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4-H on the Move
A Newsletter for 4-H Families

Waldo County 4-Hers Participate in Tanglewood 4-H Camp Homeschool Mondays

Waldo County 4-Hers Shaynen, Nicole and Colleen Schofield attended the Homeschool Mondays program that took place at Tanglewood 4-H Camp in April and May 2007.

Waldo County 4-H Electronic Newsletter
 
Waldo County 4-H is proud to announce that the 4-H on the Move newsletter for 4-H families and volunteers has successfully been made available through the Waldo County website www.umext.maine.edu/Waldo/4H  and email. Administrative Assistant, Sónia Antunes, provides the technological know-how in making this all possible. If you email, speak with, or see Sónia be sure to thank her and let her know what you find helpful in using the Waldo County 4-H website which she currently maintains. You may send comments, suggestions or inquiries to santunes@umext.maine.edu.  
 
Many volunteers continue to share that they are using and feeling more comfortable using the internet. As a result of this and a need to help to do our part in using county, state and federal resources wisely, Jane and Joyce made a commitment to try to reduce the number of newsletters being produced as print copies by 10%. We are pleased to share that within two weeks we met the 10% goal reducing our costs of paper and postage.  We now encourage other families to help us reach a new goal of  reducing newsletter paper copies that we print by an additional 10% by July 15th.   If you are willing to receive the newsletter 4-H on the Move through an electronic email notice, please email Connie Clements at conniec@umext.maine.edu and let her know to what email addresses to send a notification that the current issue of the 4-H newsletter is available.

Thank you for helping Waldo County 4-H “Make the Best Better”.

4-H County News

At the May, 2007, 4-H Volunteer Recognition Night, one of the activities involved answering… What is one question you have about your role as a 4-H volunteer? We commit to answering these questions in the 4-H newsletter for all volunteers and families. The date indicates the month we anticipate providing a short article about each question.

June

• What trouble will I get in if I don’t notify you if we’re going on a field trip?

• What is a “Field Trip”? Is it the same thing as going to a fair or state 4-H activity, like state dairy judging?

July

• From Cooperative Extension’s perspective, how important or what difference does it make if we’re Independent vs. Club?
  Is it better number-wise, for the state records, to be a club?

August

• Why don’t kids participate in more activities outside of the county?

• Why are there so many deadlines associated with livestock? (ESE steer, ESE lamb, Windsor Fair, approval forms, etc.)

• What is the best answer for how to judge 4-H project record sheets?

September

• Does my car insurance cover 4-H trips?

• Whose insurance covers me if I get hurt while doing a 4-H activity?

October

• How many kids should a volunteer work with in a club?

November

• Why do 4-H members have deadlines, but state administrative or leadership groups can seemingly change the date deadline for their own work?

December

• What good is it to complete the portfolio? My story?

UPDATE to Question & Answer in May 2007 Newsletter

Question: Can 4-H members sell raffle tickets?

Answer: Yes. The Maine 4-H Policy and Procedure Manual (www.maine4h.umaine.edu/manual) has been updated stating how 4-H members can sell raffle tickets.

Raffles (games of chance) are legal in Maine. Information concerning raffles can be found in the Maine Revised Statutes,
Title 17: Crimes, Chapter 14: Games of Chance:
http://janus.state.me.us/legis/statutes/17/title17ch14sec0.html

Youth under the age of 16 may not purchase raffle tickets. Youth under the age of 16 may sell raffle tickets (chances) if they are affiliated with a recognized youth association, such as 4-H.

There are special rules for raffling livestock for fundraising purposes (see Procedures below).

Procedures for Raffling Livestock

It is illegal to award a live animal as the result of a raffle. Rather, the animal should be in freezer-ready form.

Any Extension program that is considering a livestock raffle as a fund raiser should:

Contact and inform county Extension staff of the proposal
Obtain a permit from the Maine Commissioner of Agriculture by calling (207)287-3419

Quotes of the Month

While talking with 4-H volunteer Kristi Curtis, she shared that with their busy family schedules, something has to go. Her husband Bob said “It can’t be 4-H”.

