITC website and at special events
• Eligibility for incentives/prizes
• AITC-M Gift
• Free shipping of AITC-M resources

Peter Veenendaal is a grade 10 teacher from Immanuel Christian School in Winnipeg.

Peter was nominated by his peers and is certainly a worthy recipient.

“Students in Peter's class are not only exposed to potential careers within the agricultural field, but gain an overall appreciation for where much of their food and household resources come from. All of this teaching is done with Peter's usual enthusiasm for all things education. His excitement about the role of agriculture has become a fixture at this school,” stated his nominator Mark den Hollander.

2010

L to R: Johanne Ross, Exec. Director, AITC-M

            Derek Baschuk, 2010 Award Winner

            Sue Clayton U of M Faculty of Agriculture

                                   & Food Science

Derek Baschuk is a teacher from Garden Valley Collegiate Technical Education Campus.

“Derek Baschuk is an innovative high school teacher who developed a technical agriculture certificate program for Grade 11 and 12 students. The Agriculture Technology Program at Garden Valley Collegiate in Winkler was Derek's brainchild.” stated Sue Clayton, Community Liaison Coordinator for the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences , U of M.  “He was the main curriculum writer for 12 of the 15 credit courses. Once he wrote them, he submitted them for approval to Manitoba Education Citizenship and Youth and they are now official courses that can be taught anywhere in Manitoba. Once a student achieves 8 courses, they can get a Technical Vocational Certificate to go along with their high school diploma. Derek is passionate about agriculture and wants young people to see the tremendous future afforded them if they pursue their education. He does an excellent job of engaging high school students in agriculture and promoting all the dynamic and exciting career options that the industry has to offer.”

Click here to nominate an ALL STAR today!

This headline is not really the agriculture we think of in Manitoba but they all have their place in Florida. Fort Lauderdale, Florida was the location of the 2011 U.S. National AITC Conference. As part of receiving the 2010 All Star Driver Award, I was able to represent Manitoba and learn how teachers from around the U.S. are using agriculture to engage students.

Being one of a handful of Canadians in the group gave me a unique perspective of the information shared between the nearly 400 teachers and agriculture leaders from across the 50 states.

While students and teachers in Manitoba were busy with end of school year activities from June 22nd to 25th, I was learning about the diversity of crops, agri-tourism, and how schools are able to integrate these resources and many others in the day-to-day activities of students. One of the most interesting activities for me was comparing the energy (light) requirements of plants during photosynthesis versus solar cells. This activity will be used in my Grade 10 Science classes once I modify the information for local plant species.

Attending this conference was great and I am glad I was given the opportunity to represent Manitoba teachers. If you know of a teacher that is demonstrating agricultural leadership in their teaching, nominate them for the award and allow them to share their ideas and activities with other leaders in our schools.

Next year’s national conference will be hosted by the Colorado Foundation for Agriculture and is set to be held June 19 – 22, 2012 in Loveland, Colorado.

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Click here to nominate a teacher for the ALL STAR Driver Award!