Bristol County Agricultural High School: Aggie Weekly-December 1st

Aggie Weekly

Good Afternoon Students, Parents, and Community Members:

This week we returned from the Thanksgiving holiday and kicked off the week with our Annual Fall Show Awards ceremony on Monday. Congratulations to all of our recipients for their hard work. In addition, our student athletes hit the ground running preparing for our winter sports season.

Parent-Teacher Conference Survey Results:

50 Respondents:

82% PTC scheduler, 68% had no issues with PTC scheduler
56% were able to meet with desired teachers
38% prefer 8 min conf, 30% prefer 10 min conf, 22% prefer 6 min

Based on the responses from parents, we are requesting more information. Please click here to complete a 1 question survey.

Student Council's Annual Toy Drive begins Monday!

Bring in cash to purchase toys for children in need this holiday season! Coins count as positive points for your major. Bills can be used to deduct points from rival majors. Check your email daily for point totals! Contact Mrs. Savage with any questions.

Next Phase for Seniors: We are proud to share with you our senior’s plans for their next step in their college and career exploration. Based on the knowledge and skills, learned during their 4 years at BA, we are excited to publish acceptances into colleges, universities, military plans, and any career pathways cach week. Please let Ms. Dias know in Student Services, so we can update our list weekly. Thank you for your dedication to excellence and drive to maintain Bristol Aggie Excellence.

Eve Gannon- Unity College, Unity, ME
Emma Knox- Eckerd College, St. Petersburg, FL

University of Maine Orono, Orono, ME

Jacob Livesey- Universal Technical Institute, Norwood, MA
Moriah Morris- Unity College, Unity, ME
Cassie Palmer- Unity College, Unity, ME
Brian Rayner- Paul Smith’s College, Paul Smiths, NY
Bret Tetreault- Paul Smith’s College, Paul Smiths, NY
Amber Wells- Bridgewater State University, Bridgewater, MA

Local equestrian Logan DeCourcey, 14, comes home world champion

By Kathryn Gallerani kgallerani@wickedlocal.com. For the full story, please click here.

For this three-time World Champion, it’s the partnership she has with It’s Only Butter that makes them a great team.

KINGSTON – For this three-time World Champion, it’s the partnership she has with It’s Only Butter that makes them a great team.

Logan DeCourcey, 14, of Kingston, can be found most days at Horseplay Stables in Middleborough, doing chores and working with Butter and her owner and trainer, Terri Hoy. She’s been going to Hoy’s farm since she was 11 after taking up riding the year before.

There’s no secret to her success at Worlds at the junior basic level. DeCourcey puts in the time and effort with Butter, a 10-year-old Palomino quarter horse mare.

“I spend almost every day here, and I put in a lot of hard work,” she said. “I learned that hard work really pays off.”

It was DeCourcey’s first time at the fifth annual Western Dressage World Championship Show, so while hopeful they would do well, she didn’t expect to do as well as she did.

“It was crazy,” she said.

The show was held Sept. 28 through Oct. 1 at Lazy E Arena in Guthrie, Oklahoma. She was happy to have mother, Katie, and grandmother, Paula Secia, there with her to watch her win the three world championships and two reserve world championships.

Her accomplishments include grand world champion in the junior basic division, grand world champion overall as the junior rider with the highest score, grand world champion with the overall highest score for a quarter horse and the highest score of all 817 rides of the entire show at all levels.

More than 800 riders participated in a long weekend filled with exhibitor parties, fun costume freestyle competitions and stall and golf-cart decorating contests. The show drew exhibitors from 29 states from coast to coast, five Canadian provinces and New Zealand.

The educational not-for-profit Western Dressage Association of America welcomed nearly 40 horse breeds and both beginner and expert riders to Oklahoma for the show.

DeCourcey said she wanted to do well in the competition, but she went into it focusing on the experience so she can get better. She’s already looking forward to next year.

“Even if you don’t win, it’s good experience for the next time,” she said.

Hoy said she expected maybe a top 5 finish, but Logan and Butter were perfect. She said Logan has worked hard to earn Butter’s trust. She said they have a very strong connection.

“I think it’s made Logan a better rider and a better person,” she said.

DeCourcey said Hoy can be hard on her at times, but that’s because Hoy knows what she’s capable of, and it all pays off in the end. Hoy said it’s rewarding as DeCourcey’s coach to see how confident and focused she was in the ring and how Butter responded to her and their training together.

She’s passionate about what she’s doing, DeCourcey said, because she just loves horses and loves to be around them.

She attends Bristol County Agricultural High School for its large animal science program. She wants to go veterinarian school and hopes to own her own barn some day.

Follow Kathryn Gallerani on Twitter @kgallreporter.

By Brian J. Lowney / Chronicle Correspondent. Click here for the full story (and more pictures) on the Sun Chronicle.

WESTPORT — When three hardworking employees call it a day at Bristol County Agricultural High School in Dighton, they head home to Westport where they continue to develop strong family bonds and maintain important ties with the community.

Ryan Miranda, facilities manager at the high school, and brothers Ben and Kyle Medeiros all share a passion for agriculture, respect for natural resources and a deep appreciation for the lessons the high school passes to the next generation of farmers.

Miranda, who graduated from Bristol Aggie in 1996, grew up in Dighton. His mother is a Westport native.

The Medeiros brothers, Westport High School alumni, have strong roots in town. Their grandfather, George Medeiros, who died in 2003, started the family dairy farm on Sodom Road. The property was recently sold and is agriculturally protected.

According to the three men, working at the agricultural high school has many benefits.