-Kristi Curtis, 4-H Volunteer, Brooks

Jane Haskell asked,
“Bo, did you make the Shakespearean Globe Theater all by yourself?”
“Not quite, I did have some assistance from my mom!”

-Bo Curtis, 4-H Member, Brooks

Maine Family Times

Enclosed in the hardcopy of the newsletter is the premier copy of the Maine Family Times which will be published twice a year.
A PDF of the Maine Family Times will be available soon.
If you wish to receive future copies, contact the University of Maine Cooperative Extension Waldo County or call 1-800-287-0274.

Congratulations go out to Natalie Marceau who has been selected to represent our Maine 4-H Program for the 2008 National 4-H Conference in Washington DC. Natalie will be a senior at Belfast High school this fall and is an independent 4-H member who has been enrolled in the Dairy Project for seven years.

Natalie shares “I am excited about attending the 4-H Conference during March and April of 2008 in Maryland where I hope to learn from kids from all over the country. I will report back to Waldo, Knox and Hancock counties in whatever format the counties wish.”

Way to go Natalie!

Special Thank You!!

Waldo County has had a great response in getting Animal Approval Forms in well before the June 30th submission due date. On behalf of our UMCE Staff, thank you all for getting your Animal Approval Forms to our county office in a most timely matter.
We appreciate your efforts and wish you all a safe and fun fair season!

4-H Exhibit at the Belfast Library
October, 2007

Please help us capture what your 4-H club or independent members are doing.

We need pictures of independent and club 4-H members and volunteers in the “doing of 4-H” – this is your 4-H project work.

• 4-H photographs that can be framed (8”x10” or 9”x12”) You do not need to do the framing unless you choose to do so for a club project

• Digital photos (email to conniec@umext.maine.edu)

• 35 mm snap shot photos (drop off to the Waldo County Extension Office)

• Old 4-H newspapers or clippings, 4-H artifacts, ribbons, trophies, items for the display cabinet
  Visual presentations, crafts, sewing projects, canning exhibit, etc. Space is limited – first come first served basis.

All photos, artifacts and other items must be in the Waldo County Extension office by August 31, 2007 unless other arrangements are made with Joyce Weaver or Anne Ambrose.

4-H Member Hosts Academic Fair Open House

On Thursday, June 14th Bo Curtis, a 4-H member in the 4-H Friends Club, held his first Home School Curriculum Open House.  Bo stepped up in trying out two new experiences, organizing his first Open House and agreeing to his first interview.  Here’s a glimpse of that special day.

When Extension Educator, Jane Haskell, asked Bo how he got the idea to have a Curriculum Open House, he said, “I actually like the idea of showing what I’ve done.” His mom, 4-H volunteer, Kristi Curtis, shared that she and Bo attended a Belfast home school curriculum fair.  Bo piped up, “I am excited about having my own!”

Jane wondered, “How does it feel having family and friends come to your Open House?” and “Who did you invite?”  Bo said, “It doesn’t feel too bad.  I invited my friends, home schooled and friends that go to school in town.”

As Jane and 4-H Program Aide, Joyce Weaver, looked around, Bo’s work was organized by subject (art, math, writing, reading, social studies, etc.) into three ring binders.  Jane asked, “How did you organize all these things here today?”  Bo said, “I just do that always.  I keep everything in notebooks.”  As an example, Bo’s social studies curriculum for the year included the Middle Ages and Geography.  As a result of studying the Middle Ages, he constructed a castle and hopes to attend a Renaissance Fair this summer.  Bo also constructed a scale model of the Globe theater to accompany his Shakespearean study.

Bo was clearly excited about his work with art this year.  “I did my art projects while my mom read books.”   One activity was combinations of contrasting colors.  “Green was my favorite.”  When asked if the castle was an art project, he said, “That was a fun activity that went along with social studies.”  When asked if art was his favorite subject, Bo said, “Math.  These are some of the graphs I did.”  As Jane wondered if he would be doing more math this summer, Bo’s eyes widened and he said, “I take the summer time off to do other stuff!”

We then moved to the science area and Jane said, “I see you have been learning about pulleys and levers.”  Bo jumped in and said, “Let me show you how my pulley works.”  He had already shown us how the drawbridge of his castle worked using a similar pulley system. 

