Students at SAGES, the School for Agriculture and Environmental Studies, in Fox Lake celebrated Agriculture Week recently with an open house and interactive event that featured area farmers and agricultural businesses.
During the course of the day, more than 110 SAGES students from grades kindergarten to sixth got a glimpse of the diverse cross-section of the state's agriculture industry.
Hands-on exploration transpired at seven learning stations throughout the day including poultry; animal nutrition; potatoes and produce; agriculture equipment and technology; and sausage-making.
Students also learned about biosecurity on farms, school gardens and timber management.
Members of the Wisconsin Women for Agriculture assisted with the events by providing dairy snacks for the students and lunch for the providers. Culvers of Waupun treated students to ice cream and talked about their "Thank a Farmer" campaign.
SAGES charter school also received its third and final charter school grant from the state in the amount of $200,000 this year.
Students benefit from the expertise of area farmers who open their farms to classes. Students visit dairy farms, livestock farms and cash grain farms and learn all the processes involved in producing food. The project-based learning connects students to six distinct learning paths including engineering and design biotechnology; environmental systems; ecosystems; food production and processes; weather; and climate.
They also participate in environmental studies, monitoring water at nearby Fox Lake and studying trees in the school's forest near Fox Lake.
SAGES students have been studying the World of Water with their school's field biologist, Tamara Baker, as part of the Wisconsin Green Schools Network FIELD Corps program. They kicked off their study of watersheds and aquatic habitats last fall with a visit to the International Education Center at Horicon Marsh.
The students are also utilizing technology with kindergarten through third-grade students each having an iPad, the fourth-graders using Chromebooks and the fifth- and sixth-graders using Netbooks.
Besides having access to information and resources for research whenever needed, students are also using apps and websites to reinforce and enhance their literacy and math skills.
For example, students have been collaborating on projects through Google Docs, exploring geography through Google Earth and creating books and presentations using video and audio to showcase their learning.
Language arts and math also utilize online resources and books to match students' daily lessons.