February 2024 Edition

4-H Youth Development
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                                                                                                                                February 2, 2024

Valentine Bouquets

The 4-H Exchange Club is hosting Michigan 4-H this summer.  Please support their upcoming trip by ordering your Valentines from them.  The club delivers to schools & businesses in Franklin and also offers pick up from the Extension Office. An order form is enclosed. 

 

Sap to Sugar Field Trip

Simpson Co. 4-H is taking a Field Trip to West KY 4-H Camp on February 19 to learn more about tapping maple trees.  The day will include learning about the process of sap flow, collection, & boiling and include a tasting.  The cost to attend is $10 per person and you must bring a sack lunch.  This trip is open to youth & adults, cloverbuds must have a parent attend with them.  We do have two to three leaders going to help with transportation – depends on how many sign up whether we will need additional parents/drivers to help with transportation.  We will leave from the Simpson Co. Extension Office at 7:30 a.m. and return at 5:00 p.m.  Call 270-586-4484 to sign up by February 9.  Be sure to dress according to the weather for the day – we will be outside most of the day regardless of the temperature.

 

Fort Campbell Tour

Please see the enclosed flyer on a tour of Fort Campbell on Wednesday, March 20. This is for ages 12 & up and parents are welcome to attend. This is being coordinated by Warren Co. 4-H so call their office to sign up at 270-842-1681. Transportation is on your own to/from the Warren Co. Extension Office (drop off 6:00 a.m. & pick up 5:30 p.m.). Deadline to sign up is March 1. Cost is $6.85 for lunch (must bring EXACT cash the day of the tour). Care package donations must be turned in before March 1.

 

4-H “Housekeeping”

1. When 4-H members are texting Catherine and/or any other leaders please include your parent on the text too.  If a group text among multiple people, these are ok.  4-H follows the”rule of three” as opposed to one-on-one texts between youth and adults. 
2. When 4-H members are leaving club meetings, especially downstairs, a parent or adult should come inside to pick the youth up.  Members should

not walk to the upstairs parking lot and leaders should not leave the rest of       the club unattended to walk a member out without confirmation the adult is present.  I apologize if this is an inconvenience for anyone however; it is in the best interest/safety of our members!

 

 

Simpson County 4-H Fundraiser Policy

Any youth enrolled in Simpson County 4-H can set up a member account.  When you work a 4-H fundraiser the proceeds are divided equally among those working and put into your member account for future 4-H activities. For example, if five 4-H members work a bake sale that makes $500, then $100 is deposited into each member’s account. These funds can be used to pay for 4-H Camp, Cloverbud Camp, Teen Conference, Aerospace Camp, Horse Camp, etc.  If it is a fundraiser where you are selling something then you receive the profit from what you sell. For example, if you sold 10 donut certificates that have a profit of $4.50 each then you earned $45 into your account.

 

4-H Summer Camp

Enclosed you will find information on 4-H Camp.  Simpson County can take 60 people to camp this year.  Packets are available and the cost is $225.  This can be paid in $56.25 increments in February, March, April, & May. Fundraising opportunities will also be available including working Concert on the Square summer concessions.

 

4-H Sewing Club

The 4-H Sewing Club is being led by Adrian Booher this year.  Mrs. Sharon & Mrs. Marilyn are assisting her.  The club has several new sewers this year and they could use one more experienced seamstress to assist. If you are interested please contact Catherine or Adrian.  The club meets the 1^st & 3^rd Tuesdays each month from 4:00-6:00 p.m., so the commitment is just a few hours a month to help some very excited 4-H members learning to sew!

 

4-H Career Shadowing

Thinking about what you want to be when you grow up…then 4-H Career Shadowing is for you. This program is open to 8th-11th grade 4-H members and will include a self-study guide on careers, an orientation for the youth shadowing, and a day shadowing a professional in the community.  A meeting for both parents and youth interested is Monday, March 18 at 5:00 p.m. at the Extension Office.  Youth will shadow a career of their choosing in April or May. 

 

Shooting Sports

The 4-H shooting sports club will start back in April, meeting date TBA. The next certification for new coaches is April 26-28 at West KY 4-H Camp and we are in desperate need of additional coaches. Reach out to Catherine or any of our shooting sports coaches for details. As soon as registration is released by the state we will send it out.

 

Public Notification

The College of Agriculture, Food and Environment is an Equal Opportunity Organization with respect to education and employment and authorization to provide research, education information and other services only to individuals and institutions that function without regard to economic or social status and will not discriminate on the bases of race, color, ethnic origin, creed, religion, political belief, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, marital status, genetic information, age, veteran status, or physical or mental disability. Inquiries regarding compliance with Title VI and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Educational Amendments, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and other related matter should be directed to Equal Opportunity Office, College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Kentucky, Room S105, Agriculture Science Building, North Lexington, Kentucky 40546.

