February 2008
4-H CALENDAR OF EVENTS:
FEBRUARY NEBRASKA 4-H MONTH
February 2 Beef Weigh Day, 9-noon
February 4 4-H Council Meeting
February 9 Home Show 4-H Booth
February 11 Junior Leaders Meeting
February 17 4-H Movie Night
February 24 4-H Annual Swim Party, 3-5 pm
February 28-29 Quilt Workshop
March 1 Scholarship Applications Due
March 3 “4-H FIESTA” (Leader Training)
March 8 4-H Speech Workshop (note date change)
July 24-27, 2008 Hamilton County Fair
“Next time your mind wanders, follow it around for awhile!!” - Unknown
Creativity begins with a single spark — so fire up your imagination this 4-H season!!
TABLE OF CONTENTS
* 4-H Council Meeting
* 2008 4-H Council Officers
* Junior Leader Meeting
* Thank You
* Community Service Opportunities
* Action Corner
* Pick-A-Project
* 4-H Recruitment & Enrollment
* Wanted: Blue Bunny
* L’eglise Art Center
* Leader Kits Available
* Junior Leaders & Their Parents Are Invited...
* Attention Quilters!
* Good Luck!!
* Attention: Leaders & ALL 4-H Parents
* Junior Leaders Report
* Upcoming Horse Workshops
* Sign Up: Speech Workshop
* Quality Assurance
* Coming Soon!
* Let’s Celebrate...”Nebraska 4-H Month”
* N-Lighten Kids
* Visiting Nebraska
* Staff Needed!!
* Coloring Contest Winners
* January Quiz Answers & Winners
* Quiz Time!
* 4-H Calendar
4-H COUNCIL
Next meeting:
Monday, February 4th at 6 pm
Diamond Clover Awards Program Training Presenter:
D’Ette Scholtz, Extension Educator, Hall County
Please RSVP either “Yes” or “No”. Thank you!
Budget Committee Meeting
Monday, February 4th at 5 pm
Extension Office
2008 4-H COUNCIL OFFICERS
Beth Andrews - President
Mary Roehrs - Vice President
Jean Blase - Secretary
Shelly Maul - Treasurer
NEXT JUNIOR LEADER MEETING
Real Colors Training - Jeanette Friesen
Junior Leader Parents are invited. Adults - $4.20
Monday, February 11th at 6:00 pm
RSVP’s appreciated but not mandatory.
Extension Office
THANK YOU
Thank you to Elizabeth Cox for stepping in at Hamilton Manor and helping with Bingo. Thanks for answering the call, Elizabeth!! Great job!!
Belated “Thank you”
A BIG “Thank you” goes to the 4-Hers who answered the call from Hamilton Manor back in November when they asked for help with their Festival of Tables event. Emma George, Jackie Johnson, Elizabeth Cox and Trey Cox helped serve pie and drinks to residents and guests. Thank you to these fine 4-Hers!!!!
COMMUNITY SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES -
4-H Talent Revue Returns!!
Talent Shows for the area assisted living facilities have been scheduled for Sunday, March 30th!! We will start and finish in the same afternoon, and we’ve been invited to have ice cream sundaes at East Park Villa when we’re done!!
Do you play an instrument? Are you working on your 4-H speech and need an opportunity to practice? Can you do a demonstration? Do you have an animal project you could talk about? Could you bring and share your pet with these special Hamilton County residents?
4-H Queen, Cami Huebert, has already signed up to “show and tell” about her sewing projects! Who will join her in providing entertainment?!! Call the Extension Office at 694-6174 to sign up by Friday, March 21st.
Sunday, March 30th
1:00 Memorial Community Care
2:00 Hamilton Manor
3:15 East Park Villa
ACTION CORNER -
Junior Leader Lock-In
Abbie Farrand, Jasmine Russell and 14 Seward County Junior Leaders kept sponsors, Tammy Stuhr (Seward County) and Kae Russell, up on Thursday night, December 27th, playing ping pong, foozball, air hockey, BB freethrow, eating and participating on teams for a GPS Scavenger Hunt. They completed a community service project, practiced a communication life skill, tried a visual impressions activity, played Guitar Hero, told ghost stories and watched movies. Abbie and Jasmine met some great 4-H neighbors and look forward to teaming up with them again!!
NEW PICK - A - PROJECT
Available online!! The online version is available at http://4h.unl.edu/pdf/2007_08pickaproject.pdf
4-H RECRUITMENT & ENROLLMENT
The new year rolls in and maybe your club looks different than it did last year. Some faces are gone because they graduated or moved away. 4-H is like everything else and change is a part of it. Think about those changes and MAINTAIN our 4-H numbers by recruiting new members!! Then, take the next step and try to INCREASE your club membership by 5%!! Celebrate “Nebraska 4-H Month” by concentrating on recruitment and strengthening our numbers!!
Leader packets are READY and can be picked up at the Extension Office at your earliest convenience. Clover Kid packets will be ready for pick up February 8th. All 4-H Enrollments are due May 1, 2008.