Bo also proudly showed us his writing.  He showed us many pages that he hand wrote then showed us the finished product that he typed and printed with the computer.  When we asked him what his favorite writing project was, he said, “The one about my birthday.  That was the time when I had to do my writing when I was with my dad on a trip to Madawaska.”  We found out it was special because it turned into a book that he gave to his mom for her birthday. 

We ended the interview by talking about how Bo felt about being interviewed.  He shared, “I didn’t like the idea at first because they (reporters) don’t (always) write what you say.”  We talked about what misquoting meant and agreed that before this article was printed, that Bo would be able to edit it to see if this is what he said!

Waldo’s 4-H Web Calendar Most Updated Source of 4-H Information

The Waldo County 4-H Web calendar is your most updated source of 4-H information. Information is posted in a timely manner which makes this calendar a valuable resource for 4-H volunteers, youth and families. Check out our calendar at www.umext.maine.edu/Waldo/4H and click on calendar.
 
How does this work? The newsletter that is sent in the mail on the first of the month has calendar items. If a new calendar item comes in, it is updated immediately on the web based calendar. So it is possible that by the time the print newsletter with a calendar arrives in your mailbox (if you still receive the newsletter by mail), it is outdated.

If you receive your newsletter electronically, even if you check out the calendar when you receive it, if you go back to the web based calendar, you will get the updated calendar.  

Waldo County 4-H invites you, your 4-H club, as well as 4-H staff, to post calendar events if you host an event or activity that is open to other 4-H clubs. Here’s how. Click the link Submit a 4-H Calendar Item (which is found on the Waldo County 4-H Calendar page). 

Fair Rules and Guidelines Now Found in the Waldo County 4-H Calendar

To get the fair information to you in the fastest way, we are upgrading our 4-H calendar to include links to 4-H fair rules and guidelines as we receive them.

Wonder what it looks like?   Take a peek!

4-H Healthy Lifestyles Team

The Healthy Lifestyles Team formed as a program leadership team about a year ago, under the new 4-H leadership structure, in order to increase, organize and broaden the state-wide efforts to educate youth in healthy lifestyle choices. Currently our team, with the help of a Kraft Foods Healthy Living grant, is working together to design and implement a health and wellness activity kit which will be available for loan through county offices.

We are excited to be sponsoring upcoming workshops at both the Maine 4-H Days and the Youth in Action Teen conference. Some of the materials and curricula we have been working on will be showcased at these two events. We hope you will join us, strap on one of our new pedometers, and help us reach our goal of a healthier Maine population!

GREAT OPPORTUNITY! With the support of the Pine Tree State 4-H Foundation, we will be selecting and paying for three teams consisting of one adult and 3-4 youth to attend the Northeast Regional Volunteer Forum on Healthy Lifestyles (NERVF-HL) to be held in Portland, Maine on October 11-14th. In return, the teams will be expected to teach at least one Healthy Lifestyles workshop in the year following the training and to join the statewide 4-H Healthy Lifestyles program leadership team. If you are interested in applying for this great opportunity, please contact Karen or Ellie for an application. To find out more about the NERVF-HL, see: http://www.umext.maine.edu/4-HVolLeadersForum.

Please consider joining our team in our efforts to provide meaningful health and wellness opportunities for Maine’s youth. We meet by phone conference calls, the UNET video system, and in person. To find out more about our/your Team, please contact Karen Hatch Gagne at 1-800-287-1481, karenhg@umext.maine.edu or Ellie Libby at 1-800-244-2104, elibby@umext.maine.edu  

Create Your Own Game and Animation

Children Youth and Families Education and Research Network (CYFERnet) features Scratch a new programming language that makes it easy to create your own interactive stories, animations, games, music, and art - and share your creations on the web.

Scratch is designed to help young people (ages 8 and up) develop 21st century learning skills. As they create Scratch projects, young people learn important mathematical and computational ideas, while also gaining a deeper understanding of the process of design.

