March, 2008
4-H CALENDAR OF EVENTS:
March 3 - 4-H Council Meeting, 6 pm, 4-H Building
--- "4-H FIESTA”, 7 pm (Parent & Leader Training)
March 8 - 4-H Speech Workshop
March 10 - Junior Leader Meeting
--- Register teams for Clover Challenge
March 18 - Shooting Sports Orientation Meeting
--- 4-H Bowling Tournament
March 24 - Clover Challenge in Hastings
March 29 - Quality Assurance Training
March 30 - 4-H Talent Revue
April 5 - Rabbit Care Clinics-York and Kearney
--- Area Speech Contest, Hall County
April 10 - Photography Workshops Begin
April 19 - County Speech Contest, 4-H Building
May 1 - ALL 4-H ENROLLMENTS ARE DUE
May 4 - Dog Clinics begin
July 24-27, 2008 Hamilton County Fair
Office Hours
8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
Monday-Friday
4-H ... your first class at the University of Nebraska
“We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give.” - Winston Churchill
“The best minute you spend is the one you invest in people!! - Unknown
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
* 4-H Council Meeting
* Junior Leader Meeting
* Thank You’s
* Pick-A-Project
* Community Service Opportunities
* Action Corner
* Lost and Found
* Wanted: Blue Bunny
* Ears of Corn
* NEW! AK-SAR-BEN Requirements
* Sign Up: Speech Workshop
* Attention: 4-H Speech Participants
* Attention: 3rd - 5th Grade Youth
* Shooting Sports Orientation Meeting
* Clover Challenge - Participants Needed!!
* NEW Virtual 4-H Club
* Visiting Nebraska
* Quality Assurance
* Photography
* Wildlife Habitat Evaluation Program WHEP)
* Rabbit Care Clinics
* Know How Know Now Contest
* The Numbers Are In...!!
* 4-H Online “Mall”
* For Sale!
* February Quiz Answers & Winners
* Production Pig Entries
* 2008 Big Red Summer Camps
* 4-H Calendar
4-H COUNCIL
Next meeting:
Monday, March 3rd at 6 pm
4-H Building
4-H Parent & Leader Training
“A 4-H Fiesta”!!
Monday, March 3rd at 7 pm
4-H Building
NEXT JUNIOR LEADER MEETING
Monday, March 10th at 7 pm
Extension Office
THANK YOU
Junior Leaders Communicate “A Colorful Thank you”
Extension Educator, Jeanette Friesen, led a group of eleven through the process of finding out what “color” they are and what that means!! The Junior Leaders invited Jeanette to talk to them and their parents about the different ways people communicate and why people learn, listen and talk to each other differently.
It can be illustrated by the example of how people look at something. People look at things through glasses, contacts, sunglasses and the lenses of your own eyes. Cody, Trevor, Lucy and Jasmine had a chance to try this out by trying on each others glasses or sunglasses!! Things can look differently to different people just as we all listen, think and communicate differently.
There was a lot of laughing and some “Aha” moments (!!), and it was a great opportunity to learn some helpful hints on communicating!! Communication is one of the most important life skills we use and also one of the most difficult. “Thank you” Jeanette for sharing some insight on why communication is different for everyone, and yet, there are some elements we all share.
Orange, Blue, Green or Gold. What color are you? If you would like to have this presentation done for your group or organization, please call Jeanette at the Extension Office, 694-6174. “Thank you, Jeanette. It was fun!!”
Junior Leaders,
Cody Collins
Lucy Elge
Nichole Merten
Jasmine Russell
Trevor Sullivan
Tyler Tomasek
and parents!!
NEW PICK - A - PROJECT
Available online!! The online version is available at http://4h.unl.edu/pdf/2007_08pickaproject.pdf
Thank You For Participating!!
