The Funky 4-Her December Newsletter Happy New Year! What's Happening? December Calendar January Calendar Check Out This Project! Contact Us
Happy New Year! The Fairfax County 4-H Program would like to wish everyone a happy and healthy New Year! Do you have any New Years resolutions for you or your club? Let us know! Share your resolutions with us on Facebook or Twitter.
Block & Bridle Hippology & Horse Judging The primary objective of the Hippology contest is to provide, in a friendly but competitive setting, an opportunity for youth to demonstrate the breadth of their knowledge and understanding of equine science and management. We hope that this contest will generate new friendships and be a rewarding experience for the contestants. It will be held on February 9 at Virginia Tech Alphin- Stuart Arena. 4-H Day at the Capitol 4-H Day at the Capitol provides an opportunity for youth to learn about governmental procedures and the importance of citizen involvement. Participants visit with legislators, sharing their 4-H experiences and learning about the role of legislators in government. They will observe the legislative process in action, have opportunities to learn about the congressional aides and pages programs, and have an opportunity to tour the Capitol, museums, or other historical sites in the Richmond area. The event will be held on January 30. See our website for more details! What's happening? Family Camp 2018 Holiday Lake 4-H Center hosts a Family Camp every summer, this year's camp will be held May 28- June 1. More information and registration is available at: https://holidaylake4h.com/family camp.php Kid's Tech University This is a semester-long educational research program developed by the Biocomplexity Institute and Virginia 4-H, puts scientists and engineers in front of children to encourage the exploration of intriguing topics in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). On Jan. 27, Feb. 17, March 17 and April 7, 2018, 450 kids (ages 9-12 by Sept. 31st 2017) and their parents will come to Virginia Tech (Blacksburg, VA) to watch Interactive Sessions by renowned research scientists and participate in hands-on activities. Each day's events will center on common themes related to everyday life. Registration is now open!! There is a $100 registration fee and scholarships are available. Please seehttp://kidstechuniversity.vbi.vt.edu
Hokie Horse Camp The Hokie Horse Camp is an opportunity to provide 4-H Horse Project members an opportunity to learn new techniques of horsemanship and to enjoy the fellowship of other 4-H members and volunteers from the state. The camp is designed to increase the horse knowledge, skills, and showing techniques of the advanced rider as well as to introduce beginner riders to the basics of horsemanship. This camp will also serve as a qualifying clinic and horsemanship skills testing for those youth attending the 2018 Virginia State 4-H Horse Show. This year, the camp will be held from Saturday, July 7 to Wednesday, July 11, 2018, located at Alphin Stuart Livestock Arena, Blacksburg - Horse Stabling; Riding/Horsemanship activities. What's Happening? Adopt a Soldier Help us Honor our Veterans and Deployed on Veteran's Day by sending a card or letter saying "Thank You" for your service and sacrifices. Please join Americas Adopt a Solider this Holiday Season, as we thank our veterans who are in a Veterans Home or Hospital and our deployed service members for their service and scarifies. Please send your cards and letters thanking our Veterans and financial support to the address: ORGANIZATION: Americas Adopt A Solider ADDRESS: 5400 Shawnee Road, Suite 300 Alexandria, VA 22312 ADDRESS FOR PACKAGES: P.O. Box 1049 Springfield, VA 22151 PHONE: (703)278-3718 WEBSITE: www.americasadoptasolider.org Banjo & Mandolin Workshop This is a beginner workshop designed for adult participants. Participation is limited to 10 participants for a better instructor ratio. Meals and lodging for the entire workshop is provided. A health form and information packet will be mailed upon receipt of your registration form and payment. Registration deadline is March 9, 2018. 6th Annual Christmas Day "Giving Back" ~ Join us in saying " Thank You" to our Veterans and Deployed Service Members for their service and sacrifices on December 25, 2017 from 1:00PM - 5:00PM at Kilroy's located in Ravensworth Shopping Center (5236 Port Royal Road, Springfield, VA). We will be packing Care Packages and Care Letters for our Deployed and Veterans.
