Pink and camo day was the spirit wear chosen for AG day on Friday, October 4. The theme was to commemorate Kacie Chamberlain and Chase Underhill who passed away last school year. Both of them were a part of AG classes. The girl winner for pink and camo day was Mckenzie Almers, a senior, and the male winner was Jesse Foushee, a sophomore. They were given prizes on Tuesday, October 8 during second period.
The biggest change to Ag Day, which was negatively received by some students, was that Ag Day only lasted two periods. It has previously been three periods long. Jason Johnson, OHS’ principal, said that it has “been this short… in the past.” Will Okun, an assistant principal, explained that the school wanted to make “one big day” for students that was “as fun as possible.”
Ag Day began at 9:15 a.m., after students reported to Panther Period for half an hour. Ag students and other people working at Ag Day used this time period to ensure everything was ready for the student body. At 9:15, the bell rang and students rushed out to begin the festivities.
One of the numerous activities at Ag Day was a water balloon booth run by the Key Club. It cost $1 to throw a water balloon and students could throw balloons at teachers or Key Club members. Andromeda Crowell, the Key Club advisor, said, “[Ag Day] was awesome and [the Key Club booth] was really, really successful.”
Agriculture, the namesake of Ag Day, always has a significant presence at the event. Cheyenne Brook, an ag student who showed a goat at Ag Day, said that she thought Ag Day was “going pretty good… [there haven’t been any] incidents yet.” The ag department sold T-shirts to raise money.
Some of the most popular events at Ag Day are the competitions. This year, there was a chainsaw competition, a chicken cooking competition, a pie eating competition, an “iron man” (weightlifting) competition, a bow shooting competition, and a welding competition. The winners of the competitions were Gracie Finley (chainsaw); John Lee, Austin Sykes, and Johnny Flynn (chickencooking); Kelsie Decker and Trenton Straughan (pie eating); Mia Davidson and David Peters-Logue (iron man); Brandon Tate (bow shooting); and Devon Howell (welding). Sam Whaley and Christa Ivey were the Ag King and Queen, respectively. Jordan Moore, an ag teacher, said, “As a whole, I feel like this year’s Ag Day was a success. We had a great number of kids participate and a great number of teachers come out to support the FFA.”
Music was played constantly at Ag Day. Some of the music was country music by artists like Scotty McCreery. Other music was live music performed by students and teachers as part of a talent show. Mark Greenstreet, one of the teachers who sang, could not be reached for comment because he is absent from school due to the birth of his child. The talent show did not have a winner.
Latin Club sold Pizza Hut pizza and bottled water. The club ran out of pizza quickly, estimating that it sold one box of pizza every two minutes. Nicholas Mauriello, the club advisor, commented, “[Ag Day’s] nice. I don’t think cutting it short a period is going to be that bad.”
At 12:45 p.m., Ag Day ended and students returned to class. Meghan O’Shaugnessy, a sophomore, believed Ag Day was “eventful.”
Ag Day was followed by a pep rally, a tailgate, and the homecoming game.
Athletic Boosters is one of the clubs that is selling new items. They will be selling popcorn, nachos, and drinks. Peace Club will have bracelets, tie-dye shirts, and handbags. Virtual Enterprise Club will set up a pong toss game. SGA will be selling freeze pops. Other clubs will have booths that will participate in face painting and games.
The girls basketball team will be selling doughnuts and bottled water. Laurie Shoffner will be selling baked goods with the Ladies of Style and Distinction Club. The Transition Club will be selling mini-pumpkins and ghost and monster luminaries.
Students will honor Kacie Chamberlain and Chase Underhill by wearing pink and camouflage clothes. There will also be a booth where students and teachers can buy raffle tickets, koozies, drinks, and baked goods to raise money for the Kacie Chamberlain and Chase Underhill Scholarship Fund.
Interact club officers, from left to right, Morgan Effland, Tara Weller, Haley Strong, and Blair Gattis, accept the Peace through Service Presidential Citation award.[/caption]The Interact Club, a program offered through Rotary International, is one of the most active service clubs at Orange High School and it’s not too late to get in on the action.
After being awarded the Peace Through Service Presidential Citation award from the Hillsborough Rotary Club this past summer, the OHS Interact Club has already begun to have regular meetings and to prepare for their year of fundraisers and community projects.
