When will Winter wind-up?

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1 HOWARD COUNTY EXTENSION CLOVER CONNECTION MARCH x.8 Put your photo in here Michael Schaub HOWARD COUNTY EXTENSION County Youth Coordinator 132 1st Avenue West Cresco, IA mrschaub@iastate.edu When will Winter wind-up? WHAT S INSIDE: Judges Training County Council Corner Scholarship Opportunities Sewing Workshop Swine/Sheep Weigh-In Project Updates 4-H News Leader s Notes Clover Kids Citizenship Update Food & Fitness Update Calendar Dog Agility Information Summer Camp Information A little alliteration for the start of the March Clover Connection. I m hoping that maybe using a different writing style will get you in the mood to do some writing yourselves. Now is a great time (if you haven t already) to start making some goals and writing them down on your goal sheets. We are down to less than 114 days until the Mighty Howard County Fair and as of now you will have less than 20 days from the end of school until Project Judging Day. Keep that in mind when you have a little free time right now. There is a lot of information in this month s edition of the Connection so please take a gander and see what could pertain to you. Thank you, Michael Schaub Crestwood FFI 4-Hers Andrew Born, Hailey Praska and Kaylie Henry present at Regional Leadership Team Meeting. Reminder!! Spring Fair 2014 is right around the corner. Howard County st Avenue West, COUNTY Cresco, ADDRESS, IA CITY, Ph STATE XXX-XXX-XXXX Hours 8-12 Noon OFFICE 12:30 HOURS -4:30 Learn More at LEARN MORE AT Iowa State University Extension programs are available to all without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, or disability.

2 SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITIES Scholarship Opportunities Howard County 4-H Alumni Scholarship The Howard County 4-H Alumni scholarship applications will be distributed to eligible seniors after January 1st. These applications will be due March 21st. This scholarship requires a completed application and an interview with the Howard County 4-H Alumni Committee. Hoover Uncommon Student Herbert Hoover Uncommon Student Award is for Iowa High School Juniors. The award is a $5000 scholarship. The applicants are not evaluated on grades, test scores, essays or financial need. Instead, the applicants propose a project that they would like to accomplish. For more information go to uncommon_student.php. Deadline March 31. COUNTY COUNCIL AND OTHER NOTES County Council Corner The next County Council Meeting will be held at 2 p.m. on Sunday, March 23rd at the Extension Office. The time for the Citizenship group got changed so that is why we have an earlier time now. If this doesn t work for you please notify as soon as possible. Spring Fair Decoration prep will be taking place on March 13th at 3:30 p.m. Bring creative ideas and some clothes that you don t mind working in a little bit. I m sure we will have a couple more of these sessions but it would be nice to get a good start. We will also be setting up for Spring Fair on April 11th. Please block the early evening off so that we can get everything ready to roll. The more people that we have there, the faster everything will go. Clover Kids Help I am still looking for County Council support for Clover Kids in Cresco on March 18th. If you are available please let me know. Even if you can t stay the whole time, every little bit helps and I really appreciate it. JUDGE TRAINING OPPORTUNITY Northeast Iowa Judge Training From communications to agriculture and natural resources, Northeast Iowa 4-H fair judges and those considering being a 4-H judge will be trained Saturday, March 15, 2014 at the Hawkeye Community College in Waterloo, in selected project fields preparing for 2014 county and state fair contests. New judges are needed in the counties that represent Northeast Iowa. The specialized judges training prepares the adult evaluators in subject matter, rules and standards for the upcoming 4-H fair season. The areas that will be focused on during this event are: Communications, Photography, Ag & Natural Resources, Food & Nutrition, Visual Arts. If you have any questions or would like to attend, please contact the Extension Office. Registration deadline is March 3rd. Noteworthy Notes Sewing Workshop Available Sheila Lipa and the Heritage Homesteaders club will be hosting a sewing workshop at the Extension Office on March 22nd. Sheila will be leading the group on sewing your own pajamas. Bring in your favorite fabric and leave with a new pair of pajama pants. If you have any interest please contact the Extension Office prior to the day of the event for more information. 4-H Enrollment Update At the end of last year we were sitting at H members in Howard County. We also reached a peak of 60 Clover Kids last year. I think we are more than capable of reaching numbers much higher than this. Please do not stop encouraging others to join in on the fun. Let s see what we are capable of. 4-H Members currently enrolled: H Clover Kids currently enrolled: 71 MISSION STATEMENT 4-H EMPOWERS YOUTH TO REACH THEIR FULL POTENTIAL WORKING

