The cooking class made side dishes to go along with burgers for lunch, and fed the janitorial staff and secretaries at the Sleepy Eye Public High School. Pictured l to r - Priscilla Martinez, Alexis Garza, Miah Brown, Katelyn Capacia, Jorden Niebuhr, and Morgan Hoffmann.

By H. James Mathiowetz

Summer Ag Intern

SLEEPY EYE — The Sleepy Eye summer Agricultural Education program has been busy over the month of June. Beginning on June 8th, the first of the 4 week courses began. Students had the option of choosing between 7 different classes spanning 3 career pathways. No more than 8 students were in each course and social distancing and cleaning protocols were followed.

There were standalone Monday and Wednesday classes, and then classes that occurred twice per week on Tuesday/Thursday, and Wednesday/Friday. Classes on Mondays included Nail Art, where students created designs on finished lumber using wire nails and colored string, and Plant Science Basics, where students learned about hydroponics, floriculture, and floral design.

There were several different classes offered on Tuesday/Thursday. Two sections of welding were offered. Students learned the basics of stick and wire feed welding, and then made a small project by welding and using the metal scroll bender and other bending equipment. Additionally, a woodshop class of building yard games was offered. Students built bean bag boards with a ladder golf attachment.

On Wednesdays, a class building CO2 cars was offered. Students built and raced CO2 cars in the woodshop. One of the Wednesday/Friday classes was a class teaching students how to cook. Students made dishes spanning from breakfast, lunch, appetizers, and dinner, and finished the class with a “chopped” style competition. The other Wednesday/Friday class offered was baking. Here, the students made several different baked items such as cookies, breads, cupcakes, mug desserts, and much more!

Future classes will be held later this summer including: Pruning 101, Floriculture 101, Fair Food, Drones, Wood Burning Signs, How to Make Homemade Cheese, and more.