Nebraska 4-H Month Coloring Contest Artists:
Kelsey Mersch, 5
Alyssa Wilshusen, 6
Blake Wert, 7
Lane Tomasek, 7
Cameron Jarosik, 8
Sharisa Tyma, 9
Randi Tomasek, 11
and special artists:
Kylie Mersch, 4
Brianna Wilshusen, 4
COMMUNITY SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES -
Looking for Talent and Variety: 2008 4-H Talent Revue
Junior Leaders are again asking ALL 4-Hers to participate in a Youth Variety Show for residents at our assisted care facilities. The series of Talent Revues will be held on Sunday, March 30th.
1:00 Memorial Community Care
2:00 Hamilton Manor
3:15 East Park Villa
Do you have a speech to practice or a project you could talk about or demonstrate? Do you have a pet you could tell about and bring for the residents to see? I’ve already talked to someone about a clarinet and someone else about a violin!! Clover Kids, do you have a song you could sing?
Please call the Extension Office at 694-6174 and sign up for this community service opportunity. We’ll be printing a program again this year so would like to have all entries called in by Wednesday, March 26th. What do you have to share with these special residents of Hamilton County?
Busy Beavers Invite You to Participate In Their Community Service Project “Think Recycle”
The Busy Beavers have started to collect ink, laser and toner cartridges and used cell phones through the recycling/fundraising program offered by “Think Recycle”. The program collects all items listed above and allows organizations to earn funds on qualifying items. “Think Recycle” is partnered with The Tree Canada Foundation and American Forest who will sponsor the planting of one tree for every twelve qualifying items collected.
This will be an ongoing project with no stop dates set by the recycling organization. Please drop off any of these items at the Extension Office in the collection box. The funds we hope to collect will be used to better the community. We will gladly consider suggestions for items the County 4-H Program or County Fair might need. Please write these suggestions on paper and put them in the collection box. Thank you. THINK RECYCLE!!
Busy Beavers,
Billy Jo Tomasek Dwight Comer
Steve Tomasek
The Edgerton Science Center is looking for volunteers to help with various duties around the center. Those duties include: maintenance and grounds, general cleaning, exhibit upkeep and repair, window washing and ‘Zone Hosts’. Interested parties should call Executive Assistant, Jodi Jensen, at 694-4032.
SE District 4-H Community Service Project
Please collect pop tabs, soup can and pet food tabs and all other aluminum tabs for the Ronald McDonald House. Bring them to the Extension Office, and we will take it from there!! Cardboard houses for pop tab collection will be available in the Extension Office after March 6th. Let’s see how many pop tabs Hamilton County 4-H can collect for this worthy cause!! For more information about the Ronald McDonald House Charities go to: http://www.mcdonalds.com/rmhc/index.html
ACTION CORNER -
Nebraska 4-H Month
The 'Challenge' started in October during National 4-H Week and wrapped up in February with Nebraska 4-H Month. 4-Hers began in October with a newsletter quiz, a poster display, and a food drive. The contest wrapped up in February with a newsletter quiz and Movie Night. Thank you to all who participated!! A name was drawn for the Challenge Contest during the Annual 4-H Swimming Party, and Cody Collins wins a hooded 4-H sweatshirt to be ordered in his color choice and size.
A total of 22 people attended 4-H Movie Night sponsored by the Junior Leaders. The balloons popping got everyone's heart rate going and made sure we all stayed alert!! The Popcorn Cart was provided by Pinnacle Bank so that all who attended could enjoy movie style popcorn. The winners of the door prizes were Sarah Maul and Ty Schneider.
Swimmers and observers numbered 28 people who attended the annual 4-H Swimming Party, sponsored and hosted by the Junior Leaders. It was a beautiful day and everyone had a great time!! A snack was provided for the youth at the end of the event, and the winners of the door prizes were Samantha and Sophia Heeren, Cierra Bergen and Kelsey and Kylie Mersch.
"Thank you" to the 4-H Council for sponsoring the prize for the Challenge Contest. "Thank you" to the Junior Leaders who celebrated Nebraska 4-H Month by providing opportunities for us to get together to enjoy being a part of Nebraska 4-H.