WANTED: BLUE BUNNY
25 Blue Bunny Ice Cream buckets AND LIDS are needed for a summer camp craft project!! We are asking for Blue Bunny so that all the patterns can be cut ahead of time for buckets that are the same size. Please save them and drop them off at the Extension Office between now and May 15th. Thank you!!
L’EGLISE ART CENTER
The L’eglise Art Center is offering clay work sessions on Thursday evenings starting February 7th. Interested?? Contact Carolyn at 694-0479 for all the details. (Clay home accessories can be entered in the new Sketchbook Crossroads projects.)
LEADER KITS AVAILABLE
The Extension Office has two “4-H Learn By Doing” kits available for check out. They contain lesson plans, activities, games and a pocket guide. They are here for your use!! Come, check them out!
JUNIOR LEADERS & THEIR PARENTS
ARE INVITED . . . to attend a “Real Colors” communication training given by Extension Educator, Jeanette Friesen, on Monday, February 11th at the Extension Office at 6:00 pm.
Do you ever wonder why people do the things they do? How can two people approach life so differently? Or why do your parents (or children) react like they do? “Real Colors” is a tool to help you identify your personality preferences, and see how you are similar or different from others.
You will be able to better understand human behavior, what motivates you and others and what you can do to improve your communication skills. “Real Colors” is easy to understand and easy to put into practice in your daily life, and best of all, it is a fun way to learn! What color are you?
RSVP’s appreciated but not mandatory. (Extension Office # 694-6174) Cost of Junior Leader youth materials paid by club. Adult cost for materials $4.20 each. Please come and enjoy some colorful time together!!
Signed,
Cami Huebert, Co-President
Carl Rahrs, Co-President
Kae Russell, Sponsor/Leader
ATTENTION QUILTERS!
If you have some prior experience with quilting – this announcement is for you! We are planning to hold a quilting workshop this winter, so you have time to choose and complete a more challenging project by fair.
The workshop is scheduled for February 28 & 29 - 9:00 am to 3:00 pm at the Extension Office meeting room. What we will do is learn how to “paper piece” by making a small wall hanging. (You’ll get a supply list when you register.) This is a technique that you might like to use for your 4-H quilting project for this year. Please pre-register by February 22nd by calling the Extension Office, 694-6174.
If you are interested but the dates do not work for you, please contact Jeanette about alternative dates.
GOOD LUCK!!
There were five 4-Hers announced at Achievement night who received a nomination to send their 4-H record books, “4-H Career Portfolio”, to District Record Book Competition. Three nominees elected to refine and polish their books in their focus area. District Record Book Judging is the application process for National 4-H Youth Congress. Fifteen applicants will be chosen to receive partial scholarships and an invitation to attend 4-H Youth Congress next November.
We would like to wish these three fine 4-H members “Good Luck”!!
Cody Collins - Animal Science
Lucy Elge - Healthy Lifestyles
Cami Huebert - Family & Consumer Science
“Thank You” for working hard to represent yourselves and Hamilton County 4-H!!
ATTENTION: Leaders and ALL 4-H Parents!!
Hamilton County Extension Presents:
“4-H FIESTA!!”
“Ardent Awards” “Feverish Financials”
“Piping Hot Projects”
Come learn what’s new in 4-H!!
WHEN: Monday, March 3rd
TIME: 7:00 pm
WHERE: 4-H Building, Fairgrounds
RSVP BY: Wednesday, February 27th
(Jim, Jeanette and Kae request that at least one leader per club attend this session.)
JUNIOR LEADERS REPORT
New Officers were elected at the January meeting, and the 2008 4-H King and Queen, Carl Rahrs and Cami Huebert, were installed as the Co-Leaders. We also voted on whom we think is responsible to serve in other positions. New officers were: Lucy Elge, Secretary; Jasmine Russell, Treasurer; Libby Johnson, Reporter; and a new position for our club, Abbie Farrand, Parliamentarian. We would like to thank everyone who has committed to these positions. It is not always easy.
We added three new members to our group and want to say “Welcome” to Morgan Bredthauer, Elizabeth Cox and Trevor Sullivan!! Trevor showed his 4-H spirit right away when he volunteered to be a part of the Junior Leaders putting away 1200 lbs of food at the Food Pantry. Thank you Trevor!! Thanks also go out to Libby Johnson, Abbie Farrand, Jasmine Russell, sponsor, Kae Russell, and new 4-H parent, Kerilyn Mersch, who also helped with this project. We had a good time and got a lot done. It is an honor to serve our community through 4-H.
A very BIG reminder is that February is Nebraska 4-H Month!! We are blessed to have 4-H in our lives. You can take part in 4-H Month by inviting a friend to your club. You can never have too many people. You and now a friend can enjoy the fun of 4-H together!! This is a wonderful time to help our community with service projects, get involved in all 4-H activities, and have fun. Remember the fun!!
Respectfully submitted,
Libby Johnson, Reporter
UPCOMING HORSE WORKSHOPS
“Cutting Your Horse Care Costs” will be held February 16th in Fremont and March 29th in Grand Island from 8:30 to noon both dates.
Nebraska 4-H Horse Project Workshop: Leaders and Youth will be held March 29th in Grand Island from 1 to 4 pm. Please call the Extension office for details and registration if you are interested in either of these workshops.
