FCCLA Shines at Nationals

The Mission of FCCLA (Family, Consumer, Community Leaders of America) is "To promote personal growth and leadership development through Family and Consumer Sciences education. Focusing on the multiple roles of family member, wage earner and community leader, members develop skills for life through: character development, creative and critical thinking, interpersonal communications, practical knowledge and career preparation.

Four members from Fairview and one from Sidney attended the National FCCLA Leadership Convention in Anaheim, CA June 28 through July 5. Sidney High School Junior Serenity Kuntz earned a silver medal for her Sports Nutrition presentation. She attended with her advisor, Tina Van Horn.

The Fairview students returned home with two silver team medals, although the Hopes team was just a couple of points shy of the gold, and 12points higher than at state.

The duo of Scout, a sophomore, and Easton, a Junior, Hopes presented the Chapter Service Project portfolio with their Farm to School project. On a ½ acre of ground donated by Fairview School superintendent Mr. Kloker, the students planned, planted, cared for and harvested garden produce, which is used by Family and Consumer Sciences in their cooking classes. The class cooks up a Taste of the Month which is then shared by other students.

The project increased knowledge about the various foods and provided other hands on projects including an interactive Ag Week encompassing the entire school. Easton built the garden boxes in shop class. "I remember thinking... a school garden, easy peasy," he said. "Boy, was I wrong!"

Advisor Mrs. Hopes helped start the small garden. Then she and Faith Oakland attended training and came back with some great ideas of how to incorporate the garden into other programs within the school. They kicked off the year by serving a harvest dinner before the high school fall concert, with the help of donations from the community.

FCCLA has started a "Share Table" where open unconsumed foods from lunch are put on a table in the hallway for students to pick up. They also participated in "Crunch Time" where, all across the state, kids and teachers bit into a Montana grown apple at the same time. FCCLA Seniors picked the local apples for Fairview students to enjoy.

The Hopes report that this year's garden is growing well with help from Jim Hardy, Fairview School ag teacher.

Junior BayLee Schlothauer and Senior Aubrey Root competed in Entrepreneurship with their "Warrior Coffee Cart." The "Cart" will sell coffee, lattes, cappuccino, tea and hot chocolate before school Tuesdays and Thursdays for now. Plans call for expanding out to delivery to local businesses as well.The project is a fundraiser for FCCLA which will help members attend national convention, and perhaps provide a scholarship. The only other fundraiser the group conducts is Fall Fest which helps pay the way to State Convention. Members only have about two months between state and national to raise money for what is usually a very expensive trip so Schlothauer and Root are hoping that this consistent fundraiser provides valuable help for kids who qualify for Nationals. "We're hoping this gives us steady income so it's not such a burden on us and local businesses when kids qualify for nationals," Mrs. Hopes stated.

Extensive research included pricing every item, including replacement parts for the espresso machine, and getting advice from Cindy Tippet at Sidney Health Center and former Sidney High School FCCLA advisor Jeanne Lang. They also conducted surveys of students and staff to see if they would purchase coffee and what flavors would be most popular. Students have to be in class by 8 a.m. so detailed scheduling was also a factor. Once they had a complete proposal, the girls presented the idea to the school board, which approved it. Junior high and high school students and staff are really excited about having fresh, hot beverages available before school.

Mrs. Hopes was impressed with the students' dedication to their projects. She said the Hopes duo put in hours on their project before state and then spent at least two hours per day for the two weeks before nationals, preparing their presentation. "They (both groups) did a wonderful job of taking it to the next level and really wanting to do well at Nationals," she said.

Of course, the trip wasn't all work. They were in Anaheim – the home of Disney Land! For Easton and Scout, the beach was their favorite part of the trip. Aubrey most enjoyed meeting everyone from all over the country and other nations, and trading pins.

BayLee liked the beach too but really enjoyed the Ford Driving Skills activities in the Angels' parking lot. Professionals taught driving skills while she and Aubrey were driving Mustangs and Escapes. "There was a stunt driver in the car telling us how to do stuff and if we weren't going fast enough, he'd tell us to go Faster!" BayLee said. They also rode on a stationary pedal bike with VR goggles going through the busy streets of Barcelona. 'It taught us that we need to watch for bikers while driving," BayLee explained. Unfortunately, the Hopes duo were giving their presentation at that time.

For Mrs. Hopes, Disney Land on July 3 and 4 provided perfect days. They got to ride every ride, were front and center for the Fantasmic Show and the incredible fireworks show.

Mrs. Hopes explained that the two projects are not over, but keep moving forward. The Farm to School project is still in place and another group of students could take that over and take it to Nationals again. The Warrior Coffee Cart is just becoming a reality this fall. BayLee is looking at the National Programs in Action and perhaps doing a project based on Community Service.

Whatever these young people do, it will be awesome. The dedication and hard work they are willing to put in to their projects bodes well for their future, and ours.