3 4-H SUMMER CAMPS ARE RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER 4-H SUMMER CAMPS Youth in Howard County will once again have the opportunity to experience the fun at Pine Bluff 4-H Camp located near Decorah. We will have three overnight camps this year with two being for Junior 4-Hers (grades 4th-6th) and a two-night camp for Intermediate age youth (grades 7-8). This is an awesome time to meet new youth from across Region 4 (Northeast Iowa). The camps are packed with crazy fun and new experiences. Make sure you save the dates. Junior Camp #1: June 9th-10th Junior Camp #2: June 11th-12th Intermediate Camp: June 17th-19th SUMMER CAMP YOUTH COUNSELORS With youth summer camps coming that also means that we will be needing some camp counselors. 9th-12th graders will be needed to supervise all three camps that are scheduled. To supervise the Intermediate Camp you must be an 11th or 12th grader. Continue to watch the newsletter for more updates. If you are interested in becoming a camp counselor please contact Michael at mrschaub@iastate.edu or so we can get an application sent out to you. Application deadline for counselors will be April 15th. In addition to supervising at the camps you will also be required to attend camp counselor training that is scheduled for Thursday, June 5th. Watch the newsletter for more updates coming your way. Registrations will be sent out soon and the deadline for signing up will be April 15th. CITIZENSHIP AND LEADERSHIP ACTIVITIES 4-H Food and Fitness 4-H Citizenship Group This month the Cross-Age Teachers took eggs into the classroom to teach the youth about the benefits of adding protein to their diet. Our eggs this month came from Cedar Ridge Farms in Elgin, IA. The students were able to learn a lot about what they could eat to add protein into their body as well as how protein will make you big and strong. Our last meeting was a group meeting held at the First Lutheran Church in Decorah. Our guest speaker was a 25 year veteran of the Iowa State Patrol. She discussed with us the role of all law enforcement within our government as well as sharing some personal stories and career information. Also under the Food & Fitness umbrella, we had three members (Andrew Born, Hailey Praska, Kaylie Henry) of the Cresco Food and Fitness Team and one member (Morgan Kelley) plus the coach (Andrea Adams) of the Riceville Food and Fitness team attend the Regional Youth Leadership Council Meeting. There was a lot of networking that occurred with youth from seventeen different schools coming together and sharing what they have been doing as part of their Food and Fitness teams. The groups also took time to make goals for the coming year within their schools and hope to communicate these goals in the near future with school board members and decision makers within the school. The next meeting of the Regional Council will be on April 4th in Decorah. The next meeting is scheduled for March 23rd will be at Mabe s Pizza in Decorah at 4 p.m. This will be a joint meeting with Allamakee, Winneshiek and Mitchell Counties. This looks to be a very educational day and I hope you all can make it. If you feel like you may want to carpool please call the office before Thursday, March 20th so we can plan accordingly. We will have an opportunity to listen to people from a couple different parties to hear where their major values stand and what they are working to get done for our country. MISSION STATEMENT 4-H EMPOWERS YOUTH TO REACH THEIR FULL POTENTIAL WORKING

4 CLOVER KIDS Don t Miss Out: Clover Kids in Full Swing Elma Clover Kids drawing their favorite feature about each season. Clover Kids this month studied the Science of Weather. We learned about clouds, the water cycle and much more. We also had the chance to handle a tornado in a bottle. The craft of the day was making Valentine s Day Cards for a Nursing Home. Riceville: March 17th, 3:15-5:15 p.m., Riceville High School Lunch Room Cresco: March 18th, 3:30-5:30 p.m., Notre Dame Elementary Elma: March 15th, 9:15-11:15 a.m., St. Paul s Maple Leaf Lutheran Church LEADER REMINDERS Leader s Notes Spring Fair Information Packets have been sent out to the club leaders containing information and sign-up sheets for Spring Fair. Please discuss these with your club members and make sure they are aware what opportunities are available to them. If you have any questions please let us know. If you will need special equipment please notify the Extension Office. Ticket to Success The theme for the H Exhibit Building will be Ticket to Success. I would like to see some creativity with the decorations in the club booths this year. Let s show the public that we are proud of our clubs. Club Visits I will start coming around to clubs in the near future. I will most likely be contacting you before hand but if you are planning to venture off of the program book that you provided us with please notify us so I do not end up at a cancelled/moved meeting. Making Up Required Meeting We had a very nice turnout for our required Leader s Meeting the other night but we still have a few that need to get caught up. If you missed the meeting please call the Extension Office so we can set-up a time for you to complete this requirement. Background Screening Paperwork We are still missing background screening paperwork from a few leaders. This needs to be done ASAP. If you do not have the paperwork please contact us and we will make sure that you receive it. 4-H PLEDGE I PLEDGE MY HEAD TO CLEARER THINKING, MY HEART TO GREATER LOYALTY, MY HANDS TO LARGER SERVICE, AND MY HEALTH TO BETTER LIVING, FOR MY CLUB, MY COMMUNITY, MY COUNTRY, AND MY WORLD.

