Waldo County 4-H Newsletter – September 2021
Upcoming Dates
09/09: 4-H Leader’s Association Annual Meeting
10/3-9: National 4-H Week
10/15: 4-H Project Records due at County office
11/2021: National 4-H Congress Trip
County News
Waldo County 4-H Leaders’ Association
The Waldo County 4-H Leader’s Association will be hosting their annual meeting on September 9th at 10:30 am. All 4-H volunteers are invited to attend and participate in the meeting. More information on how to join the meeting and the meeting agenda will be sent via email. The meeting will be open to in person as well as virtual attendees.
Welcome Waldo County 4-H’s new CEA!
My name is Mackensie Schofield, I am the new 4-H Community Education Assistant here in Waldo County. I am 4-H alumni from Troy and have been a 4-H volunteer since 2019. I grew up on a dairy farm, so I love working with animals and am happy to help with any agriculture projects. I am looking forward to working with all of the leaders, volunteers and youth to help make the best better!
2020/2021 Project Records
4-H members in Waldo County are encouraged to complete a project record for all projects in which they have participated during the 2020/2021 4-H year. Despite the uncommon and challenging 4-H year, it is important to reflect on your experiences and set goals for the upcoming year. In order to be considered for recognition at the Waldo County 4-H Recognition Night, 4-H members need to complete a project record form.
Please note, you do not need to be finished with your project to complete a project record. We understand that many 4-H projects are ongoing and do not end at the same time as the 4-H year. If you are filing a project record for an ongoing or unfinished project, simply enter the information for your project up to the current date.
Project records are due at the Waldo County Extension office by the end of the day Friday, October 15th. Before turning in your project records to the county office, be sure to have your 4-H club leader or enrolled volunteer score them.
The project record forms, as well as the evaluation forms and instructions, can be found at Project Records. If you need hard copies of the project records printed for you, please contact the UMaine Extension Waldo County office.
Project Records are divided into the four levels listed below. If you are unsure of what level of project record to complete, please call the Waldo County Extension office.
Cloverbud: This record is appropriate to use with 4-H members who are between the ages of 5 and 8 years old. This record is meant as an entry into project records; this is a good introduction to the process without being overwhelming.
Beginner: This record is appropriate to use with 4-H members who have not previously completed a project record and are at least 9 years old. This record is meant as an entry into project records regardless of age; this is a good introduction to the process and encompasses beginning reflection tools.
Intermediate: This record is appropriate to use with 4-H members who have previously completed the beginner record for at least one year, and are at least 9 years old. This record should be used prior to the advanced record, regardless of age or level in project. A member should use the beginner record sheet until they are proficient or distinguished in most categories of the beginner record. We want 4-H members to be successful and build their skills, then move on to the next level.
Advanced: This record is appropriate to use with 4-H members who have previously completed the intermediate record for at least one year, have demonstrated themselves to be proficient or distinguished in most of the intermediate record level, and are at least 12 years old. The hope is that by completing the intermediate record, the 4-H member has built those skills and has become confident to challenge themselves with the advanced record.
Waldo County 4-H Club Recognition
To finish the 4-H year, 4-H clubs are encouraged to complete and return their 2020/2021 Club Criteria forms. Clubs who submit a club criteria form are eligible for recognition at the annual recognition event. We understand that the COVID 19 situation greatly impacted and continues to impact all of the Waldo County 4-H clubs. This will be taken into consideration when recognizing clubs for the 2020/2021 4-H year. If you have questions or concerns or need assistance completing the Club Criteria form, please contact Waldo County 4-H staff at 207.342.5971. Please return completed club criteria forms to the Waldo County Cooperative Extension office by October 15th.
It’s time to re-enroll 4-H members and 4-H volunteers!
Enrollment packets are being distributed to 4-H clubs and leaders. If 4-H clubs, groups or families have not received re-enrollment packets, please contact your 4-H leader or advisor. ALL enrollment packets are due by December 31st.
Renewing members and clubs are expected to re-enroll between October 1 and December 31 each year. New members may enroll at any time. However, both new and re-enrolling members must be enrolled by December 31 to participate in events and activities such as, but not limited to, state-wide market animal auctions, Eastern States Exposition competitions, National 4-H Congress, National 4-H Conference, and to be eligible for 4-H post-secondary scholarships.
State News
K-12 Planetarium Field Trips at the Versant Power Astronomy Center
The Versant Power Astronomy Center (formerly Emera Astronomy Center) would like to share the news that they have over 50 different programs that cover not just astronomy and space exploration, but also biology, chemistry, climate science, earth science, engineering, history and more! We have programs for all age levels which match with the Next Generation Science Standards, so do explore our offerings.
A full list of their offerings can be found at Planetarium Programs and for general information see https://astro.umaine.edu/ which has a variety of online resources and our full public program schedule. If you have any questions about our programs, feel free to contact me directly at planetarium@maine.edu or shawn.laatsch@maine.edu.
New England 4-H Summer Show Survey
Please share your thoughts on the 4-H Summer Show, whether your group attended or did not attend. We want to hear what you think! Please share this with others who are interested in the Summer 4-H Show and other New England 4-H activities. This survey is one way to get voices heard from Maine that we would prefer the ESE experience during the Big E vs. the summer show experience. Follow this link to the survey: Take the Survey. OR copy and paste this url into your browser: https://uconn.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0BoQ2Zw7q5IelgO?RID=MLRP_bqmakulIdmCCrRA&Q_CHL=email
The Art of Math: Maine 4-H STEM Toolkit of the Month
Each month we will be highlighting a different 4-H STEM Toolkit available from UMaine Cooperative Extension 4-H Program!
The Art of Math activities include sessions on Patterns and the Fibonacci Sequence, Symmetry, Shapes, Geometry, and end with a building challenge! This kit can be used with upper elementary aged youth (4th – 6th or so). It was used virtually last spring for the 4-H STEM Ambassador program, and most of the activities worked well.
Learn more about this, and other 4-H STEM Toolkits online, where you can see what is available for different age groups or topic areas.
EFNEP Recipe of the Month:
As summer winds down and we look forward to fall, it’s a great time to try some new
tomato recipes! Tomatoes are botanically a fruit (because a fruit is a suitcase for seeds)
but we eat it as a veggie. Here is a great and simple salsa recipe to make with friends
and family! For more information on how to make homemade salsa and for other great
EFNEP recipes visit https://youtu.be/-XchbypBQZc
Homemade Salsa
Makes 6 servings/serving size ½ cup
INGREDIENTS
- 4 fresh tomatoes, diced
- 1 cup corn, fresh or frozen
- 1⁄2 cup onion, diced
- 1 Tablespoon jalapeno peppers, chopped
- 2 Tablespoons lime juice
- 2 cloves fresh garlic, finely diced
DIRECTIONS
- Combine all the ingredients.
- Serve with low-fat baked tortilla chips, or fresh veggies (carrots, green or yellow beans, zucchini squash, yellow summer squash, or broccoli)