Minnesota Agriculture in the Classroom News 
September 2015
Winning Teachers at National Ag in the Classroom Conference
These six teachers were recognized at the National Ag in the Classroom Conference for their efforts in embedding agricultural literacy education into their curriculum.
MAITC Outstanding Teacher Award!
The Minnesota Agriculture in the Classroom (MAITC) Foundation is excited to present the MAITC Outstanding Teacher Award to a K-12 educator who integrates agriculture into his/her classroom and curriculum. The winning Minnesota teacher will receive $500 and have up to $1,500 of his/her expenses paid to attend the National Agriculture in the Classroom Conference June 20-24, 2016 in Phoenix, Arizona. Please encourage an outstanding teacher you know to apply!
More details and the online application form can be found on the MAITC website.
 
Applications are due November 18th, 2015.
In This Issue
Teacher Feature   
Ann NeilAnn Neil
English Teacher
Mayo High School and Rochester Area Learning Center
Rochester, MN

Why do you believe it is important for our students to be agriculturally literate in today's society? It is important that students be agriculturally literate and aware in today's society so that when decisions are made about how best to manage the planet's resources, intelligent, well-informed decisions may be made.  
Agricultural Literacy GrantsAg Literacy Grant image
The MAITC Foundation is pleased to offer Agricultural Literacy Grants for 2016. Grants ($1000 maximum) will be awarded for projects that engage students in understanding agriculture from farm to plate, and how agriculture impacts all of us.  Additional details can be found on the MAITC website.
Applications are due January 1, 2016.
MAITC at MEA workshop at MN Ed Academy Conference
Will you be attending Minnesota's largest educational conference at St. Paul's RiverCentre, October 15th and 16th?  If yes, please stop by booth 217 in the MEA Exhibit Hall on Thursday to check out our MAITC resources and say hi!  We will also be facilitating a workshop, Growing Literacy with Agriculture Book Bundles, in Room 7 on Friday at 9 AM. 
Fantastic Resources

AgMag and AgMag Jr.
Subscribe to the AgMag and/or AgMag Jr. Magazine series at  
  
Watch for our NEW interactive AgMag website in October!  

AgMag subscription information
2016 Schoolyard Garden Conference: Call for Proposals 
 
Contribute to the growing success of school gardens in Minnesota by presenting or exhibiting at the 4th Annual Schoolyard Garden Conference on March 4, 2016! Over 250 teachers, school administrators, Master Gardeners, parents, and other school garden supporters attend this event to share ideas and resources for building and sustaining school gardens. Consider the following topic areas when creating a presentation proposal:
  • School Gardens 101
  • Curriculum Connections
  • Horticultural Best Practices
  • Program Sustainability
  • Farm to School
  • Special Topics
Submit your presentation or exhibit proposal by October 15th at http://bit.ly/mnsgc2016cfp.
 
If you have suggestions for topics or speakers , have questions, want to learn more about the conference, or are interested in joining the conference planning committee, please email  mnsgcoaltion@gmail.com
Agricultural Trivia
  
Congratulations to Shelly Staebler for being the first person to respond with the correct answer to our August trivia question.  Shelly knew that there are 43,560 square feet in one acre. The top seven responders were Darla Haines, Maureen Hauck, Tresha Mitchell, Jim Resch, Jim Winnegar, Pat Tax and Addie O'Neil.

September Trivia
The first person to email the correct answer for the question below will win a copy of the book The Cow in Patrick O'Shanahan's Kitchen.
What is Minnesota's State Fruit?

Email your answer to  Sue Knott to be eligible for the prize!