Thursday, June 24, 2010

LEARN TO BE A BETTER CITIZEN IN ORDER TO BECOME A BETTER LEADER



Citizenship Washington Focus (CWF) is a week-long 4-H citizenship program for youth ages 14-19. Thousands of young people from across America stay at the National 4-H Youth Conference Center, near Washington, D.C., every summer to participate in the program, which provides opportunities for young people to:
• Strengthen their communication, leadership, and citizenship skills on a national level.
• Understand the importance of civic and social responsibilities as they relate to the development of better citizens and leaders.
• Exchange ideas, practice respect, and form friendships with other 4-Hers from across the country with diverse backgrounds.
• Experience hands-on learning using the historical classroom of our nation’s Capital city, Washington, D.C.
This summer, there are almost 1500 young people participating in the CWF program. Follow #4HCWF on Twitter to see up to the minute postings about what CWF 2010 is up to right now and visit the CWF website (www.4hcwf.org) to learn more about the CWF program. You can view videos under the media tab, read testimonials under the testimonial tab, or take a look at the CWF schedule under the registration tab. For more information, please don’t hesitate to contact us with questions.

Registration for CWF 2011 is now open! This is a once in a lifetime experience that allows young people to see the world from a new perspective. 4-Hers, don’t miss out on this national citizenship and leadership opportunity. All you need to do is gather a group of 5 or more participants (including both youth and chaperones), visit the Citizenship Washington Focus website (www.4hcwf.org) and click on the registration tab to follow the steps to register your delegation. Leaders, we are excited to host you and your young people in Washington, D.C. next summer!

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

COLLECTING FOR GOOD CAUSES


The Hoofmates Club could use your help. They will again be collecting coats for the Salvation Army/Good Will coat drive. Also, they will be collecting change during the State 4-H Horse Show and donating it to the Theraputic Riding Association of Virginia. This association helps people with disabilities rehabilitate using horses as theraputic tools. These are both great causes, so gather those coats and change and give Jody Ramey a call for details. Her number is 540-829-2257.

PLEASE CLAIM ME!

There are numerous items that were not claimed after 4-H Camp. These items will remain at the Extension Office until July 1st. After July 1st, the items will be disposed of. Here is the list of unmarked items:


Black duffel bag of clothes
White pillow, no case
Mickey Mouse beach towel
Blue towel labeled JWG
2 white towels
Beige towel
Pink washcloth
Red swim trunks size M
Decorated t-shirt art size M 10-12
Green washcloth
White washcloth
Navy hand towel
Purple/black/white zip up hoodie
Gray Old Navy sweatpants size M
Royal & navy t-shirt XL 14-16
Black Tech Gear shirt size M
Navy athletic shorts w/ royal trim size XL
Leather craft pouch w/ snakes, dragon, and bird
Leather craft
Black visor
Blue Nalgene Water bottle
XL women’s white Old Navy t-shirt
Black with purple lined hat
Teal Mudd shirt size S
Clear goggles
Black flip-flops

Thursday, June 17, 2010

T.J. WILLIAMS RECEIVES HISTORY AWARDS


T.J. Williams received two awards at the 14th Annual Social Science Fair sponsored by Loudoun County Public Schools and the Loudoun Education Foundation. He placed second in the Local History category with his research project titled "How has growth and development ruined the dairy industry in Loudoun County?". He was also awarded the Town of Leesburg/Thomas Balch Library Advisory Commission-Local History Award. T.J. received a savings bond as well as a cash prize and has been invited to attend the Leesburg Historic Society award ceremony in November.

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Orange Congress Delegates Score Well at State 4-H Congress

While this is a busy week with camp, we also have 4-H'ers in Blacksburg for the annual State 4-H Congress. Our hats are off to chaperone Missy Chambers for her willing leadership and volunteerism--these kids would not have been able to attend without her. All of our delegates competed yesterday and were successful. Brianna Holmes is performing with her step dancing group tonight and was awarded a red ribbon in Share-the-Fun vocal competition yesterday. Garret Chambers earned a blue ribbon for playing his guitar and singing, and Haley Wilbanks and Megan Harris both earned blue ribbons in the public speaking division.

Amelia Harris, Ashleigh Ramey and Garret Chambers were officially inducted as Virginia 4-H All Stars last evening. All Stars is the highest honor a 4-H'er can receive, so congratulations, and know that we are PROUD of you!!!

Dancin' the Night Away

So it's the last night of camp, and one can easily tell! The dance just started, but the kids were excited way before that. All day we've heard comments about what folks are wearing and how much they're looking forward to it.

We've bet against the weather a few times this week, but this afternoon we lost. One group had beautiful sunshine and enjoyed a full swim, but the others unfortunately missed out, due to thunder in the area. We avoided the rain for the most part, and we compensated for the missed swim by taking the camp bank and the pool snack bar down to the kids. They ate eight pizzas in hardly any time at all.

Everyone raced back up the hill to get ready for the dance. The boys dorms, which have been more like locker rooms at times, are now filled with mixed scents of Axe cologne, hair gel, and more. The girls straightened their hair, curled and braided others, and found new shirts or even skirts for the affair. Dinner was taco salads, and now we're dancing the night away.