 

 

 

County Communications Contests are March 28…Sign Up by March 18

If you plan to participate in any of the communications contests and need assistance contact the extension office…we have lots of information to help youth prepare for these contests. If I picked just one program every 4-H member would participate in, it would be giving a speech or demonstration.  Both myself and several of our volunteers would love to help youth get started and/or to practice with you ahead of time!

 

Senior Job Interview Contest:  The Senior Mock Job Interview Contest will begin at 5:00 p.m.  The categories are ages 14-15 and 16-18.  Contestants will be applying for a mock job (vet technician, coffee bar attendant, photographer, or retail sales associate). The interview will be conducted with three judges and should last 8-10 minutes.  Participants will need to bring 3 copies of your resume to the contest (select a mock job from above then prepare a resume accordingly).  Additional information available at the Extension Office.

 

Talk Meet:  The County 4-H Talk Meet will begin at 6:00 p.m.  Categories include: Cloverbud, Age 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, and Ages 17-18.  Junior speeches must be 3-5 minutes and Senior speeches 5-7 minutes. Seniors are expected to choose a topic, research, and write their own speech. Juniors may have assistance getting started. No visual aids or costumes are allowed. Note cards are optional but allowed. Dress should be professional - no jeans or tennis shoes with dress pants for the guys and dress pants/skirts/dresses for the girls.

 

4-H Demonstration Guidelines and Rules:  The County 4-H Demonstration Contest will also begin at 6:00 p.m. If you are giving both a speech and a demonstration you will give your speech first, then your demonstration. Demonstrations must be five minutes long and cannot be longer than fifteen minutes, with egg having a time limit of twelve minutes. Horse demonstrations must be 9-12 minutes.  Have your category decided when you call to register. 

• Demonstrations focus on the 4-H member telling and actively showing how something is made or a process is conducted. It usually has both summary posters and props used during the demonstration. Most of the steps in the process are demonstrated to the group. 

• Demonstrations have 3 divisions: Cloverbud, Junior, & Senior, based on your age as of 1/1/24.

• 15 Categories:  Agriculture, Animal Science, Foods, Clothing & Textiles, Family & Consumer Sciences, Health, Visual Arts, Performing Arts, Digital Media Presentation, Shooting Sports, Natural Resources, SET, and Team.  Horse and Egg follow different rules.
• Seniors are expected to demonstrate original work, including choosing their topic, researching it, & writing their own demonstration.  The internet may be used as a reference but not as a source for a non-original demonstration.
• Participants may have help setting up their demonstration but may NOT have help during the demonstration.
• Professional or appropriate dress is encouraged. Costumes and visual aids ARE permitted for demonstration categories.  Demonstrations must have a poster or tri-fold board as aids during their demonstration!
• Live animals and people are not permitted as a demonstration aid. Weapons of any sort cannot be used. This includes firearms, bullets, bows and arrows. Mockup, models, or charts must be used instead however they cannot look like an actual gun, bow, arrow or other firearm.
• The judges will ask you simple questions at the end of your demonstration.
• The use of computers and presentation equipment is allowed in the presentation software category only, and electronic devices may be used in place of notecards.

 

 

Kentucky 4-H Written Communications Contest

• Categories Include: 
  •  “What 4-H Means to Me” Essay (minimum 500 words)
  • Songwriting (lyrics only) - Songwriting can be found in the National 4-H Curriculum Picking up the Pieces, page 26. 
  • Poetry (3 line minimum and 25 line maximum) - Information on Poetry can be found here: Ohio State University the Writer in You, page 32. 
  • Press Release and Public Service Announcement:  National 4-H Curriculum Putting it Together, page 26. 
  • Original Monologue:  National 4-H Curriculum Theatre Arts Level 1- Beginner, page 17. Contact the Extension Office for a copy.
  • Press Release (maximum of 1,000 words)
• Each county may submit two junior and two senior entries per category to the state.
• Each category will have a junior and senior class.  Each writing piece must be original. If there is a question, the participant will be disqualified. A statement of authenticity must be completed and attached to entry.  This is found on the entry form.
• All entries must be submitted to cwebster@uky.edu by 9:00 am on Monday, February 26.
• All entries are to be on 8" x 11" paper, with the entrant's class, name, and county on a cover page and last name typed on every page.  Please include scoring guide and entry form at the back of the piece (available from the Extension Office).
• Entries are to be double-spaced, typed with Calibri size 12 font white paper. (Songs may be single spaced within verses, chorus and bridge and double spaced between each of these.)

