Welcome to Oahu 4-H's online newsletter.

February 2010

Aloha 4-H Members and Leaders,

Congratulations to all of the Food Show participants! We definitely benefited from what we learned and shared about creating and preparing “Quick & Easy” recipes to fit into our fast-paced lives. Mahalo again to all the leaders, judges and supporters!

February is here and with it comes the Chinese New Year of the Tiger, Valentine’s Day and Presidents Day. Wishes to you for good luck, long life and prosperity, wishes for love, and wishes for integrity to be exercised by our government leaders to make good moral decisions for our future.

Stay tuned, the exec board will be meeting this month and revealing the next events soon!!!

The next big event for Oahu County is the 4-H Fashion Show and Photography Contest. This event was decided by the Executive Board at their retreat in which they planned the calendar of activities for the year. They also decided to take on the chairing of this event. The tri-chairs of the Fashion Show are Aiko, Erin and Staci. Kyrra will chair the Photography contest. The Fashion Show and judging of the garments will take place on Sunday, May 2, 2010 at the Art Auditorium on the UH campus. At that time the photos will already be judged and on display with the awards.

Here are some important dates to remember:

February 15, 2010 workshop on basic Photography from 9 am to 12 noon. The presenter is Calvin Abe, a former teacher from Pearl City High School. The theme is “Something Special at the Urban Garden”. He will cover the use of a digital camera, taking photos of the garden and photo evaluation. He promises to make the workshop very basic with lots of hands on activities. Please save the date and attend this workshop.

April  13, 2010 the photographs and Fashion Revue forms will be due.

April 25, 2010 the photographs will be judged.

The chairs are looking for the clubs to assist them with the following committees:

The committee will try to organize a workshop for the Fashion Show, please stay tune for more information.

This is just some general information which sometimes as adults, we may need to be reminded about. 4-H is an out-of-school educational program which we strive to teach the youth life skills which will help them become contributing citizens in the future. As adults we need to remember, we should guide the youth along and let them take the lead and make decisions. Whatever decisions they may make (good or bad) it should be a learning situation for them. As adults we need to be supportive, but also help the youth process their thoughts so if a “bad” decision is made, they will be able to see what went wrong without being put down. I firmly believe providing the youth the opportunity such as being emcees or standing in front of an audience and conducting a meeting is a great learning situation. I know we want our children to not make mistakes, but I believe making a mistake is a great way to learn. I believe in 4-H we provide the youth many opportunities and if they make a mistake, it is okay as long as they have the opportunity to process what went wrong and how they could do it better the next time.

As an out-of-school educational program, we also try to provide some positive learning situations for the youth. This is for the youth and may also be helpful for the adults. We provide opportunities for youth to learn to fill out forms, one such form is the nutritional analysis for the Food Show. We are not making it hard or sound like school work. We are providing youth the opportunity to fill out forms completely and correctly. Like anything else, you should take pride in whatever we do. So I believe filling out the food show nutritional analysis is like filling out an application. Please take the time to read the questions and do what the questions ask. If you don’t know how to answer a question, don’t hesitate to ask an adult for clarification. Go through the form and make sure you answer all the questions. Do a good job and answer in complete sentences. If you can type in the answer that is great, but if you have to write in the answers, please use a pen. In filling out the nutritional analysis form if you don’t answer a question you get points deducted, but sometimes when you fill out a real application and don’t answer on question your application will be thrown out. So take pride in whatever you do whether it is for 4-H or school. In life there will be lots of forms that you will need to fill out.

Rose Saito

AMR 4-H Cooking Club’team of Kevin Klein, Tyra Wilson, and Athena Knight  participated in their first 4-H food show on January 30.

After the show, the teens took the time to reflect on their experience:

Reflections…

Tyra: “I was proud that we won the Red Ribbon award. At first I was nervous but I became confident later on. I also learned that it will take a lot of practice for something to be perfect.” Athena:  “We practiced a lot of times for our dish and I was happy to share the dish during the food show. It was not bad for the first timers.” Kevin: “ I had fun! That was actually good for the teens to see other people outside AMR MST.” And then to help them for future 4-H events, they ponder on how they can better themselves…

Tyra:” Think positive and believe in yourself. Have fun!!!” Kevin:  “Plan and have fun!!!Everybody should at least try it. It’s scary at first but when you actually do it…it’s not that bad at all.” Athena: “Just be confident and be prepared. It took us forever to practice our dish. Thanks to Ms. Maria!”