Let's have a Fabulous 4-H year and remember to enroll on or before May 1st!! Take on your projects with all the energy, creativity and enthusiasm you can muster, and Let's Be Great in 2008!!
LOST AND FOUND
A necklace was found after the 4-H Swimming Party. Contact the Extension Office to identify and claim.
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!!
EARS OF CORN NEEDED
A residential care facility here in Aurora is out of corn to mount on their squirrel feeder. The bird and squirrel feeders are watched daily by the residents and provide many hours of entertainment and amusement!! Anyone who might have ears of corn to donate can bring them to Kae at the Extension Office. Thank you.
NEW! AK-SAR-BEN REQUIRES FEEDER CALF DNA SAMPLE
The Ak-Sar-Ben 4-H Livestock Exposition is requiring that all Feeder Calves have a DNA hair sample on file, as well as being tagged to be eligible to exhibit at the 2008 show. Samples must be pulled by June 15th and submitted in an Ak-Sar-Ben issued DNA collection envelope. Please contact Jim at the Extension Office if you wish to have a sample submitted.
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.
ATTENTION: 4-H SPEECH PARTICIPANTS GRADES 8 - 11
Public Speaking Opportunity
Speak Out for Military Kids (SOMK) is a program designed to utilize the skills of civilian and military teens to educate Nebraska residents about the stresses faced by military youth when a parent or parents are deployed. 4-H youth in grades 8 - 11 are encouraged to consider a public speaking topic related to the military. This program allows their topic to also include 4-H.
Each county will select the top military themed speech at their County Speech Contest. As their county's represen- tative, that youth will receive an invitation to participate in Nebraska's SOMK retreat tentatively planned for the weekend of June 27 - 29. During the retreat, youth will meet military and 4-H teens from across Nebraska. They will work with the Mobile Technology Lab to develop videos, PSA's and a number of other programs to further the message in our state.
Interested youth can visit our national and state websites at www.operationmilitarykids.org and www.nebraskaomk.org to learn more about the program. Youth in grades 8 - 11 are encouraged to consider this public speaking opportunity and write a military themed speech for this year's 4-H speech. This is an opportunity for Nebraska 4-H to play a crucial role in educating their communities and forming support networks for military youth.
ATTENTION: 3RD - 5TH GRADE YOUTH
Would you like to see baby chicks hatch in your classroom?!! Ask your Teacher if you can bring an incubator and eggs to science in April. Call Kae at the Extension Office for more information!!
SHOOTING SPORTS ORIENTATION MEETING
DATE: Tuesday, March 18th
TIME: 7:00 pm
LOCATION: Ag Auditorium, Fairgrounds
INSTRUCTOR: Jimmy Hough
ALL 4-Hers are invited to attend a Shooting Sports orientation meeting on Tuesday, March 18th. We will begin the shooting sports program in Hamilton County with three disciplines: Air Guns
Archery
BB Guns
If you are interested in being a part of this Shooting Sports program, please mark your calendars and attend this orientation meeting!! If you have any questions, please call the Extension Office at 694-6174. No RSVP required.
CLOVER CHALLENGE - Participants Needed!!
Clover Challenge is an online interactive quiz-bowl style team competition in the Family and Consumer Science project areas. Each correct answer earns your team color to appear on the clover. Missed answers are the other teams chance to steal back area on the clover for their team color!!
WHEN: Monday, March 24
TIME: 1:30 pm
WHERE: Adams County Extension Office in Hastings
AGES: 12 and up
TEAMS: 2 - 4 youth per team
REGISTER BY: Monday, March 10
Call the Extension Office at 694-6174 or email krussell2@unl.edu
The two winning teams from the Southeast District will go on to compete at the State level during PASE/Life challenge at UNL June 30 - July 1. Everyone will receive ribbons and certificates. State level winners will receive $25 VISA gift cards and a chance at a University of Nebraska scholarship to the College of Education and Human Sciences.
