4-H Friday NewsBlast for 05/01/2020

Do you know a 4-H member or a 4-H Club that has helped the community during Covid 19 or anytime? If you or your club have helped our community let us know we would love to showcase their efforts! Just me tcavanaugh2@unl.edu

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COVID-19 IN-PERSON PROGRAMMING DATE EXTENDED

Per University Extension guidelines, will continue to provide only remote programming through June 15, 2020. Decisions beyond that timeframe will be made later.

As a reminder this includes: club meetings, summer workshops, YQCA trainings, and camps. Please refer to the Cass County 4-H Calendar to view a complete list of events between today, April 28th and June 15th, will be held virtually.

If you have any questions, please contact the office at 402-267-2205, cass-county@unl.edu.

We hope to see you all sooner rather than later. Until then, be well!

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Due to University Guidelines, there will not be any more in-person trainings offered this year. Youth will need to complete the online training to obtain their YQCA certificate. The Cass County 4-H Council voted to purchased web-based training codes so our 4-H members can take this training at NO COST!!! Thank you 4-H Council!

Contact Tammy Cavanaugh at 402-267-2205 or email: tcavanaugh2@unl.edu to receive your free YQCA Code.

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The Cass County Extension office will open back up May 11th. Please follow COVID 19 guidelines when coming to the office.

We encourage you to wear a mask and sanitize both before and after visiting us. The health and wellness of both our staff and the public is extremely important and we encourage you to follow CDC guidelines when visiting us. Remember, we can also be reached via phone and email to answer any questions you may have.

As always we are here for you!! Email the office at cass-county@unl.edu, or call 402-267-2205. Or contact our Unit Leader, Lauren Stohlmann, at Lauren.Stohlmann@unl.edu or call 402-409-0747.

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The County Contest will be held on Zoom on June 2nd, 2020 at 6:30 p.m. Registrations are due by May 15, 2020!

A list of rules and guidelines, as well as the registration form can be found here - Cass County 4-H Public Speaking Contest Entry Form

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Special Summer 2020 Opportunity for High School Students

Are you a high school sophomore or junior who wants to positively impact the world? We encourage you to apply for a special summer session of the Cultivate ACCESS community.

As a Cultivate ACCESS scholar, you will be mentored by career professionals to help you explore your career interests. You will also connect with college student ambassadors for additional mentoring and to help you prepare for life after high school. As a Cultivate ACCESS scholar, you will gain valuable employability skills including leadership, teamwork and communication.

Visit cultivate.unl.edu/scholars for application instructions or contact us at cultivate@unl.edu for more information. Don’t delay – applications are due May 15th!

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Do you show Poultry? Cats? Rabbits? Have you ever wondered how judges choose the ribbons placings in the classes you show in? Join the Companion Animal Judges Workshop!

For more information and to sign up: https://4h.unl.edu/companion-animal-judges-workshop

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Scholarship application requirements include:

v Completed application form (this form with information above completed).

v 250-500 word typed essay about “How participation in the 4-H Shooting Sports better prepared you for college and for life.” (Consider these things in your response: Safety, Personal Responsibility, Discipline Skills, Self-Control, Personal Growth, Organizational Skills, Problem Solving/Critical Thinking, Leadership & Teamwork) Essay must be single spaced, 12 point font with 1” by 1” margins.

v Only one (1) letter of recommendation from 4-H leader, coach, or equivalent, who is not a relative.

v Scholarship Packet is made up of 3 items: 1) personal information as requested on the application, 2) 250-500 word essay, 3) One letter of recommendation.

v Scholarship Packet must be submitted as one pdf, doc. docx, or jpeg.

More information:

http://www.4-hshootingsports.org/state_contacts.php

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Blaine French, UNL Head Livestock Evaluation Coach, has created a new video series on livestock judging!

During this unusual time I know that it is extremely difficult for youth to have the opportunity to practice livestock judging and prepare for future contests. This new video series will provide students the chance to evaluate the class, listen to a critique of the class, and hopefully gain some knowledge regarding terminology for their reasons moving forward. Each week we will add 1 to 3 classes to the series that way students will enjoy plenty of content. Youth can access these videos at http://4h.unl.edu/livestock or http://4h.unl.edu/self-paced-videos. Once you get to the website, simply scroll down and you should see the link for the online video series which is located on YouTube.

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Our educator has a brand new program for you during these unprecedented time:

Join us for our Take Five Friday series every week starting Friday, March 27th at 10:30 a.m. for Take Five Friday! We know there are plenty of AWESOME resources out there for your youth to learn their reading, writing, and arithmetic so we want to offer a time for your youth to exercise their social-emotional skills. During our new live stream series, Take Five Friday, youth will engage with their fellow 4-Hers LIVE for 30 minutes every Friday. We want this to be a time for youth to recharge in a fun, educational, safe, and socially distant way!

Youth must register in advance for this meeting. Youth must be enrolled in Cass County 4-H member for the 2019 - 2020 year to receive a registration invite.