Great job AMR Teens!

Happy New Year leaders…I wish you all a safe and healthy 2010. Don’t forget to mark your calendars for the State 4-H Leaders’ Conference April 9-11. The Planning Committee Co-Chaired by Oma Telles and Renee Chung are busy planning for some activities after dinner on Friday and a day of learning and fun on Saturday which will end with our banquet at the Elks Club. When registering for the conference, please let us know if you have special needs. If you have any country store or auction items, that committee will be happy to get your donation. The Oahu County council voted to subsidize $25 for all Oahu leaders’ registration so we hope to see many Oahu leaders’ registered for $50. Don’t forget to make your hotel reservation with Ohana Waikiki West Hotel to make it a nice weekend getaway with no cooking or cleaning.

Registration information can be located here:
http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/4h/forms/2010_State4H_LeaderConf.pdf

The 2010 Western Regional 4-H Leaders’ Forum (WRLF) will be held in Albuquerque, NewMexico from March 11 - 14. A wonderful variety of activities, workshops and tours available for 4-H Leaders. Funding assistance is available for Maui leaders. Conference rate for rooms is available through February 10, 2010. See the NewMexico State University web site for more information: http://aces.nmsu.edu/4h/wrlf2010/

Bertha Kaui

After-school sites are now hosting more full-day programs due to furlough Fridays and staff who serve as 4-H leaders have been given more responsibilities. But some clubs are meeting the challenges, and despite staffing issues, they have continued to meet and are moving forward.

Bennett Youth Center’s Music & Drama club met on January 11th. During the meeting, youth discussed what went well and what needs improvement from their last performance, which was at the end of December. One dance they had learned they did not get to perform, so the club decided to improve their moves and perform it in the Spring.

Helemano School Age site has been running two clubs this year, cooking and theater arts. Children who had participated in all 10 sessions of cooking have now switched over and will be doing theater, as the theater club now moves to cooking. Cooking club has made a cake, taken a tour of a professional kitchen and learned the importance of safe food handling with hand washing. Theater club has done pantomiming, written skits and made their own face make-up.

The Aliamanu Teen Center has continued cooking club, arts/photography & gardening.  Three members of cooking club made pineapple salsa and entered into the January 30th Oahu County 4-H Food Show. Art club recently made their own candles using wax and decorative items.

Camp Zama School Age (Japan) report that all 9 of their clubs continue to meet regularly.  Communications club has begun the “SAS Kid News” a news program produced by the youth and posted on their website, but also broadcast by the MWR channel in Japan.

Candle making at the AMR Teen Center	Music & Drama club rehearse, while new members observe

Carmen Golay

Ten new 4-H clubs will receive official charters this year. In order for these military clubs to be recognized in this way, the leaders must submit complete youth enrollment forms and 10 detailed lesson plans for club activities including processing questions. After enrollments and lesson plans are received, we provide written feedback on a score sheet to the leaders so that they might improve the lessons using ESPGA and emphasizing Belonging, Independence, Generosity and Mastery.

The ten clubs receiving charters this year:
Aliamanu School Age: Theater Club, Up for the Challenge, Pet Pals, Gardening
Bennett Youth Center: Multicultural Club
Helemano School Age: Cooking Club, Theater Club
Camp Walker (Korea) School Age: Community Club, Music Club, Photography Club

January 14, 2010: 22 Oahu-based military 4-H leaders participated in a half-day meeting and training. Throughout the year the leaders are tasked with promoting their club activities or a specific event so we conducted a hands-on "poster making" session. Utilizing the 4-H Communications Toolkit, we took a train-the-trainer approach so that leaders can help club members understand basic design principles when promoting their 4-H events.

We also began planning for "Spring Fling" 4-H events. Each year in March, during the Spring Break holiday, 4-H clubs host or attend various events to celebrate the end of their 4-H year and accomplishments. More info to come on what the group has planned for this year.

If you have questions or want to know more about military 4-H clubs in Hawaii, Japan, Korea or Kwajalein, you can contact Carmen Golay: military4-h@ctahr.hawaii.edu.

Carmen Golay

Thanks to the generous support of Office Max and its employees, Hawaii Operation: Military Kids will have 500 more Hero Packs to distribute to children of military personnel during the upcoming year.