SIGN UP: SPEECH WORKSHOP
WHO: All 4-Hers!!
WHAT: Speech Workshop
WHEN: Saturday, March 8th, 9 am to 12 noon
WHERE: 4-H Building, Fairgrounds
COST: Free
REGISTER BY: Monday, March 3rd
PRESENTER: Jean Blase
ASSISTANT: Aaron Blase
Divisions:
Senior - Ages 14-19
Intermediate - Ages 12-13
Junior - Ages 10-11
Novice - Ages 10 and under
Come with an idea or decide what part of 4-H you like best, and Jean will walk you through writing an outline and the three basic parts of a speech (Introduction, Body, Conclusion). Presentation instruction and tips will also be given.
QUALITY ASSURANCE
Quality Assurance Training will be held March 29th at the 4-H Building, 9:00 am to 11:00 am. Quality assurance programs are designed to help youth understand the responsibilities involved in raising livestock for food, and to change management practices of the youth and/or family members to be consistent with quality assurance practices.
Quality assurance training has been mandatory for all exhibitors of livestock (beef, sheep, swine, dairy and dairy goats) for a number of years. Beginning in 2008, quality assurance training will be required for ALL food-producing animal or livestock project members. Food-producing and livestock projects include beef, sheep, swine, dairy cattle, dairy goat, meat goat, poultry and rabbit.
COMING SOON!
Hamilton County Shooting Sports Program
Instructor: Jimmy Hough
Watch for details!!
LET’S CELEBRATE . . . “NEBRASKA 4-H MONTH”
Feb. 1 - Coloring Contest art displayed on the gray board at the Extension Office!!
Feb. 9 - Home Show 4-H booth featuring Youth In Motion curriculum and the new Agility Zone!! Come check it out from 9 am - 2 pm in the Ag Building at the fairgrounds!!
Feb. 17 - 4-H Movie Night from 4 - 7:30 pm at the 4-H Building – ALL 4-H youth are invited!! Free Popcorn!! Come watch “Charlotte’s Web” and “Night At the Museum”!! Sponsored by the Junior Leaders. Bring a water bottle (no pop or juice, please), pillow and blanket and wear a 4-H t-shirt, if you have one!! (Parents are welcome to stay.)
Feb. 22nd - 4-H Q & A (Quizzes and Activities) Participation Challenge ends - Winner will be announced at the Swimming Party.
Feb. 24th - Annual 4-H Swimming Party from 3-5 pm at the Leadership Center sponsored by the Junior Leaders. Invite a friend to join 4-H and to join us at the swimming party!! (Parents are encouraged to stay as there is no lifeguard on duty.)
N-LIGHTEN KIDS
N-Lighten Kids is a three month program designed to encourage young Nebraskans to increase their physical activity levels and make better food choices. The program runs from February 1 - May 1, and you may register at any time. The cost is FREE, and there are resources available.
For more information or to register, go to www.n-lightenkids.com. Receive free nutrition and activity tips and a wall chart to track your performance!! Register your 4-H club as a team!! Check it out today. There is N-Lighten Nebraska for adults, too!!
VISITING NEBRASKA
Register online. High school seniors are invited to attend a Red Letter Day, February 18th. High school juniors are invited to attend a NEBRASKA Preview day on April 4, 14, 18, or 25.
STAFF NEEDED!!
The Nebraska 4-H Camps and Centers are looking for talented and creative individuals to work with youth in a 4-H camp summer staff role. Counselor positions are open to youth ages 15-18, and the application deadline is March 15, 2008. Mentors are age 17 and up, and the application deadline is also March 15th.
Positions are available at all three locations — Eastern Nebraska 4-H Center in Gretna; Nebraska State 4-H Camp in Halsey; and South Central 4-H Camp in Alma. To apply and for more information, please visit our Web site at http://4h.unl.edu/camp/staff.
COLORING CONTEST WINNERS
Kelsey Mersch - Clover Kid
Sharisa Tyma - Junior
Congratulations to these colorful 4-Hers!! Great job!!
JANUARY QUIZ
ANSWERS & WINNERS
Cierra Bergen
Cheyenne Bergen
Cami Huebert
Jackie Johnson
Jasmine Russell
1. New Year’s Resolution
2. January
3. January
4. Garnet
5. Richard Nixon
6. January 17, 1706
7. New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Jr Day
8. John Hancock
9. January 30, 1882
10. January
Great Job, girls!! Your names will be added to the upcoming drawing!!
QUIZ TIME ! !
1. What is the Nebraska State bird?
2. What is the Nebraska State flower?
3. What is the Nebraska State insect?
4. What is the name of the UNL football team?
5. What is the Nebraska State mammal?
6. What is the Nebraska State rock?
7. What is the Nebraska State motto?
8. What is the capital of Nebraska?
9. What is the State nickname?
10. What is the Nebraska State soft drink?
11. What is the Nebraska State tree?
12. What is the Nebraska State day?
13. What is the Nebraska State fossil?
14. What is the Nebraska State grass?
15. What is the Nebraska State song?