NEW VIRTUAL 4-H CLUB
What do you get when you combine 15 youth ages 14-18 from across the state, 2 volunteer leaders, 1 UNL Extension Foods Specialist, and mix in 18 computers, 18 phones, and 8 awesome food experiments and lessons? A recipe for a successful Virtual 4-H Club experience!
Virtual 4-H Clubs are intended to take the traditional 4-H club environment to a new level by gathering a group of youth who have an interest in expanding their knowledge in a particular 4-H content area. Through the use of technology, club members and volunteer leaders from across Nebraska will participate in club meetings from their home, community, or school using a computer and a phone line. Virtual clubs in 2008 will begin in the foods area, and additional focus areas will be added next year to the Virtual 4-H Club offerings.
To learn more about the Virtual 4-H Club: Discovering Food, check out the fact sheet located at http://4h.unl.edu. Youth who are interested in being a club member of the Virtual 4-H Club must complete the online form located at http://4h.unl.edu; club members will be accepted on a first-come, first-serve basis through March 15, 2008. Club meetings will be held from April to July 2008.
VISITING NEBRASKA
Register online. High school juniors are invited to attend a NEBRASKA Preview day at UNL on April 4, 14, 18, or 25.
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.
PHOTOGRAPHY
Photography Contest Opportunity
The Central Plains Severe Weather Symposium to be held Saturday, March 29, at Hardin Hall on East Campus is adding a photography contest for youth this year. This is a great opportunity for 4-H’ers to exhibit their work. This event is also a great opportunity to learn about the science behind weather. More information can be found at the Central Plains Severe Weather Symposium website: http://www.cpsws.unl.edu/index.php.
Aurora Mall Camera Club & 4-H Photography Workshops
Photography classes will begin for ages 8 and up on Thursday, April 10th at the Extension Office. Time will be announced later. Please call 694-6174 to register by
April 3rd. Instructor, Cindy Stec, is looking forward to meeting you, so bring your camera and join us beginning April 10th.
Participants who complete the workshop will receive a free 8 X 10 of their choice from the Aurora Mall Photo Shop to enter in the 2008 Hamilton County Fair. A photo each week will be published in the Aurora News Register. Sign up today to learn an art form you can enjoy for the rest of your life!!
WILDLIFE HABITAT EVALUATION PROGRAM (WHEP)
Camp and contest, designed to build life skills and teach youth about the fundamentals of wildlife conservation and management will be held June 6 - 7 this year at Hordville.
Age Divisions: Novice - 8 - 11, noncompetitive
Juniors - 12 - 13
Seniors - 14 - 18
Contest components include: identifying wildlife foods, interpreting wildlife habitat, habitat management, urban landscape and backyard habitat plans. Registration includes lodging, three meals and insurance. Also eligible for special prize drawing if registered by May 2nd.
Registration Information: April 4 - Intent to Participate
May 2 - Early Registration $40
May 3 - Registration $45
Please contact Jim or Kae at 694-6174 by March 31st with your intent to participate so that we meet that deadline. You do not have to commit until May 2nd. Please consider taking part in this contest especially when the location is right here at home this year. Novice age youth are at a great noncompetitive age for this contest to begin following an interest in nature!! Call us today!!
RABBIT CARE CLINICS
Several rabbit care clinics have been scheduled for this year in counties distributed throughout the state. The clinics spend about 2 hours teaching 4-H members about selection and care of a rabbit, housing and nutritional needs of their rabbit, and how to show their rabbit. Since there are no clinics here in Hamilton County, below are the locations and dates of a few clinics close to us:
Host County: York County
Date: Saturday, April 5, 2008; 1:30 to 3:30 pm
Location: Cornerstone Ag and Event Center, York Fairgrounds
Host County: Buffalo County
Date: Saturday, April 5, 2008; 10 am to 12 pm
Location: Buffalo County Exposition Building, Kearney
If you have any other questions, please contact the Extension Office, 694-6174, for further information.
