Clarke Central High School Career, Technical, and Agricultural Education department teacher and National FFA Organization adviser Anthony Brooks holds a poster in the courtyard on Nov. 7. for the Perfectly Polished workshop on Nov. 21. The event was organized by the Georgia Farm Bureau and Perfectly Polished, The Etiquette School, to teach students manners, which Brooks believes will be beneficial for the FFA. “A lot of our FFA contests have a strong leadership aspect to them, whether that’s on a team working together, or if it’s individual leadership,” Brooks said. “Being able to talk to other people, adults or judges (is important), so I feel (competing and soft skills) go hand-in-hand.” Photo by Emlyn McKinney
CCHS students can learn about etiquette and soft skills at the The Perfectly Polished workshop on Nov. 21 in CCHS’ Miller W. Jordan Memorial Food Court.
On Nov. 21, the Clarke Central High School’s National FFA Organization will host a Perfectly Polished workshop from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. in CCHS’ Miller W. Jordan Memorial Food Court.
The event was organized by the Georgia Farm Bureau and Perfectly Polished, The Etiquette School, an Athens organization created to teach good manners. At the event, students will work on their soft skills, including shaking hands, introducing oneself and maintaining eye contact.
“The world is so online-focused now, we don’t wanna interact with each other anymore. (Perfectly Polished is) going to hone in (on) our in-person skills, manners and professional skills that we would need to be successful in (the agricultural) field,” FFA Vice President Max Burnham, a junior, said.
While the event is being hosted by FFA, the event was open to any student who registered prior to Nov. 16. CCHS will also be hosting students from Apalachee, Winder-Barrow and Cedar Shoals high schools, along with all of the Clarke County School District middle schools, which will allow students from the greater Athens area to meet each other and the CCHS FFA advisers.
“(This event) creates a unified front, (where) all of our students enjoy spending time with each other,” Career, Technical and Agricultural Education department teacher and FFA adviser Anthony Brooks said. “It really helps the middle schoolers know who we are as high school teachers so that when it comes time to pick classes, or when they’re in our classes, they know what we expect.”
“The world is so online-focused now, we don’t wanna interact with each other anymore. (Perfectly Polished is) going to hone in (on) our in-person skills, manners and professional skills that we would need to be successful in (the agricultural) field,”
— Max Burnham,
FFA Vice President
Additionally, Brooks believes the workshop will be especially helpful for future FFA competitions and life outside of school.
“It’s good to get our agriculture students and FFA members to learn more professionalism, table etiquette (and) employability skills,” Brooks said. “Those are things that they’ll be able to carry with them for the rest of their lives.”
