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Sioux County Newsletter
January 2020
Calendar of Events
Jan. 1 – Office Closed
Jan. 2-3 – Level 1 and 2 Horsemanship Training at the Courthouse Meeting Room
Jan. 7 – Extension Board Meeting at 6 pm
Jan. 10 – Omaha Fashion Week 4-H student application due
Jan. 11 – Sidney Robotics Competition
Jan. 14 –Clover Kid workshop at Sioux County Courthouse at 3:45 pm
Jan. 20 – Office Closed
Jan. 24 – Rope Halter Workshop at 2 pm at Harrison Bible Church
Jan. 26 – Panhandle Best Contest at Rushville Legion at 8 am
4-H Enrollment is Now Open
4-H Enrollment is now open!! You can enroll your youth at ne.4honline.com. If you need help resetting your password, please contact the Extension Office. Youth need to be registered and pay the $5 dues by May 1st. While enrolling, youth have the opportunity to sign up for potential projects. They should select any of the projects they may potentially take to the 2020 Fair. Families also have the opportunity to order 4-H manuals for the upcoming year. Please let the Extension Office know if you have any questions or need help.
Mark your calendar on February 14th for an Enrollment Party! Families will get assistance with enrolling as well as discovering different projects.
Horse Level Workshop
Isabelle Buhr will be teaching the non-riding part of the Nebraska 4-H Horsemanship Levels 1 and 2. She plans to offer this workshop in the Sioux County Courthouse meeting room on the afternoon of Thursday, January 2 and/or Friday, January 3. Please watch the Sioux County 4-H Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/groups/970710746312907/) for details. We would like to help 4-H horse members complete Nebraska Horsemanship Levels 1 and 2 this year.
Lego Competition
On January 11th the Sheridan County Robotics teams will be competing at the Sidney Regional Qualifier. This competition will consist of 25 teams competing to earn their right to attend the state event in February. The teams will be judged on their robotics design, their innovation project solution, how well they work together as a team on a given task, and the robotic mission game. During the mission game, teams have two and a half minutes to complete as many missions as possible by their pre-programmed robot. The contest is also looking for volunteers to assist with the competition. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact the Extension Office. Volunteers can serve as judges assistants, pit runners, and field resetters. To sign up to volunteer, please go to this link! https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1TYivcdXGvoyu608h-yQU8iqmyIky2aZI6Twqw1HIshs/edit?usp=sharing
January Clover Kid Workshop
Clover Kid members are youth between the ages of 5 and 7 as of January 1, 2020. These youth will experience teamwork, social interaction, and decision-making skills while participating in hands on activities. Upon participation in these workshops, youth will have Clover Kid projects to display at the 2020 Sioux County Fair. The January workshop will be held on January 16th starting at 3:45 pm at the Sioux County Extension Office. Please contact the Nebraska Extension Sioux County Office or Melissa Mracek at mmracek2@unl.edu to pre-register for this free event.
Rope Halter Workshop
Youth will have the opportunity to create another fair project during their January Early Out. Tasha Morava will help youth create rope halters. The workshop will be held on January 24th from 2 to 4 pm at the Harrison Bible Church. All youth are welcome to participate. The fee for this workshop is $10. Please pre-register by January 17th by contacting the Nebraska Extension Sioux County Office or Melissa Mracek at mmracek2@unl.edu to ensure we have enough supplies for everyone.
Shooting Sports Competition
The Panhandle Best Competitions are starting in January! The first shooting match will be held on Sunday, January 26th at the Rushville American Legion. Youth members will participate in BB Gun Shoot and Air Rifle Shoot. Members must have attended at least one shooting sports practice. Shooting sports practices are held on Saturdays at 1 pm at the Fire Hall.
Omaha Fashion Week
Nebraska 4-H is once again partnering with Omaha Fashion Week during their Spring Showcase. OFW Student Night will take place on Tuesday, February 25, 2020 and will exclusively feature student designers, including a 4-H collection. This collection will consist of 10 to 12 garments from across the state. Each garment will be modeled by the 4-H member who made it. In order to create a complete and dynamic collection, interested 4-H members are invited to apply to participate in the show. Applications are due January 10th. Complete the following application form: https://go.unl.edu/ofw2020
Statewide Youth Leadership Opportunity
The Nebraska Extension Leadership Youth Team is excited to announce a new opportunity for Nebraska High School Youth (Grades 9-12). We are searching for youth (possibly you!) to join us in planning a statewide Youth Leadership Conference for 2021. The purpose of this conference is to fulfill the following needs:
- Opportunities for youth voice
- Connection with UNL faculty and staff
- Familiarization and comfort with the UNL campus
- Leadership skill development and practice
- State level opportunities for youth leadership
Our bold idea is to develop a state level leadership development program, a Nebraska Youth Leadership Conference, which is co-created by a team of youth. Would you be willing to serve on this team? This program will allow youth voice in our capitol by preparing young leaders to express the youth perspective on emerging issues. Youth will also develop and practice leadership skills that they will be able to take back and use in their own communities.
