It's Been a While!

Hello dear 4-Hers! It seems I haven’t updated our blog since March!! OMG!! Well I need to change that, don’t I? That will be a good resolution for me in 2011 – to keep our 4-H Blog updated on a regular basis! Regular being at least monthly …

I definitely want to post an update with the Public Speaking contest coming up as soon as you get back to school. Don’t forget – here are the rules for your speech:



The scorecards can be found on our Facebook Group page (http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=31899329671). Please let your parents know about that place too & that they can “like” our group & then get updates that way too – ya know, JIC you forget a few details … not that you ever would … just sayin …

Don’t forget about the poster contest in January too – the rules & an example of a poster are here:



As a reminder, our office has moved. We’re no right behind the courthouse in the old jail building. Were not in the jail cells (but we have access to them). We’re upstairs. Drop on by or give us a call if we can help you, our phone number is the same as it was!

A Busy Summer Ahead for Chester County 4-H

While you’re making plans for activities to do this summer, don’t forget all of the fun camps you can attend through Chester County 4-H! The most attended events of the camping year are Junior Camp (for 4th-6th graders enrolled in 4-H) and Ed-Venture Camp (for 6th-8th graders enrolled in 4-H) and they will be held, again, at WP Ridley 4-H Center in Columbia, TN. Last year was the first year Chester County 4-Hers went to Ridley, as the Buford Ellington 4-H Center is now closed. Campers thoroughly enjoyed their new location and many have already been in our office to sign up for camp this year!

Academic Conference is a chance for 4-Hers to visit our campus at UT Knoxville, participate in hands-on workshops that focus on their specific project area, to socialize with other 4-Hers from across the state and to enjoy a day at Dollywood. This is a competitive camp and potential participants must submit an application to us by April 1st, 2010.

Participants who go to Electric Camp will attend all day programs that are hands-on, where they learn more about electricity, technology, and energy. Campers will enjoy their time at UT Knoxville as they get to stay in the dorms, eat in the food court, and go to the campus swimming pool. Did I mention a day at Dollywood is also planned?

In addition to the traditional 4-H Camp, there is also a camp that will strictly focus on becoming better at shooting sports. At Target SMART Camp, 4-Hers will choose which discipline they want to become proficient in: rifle, shotgun, muzzle loader or archery. They will also learn proper safety measures and care required when handling those tools.

4-Hers who are interested in arts & crafts and sewing will be busy completing their projects at Line & Design camp at our Martin campus of UT.

New this year is OWL Camp, which is for participants who like wildlife, outdoor cooking, and learning more about our environment. OWL stands for Outdoor Wildlife Leadership.

All of these activities are open to young people who are enrolled in Chester County 4-H. Please call our office for age requirements, fee information, and deadlines for signing up for these activities: 989-2103. We are also on Facebook (Chester County 4-H) and can be contacted through our web site.

Operation Military kids

Pretty neat, huh?!

Clover Credit Totals as of November 1, 2009

So how does your club stand in the Clover Credit competition at CCMS? Winning classes at the end of the year will receive a reward party! There are so many easy ways your club can earn Clover Credits: wearing a green shirt to class on 4-H Club day, participating in the monthly contest, receiving a blue ribbon (be sure to do your best work), attending after school 4-H activities, and completing a Service Project Report (as a class), are just a few of the easy ways to earn points!

Chester County 4-H Honor Club

4-H Honor Club is organized statewide and provides recognition, primarily within counties, of junior high (6th-12th grades) 4-H members who have demonstrated consistent leadership ability and have been active members in their clubs and communities.

We'll be starting up meetings for this school year next week, on November 4th. Honor Club membership and participation has nothing to do with grades but all to do with your interest in doing more with 4-H other than what is done in classroom clubs. As 4-H Honor Club members we will focus on doing community service projects, developing leadership skills, and getting together for social activities with other county 4-H Honor Clubs.

Please call Mrs. Amy to let her know if you plan on coming to the meeting on November 4th, after school, at our office. We may need to get a larger meeting place.

4-H Clubs have started in Chester County Schools!

Welcome to a new 4-H Club year! Mr. Brian and I had a chance to meet and enroll 4-Hers at the middle, junior, and high school, so we are excited to get things going! Below is a chart of the different contests and activities you can expect this next school year.

Here is some more detailed information about October's contest - Photography. Mark your calendars now because we'll be at CCHS on October 7th, CCMS October 20th and 22nd, CCJHS on October 19th & 30th. Don't forget to bring your photos mounted on posterboard or another sturdy paper!

We want this to be a fantastic year & as 4-Hers, you know our motto is "To make the best better!" Try something new - don't be afraid to make mistakes, that's how we all learn!! (Even grumpy people over the age of 18! Ha!) Remember you can earn clover Credits for your class the more you participate in 4-H. Look at the chart to see what other ways you can earn Clover Credits.

Hello! Who likes to win prizes?! We all do!!! So - we're gonna try something new called "Feature Friday". Every Friday we will post a photo from the community - of a building or place. It's your job to guess what the place is. The first person to 1) send me an email message of the correct answer AND 2) make a comment about the featured photo on the blog gets a prize! And if you want to submit the Feature Friday Photo - you can also win a prize, just send me a message & you can attache the photo in your message!

And just for fun - I'd like to share some photos from last week's BBQ Festival. These 4-Hers were having fun at one of the vendor booths. Every year the BBQ Festival has grown & it's really not fair of y'all to keep growing as well - I'm having to look UP to you now!!

Photo CDs from camp are ready for pick-up!

Yes - that's right, over 600MB worth of a VARIETY of photos from the 2009 Junior 4-H camp at WP Ridley 4-H Center in Columbia, TN are available for purchase at the 4-H office in Henderson! Give us a call before you come to the office so we can have your CD ready. You'll need to bring $5.00 and we won't be able to mail these out because we'll need your parents to sign a form - (just saying that none of these photos will be posted around the WWW). Our office hours are M-F, 8am-5pm. If you need to make other arrangements, just give us a call. I'm usually in the office late on Wednesdays.

For a $2.00 DISCOUNT - tell us about your best experience at camp this year (in 3 sentences or more)! This only applies to 4-Hers who went camping June 1-5, 2009 at Ridley! ;)