Teen Weekend The Virginia State 4-H Cabinet presents the 12th Annual Statewide Teen Weekend! A new addition this year will allow teens to choose one of two tracks, either the traditional teen weekend track inclusive of workshop rotations or a leadership track working through and completing the National 4-H Step Up to Leadership Project Book. This event provides an opportunity for teens across the Commonwealth to come together for a weekend filled with educational workshops, leadership, and fun. Please note that the leadership track is limited to 16 teens The cost of the event is $110.00, which includes lodging, meals, snacks, and tons of FUN! We hope that you will join us for the weekend. What's Happening? Traditional Flintlock Rifle Workshop The Holiday Lake 4-H Educational Center will be hosting a rifle workshop from March 4-9, 2018. Learn how to build your own custom Flintlock Rifle! Rifle building experience not needed. Instruction and kits provided by Rifle builder Jimmy Blanks.Meals and lodging provided as part of this package. Hurry to register there is only one opening left! Youth Agricultural Leader's Summit We are hosting the 1st Annual Youth Agricultural Leaders Summit on December 1-3, 2017 at the SWVA 4-H Educational Center. This is a combination of promoting leadership, advocacy, and competition skills. It is also going to be used to introduce the concept of a new competition possibility through VA Farm Bureau Young Farmers of Discussion Meet for youth. We will even be having entertainment from a local musician and American Idol top 24 finalist. Going Green Christmas Camp This fun and interactive 4-H Camp will be held December 2-3, 2017 at Holiday Lake. Activities include: Recycled Christmas Decorations, Christmas Baking, Winter Wildlife Treats, Winter Wonderland Hike, Christmas Dance, and so much more! This program is open to youth ages 5-13. The camp is also collecting items for local animal shelters, so bring supplies to camp if you can! They are looking for: Dog/Cat Food (wet or dry), Treats, Dogs/Cat Toys, Rawhides, Blankets, Towels, Cleaning Supplies, and Laundry Supplies.
What's Happening? Holy Spirit Flames Club Invites you Please join the Holy Spirit 4-H Clubs to honor those who served by laying wreathes at the grave of every soldier at Arlington National Cemetery on Saturday, December 16th. They will be meeting at 8:30AM at the Fashion Center at Pentagon City Food court. There is plenty of parking and it s Metro accessible. From there, they will walk to the Cemetery together. Please email Mr. Pietuszka (MPietuszka@holyspiritflames.org) with the first and last names of each person in your party and a good cell phone number to reach you that morning. Fairfax County Council The 4-H County Council develops and approves the County 4-H Annual Plan, coordinates all County 4-H events and promotes enhanced communications between 4-H Clubs and the County. The Council is composed of the President and Delegate from all 4-H clubs. We will be voting on the 2017-2018 County Council very soon. Be sure to come out to our County Council meeting on December 11 at 7:00pm ready to run for office! FAA 4-H Junior Camp Jr. 4-H Camp is a week long overnight camp from Sunday - Thursday. Under the guidance of caring, trained, professional staff, youth between the ages of 9-19 years will laugh, grow and learn through a variety of wonderful activities. From rifle to zip lining, canoeing to archery, this camp offers fun, exciting and educational handson activities for campers in a sociallypositive environment. Campers and teen counselors are registered and trained through their local extension office throughout the summer by the Northern Virginia 4-H Center. Early bird registry is comping soon to Fairfax in the beginning of December, as well as the 2018 dates for the summer! WHEP/Natural Resources Weekend The Virginia State 4-H Wildlife Habitat Evaluation Program (WHEP) Contest will be held on Saturday, January 27 - Sunday, January 28th in conjunction with the 4-H Natural Resources Weekend at Holiday Lake 4-H Center. The contest region will be a Southeast Mixed and Outer Coastal Plain Forest. However, for the species ID portion of the contest, species found in the Urban and Wetlands regions may also be used so contestants should be familiar with those species for identification purposes.
7:00pm: Fairfax County Council Meeting 8:30am: Holy Spirit Flames Laying Wreaths December
January
Check out This Project! December's Project of the Month is: Goats! n the goat project, you will be responsible for purchasing and taking care of our goat. You can choose to specialize your project and knowledge on either eat, hair, or dairy production. When considering a livestock project there are few things to keep in mind. This is an incredibly rewarding experience that akes commitment and with the goat project in most cases for the county level t is about eight months of time. The best way to learn how to get started is to ontact your local county extension office. They can explain how to participate nd point you in the right direction for a goat and the focus you choose eat, dairy or hair. Contact Us! Virginia Cooperative Extension- Fairfax County Office Hours: 8 AM - 4:30 PM, Monday through Friday 12011 Government Center Parkway, Suite 1050 Fairfax, VA 22035 Phone: (703) 324-5369 E-mail: 4hfairfax@gmail.com fairfax4h.weebly.com Written by: Heather Walton Edited by: Krystal Williams