4-H News in Washington County, January 2019
Washington County 4-H News
Important Dates
January & February- 4-H Club Public Speaking Practice
January 18- Student Registration Deadline- Maine Science Fair
January 26- 4-H Unconference, UMaine, Orono
January 29- 4-H Page Day, Augusta
March 2- Engineers’ Week Expo, University of Southern Maine, Gorham
March 8- National 4-H Trips Application Deadline
March 9- Washington County 4-H Public Speaking Tournament, University of Maine at Machias
March 23- Maine Science Fair, Bowdoin College, Brunswick
June 29-July 6- Citizenship Washington Focus, Washington D.C.
July 19-21- Maine 4-H Days, Windsor Fairgrounds
Washington County News
Happy New Year
The 4-H staff want to send a big THANK YOU to all 4-H members, volunteers, parents, and families! We are looking forward to 2019 and hope you are too! Here are a few of the fun events and some new things to get excited about in 2019:
- New Newsletter– We are still in the process of updating the format of our 4-H newsletter. We hope it will be ready for February.
- Public Speaking – Mark your calendar for March 9th for the Washington County 4-H Public Speaking Tournament.
- 4-H Robotics and Engineering Expo– This event is scheduled for March 23rd at the University of Maine at Machias.
- Photo Contest – Start snapping photos now to submit later this year!
- National 4-H Trips – such as Citizen Washington Focus and National Summits are open to teens in Washington County and are a great opportunity to travel and learn by doing in the 4-H way.
- SPIN Clubs– We are always looking for volunteers to conduct these short term, special interest clubs. Please contact the office to see how you can become involved!
- Project Records– Start your project record now! New project records can be found on the Maine 4-H Project Record website.
- AND SO MUCH MORE!!!! Stay updated by reading the newsletter, visiting the Washington County 4-H website and Facebook page.
Washington County 4-H Public Speaking Tournament – Every 4-H member in Washington County is encouraged to participate in Public Speaking! Youth choose a topic of their choice and then practice the important life skill of public speaking by giving presentations to their clubs, community, and at the county and state tournaments.
The Washington County 4-H Public Speaking Tournament will be held on March 9 at the University of Maine in Machias in Science 102. ALL 4-H’ers are encouraged to practice their Public Speaking Presentations in January and February before the county tournament!
Get all the details – for more information on public speaking, visit the Maine 4-H Public Speaking website.
Don’t hesitate to contact any of the 4-H Staff with your Public Speaking questions!
Hour of Code
Hour of Code events were held in East Machias, Lubec and Machias in December. Teens from 4-H Tech Changemakers guided youth and their parents through coding puzzles. Be on the lookout for more Hour of Code events that will be scheduled in January!
State 4-H News
Save the Date for 2019 Maine 4-H Days
Maine 4-H Days will take place July 19 – 21 at the Windsor Fairgrounds. If you are interested in helping to plan next year’s event, please contact Jessy Brainerd at brainerd@maine.edu or 207.581.3877.
Maine 4-H Days Planning Committee
July will be here before you know it, and we are looking for a few good volunteers to join the fantastic current Maine 4-H Days Planning Committee. Joining this committee gives you the chance to help come up with ideas and plans for one of our biggest statewide events! If you are interested in joining the Maine 4-H Days Planning Committee, or have general questions/comments/recommendations about the event, please email brainerd@maine.edu, or call 207.581.3877.
Eastern States Exposition Horse Intents
2019 Eastern States Horse tryouts intent to participate is available- Eastern States Horse Intent to Participate. AGE CHANGEfor 2019, youth who are aged 13-18 (as of December 31, 2018) are eligible to try out as a rider/driver or teen leader. Please contact Kristy Ouellette (ouellette@maine.edu) if you have any questions. Intent to participate forms must be post marked by 2/1.