5 Project Updates DOG Dog Obedience/Agility Class Schedule is attached on the last page of the Newsletter. Reminder that if you plan on exhibiting a dog at the fair you must be attending these workouts. Please also notify the Extension Office if you are enrolling in the dog project so we can make sure that the appropriate paper work is sent out to you. We also do need proof that your dog is up-to-date on shots and vaccines. If you have not done so please make a copy of these records and drop them off at the office. SPRING FAIR The Spring Fair date has been set. We have again partnered with NICC to host our 4-H Spring Fair. Mark your calendars for April 12 th for the 2014 Spring Fair. Start encouraging members to think about participating. Make sure that all 4-Hers understand what all happens at Spring Fair and the awards that can be earned by participating. Spring fair is the day for all the communications projects to be presented and judged. If you have any further questions ask your leader or call the Extension Office. Entries are due March 24th to the Office. DAIRY Hoard s Dairyman Magazine is having it s 84th annual Dairy Cow Judging Contest. All 4-Hers are eligible to apply and there are cash prizes available to the winning 4-H clubs. If you are interested in participating please let Michael or Sue know at the Extension Office and we will get the information sent out to you. All entries are due by March 20th, If you have not participated before it is 5 classes of dairy animals and you are judging by pictures that Hoard s has printed and made available to the 4-H youth. If you have any other questions please call. Project Updates SWINE The Swine weigh-in this year will be held on Saturday, March 15th from 10 a.m. to noon at the Crestwood FFA Shop. The cost will be $2 per tag. We will be weighing by scheduled appointment time only. If you have not heard from us but plan on bringing hogs to the fair please get in contact with us ASAP. You must not leave your vehicle until directed to and you must have someone with you to handle the hogs. SHEEP WEIGH-IN The 2014 Sheep weigh-in is scheduled for Saturday, April 26th from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the Howard County Fairgrounds. Any sheep that will be entered for the Iowa State Fair must have a 4-H tag and retinal imaging done. This includes market lambs, commercial ewes and purebred breeding ewes. Cost is $2 per tag and $5 for retinal imaging. If you did not sign up in the sheep project area upon enrollment but plan to exhibit sheep, notify the Extension Office ASAP. HORSE It is the time of year again to start getting horse workouts written into your calendar. Workouts will be held every Wednesday night starting May 7th. They will be meeting at the arena on the Fairgrounds. If you have questions or would like to know more about these workouts you can call the Extension Office or get in contact with Darlene Vsetecka, Allen Stoddard, Travis Grover or Tess Kennon. 4-H IS BASED ON RESEARCH

