Members of the St. Elmo FFA chapter, which included Anna Stine, Kinley Carson, Wade Stine, Luke Loy, Macey Sapp, Caden Stewart, Callie Ledbetter, and Alexis Holliday attended the 97th annual Illinois FFA State Convention June 10-12 along with more than 5,000 other FFA members, advisors, and guests. With a 2025 theme of “The Final Mission,” the three-day event annually recognizes achievements of Illinois FFA members, elects the major state officer team, and celebrates agriculture. During the convention, the following awards were presented to St. Elmo FFA:
Illinois State FFA Public Speaking CDE: Wade Stine competed against the top 10 FFA members in the state for the Prepared Public Speaking CDE. Wade was named the Illinois FFA State Runner Up with his speech on the Illinois Nuclear Moratorium and its Effect on Agriculture. This is the second year that Wade has competed at this level in the area of public speaking.
American FFA Degree: Kinley Carson and Anna Stine were recognized for earning the highest degree achievable in the National FFA Organization. The 2025 American FFA Degrees will be officially conferred at the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis in October and recognizes the most dedicated members in the country who demonstrated excellence with their supervised agricultural experience, provided outstanding leadership and community service, and earned scholastic achievement throughout their FFA
career.
Illinois State FFA Degree: Macey Sapp and Wade Stine were conferred with State FFA Degrees by the Illinois Association for meeting all requirements including productive financial investments and earnings in a supervised agricultural experience and FFA participation, leadership, and academic excellence. The State FFA Degree is the highest achievement an FFA member can achieve in Illinois; less than 2% of members statewide earn this prestigious recognition.
Students at the convention were greeted with activities including a career fair featuring colleges and agribusinesses and an opportunity to engage in the history of Illinois’ capital city. The sessions featured addresses by National FFA President Thaddeus Bergschneider of Illinois and from each of the retiring major state officers.
2025/2026 Elementary School Supply List
Trenten Monnet finished 4th in the Shot Put at the IHSA 1A State Track & Field Meet on May 31.
Congratulations Trenten!
Congratulations to SEHS Graduate Trenten Monnet as he will compete in two events at the IHSA 1A State Track Meet next week after claiming the Sectional title in both throw events at the Altamont 1A Sectional on Wednesday. Monnet took first place in the Shot Put with a best toss of 54’ 9.5” and took first place in the Discus with a best throw of 138’ 0.75”. The IHSA 1A State Meet will be held next week with the Prelims on Thursday, May 29 at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston.
Students are back on buses and headed home.
Have a great weekend!
All bus riders are being held at the high school until weather conditions are deemed safe.
Preorder Your 2024-25 Yearbook! The 2024-25 yearbook is now available for preorder for $20 until June 6th.
· Payments can be brought to Mr. Mays or Mrs. Rose until the last day of school on May 22nd.
· After that, payments should be taken to Mrs. Mitchell in the office until June 6th.
We anticipate the yearbooks will be delivered in time for registration, at which point they will be available for the regular price of $25 until they are sold out.
Congrats to Macey Sapp (HS Softball) & Tanner Miller (JH Track) for being voted April Athletes of the Month!
The St Elmo FFA Greenhouse will be open all week May 12 - May 16 from 10:00 am - 3:30 pm. We have coleus, marigolds, impatiens, tomatoes, jalapenos, pepperoncini, green beans, cantaloupe, okra, and zucchini plants available for sale! 1 pack for $2.00. Packs range from 4-6 plants.
The St Elmo FFA competed at the National Land Use CDE April 29th - May 2nd in El Reno, Oklahoma representing the State of Illinois in the FFA Division. The team finished 30th out of 75 teams. Team members included Lane Stine, Wade Stine, Calvin Voelker, Lowell Wilhour, and Jack Wilhour. The St Elmo FFA earned this honor of representing Illinois FFA when they finished as State Runner Ups in the State FFA Land Judging CDE back in October.
Congratulations to Wade Stine, junior member of the St Elmo FFA as he advances to the State Public Speaking CDE after a big win at the district level. Wade will compete on June 10th in Springfield, IL with his speech entitled, Illinois Nuclear Moratorium and Its Effect on Agriculture.
St Elmo FFA Plant Sale TOMORROW! 9:00 am - 5:00 pm! Vegetables & Annuals!
REMINDER: Today, (Friday, 5/2) is a 2pm Dismissal.
GRIZZLIES BALLPARK TICKET INFO: Use the link below to order your tickets for the H.S Baseball games at Grizzlies Ballpark on May 12. The plan is to play JV innings at 4:30 followed by the Varsity game at approx. 6:30pm
https://www.ticketreturn.com/prod2new/GroupPortalPEC.asp?HoldID=1792&SponsorID=18766&EventID=351147
Blood Drive today at the High School from 9am - 2pm. We are in need of a few more people so that we can qualify for a scholarship for our students! Please consider donating if you are able!
FFA Greenhouse Opens May 8th at 9;00 am!
Congratulations to our March High School Athlete of the Month Gavin Sanders (Baseball)!
Congratulations to the St Elmo FFA Dairy Judging Team as they finished 6th Place Overall in the Illinois State FFA Dairy Judging CDE. They advanced to the state level after taking home first place at the section level. Team members included Lane Stine, Wade Stine, Macey Sapp, Dayana Haslett, and Trenten Monnett. Macey Sapp and Dayana Haslett finished in the Top 15 Individually.
Congratulations to our March Jr. High Athlete of the Month Ella Morrison (Volleyball)!
Congratulations to the St Elmo FFA Envirothon Team for their 1st Place Overall finish at the Envirothon competition held at Ballard Nature Center. The competition has teams from Jasper, Cumberland, Effingham, Shelby and Fayette counties. Students compete in the areas of Soils, Aquatics, Wildlife, Forestry, and environmental issues. St Elmo FFA took home plaques in Top Team Soils, Top Team Environmental Issues and Overall Top Team. The team will now advance to the State Envirothon held May 5-6th at the 4-H Memorial Camp in Monticello, IL. Members of the team include Wade Stine, Lane Stine, Lowell Wilhour, Calvin Voelker and Jack Wilhour.