Office Max Hawaii not only provided $3000 worth of items for the Hero Packs but their employees spent their Martin Luther King day packing the Hero Packs in their lunch and conference rooms at their Waipio warehouse. 

Thank you also to Sara Fukuhara, Erin Nakatsuka, and Adria Pang and members of Girl Scout Troop 1069 for facilitating the assembling of the Hero Packs.

Claire Nakatsuka

The 2010-2011 National 4-H GIS/GPS Leadership Team Application

Be a part of this exciting leadership opportunity. Applications for State 4-H youth-adult teams to support 4-H GIS and community mapping programs are being accepted. The overall GIS/GPS leadership team is typically 20-40 teens and adults from 7-15 states.

Youth and adult team members will need to commit to spending 2-8 hours a month on Team responsibilities throughout the year. As members of the leadership team, youth and adults will:

• Attend the ESRI International GIS Educator and User conferences in San Diego, including participating in a 4-H GIS service project, attending educational sessions and workshops and discussing your 4-H GIS projects and activities in workshops or  exhibits (arriving July 8, departing July 14);
• Take a lead role throughout the year on a project to support and promote 4-H GIS activities nationally and at the state and local level;
• Active participation in online community, conference calls and other team communications to collaborate, document and implement national leadership plan;
• Serve as reviewers for 2011 4-H GIS software grant applications.

A state team is normally composed of one or two 4-H youth and one adult. Youth must be 4-H members and at least age 14 (or higher if required by your state 4-H out-of-state trips). Adults may be 4-H/Extension staff or qualified and approved 4-H volunteers.

For the ESRI GIS conference, team members need to cover the costs for travel, local ground transportation, meals, lodging and incidentals. The conference fee has been waived by ESRI for the 4-H GIS/GPS team. You may also need to purchase a 4-H Technology Team polo shirt which is required dress for all team members at the ESRI conference. Estimated cost for meals, lodging and ground transportation will be approximately $800 per person double occupancy  You can learn more about the conference at http://www.esri.com/events/uc/index.html.

Obtain an application from any 4-H Extension agent.  Completed applications require a signature from the State 4-H office and  must be sent no later than March 12, 2010.   Team applications will be reviewed and selections made in mid-April. If you have questions, you can contact me at: Email:  JKahler@NIFA.USDA.GOV. Voice: 202-690-1568

Jim Kahler
Program Specialist
National 4-H Headquarters, NIFA, USDA

Global Youth Service Day 2010 will be April 23-25
Global Youth Service Day (GYSD) is an annual campaign that celebrates and mobilizes
the millions of children and youth who improve their communities each day of the
year through service and service-learning. Establishedin 1988, GYSD is the largest
service event in the world and is now celebrated in over 100 countries. On GYSD,
children and youth address the world’s most critical issues in partnership with
families, schools, community and faith-based organizations, businesses, and
governments. The goals of GYSD are to:
Mobilize

• youth to identify and address the needs of their communities; organizations to provide opportunities for youth engagement;
• media and policy makers to promote and raise awareness of young people as assets and resources to their communities.

Support

• youth on a lifelong path of service and civic engagement;
• schools and organizations through training and technical assistance, grants, and resources that enable them to engage youth.

Sustain

• community improvement though year-round engagement of youth as leaders and problem-solvers.
  

Get Ur Good On Grants (Deadline: February 22)

Get Ur Good On Grants are available for youth-led service initiatives on Global Youth Service Day, April 23-25, 2010. Available to children and youth around the world, YSA's Get Ur Good On Grants will award 100 $500 grants to support projects addressing critical community needs such as poverty, education, and environmental sustainability. Grant applications are due February 22, 2010. To learn more about Get Ur Good On Grants and to take the eligibility quiz, visit www.YSA.org/grants

Nominations of Young Heroes Invited for Gloria Barron Prize  (Deadline: April 30)

Young people between the ages of 8 and 18 will be recognized for the positive difference they have made to others and our planet; each will receive $2,500 to support their service work or higher education....*Deadline:* April 30, 2010 check out: http://foundationcenter.org/pnd/rfp/rfp_item.jhtml?id=282800007

2010 Project Orange Thumb Grants (Deadline: February 19)

Annie's Grants for Gardens

4-H Clover Corner News
For additional articles on 4-H youth development nationwide, check out the National 4-H Clover Corner News at http://www.4hblogs.org/ccn/

We welcome your story ideas.
Please e-mail them to nakatsuk@hawaii.edu

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