Central Middle and Meadowview Magnet Middle Schools students are “blossoming” this spring as they learn more about agriculture.
Earlier in the semester their agriscience teacher, Anna Mertson, was able to get alstroemerias from the Cana/Mount Airy Florist and students did a flower dissection lab learning about the reproductive parts of a flower.
“Alstroemerias are great because you can dissect the ovary and actually see the ovules that are housed there,” Mertson said. “Pollen pollinates or fertilizes the ovules similar to eggs to create seeds. The students were amazed to learn fruits are just swollen ovaries.”
At Central Middle, students are building raised bed gardens to plant seeds. They planted rosemary, cosmos, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, and sunflowers. These will be outside in the raised beds, available for students, staff, and other community members to come and pick this summer once they’ve begun to produce their fruits.
Students at Meadowview Magnet Middle also planted seeds and are learning how to apply science, engineering, and math to build benches. Students love the hands-on application of their learning and seeing the finished product, something they created with their own hands.
Agriculture classes at the middle school level have been a goal of Surry County Schools to begin the learning and exposure to this important industry prior to high school.
“I am so proud we are seeing the fruit of our labor pay off,” said Dr. Travis L. Reeves, school superintendent. “Agriculture is the largest industry in Surry County, and it is important to us to show students the relevance and the real-world applications of what they are learning in the classroom to the world of work, and how agriculture impacts our lives on a daily basis. I am extremely proud of the work Anna Mertson has been doing at our middle schools, and the work our agriscience teachers continue at our high schools.”
Surry County School System juniors and seniors have the opportunity to transition into the Applied Animal Science certification program at Surry Community College tuition-free. The certificate program consists of six classes, three offered in the fall and three offered in the spring. All courses are being taught on the college’s Dobson campus. Moreover, Surry County Schools and Surry Community College partnered with North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (NC A&T) to provide a 1+3 diploma program. This program enables students to proceed from the Applied Animal Science certification to a Bachelor of Animal Science with an additional three years at NC A&T.
Source: https://www.mtairynews.com