6 4-H NEWS FSQA OPTIONS TO GET FSQA CERTIFIED STEM FESTIVAL Mark your calendars now for our 2014 FSQA Training. 4-H members that plan on exhibiting any animals at the county or state fair will need to be FSQA certified. Our training will be Thursday, May 22nd, 2014 at 5 p.m. at the Featherlite Building on the Fairgrounds. We will have pizza and beverages there for you. If this date will not work for you, please let us know so that we can make other arrangements with you. Youth in grades 4-6 must attend FSQA training each year. Youth in grades 7-9, have the option of attending training or completing a test which certifies them until 10th grade. Youth in grades will have the option of attending a training every year, or completing a test which will certify them until they turn 20 years of age. Families from across Northeast Iowa are invited to Calmar on Thursday, April 24th for the Northeast Iowa Family Stem Festival. This will be an evening full of driving robots, playing with tornadoes and even piloting flight simulators. This is a free event that will be taking place at the Northeast Iowa Community College (NICC) Wilder Business Center from 4:00-7:30 p.m. For more information about this or other STEM related events please visit 4-H NEWS IOWA 4-H YOUTH CONFERENCE Grab a Ticket to Success and head down to Iowa State University for a three-day adventure with 1000 other teenage youth from across the state. If you have completed the 8th grade or are currently a high school aged youth, you are eligible to attend. You do not have to be a 4- Her to attend this conference. You will dive into 3 full days of entertaining speakers, workshops, mixers, dances, a banquet and a community service project. This is an incredible opportunity. It does coincide with the fair but there are some that can do both. If you have interest please contact the Extension Office. 4-H LIVESTOCK ID S Livestock identification will once again be done through 4-H Online. All identifications must be done on 4-H online by Thursday, May 15, There is no leeway with this date. To enter non-weigh in species, you will need to log into your 4-H online family record and add the needed information to the Animal ID. Weigh-In animals will be entered by Extension staff but it is the responsibility of the member to verify that all of the information is correct. If you have any questions regarding this process feel free to call us at the Extension Office. Help sheets are available at enrollement/help.htm. 4-H/FFA AG CHALLENGE We would like to invite your FFA Chapters and 4-H groups to participate in the Farm Region 6 Ag Challenge. The Ag Challenge will be Monday, March 24, 2014, 6 p.m., at the NICC Dairy Center at Calmar. The Ag Challenge will test students' knowledge of agriculture and Farm Bureau. We hope your FFA Chapter or 4-H group will be able to participate. Refreshments will be served. To register, or if you have questions, call the Farm Bureau office in Fayette at , fax the Farm Bureau office in Fayette at , or send a letter. 4-H IS BASED ON RESEARCH

7 Calendar Of 4-H Events M ARCH APRIL FUTURE DATES TO KEEP IN MIND March 15th Howard County Swine Weigh-In, Crestwood Ag Room 10 a.m.-noon March 15th- Northeast Iowa 4-H Judges Training, Hawkeye Community College 9 AM-1:30 p.m. March 15th Elma Clover Kids, St. Paul s Lutheran Church, 9:15 a.m. March 17th Riceville Clover Kids, 3:15 p.m. March 18th- Cresco Clover Kids, 3:30 p.m. March 20th Regional 4-H & Youth Committee Meeting, Calmar, 6:30 p.m. March 21st Howard County Alumni Scholarship Applications due to Extension Office March 22nd Sewing Workshop, 11a.m.-1 p.m.; Extension Office March 23rd County Council Meeting, Extension Office; 2 p.m. March 23rd 4-H Citizenship Group, Basement of Mabe s Pizza, Decorah; 4 p.m. April 2nd Howard County 4-H Alumni Scholarship Interviews, Extension Office, 4:30-7 p.m. April 4th 4-H FFI Youth FEEST, 9 a.m. Decorah April 12th Spring Fair April 15 Regional Summer Camp Registrations and Camp Counselor Applications are due April 16th - Citizenship Trip to Des Moines, State Capitol, Iowa Supreme Court, Blank Children s Hospital April 24th STEM Hub Festival -NICC, Calmar Campus April 26th Howard County Sheep Weigh-In, Howard County Fairgrounds, 9-11 a.m. April 27th 4-H County Council Meeting, Extension Office, 4 p.m. May 7 Horse Workouts Begin May 15 4-H/FFA Livestock Entries Due on iowa.4honline.com/ NO EXCEPTIONS May 22nd FSQA Training June 9-10 Jr. Camp #1 Pine Bluff Camp June Jr. Camp #2 Pine Bluff Camp June Intermediate Camp Pine Bluff Camp June 24th-26th Iowa 4-H Youth Conference, Iowa State University June 23rd June 29th Mighty Howard County Fair March 24th Spring Fair Entries Due to the Extension Office March 29th State Recognition Awards Interviews Ames, IA Want to Find Out More?!? WANT TO KNOW MORE? Visit us at: FIND US AT: EXTENSION.IASTATE.EDU/4H/YOUR COUNTY NAME HERE Like us on Facebook: Howard County 4-H Follow us on

8 COUNTY ADDRESS, CITY, STATE XXX-XXX-XXXX OFFICE HOURS LEARN MORE AT Iowa State University Extension programs are available to all without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, or disability.

9 COUNTY ADDRESS, CITY, STATE XXX-XXX-XXXX OFFICE HOURS LEARN MORE AT Iowa State University Extension programs are available to all without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, or disability.