We would like to invite High School aged youth who are interested in helping plan this Youth Leadership Conference, to participate in a Zoom Meeting on January 2, 1:00 p.m. for more information and how to apply to be on the Youth Leadership Advisory Council which will help develop and implement this conference. Please contact Melissa Mracek to gain the zoom link for this meeting.
Help us grow the Sioux County 4-H Program!
We have a wonderful opportunity for people who are interested in giving back to the 4-H program but cannot make a significant time commitment. We are willing to pay $100 per workshop session. Volunteers would be required to complete a contract, volunteer screening, watch a youth development video, create a plan for the workshop, notify the office of the supplies required, and keep track of workshop attendance. The workshop topics we are looking for are a Livestock Judging Coach, Welding, Woodworking, Photography, Sewing, and Wildlife. This would be a great opportunity for high school youth who are looking to earn some extra money as well. Please contact the Extension Office if you are interested in hosting a 4-H workshop.
Special Garden Project
This project is open to all youth of 4-H age and it will give them the opportunity to learn about growing, harvesting, and exhibiting this unique flower. The Special Gardening Project lets 4-H members try their hand at growing unusual vegetables and flowers. The project allows experienced 4-H gardeners to grow something fun, new, and different while letting those new to gardening get their feet wet in this project area.
4-H members enrolled in the Special Garden Project will:
-Receive a ‘packet’ of Classic Magic Bachelor Buttons(one packet per youth) in March/Apri
-Receive a newsletter about:
- Planting & growing bachelor buttons
- Bachelor button problems & insects
- Harvesting & using bachelor buttons
- State Fair Special Garden Project Educational Exhibit Class G-775-001
- State Fair Special Garden Project Fresh Cut Flowers or Harvested Vegetables G-775-002
- Other fun county only ways to exhibit this unique flower like a story, poem, or poster.
Enroll for the 2020 Special Garden Project through 4-H Online and contact the Nebraska Extension Sioux County Office to order packets of seeds.
* Classic Magic Bachelor Buttons photo courtesy of Johnny’s Select Seeds, Johnnyseeds.com, 1-877-564-6697.
New 4-H Photography Showcase
The 4-H Photography Showcase offers a project exhibition opportunity beyond traditional print media. It is intended to help youth develop professional and technical skills as photographers while fostering creativity and encouraging self-expression. Through this opportunity,, youth are encouraged to practice and apply skills learned in their photography projects throughout the year.
How Does It Work?
Each month, a new photo will be selected from the online submissions. Selections will be made based on creativity, timeliness, technical execution, originality, and appropriateness. The selected photo will be showcased across the Nebraska 4-H social media channels, including Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Youth photographers will be credited wherever and whenever their photo is shared or published.
This opportunity is open to all enrolled 4-H members. Photo recommendations, file specifications, rules, and guidelines for participation are available online at https://4h.unl.edu/photography-showcase.
2020 Pick Your Project
The Pick Your Project, available at http://4hcurriculum.unl.edu, has been updated for the 2020 program year.
To assist 4-H members, volunteers, and parents, with locating curriculum to support 4-H projects, two resources are available:
1) A new 4-H Projects page at https://4h.unl.edu/projects
2) A Printable Project Listing at https://4h.unl.edu/documents/NE4H-Project-Listing-2020.docx
Both of these resources can be publicly accessed at https://4h.unl.edu/resources
Using the searchable, web-based 2020 Pick Your Project, users will be able to search for projects by keywords, curriculum areas, knowledge levels, and geographic levels. It is the intent that this feature will assist 4-H youth, volunteers and families with learning about the project opportunities using the Pick Your Project and then locating the same project in 4HOnline. Enhancements for the future of the web-based Pick Your Project continue, and its integration with the new 2020 Nebraska State Fairbook will be shared soon!
Nebraska Extension Sioux County Office
Email: mmracek2@unl.edu
Website: go.unl.edu/siouxcofair
Location: PO Box 277 Harrison, NE 69346
Phone: (308) 668-2428
Facebook: facebook.com/UNLSiouxCounty