So if you haven't yet, please enroll your 4-Hers at https://ne.4honline.com

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Looking for some fun activities? Check out the National 4 H page here, they have some pretty great projects that look like fun!!! Any project with mentos and soda will be fun! Email tcavanaugh2@unl.edu a video if you do the mentos and soda project!

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The UNL College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources has launched the Change Maker Competition, a quick pitch scholarship competition for prospective and current CASNR students who dare to dream big and do the extraordinary to address worldwide issues. Submit a two-minute video explaining your big idea to address grand challenges and be entered to win full-tuition scholarships for the 2020-21 academic year. Winning students will also be matched with a mentor to help make their big idea a reality.

Learn more and enter ›› https://casnr.unl.edu/casnr-change-maker-competition

Deadline: May 15!!

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Click here for the 2020 Fair book! If you would like a hard copy please let us know! Each club will get 1 copy at no charge, they are $2.00 each for additional copies. Just give us a call or email and we will work out a pick up time for you!

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4-H DOG SHOWMANSHIP RESOURCES!

We are excited to introduce a new resource for the Dog 4-H program! We have developed a Dog Showmanship Video series that covers the basics of Dog 4-H showmanship including video examples and descriptions of the patterns. This video series can be found on the 4-H Companion Animal Program web page under the Program Resources section https://4h.unl.edu/companion-animal or on our Companion Animal YouTube page https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL579hRei5D7xwKTqpe8kJw0GnfKK4x8l4.

*****JOIN THE VIRTUAL DOG CLUB!! https://4h.unl.edu/virtual-dog-club

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There are three new project books and new classes for fair entries! A brief description of the classes are listed, more details will be listed in the Fair Book. If you would like to purchase a project book please give us a call or email the Extension Office and we will get them to you!

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For updates on Nebraska 4-H and the University of Nebraska- Lincoln’s evolving position on COVID-19, please visit https://covid19.unl.edu. They have also added a message to the 4-H page with messaging and updates on state level events (https://4h.unl.edu/covid-19).

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As was stated before, UNL Extension is developing some great virtual and at-home learning opportunities. More and more will be coming.

To start, go to: https://4h.unl.edu/virtual-home-learning

You'll find: Living Room Learning, Boredom Buster Challenge, Self-Paced Opportunities, and various Activity Guides.

Take a look at this website: https://4h.unl.edu/diamond-clover

Now, while kids are out of school, working on the Diamond Clover program, offered through 4-H, would be a great thing to do!

Stay up to date with all horse show activities at https://extension.unl.edu/statewide/clay/2020-district-horse-shows-open-shows/

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4-H Calendar - Be sure to check often for cancellations and updates

1. RESCHULED DATE: Cass County 4-H Public Speaking Contest - June 2, 2020 Via Zoom
   
2. Horse IDs - Deadline May 8, 2020
   
3. Level Testing, - Deadline May 8, 2020
4. Entry for District and State Deadline - May 8, 2020
5. 4-H Project Deadline for county fair - May 15, 2020
   
6. Cass County 4-H Council Meeting - May 18, 2020
7. Cass County Extension Office Closed for Memorial Day - May 25, 2020
8. Cancelled:Pawnee Fit and Feed Clinic - May 30, 2020
9. Cancelled:2020 Winner Unlimited Livestock Judging Camp at UNL (one-day camp) - June 2
10. Cancelled:2020 Winner Unlimited Livestock Judging Camp at UNL (multi-day camp) - June 3-5
11. Cancelled:YQCA Training in Cass County - June 4, 2020
12. Online Horticulture Judging Contest - June 5-22, 2020
13. Cancelled: Big Red Camps in Lincoln - June 7-12
14. New 4-H Member Enrollment Deadline - June 15, 2020
15. Cass County 4-H Animal ID Sheets Due - June 15, 2020
16. YQCA Certification Completion Due to Extension Office - June 15, 2020
17. District Horse Show information - June 15, 16, 17, 18, 19
18. PASE/Life Challenge Contest at UNL - June 22-24, 2020
19. 4-H Plant Science and Insect Contest - June 25, 2020
20. Tractor Safety Training - July 1-2, 2020
21. Cass County Extension Office Closed for Independence Day - July 3, 2020
22. State Horse Show at Fonner Park - July 12-16, 2020
23. County Fair Online Pre-Entries Due - July 15, 2020
24. Cass County 4-H Dog Contest - July 18, 2020
25. Cass County 4-H Council Meeting - July 20, 2020

Lauren Stohlmann, Extension Educator and Unit Leader, lauren.stohlmann@unl.edu

Katie Kreuser, Extension Educator, katie.kreuser@unl.edu

Tracy Ensor, Extension Assistant, tracy.ensor@unl.edu

Tammy Cavanaugh, 4-H Support Staff, tcavanaugh2@unl.edu

Sandy Prall, Office Manager, sprall2@unl.edu

General Mailbox, cass-county@unl.edu

Email: cass-county@unl.edu
Website: www.cass.unl.edu
Location: 8400 144th Street, Weeping Water, NE, 68463
Phone: 402-267-2205
Facebook: facebook.com/UniversityofNebraskaLincolnExtensionCassCounty
Twitter: @UNLCassCounty