KNOW HOW KNOW NOW CONTEST
NEW THIS YEAR . . .!! Showcase your technology skills by participating in the first Know How Know Now contest!! Create a fully automated 2-5 minute presentation showing “how to” do some aspect of the 4-H program, and your entry may end up on the Nebraska 4-H website.
Show how to groom/show an animal; tell how to write a 4-H speech; demonstrate how to pot a plant; bake the perfect brownie, etc. Ideas are limitless!!
Contest divisions include individual or team/club entries for ages 8 and up. For more information about this contest, you can visit the website at http://pawneecounty.unl.edu/4h/knowhowknownow/srec%20know%20how%20know%20now%20contest.htm or contact the Extension Office at 694-6174. Entries due in Lincoln by May 1 so please have them turned into the Extension Office no later than Tuesday, April 29th.
The Numbers Are In...!!
In 2007, Nebraska 4-H involved 135,000 young people, one of every three who are age eligible. This growth we believe is due to the cutting-edge, high-quality programs offered by 4-H. Other facts about 4-H in Nebraska:
Nearly 15,000 volunteers (youth and adult) worked with 4-H.
Nearly equal numbers of young people in 4-H are female vs. male (52% vs. 48%)
Let's keep our numbers strong by recruiting new members!! Each club is asked to increase their membership this year. Looking forward to another great year in 2008!!
4-H ONLINE “MALL”
4-H T-shirts. 4-H keychains. 4-H scrapbooking supplies. Even 4-H flip flops! Where can you find all of these items, and even more? The 4-H Mall, found at the http://4-hmall.org Web site!
Not only does the 4-H Mall contain tons of cool 4-H items, but every time you place an order online, you will benefit the Nebraska 4-H Program with a payment equivalent to 10 percent of the value of all merchandise ordered! All proceeds from the 4-H Mall that our state receives will be used to finance marketing the 4-H Program in Nebraska!
Your http://4-hmall.org order will automatically count toward our state’s 10 percent commission – there is no extra effort required on your part! Please note that only orders placed through the online store at http://4-hmall.org will count towards our state’s commission amount; orders placed via phone, fax, e-mail, or through traditional mail will not count towards our state’s total.
4-H coffee mugs. 4-H balloons. 4-H pens. Even 4-H Beanie Babies! Be sure to check out the 4-H Mall today -- your online order will assist with the marketing of the 4-H Program here in our very own state!
SHOW YOUR 4-H SPIRIT AND WEAR SOME ‘GREEN’!
FOR SALE: 4-H T-SHIRTS
BLACK/GREY - $9.00 EACH
PREVIOUS STYLES - $7.00
(limited sizes available)
Available at the Extension Office
FEBRUARY QUIZ ANSWERS & WINNERS
Winners: 1. Katrina Troester
2. Jasmine Russell
3. Trey Cox
4. Cami Huebert
5. Elizabeth Cox
Answers: 1. Meadowlark
2. Goldenrod
3. Honey Bee
4. Cornhusker’s
5. White Tail Deer
6. Prairie Agate
7. “Equality before the law”
8. Lincoln
9. The Cornhusker State
10. Kool-Aid
11. Cottonwood
12. March 1, 1867
13. Mammoth
14. Blue Stem or Little Bluestem
15. Beautiful Nebraska
PRODUCTION PIG ENTRIES
Affidavits are due in the Extension Office by April 4th. Pigs should be weighed between March 24 and April 4. If you have any questions, please contact Mark Janzen at 737-3323.
2008 BIG RED SUMMER CAMPS
The 2008 Big Red Summer Academic Camps are only five months away. To learn more about the 2008 camp offerings, click onto the recently updated Website at: http://bigredcamps.unl.edu. New camps for 2008 include dance, landscape design, quilt design, and spiders. Also offered are the focus areas of child development, culinary arts, Culinology®, golf, movie making, theatre, Unicameral Youth Conference, and Web design and animation.
The first edition of the 4-H Camp Newsletter is available. There is also information about the 2008 summer camp offerings, 2008 registration, summer staff employment opportunities, and the three facilities online at http://4h.unl.edu/camp/.
