"Hot Club Management Tip":
The club meeting is "4-H" to the young 4-H'er. Belonging to a club and attending meetings appeal to the 8- to 11-year-old. It's important to plan meetings that are fun, exciting, educational and make all members feel like they are a part of the club.
A "good" 4-H meeting:
* is a social experience.
* is an opportunity to develop leadership skills.
* makes 4-H'ers feel good about themselves.
* helps 4-H'ers discover new ideas.
It's DUCK RACE time!
Brochures ready and we've delivered many to clubs! Each club member is expected to sell chances on 5 ducks. All paperwork and money will be due in the 4-H office on Friday, April 15. Volunteers who bring their documentation to the office that day will earn a 10 minute chair massage!! (time to be determined) Watch for further information on duck sales and the chair massage in the Focal Point, and letter to be mailed to Organizational Leaders.
4-H Acres Use Reminders:
As you're planning locations for your meetings, don't forget that 4-H Acres is available for your use without charge. You can check the availability of the facility at http://rooms.ccetompkins.org/day.php?area=10&room=84 . Then contact either Athena or Brenda to make your reservation. Don't forget to sign in an out on the log just inside the door, make sure you turn out all lights, sweep floors and wipe down tables/counters, unplug any appliance you may have used, turn off the stove, and remember to turn the heat back to 55! Many programs use this facility, and we all need to do our part in keeping it in order. Thanks for doing your part.
4-H Youth Fair Updates
- Mark your calendars now for the 45th Anniversary of the 4-H Youth Fair - July 25th - 30th. The next Fair Board meeting will be Tuesday, March 22, 7 - 8:30 p.m., 4-H ACRES.
Notice on Poultry Exhibition
: The decision has been made to allow poultry exhibits at fairs for the 2016 fair season. Please be aware that this decision is subject to change if there is a significant highly pathogenic avian influenza event in New York or elsewhere in the country. We plan to hold the Poultry Show on Wed., July 27 4:00 p.m. All poultry brought to the fair must have a negative Pullorum test; we will hold a Pullorum Clinic on Wed., July 13, between 5:30 - 7 p.m. at 4-H Acres. Please bring all birds you expect to show. We WILL NOT do Pullorum testing at the Fair. Additional information can be found in the Annual Supplement.
Little Bunny Foo-Foo's
: If you're interested in rabbits and cavies, join us for our next meeting on Tuesday, March 8, 7 - 8 p.m. at the Education Center in Ithaca. Please contact Gail for more information, 564-9078
Animal Crackers, May 7, 2016
The annual Animal Crackers program provides New York youth with fun hands-on science-oriented learning experiences on Animal Science topics which feature the unique facilities and staff of Cornell University. This year's program will feature Dairy Cattle and Goats. Animal Crackers takes place right here - at Cornell University and is geared to 4-H members, 9 - 12 years of age, enrolled in animal science projects. Participants will meet Cornell faculty and students, learn about different aspects of animal care, interact and exchange information with professional producers, industry experts, and more! Hands-on workshops are planned for each species group. The is $15.00 per youth to cover basic handout and occasional presenter expenses. There is no registration fee for chaperones.
Participants must bring their own lunch and drinks. Contact Brenda to register.
Travel the World - In Your Own Home!
Host Families Needed for the States' 4-H Exchange Program
The NYS 4-H Office, in conjunction with the States' 4-H International Exchange Programs, will sponsor 12 Japanese youth, ages 12-17 from July through mid-August in 2016. We are looking for families, like yours, who would be interested in expanding their own horizons in learning about a different culture, while providing a Japanese youth with an immersion in American culture, a chance to improve their English, and an opportunity to build friendships between the two cultures! Click the image below to learn more about this program and contact Jamila Simon to learn how you can be part of a life-changing experience!
STARR 2016 - Register Today!
Do you want to be a STARR? Yes? Then be sure to register TODAY!
The State Teen Action Representative Retreat (STARR) is a three-day, fun-filled event where
4-H teens participate in a variety of workshops and activities meant to challenge, excite and further develop life skills. The event is planned by teens and adults serving on the youth/adult STARR planning committee. STARR is open to all NYS 4-H teens. Registration is now open and will close on Monday, March 14, 2016 at 11:59 pm.
Date: April 29 - May 1, 2016
Location: New York State Fairgrounds- Syracuse, NY.
Cost: $85.00 per person. Registration fee covers lodging and meals.
4-H20 Water Monitoring Activities - join the fun!
We're looking for more Inlet volunteers to help sample exciting locations like Buttermilk Creek, the Inlet Island area (that's the group that i volunteer with) and potentially other intriguing locations like Newfield and Enfield Creek. It's not bio-monitoring (therefore is a lot less time-consuming) and doesn't (usually) involve little critters, but it's contributing really important information to the CSI public water quality database. If you aren't on one of these teams already and have an interest, please do contact me or someone else up here at the lab. We'd love to have you join us on Thursday.
We're also looking for help on Saturday, March 26 from 9 am-4 pm as we process one of the samples taken by volunteers in Fall Creek this past summer. We'll be working on the sample at a table at Ithaca Fishing Day in the Boynton Middle School cafeteria and thought that anyone who stops by could help us as we pick, sort and identify organisms to come up with a water quality rating for that site (Freese Rd - near Varna). As we work, those of us with been involved with bio-monitoring for CSI can answer questions that people might have. If you're new to bio-monitoring, it's a great chance to stop by and check it out. It's a fun day and you'll also want to check out the other tables and activities. I'll attach a flier for the event to this message.
Hopefully you're keeping your hands warm each time you reach into one of our icy February
streams to turn over rocks because you're dying to remember what's crawling underneath. : )