Upcoming projects organized by the the Interact Club include the annual Adopt a Highway event, beginning with the first of four clean ups this Saturday, September 14, from 9 to 10 am at OHS and along Orange High School Road.
Other events include the famous Kiss a Goat fundraiser during Ag Day, where students donate money to see one of eight seniors nominated by members of the Interact Club kiss a goat. The senior who kisses the goat is the person with the most money donated towards their name. Interact Club will also raise money by selling snow cones on Ag Day.
Interact Club meets on Wednesday mornings at 8:15 in room 326 with Mrs. Lantzy, the club advisor. Anyone from the student body is welcome and encouraged to join.
Moore described her influences for becoming an ag teacher: “My father was an ag teacher and instilled the passion for FFA and ag class within me...Once I did my student teaching, I realized teaching ag is what I really loved and wanted to do.”When asked what her reasons for teaching ag are, she responded, “I enjoy teaching kids about an amazing industry that many know little about. Agriculture offers many opportunities for any person. I want kids to realize this and the need for the industry to sustain our country and world. It is a really great thing to see embraced and appreciated.”
Although new at OHS, she displayed the enthusiasm of an experienced attendee of Ag Day. “It's a blast! I have never experienced anything quite like it. I enjoyed seeing the projects students brought and displayed...Any type of event where students get to enjoy themselves and also learn more about the ag industry gets me really excited and ready to jump in with both feet.”
She is also getting involved with the NC State Fair. On Thursday, October 11, and Friday, October 12, the Ag Department is taking ten pigs and ten goats to show. “Showing an animal gives students real hands on opportunities to understand responsibility, dedication, and hard work,” Moore explained.
October 5th, Orange High School held their annual Ag Day for the students. “It was an all around good time!” exclaimed Coach Brian Grant. Throughout the day, students showed their country pride by participating in pie eating contests, barbecue cooking contests, and showing off prize winning animals.So many activities were introduced this year that have never been included in the past. Thanks to all the Ag students, this was definitely an Ag day to remember.
By gathering information from the students, Den Echoes was able to understand what Ag day was all about.
“You're going to love the farm smell!” Senior Taylor Reynolds said ironically. However, there is some truth in the statement; the air outside of the barn was filled with the sweet smell of barbecue as students brought tents to make their own meals. Some students even bring their farm animals to show off in the Ag Barn.
Aside from country pride, representing breast cancer awareness is also a big part of Ag day. For only one dollar, the cheerleaders took the liberty of spraying students' hair pink for the cause, raising money to donate to a breast cancer foundation. Almost all of the OHS clubs had an organized booth during Ag day as the Ag building was full of candies, deserts or handmade goods.
A new addition to the Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) booth was a corn hole competition, which consist of throwing a bean bag on acutout plywood board and trying to get the bean bag through the hole, as well as their traditional sale of OHS apparel.
Students had the opportunity to show their strength by bench pressing their top weight, a competition supervised by Coach Bobby Shriner. Ag day did not only feature physical contests, but talent contests as well. The newly instated talent show was a hit as a crowd gathered as OHS students and teachers showed off their skills. Towards the end, students were able to get up on stage and show off the best of their abilities.
“Folks that don't usually get to experience Ag activities had a blast!” Senior Tristan Martin exclaimed, showing the enthusiasm that was mirrored by many who attended.
Recent rumors about a new OHS rule that bans members of the community from attending Ag Day are partially untrue. The rule is being enforced this year, but it is not new. There are no records showing when the rule was put into place, but Associate Principal Edward Marsh stated that it has been a rule for at least three years, which is how long he has worked at OHS. He said that the rule is important because it keeps students safe.
According to Marsh, the administration enacted this rule because “this day is for Orange High School students,” and the school “wants to control who comes on campus.” The rule states that, with a few exceptions, alumni and members of the community are not allowed at OHS for Ag Day. One such exception includes OHS alumni who were members of the FFA and are still active in the FFA are allowed to attend Ag Day.
Marsh said that he has had trouble with students from neighboring middle school C.W. Stanford trying to come to Ag Day in the past. Two years ago he had to escort a female CWS student back to Stanford after she tried to skip school and come to Ag Day. “People try, but we send them home,” he stated.