Author Archives: msbreen

April, Month of the Military Child

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Since 1986, April has been designated as “Month of the Military Child.”  During this month we honor children of U.S. Service Members around the world for their contribution to their family’s well-being and the sacrifices they make on behalf of our country.

Virginia is home to nearly 150,000 youth who have parents serving in the military.  Approximately 124,200 of these youth have Active Duty parents. More than 25,800 of these youth have parents who serve in the Virginia National Guard or Reserves and live in communities across the state.

While a military youth may look like you or the kids next door, many of them live a life of frequent moves, changing schools, leaving friends, and making new friends.  They also experience family separations through deployments and then reintegration issues that make life challenging.  Through it all, military kids are often looked up to for their resilience and ability to deal with life changing events.

As a result, we encourage each county or city 4-H youth development program to take time in April to celebrate the strength of military children and honor them for the sacrifices they make.  No effort is too small.

As a reminder, please read the email announcement below from Megan Baker, Program Director for Virginia Operation: Military Kids (OMK), regarding the following initiatives:

Virginia Purple Up Day! April 15th

Wall of Heroes

Learn how Virginia 4-H can get involved.   Please join in and celebrate our young heroes during April, Month of the Military Child.

Visit our new Virginia 4-H Military Club website:  http://www.virginia4-hmilitaryclubs.org

Tractor Supply’s Paper Clover

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Tractor supply is offering some great opportunities for the Spring drive

  • More funds for county 4-H programs-100% of funds raised by counties, above and beyond what they raised for the same season last year, will come back to the county!  You now have the ability to raise even more funds for your local county programs.
  • $5 donations in store-they will be offering both $1 and $5 donation increments in stores.  Larger donations will be easy to see in stores since the $5 clovers will be bigger in physical size.
  • Coupons on clovers-all clovers will have a bounceback coupon at the bottom as a “thank you” for your donation.  $5 clovers will have a larger discount than $1 clovers, made possible by Purina Animal Nutrition
  • State 4-H Program awards-TSC wants to recognize the top state in each 4-H region with the highest average dollars raised in TSC stores for their state.  Each of the four (4) Regional Paper Clover Champion award winners will recieve $1,000 for their state 4-H programs.

Keep track of how much Virginia is raising or your local store is raising at Tractorsupply.com/4-H

Toolkit Website with promotional resources

www.4-H.org/paper-clover-toolkit

Username: Paperclover@4-H.org

Password: Paperclover

 

Virginia Beef Ambassador

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Virginia Beef Industry Council and Rockingham County Extension are proud to bring you the 2013 Virginia Beef Ambassador Contest.

This year the contest will be held at the Virginia Beef Expo in Harrisonburg, VA on Friday, April 19th. This contest is open to ALL interested youth ages 12-20.

Participants are not required to have a background in agriculture or own beef cattle. The purpose of the project is to gain knowledge of the beef industry and to provide an opportunity for youth to educate consumers and other youth about beef nutrition, food safety, and stewardship practices of the beef industry.

We greatly appreciate the support of this project and the Checkoff dollars from our Virginia Beef Producers.

Please find the attached rules and regulations and don’t hesitate to let me know if you have any questions –

Thanks!
Dara

Dara Booher, M.Agr.
Extension Agent, 4-H Youth Development
Phone: 540/564-3080
Email: dbooher@vt.edu

VA 4-H Shooting Education Instructor Certification

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Please pass this information onto adults (and teens ages 16 and older) interested in being certified as 4-H Shooting Education Instructors.

The next Virginia 4-H Instructor Certification will be held the weekend on March 22 – 24, 2013 at Airfield 4-H Center. The following disciplines will be offered:

– Archery
– Coordinator
– Rifle
– Shotgun
– Teaching the Game of Sporting Clays

A Fact Sheet, schedule and application are posted on the VA 4-H Shooting Education Website under “Events.”

www.4-h.ext.vt.edu/programs/nree/shootinged/indexshootinged.html

Jinx Baney
Extension Agent, 4-H Youth Development
jbaney@vt.edu

4-H Youth Development

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The  Virginia Institute on Cooperative Education (VICE) will be held at Graves Mountain Lodge, April 5-7, 2013.  The registration deadline is March 22, 2013 due to Mr. Phil Miller, Executive Secretary for the Virginia Cooperative Council.  This is an extraordinary event for youth (ages 16-19) on cooperatives and  business management practices.  Should you have specific questions about this event, please feel free to call Billie Jean Elmer (757-294-5215 (w) 757-892-4214 (c )) , Mr. Miller (804-281-1211) or your local cooperative.

Best of luck recruiting  – this is a great opportunity and your senior teens will absolutely love the experience!

4-H 201 Curriculum and Recorded Webinar Link

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The recorded Webinar for 4-H 201 is now available on the 4-H Military Partnership website at http://www.4-hmilitarypartnerships.org.  Click on Professional Development in the left column, then click on Recorded Webinars.  It is the first Webinar listed – Introducing 4-H 201.

The 4-H 201 curriculum and power point slides are also available on the same website.  Click on Curriculum Resources and then on 4-H 201.

Modeling of Infectious Disease High School 2013 Summer Internship at Virginia Tech

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Applications are being accepted for the Modeling of Infectious Disease High School 2013 Summer Internship at Virginia Tech!

Virginia Bioinformatics Institute (VBI) offers summer internships to high school students interested in computer science, mathematics, infectious diseases, the environment, and bioinformatics. This week-long program includes research activities and tours, and a discussion/lecture series.

High school students interested in math and science, who are able to provide their own reliable transportation to VBI each morning, are eligible for participation in the program. The main objective of this high school internship is to show students the fun and excitement of scientific research. Students will have the opportunity to explore the world of genomics and the environment with world-renowned research scientists in professional labs.

Dedicated work is key for success in any career, especially one in bioinformatics research. The internship experience will strengthen the principle of dedicated work through intensive laboratory research and journal keeping exercises given throughout the week. A highly motivated attitude is encouraged throughout the program!

Program Dates- July 8-12, 2013

Application Deadline- May 3, 2013

For more information see- http://highschool.vbi.vt.edu/application.php

 

Forestry Camp

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Do you have 4-H’ers who would benefit from a natural resource career-focused outdoor experience?  Nominations are now open for Holiday Lake Forestry Camp, to be held June 17-22, 2013 at Holiday Lake 4-H Center near Appomattox.  This field-based camp is open to any Virginia boy or girl aged 13-16 who is interested in natural resources and has not attended before.  You may nominate online or download a form at www.dof.virginia.gov/camp/.

Contact Doug Harpole (540-341-7950 x215) for more information