Mark your calendars and get the map, Communications Day will be held on March 13, 2010 at OLM School in Merced. You can sign up online by visiting http://ucanr.org/commday.

In December our 4-H club went Christmas caroling with Snelling and Ballico- Cressey 4-H Clubs and had spaghetti for dinner.  At our December meeting we had a Ho Ho Ho contest. The winners were: John Sanchotena, Genevieve Homen, and Cody Blackwood. Merced River 4-H collected over 25 toys for the Merced County Sheriffs Department Toy-Drive. Everyone had a great time participating in all the activities.

Gianna Pareira

Merced River 4-H Reporter

Teen 'n Teacher Training (T3)

T3 Workshop Dates and Topic Flyer

Teen 'n Teacher Training (T3) is a series of workshops and sessions conducted by the UCCE 4-H Program.  The sessions are geared to develop skills in presenting science topics in non formal settings such as youth groups, afterschool, and park and rec programs.  The trainings are for both teens and adults.

Teens, volunteers, and teachers are invited to attend our monthly T3 - Teen and Teacher Training. January 27, 2010 we will be working on developing presentation, demonstration and interview skills. This session is entitled Tell It, Show It, Sell It.

Afterschool programs often serve youth ages 5 to 14. Recognizing the different ages and stages of youth and applying this to science, engineering, and technology (SET) programming is critical to achieving desired youth outcomes. In this session, staff will review  developmental stages of afterschool youth and learn how to do SET with mixed-age groups. Applying the National Science Education Standards to age-appropriate practice will also be covered.

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Management Team Meeting - January 4, 2010 6 pm

Join us at our NEW TIME of 6 PM for the December Management Team meeting. We will be discussing funding our county budget and support for summer camp, Old Mac Donald's Farm, and Friends Helping Friends. We are also in need of assistance with facilitating the Management Team meetings and note taking. If you are interested, please call or email Russ Hill.

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Teen Leadership Opportunities

We are still looking for teens who would like to take on the lead role for coordinating a few countywide and a sectional 4-H event. This is a great opportunity for those who would like to work on and achieve the rank of Emerald or All Star. Events include fishing derby, communications day, sectional communications day and a person to assist with the foods and nutrition portion of Fashion Review and Foods Fiesta. Contact the 4-H office if you are interested.

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4-H Shooting Sports Workshop

Rifle Discipline

Tulare, CA

Saturday, January 9, 2010 – 8:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Sunday, January 10, 2010 – 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

A 4-H shooting sports workshop for the rifle discipline will be held at Rankin Field Range, 20000 Road 140 in Tulare. Participants must attend both days of training to receive certification. Upon successful completion of the course, the participant will be certified as rifle trainer and can lead a rifle project at the club level or serve as county trainer to certify other leaders. There is no cost for the course. To register for the course and receive more information contact John Borba at: jaborba@ucdavis.edu

For information about the facility and a map, please visit the range website at:

http://www.tcdsa.org/documents/rankin_field.htm

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Fur and Feather's Show

4-H members are invited to participate in the Fur and Feathers show, a small animal breed show and showmanship event hosted by Ventura County 4-H and planned for January 16, 2010. Entry deadline is December 15, 2009. The event is for 4-H members statewide in Cavy, Poultry and Rabbit projects. Click here for more information. You may contact Jenean Bass at jeneanbass@roadrunner.com for questions.

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Baby Sitting Curriculum from Military 4-H Program

The 4-H Military Partnership Program is offering free Training courses on the 4-H Babysitting Curriculum at the following locations:

Kern County 4-H Office. January 16, 9:30-4:30

Ventura County 4-H Office. January 30, 9:30-4:30

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Los Banos Spring Fair

Los Banos Spring Fair premium books and online registration is now available. For more information and deadlines visit http://co.merced.ca.us/springfair

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We would like to congratulate both Terra Bazan, Merit Award Winner and Keri Court, Medalist of McSwain 4-H Club for their participation in the State Record book Competition.

This year 113 books were presented for competition.  It took 40 hours per judge for the weekend competition.  We had 11 judges for a total of 440 hours to judge all the books.  Please say a special thank you to our judges:

Fresno	Lucile King
Alameda	Julie Colglazier
Alameda	Sharon Clay
Solano	Tacy Currey
Yolo	Delynda Eldridge
San Bernardino	Bernardine Marquez
Alameda	Carol Crossett
Santa Barbara	Doreen Ross
Merced	Linda Borba
Imperial	Mary Ann Smith
Imperial	Sally Traylor

 

And to our judging coordinator Fern Vacca of Ventura County.

UPDATE: 12//15/2009

 

Operation Christmas toy drive is extended!

I told you so!  Merced County 4-Hers are AWESOME!

So far our 4-H members have overflowed the toy collection barrel three times!!!

The Sheriff’s toy drive manager was so overwhelmed he extended the collection date!  He needs more time to prepare the toys for distribution!   The deadline is now the rest of this week.  12/18/09.

 

So, if you haven’t brought in toys yet, you still have time.  Be a part of this community service. Let’s show Merced County what 4-H is made of!

 

LET’S OVERFLOW THAT BARREL AGAIN!!!

 

THANK YOU EVERYBODY!

 

Cathy Marks

 

The early results of Operation Christmas are in the picture below! We are doing great and look forward to overflowing our front lobby. Keep it up 4-H'ers of Merced County.

Merced County Sheriff's Office is in need of the 4-H community help with Operation Christmas! We are in need of new, unwrapped toys for less fortunate children, ages 0-16, who reside in Merced County. We will also accept cash donations which will be used to purchase toys. Please delver toys to the toy barrel in our office entry at the Merced County 4-H Office by December 15, 2009.