Citizenship Washington Focus
Citizenship Washington Focus (CWF) Start making plans now to visit our Nation’s Capitol during the week of June 29 to July 6, 2019. CWF is a leadership program conducted by the National 4-H Council for high school youth ages 14 to 18. Delegations of 4-Hers from across the country spend six days touring the city and attending leadership skill-building workshops. This summer, the Maine delegation will travel down on Saturday, June 29 and travel home Saturday July 6, 2019. You will stay at the National 4-H Conference Center just outside Washington, DC. Visiting the most popular sites in Washington, DC will be a part of the trip, including spending the 4th of July in our nation’s capitol. There is a mandatory orientation for Maine delegates on April 27th, 2019. Citizenship Washington Focus Website Contact your county 4-H office for details about how to be a part of this experience if you don’t hear from them very shortly. All county offices have different criteria/dates to apply, so please contact them ASAP. Websites are currently being updated. For specific questions, please contact Heidi Palmer, State Activities Coordinator at: heidi.thuotte@maine.edu.
National Trips
National 4-H Trip Applications Are due March 8th, 2019 (Conference and Congress) National 4-H Trips are excellent opportunities to meet 4-H members from across the nation. Participants learn about many career options, and learn through educational workshops at Congress or become a part of a team making recommendations to National 4-H Council at Conference. Websites are currently being updated. For specific questions, please contact Heidi Palmer, State Activities Coordinator at: thuotte@maine.edu.
UMaine 4-H Unconference – not your average volunteer forum!
UMaine 4-H Unconference – a volunteer forum led by 4-H volunteers for 4-H volunteers. UMaine 4-H Unconference will be an organized forum for 4-H volunteers, club leaders, afterschool providers, teachers, parents and teens leaders to gather. UMaine 4-H Unconference is intentionally designed to have YOU teach and learn from each other. There is no agenda – you come with 4-H ideas and topics you want to talk about or learn more about, and we’ll guide the process to get folks into groups where YOU are the experts. All experience levels are welcome and no one person has all the answers. Door prizes will be given at the end of the day.
Maine 4-H Unconference Website
Join us for one or both of these awesome dates! Registration begins at 8:30 and door prizes will be drawn by 3:00.
- Lewiston – Saturday, January 12, 2019 (snow date January 19, 2019)
- Orono – Saturday, January 26, 2019 (snow date February 2, 2019)
2019 Engineers’ Week Expo
Every year, near George Washington’s Birthday, engineers across the country celebrate National Engineers Week, as George was a civil engineer who founded our nation. Here in Maine, our custom is to hold a huge “Expo” for all those young engineers (people who explore ingenuity) to visit and get to know us better. Our next Expo will be in southern Maine at USM in Gorham, with a banquet event the night before in Portland. Those of you who’ve come, already know how intense and fun it can be! We hosted over 3,000 last time it was at USM!
Our Expo will be from 9:00-2:00 Saturday, March 2, 2019 in the Field House at USM’s Costello Sports Center. Snacks will be available, with souvenir tee shirts. Campus tours will be available. See http://www.engineeringme.com for general information. Depending on our sponsors, some busing costs will be available.
Please provide feedback on Project Records!
Project Records Survey
You are invited to participate in a statewide research project being conducted by Kristy Ouellette and Jennifer Lobley, Extension Educators at the University of Maine Cooperative Extension. 4-H volunteers and staff from all over Maine will participate in this study.
Purpose of this research project: We recognize the value of our 4-H volunteers. As a state we have rolled out new 4-H Project Records. We want to have a better understanding of your beliefs and understandings of the function of these records. What will you be asked to do? If you decide to participate, you will be asked to complete an on-line survey with questions pertaining to your attitudes and beliefs regarding 4-H project records in Maine. The survey will take you approximately 20 minutes to complete. Risks: Except for your time and inconvenience, there are no foreseeable risks to you in participating in this study. Benefits: You will be eligible to enter into a raffle for a $25.00 gift card to Hannaford. Confidentiality: As a participant you will be anonymous. Investigators or a student will enter data into a computer. Data will be kept on a secured computer with only the investigators or a student having access. Data will be kept for a period of 5 years. Voluntary: Participation is voluntary. If you choose to take part in this study, you may stop at any time during the study. You may skip any questions you do not wish to answer. Participation in the on-line survey implies consent to participate.