Scratch is available free of charge http://scratch.mit.edu/ and is currently available for Mac OSX and Windows. Youth may also participate in a Game & Animation Contest that lets young people show off their creativity and programming skills. Youth may work independently or in teams, with an entry deadline of August 5, 2007.

Scratch is developed by the Lifelong Kindergarten group at the MIT Media Lab, in collaboration with the UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies, with financial support from the National Science Foundation, Intel Foundation, and MIT Media Lab research consortia.

Help youth build 21st-century skills that will allow them to be successful in the future, including thinking creatively, communicating clearly, collaborating effectively and learning continuously. Visit
http://www.cyfernet.org/4htech/missions.html today to get started.

Credit: http://www.cyfernet.org

Morris Scholarship

Every two years Maine has the opportunity to select an Eastern States Exposition team member to receive a $500 scholarship towards continuing his or her education beyond high school. The award will be presented during 4-H Day at ESE on Saturday, September 15, 2007.

Criteria: To be eligible for the Maine 2007 Big E Morris 4-H Scholarship, nominees must:

1. Be a member of a 2007 or prior Maine ESE team (Beef, Dairy, Dog, Goat, Horse, Sheep or Working Steer).

2. Graduate from high school in 2007 or 2008 and continue their education beyond high school in one of the following: two or four-year colleges or universities, technical schools, professional training, or apprenticeship programs.

3. Have demonstrated leadership as a Maine 4-H member, at the local, state, or regional level.

4. Be a junior or senior in high school and in good academic standing.

5. Be recommended by their Animal Science Committee.

Application Process: Applications will include these three components:

1. A letter from the applicant regarding their qualifications for the scholarship that includes information about their:
   a. Participation on a Maine ESE team in 2007 or before.
   b. Intention to continue their education beyond high school in 2007 or 2008, including area of study or training and possible location.
   c. Leadership as a Maine 4-H member at the local, state, or regional level.

2. A copy of the applicant’s high school
   transcript or equivalent.

3. A letter of recommendation from the Activity Coordinator of the appropriate Animal Science Committee. If the Activity Coordinator of your commodity is an immediate family member, have someone else on the committee write the recommendation.

Mail or fax application materials to
Jessy Brainerd
5741 Libby Hall, Room 103 University of Maine
Orono, ME 04469-5741
Fax: 207-581-1387
*Faxed entries will be accepted up until 4:30 pm on August 17, 2007
*Mailed entries must be postmarked by August 17, 2007

Incomplete applications will not be considered. The winner will be notified by Friday, August 31, 2007. ESE has requested that the scholarship recipients be present at ESE on 4-H Day on September 15 to receive their award. If you have any questions, please contact Donna Flint at 1-800-287-1535 or Michaele Bailey at 1-800-287-0274.

Wisconsin Exchange Opportunity

My name is Donna Leum. I am the Vernon County 4-H Youth Ambassador Advisor in Wisconsin. My youth are very interested in forming a youth exchange with a county in Maine. I have about 15 youth ages 13-18. We are a rural area. Most of the youth have an agriculture background. Whether it be dairy, beef, creamery worker, etc. If you are interested in talking with Donna about this opportunity please contact Donna at leumtdcj@mwt.net.

   4-H is a community of young people across America who are learning leadership, citizenship, and life skills.

Maine 4-H Youth Development Mission

Educate and empower Maine youth through hands-on and community based experiences.

Maine 4-H Youth Development Vision

Maine youth acquire the knowledge, life skills, leadership abilities and attitudes to help them succeed now and in the future

through effective collaborations, hands-on experiential education and self-directed learning.

Putting knowledge to work with the people of Maine

A Member of the University of Maine System

Last Modified: 11/01/07
These pages are currently being maintained from the
Waldo County Office, University of Maine Cooperative Extension.
Send comments, suggestions or inquiries to santunes@umext.maine.edu  

Information in this web site is provided purely for educational purposes. No responsibility is assumed for any problems associated with the use of products or services mentioned in this web site. No endorsement of products or companies is intended, nor is criticism of unnamed products or companies implied.

If you are a person with a disability and will need any accommodations to participate in a UMCE program, please contact your county office to discuss your needs. For assistance via a TTY line call 1-800-287-8957.