“The dynamics allow interpersonal relationships to happen on a day-to-day basis,” Miranda said, adding that the Bristol Aggie community is similar to the Westport in that both embody community spirit and strong family values.

“People aren’t afraid to share their lives with each other,” he said. “When people get together there is no hierarchy.”

Miranda’s wife Jacci is employed at Westport Rivers Viineyard and Winery and at Eva’s Garden in Dartmouth. The couple’s son Caleb attends Westport Public Schools.

Miranda said his daughter Sage, a floriculture major who serves as sophomore class president, is carrying on a family tradition by attending the agricultural school.

Foreman Kyle, who takes care of all livestock and other animals at Bristol Aggie, works with Miranda in operating BA Grows, the school’s farm stand. When school is in session, the produce is harvested and used in the cafeteria.

“Sometimes in the busy season I am here seven days a week,” Kyle said. During the summer, he helps with crop production, but when temperatures drop, he can be often found outdoors before dawn shoveling snow and plowing sidewalks.

Growing up on the family dairy farm, the two brothers milked cows twice daily until 1999.

“I’m back to waking up at 5 a.m. every day and back to milking cows,” Kyle said, laughing, adding that the school’s animals must be cared for 365 days a year.

The other Medeiros brother, Ben, who wears many hats as the school’s floating foreman, works in maintenance and carpentry and is charge of shipping and receiving. He also assists his brother with milking chores at the dairy farm.

In addition, Ben serves as Bristol Aggie’s boy’s soccer and basketball coach.

The Medeiros’ cousin, Katie Zuber, works as a special education teacher at Bristol Aggie and lives on her family’s farm in Dartmouth.

Another cousin, Meghan Sherman of Westport, is a student at Bristol Aggie. She is a student worker and cares for farm animals before and after school.

“It’s in our blood,” Ben says about his family’s passion for farming and longtime commitment to agriculture. “My young son is also obsessed with cows and farm equipment.”

Both Kyle and Ben are active participants in the Westport Fair, for which their grandfather served as a founding member.

“Everyone in our family has some role in making sure that the fair continues,” Kyle said. “We need younger generations to ensure that agriculture will continue in Massachusetts. It’s a huge network of people who care about and support local agriculture.”

Fall Show Awards:

Landscape:

Animal Science:

Flori:

Abor:

Ag Mec:

Photography Winners:

HMFH Gets Student Input:

On Tuesday, Architects from HMFH were on site getting input from students and staff on the new Science for the Environment building as part of the MSBA expansion project. Students and staff from Animal Science and Natural Resource Management were able to look at preliminary designs and provide feedback as to our needs. This was a fun and exciting learning experience for all involved and we thank everyone for their input. #BAPride

From Student Services:

Hello Parents and Guardians,

Just a reminder that we have our next scheduled BCAHS SEPAC meeting scheduled on December 12, 2017 at 6pm in the library. At this meeting the district will be providing a workshop on student and parent rights. Originally, MRC was also scheduled to present information but unfortunately they are no longer able to attend this meeting.

I look forward to seeing you all soon!

Thank you,

Dr. Marie-Juanita D. DiGioia

From Admissions:

(Image: As visiting families tour Bristol Aggie, our Natural Resource Management Sophomores take an opportunity to educate them on current research collaborations & Head Start Programs.)

The Bristol Aggie Admissions Department has been busy, busy, busy!

This week, we would like to offer our appreciation to the entire BA community! We have put out the call for Student Ambassadors and have received an overwhelming response! At this time, the application deadline has closed, and we are processing the applications. We will continue to keep you informed as we move through this process. For more information about the Student Ambassador role, please see below...

What is a Student Ambassador?

Bristol Aggie Student Ambassadors play a vital role in the future of our school. By assisting the Admissions Coordinator during Student Tours & Events, you will have an opportunity to welcome future students, and their families, into our school and tell them your story. You will have an opportunity to talk about why Bristol Aggie was the right choice for you, what you learned throughout your freshman experience, what you are currently learning in your majors, your community involvement, your plans for the future, and much more!

***The Student Ambassador role is a volunteer position, within the Admissions Department.

As always, your feedback is appreciated! If you have any suggestions on how we can improve the overall Admissions or Tour experience, please contact Ms. Cronin at extension 111.

In the Classroom:

Landscape: In Mr. Latham’s Sophomore Landscape class, students on Wednesday were planting daffodil bulbs in the morning.

Arbor: This week student’s in Mr. Cook’s Arbor class presented to their peers on different elements in the arbor industry. Students were asked to research a topic and create a PowerPoint that explained each topic.

ELA: In Mrs. Coderre’s Junior Honors English class, created videos to demonstrate their knowledge of Macbeth. They wrote and filmed based on dramatic scenes from the play. It was incredible to see the amount of creativity and effort put into each project.

ELA: In Mrs. Noel’s freshman ELA class, students participated in the “Coffee Pot Game.” In this activity students practice vocabulary terms. One person thinks of a word and makes sentences, changing the word to ‘coffee pot.’ Other people have to guess what the word ‘coffee pot’ is or represents.

Activities and Athletics:

Ocean Bowl Field Trip to Jupiter Lecture

On Tuesday evening, the Ocean Bowl team attended a lecture at the Harvard Museum of Science in Cambridge, MA. We learned about a mission, called Juno, launched in 2011 to send a probe to orbit Jupiter. Some of the most recent data was presented, including anomalies in the magnetic field, which would tell us more about the Earth’s changing magnetic field, and the variations in wind patterns, forming the many storms (eg. the Great Red Spot) that Jupiter is famous for. Understanding how Jupiter formed and its structure can tell us much about our own planet as well as how solar systems are formed. It was a fascinating lecture with many interesting questions raised!