Contact Information: If you have any questions about this study, please contact Kristy Ouellette at 207.353.5550 or kristy.ouellette@maine.edu If you have any questions about your rights as a research participant, please contact Gayle Jones, Assistant to the University of Maine’s Protection of Human Subjects Review Board, at 581.1498 (or e-mail gayle.jones@maine.edu).
2019 Maine State Science Fair
It’s time to announce the 2019 Maine State Science Fair, to be held Saturday, March 23 at Bowdoin College in Brunswick. Prizes and awards include 12 four-year, full-tuition scholarships to The University of Maine (including admission to the UMaine Honors College), and major scholarships from University of New England, College of the Atlantic, and Husson University. In 2018, MSSF awarded over $1 million in scholarships and awards. Other scholarships may be announced in the coming weeks.
The Maine State Science Fair is open, without cost, to all Maine high school students who complete their own research or engineering project individually or in teams of 2-3. The purpose of MSSF is to present, learn, and discuss science with peers and STEM professionals from across Maine. Projects are invited from across all STEM disciplines: life sciences, agriculture, mathematics, computer sciences, psychology, energy, physics, marine science, environmental sciences, ecology, chemistry. All STEM projects are considered!
Important dates for this year’s MSSF:
– January 18 – student registration
– February 1 – research plan deadline.
– March 1 – preliminary research results deadline.
– March 23 – Maine State Science Fair.
4-H Page Day in Augusta – January 29, 2019
UMaine Day at the Legislature, Tuesday, January 29, is approaching. It’s a day where Cooperative Extension gets to highlight our awesome programs, and 4-H is one of the best! Since legislators like to see 4-H members from their districts, 4-Hers (age 13 or older) are encouraged to serve as Honorary Pages. The Maine 4-H program has up to 30 slots for Honorary Pages.
What does a page do? Legislators are constantly communicating and making decisions while in session and pages make that communication possible. Pages hand out information packets or place the paper information on their desks. Pages will also run communication and documents directly from legislator to legislator.
If you are interested in serving as a page, please contact Diana at 207-622-7546 or hartley@maine.edu.
NEW: Expanded Page Day: Explore American Civics even more in Augusta!
Afternoon tour and activities with the newly opened First Amendment Museum. After lunch we invite participants of Page Day to explore this new museum experience located in the Gannett House, next door to the Blaine House, on State Street, in Augusta. From 1:30-2:30pm on January 29 the First Amendment Museum will showcase displays as well as have interactive experiences to explore the “Five Freedoms” guaranteed by the First Amendment. There may be limited space for this tour, please indicate when you RSVP for Page Day whether you and your chaperone plan to join.
We would love to pages from all over the state represented. Slots, representing different state senators and representatives, will be filled in the order they are received, but the final deadline is January 20th. If the slot for your legislative district has been filled, your name will be added to a wait list in the order it is received. If you are leaving a message, please be sure to say “I am interested in serving as a 4-H Page at the Legislature on January 29”. Your slot will be reserved if you leave this complete information:
– Full Name
– Age
– Mailing Address
– County
– Phone Number
– Email Address (this is how we will confirm you)
– Name of your School
– Name of your 4-H Club
– Name of your Maine State Representative
– Name of your Maine State Senator
– Name of your Adult Chaperone
– Adult Chaperone’s cell phone number
4-H Honorary Pages will be in the Capitol from 8:30am– 3:00pm. A parent or 4-H volunteer must provide transportation and chaperoning. If you have questions, please let Alisha know at alisha.r.targonski@maine.edu.