 

Rotary Club of Franklin Youth Speech Contest

The Rotary Club of Franklin hosts a speech contest for any high school student in Simpson County, with cash prizes at the county level.  The deadline to register is February 9 then the contest is February 29. Registration packets are available from the Extension Office or FSHS front office.  Contact Robin at Community Education at 270-223-8092 or email robin.hollingsworth@simpson.kyschools.us with questions or to sign up.

 

Summer Activities Fair

On Saturday, April 13 there will be an summer activities fair in Franklin from 9:00 a.m. to Noon, location TBA.  This will be an opportunity for families with kids to attend to find out about all the opportunities available for kids & families this summer in Franklin.  Watch for more information to come…if you would like to assist with the 4-H Camp booth reach out to Catherine!

Winter Project Day

Nell Jordan is going to lead a 4-H project day sewing Travel Pillowcases (pillow & fabric provided) on Monday, March 4 from 3:30-5:00 p.m. at the Extension Office.  Spaced is limited to 8 youth ages 9-18. Call the Extension Office to sign up at 270-586-4484.

 

Keep Up With 4-H Happenings

Are you on Facebook?  If so Like the Simpson County Cooperative Extension Service to stay up to date between newsletters.  Are you receiving weekly 4-H emails from cwebster@uky.edu?  If not email me to be added to the 4-H email list.  Email is the primary way Simpson County 4-H communicates with members on a weekly basis, as newsletters are sent quarterly. 

 

Nothing Bundt Cakes Fundraiser

Simpson County 4-H is selling Nothing Bundt Cakes February 19-March 7. All orders with payment must be turned in to the office by March 8. Proceeds from this sale will benefit our local 4-H scholarship program. Cakes will be in for pickup & delivery on Monday, March 25. We would appreciate all our 4-H families helping with this fundraiser.

 

Achievement Award Announcements

• Cecilia Huggins & Aubrey Sams were selected to receive the KY 4-H Bronze Award
• Mady Meador was selected to receive the KY 4-H Silver Award
• Good Luck to Cameron Huggins as she interviews for the KY 4-H Gold Award in March
• Good Luck to Hannah Meador & Kate Ford as they start the interview process for the Emerald Award

 

 Save the Date

• Simpson Co. Extension Banquet, February 27 at 6:00 p.m., SKYCTC

• This March, please make the $10 voluntary donation when you renew each of your farm license plates (Ag Tags) at the County Clerk’s office.  It’s an excellent way to support our youth and help fund our 4-H programs! opportunities!

  Simpson County Ag Awareness Breakfast, March 5 at 7:00 a.m., Franklin 1^st UMC

• Mammoth Cave 4-H Teen Council, March 11 at 5:30 p.m., Barren Co. Extension Office
• Simpson County 4-H Council, March 18 6:30 p.m.
• SCKY 4-H Horse Camp, April 18 & 19
• Teen Conference, June 11-14
• West KY 4-H Cloverbud Camp, June 21-23
• 4-H Camp July 1-5
• County Fair Exhibit Hall July 29-30

 

 4-H Club Meetings

• Gardening Club-Thursday, February 8th at 5:00 pm in the downstairs meeting room
• Exchange Club, workshop dates have been sent
• Art Club-Saturday, February 10th at 2:00 pm in the downstairs meeting room
• ShamROCKS-Monday, February 12^th at 5:00 pm in the downstairs meeting room
• Acres of Adventure Homeschool Club will meet Monday, February 12^th at 10:00 am in the Downstairs meeting
• Helping Hands-Tuesday, February 13^th, Location TBD
• PhotoCats-Thursday, February 15^th at 5 :00 pm in the downstairs meeting room
• Creek Dwellers-Saturday, February 17^th at 9:00 am, in the downstairs meeting room
• Outdoor Adventures-Saturday, February 17^th at 10:30 am, in the downstairs meeting room (1^st meeting of the 4-H year)
• CloverCATS will meet meet Saturday, February 17^th at 2:00 pm until 5:00 pm in the downstairs meeting room
• Pinterest will meet Monday, February 19^th at 6:30 pm in the Downstairs meeting room of the Extension Office.
• Sewing Club will meet Tuesday February 6th at 4:00 pm and Tuesday, February 20^th in the Sewing Room
• Cloverbuds will meet Tuesday, February 19th at 6:00 pm in the downstairs meeting room
• Sr. Wildcat Chefs will meet Tuesday, February 20th at 6:00 pm in the Culinary Classroom of the High School
• Homesteading will meet Monday, February 26^th at 6:30 pm (Please note day change for this meeting only)

 

 

Catherine P. Webster

Simpson Co. Extension Agent for 4-H Youth Development Education