Parents: please pick up Madison kids at Madison High School at 6:00 p.m. tomorrow. Orange campers will be picked up at Orange Elementary at 6:30 p.m. Please remember your camper express pick-up cards!

We Made Good Deals

Last night's program was very well received by the campers. "Let's Make a Deal" offered prizes like McDonalds gift cards, beach towels, pool supplies, snacks for the dorms, and then zonks such as a pink furry hat, oversized sunglasses, and a wooden sailor decoy. The camp adults helped the spirit of the program by dressing in costumes. We had a hippie, a forestry fire fighter, fisherman, drive-in movie, fairy princess, and Little Red Riding Hood's grandma, to name a few!

Campers cooled off with a popsicle snack and then headed to campfire which was led by Great Bear Vee. Everyone joined in a round of "Happy Birthday" to our second Great Bear, Co-co!

This morning's class reports include:
Advanced cheerleading is choreographing a routine for their closing performance tomorrow. The high ropes students are learning to trust each other and work together, enjoying numerous obstacles on the course. Blue gills and a few bass are biting in the fishing class, and swimming students are becoming so much more confident in their abilities. Flag football, soccer, and Ultimate Frisbee are keeping the rec fields in use, and Horse Basics participants should be riding today.

The weather is good for now; we'll see what the afternoon brings. We have rainy day plans, but being outdoors in good weather is so much more preferred.

Stay tuned... :) BTW, e-mails are pouring in. Thanks for keeping them positive and encouraging!

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Cooler Weather Is a BIG Plus at Camp

The MUCH cooler weather has been a MUCH welcomed pleasure at camp today. This morning started out really sticky and humid, but tonight campers will likely need a sweatshirt or jacket at campfire. (Side note: for those campers who ordered sweatshirts on Sunday, we were able to find enough extras between the two counties, so all campers who ordered and paid for them now have 4-H sweatshirts.)

Class reports from today:
Rocketry students came closer to preparing their model rockets for launch on Thursday. Fun with Foods campers celebrated the 1970s by making Egg McMuffins (invented in 1973) and completing lessons on food marketing and how commercials influence our food choices. Riflery continued to teach shooting safety and good marksmanship. The Outdoor Living Skills classes prepared for their overnight campout, and Outdoor Cooking made pizzas on coals and fixed "dirt" cups for dessert.

We had grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch. Swimming and recreation filled the afternoon. In pack meetings, campers brainstormed gifts to give the Great Bear, and half the packs selected riddles or challenges for other packs during campfire tonight. Bear Claw Keeper Coach K reports a close race for the Spirit Stick.

Tonight's evening program...Let's Make a Deal, and boy, do we have some "deals" for the campers. What's behind door number 1? It might be a zonk...

A Guest Blog by Camper "Trinity"

We noticed our friend Trinity was big on writing notes, so we invited her to be our guest blogger this morning. Trinity is a first-year camper, and here's what she had to say:

Going to the pool is awesome. In outdoor arts and crafts, we got to decorate rocks. We took napkins with decorations on them and either ripped them or cut them - I cut my edges - and then we glued (decoupaged) them on the rocks. We started making little mice using little pieces of wood like our nametags. We glued a pine cone on the wood for the body, and then a bead was the head. That's how far we got yesterday. Today we'll do more. Chipmunk (counselor) said we're tie-dying today! Yay!

In dance class we started practicing to Michael Jackson's PYT. Jazzy V is my teacher and she's cool. My third class is T-shirt art, with the Great Bear. We made stamps; I messed up on one of mine. I made a peace sign and then did fireworks out of macaroni.

At rec yesterday, I played card games the whole time. I didn't do much. The march was fun last night. We said, "Go Green. Save the Squirrels." That's my pack.

ORANGE 4-H SUMMER ACTIVITIES

The Orange County Fair will be held July 22-25 and the Orange County Extension Office will offer several workshops to make entries for the fair. All of the pre-fair workshops are for ages 9-15, will be at 3:00 p.m., and take place at the Orange County Extension Office. To register for any of these workshops, call 672-1361.

Tin Punch-June 3oth/Register by: June 28th/ No cost
Decoupage Picture Frame-July 7th/ Register by: July 1st/ $5.00
Collage-July 14th/Register by: July 7th/$5.00
Bread Making-July 21/Register by : July 14th/$5.00


OTHER CAMPS AVAILABLE THIS SUMMER

Therapeutic Adventure Camp of Orange - A horse riding camp for children with special needs ages 9-19.-July 12-16th/9 a.m.-noon/Register by June 21st/No cost/Elmwood Farm
Orange Fair 4-H Day Camp - Children ages 5-10 learn all about the fair through current 4-Hers and hands-on activities. Thursday, July 22nd OR Friday, July 23rd, 9:00 a.m. -noon/Register by: July 12th/$10.00/Orange County Fairgrounds
Eco-Ventures Camp - Day campers 9-13 experience nature and learn how to protect the outdoors./July 29-30/Register by: July 12th/Cost and location TBD
Cloverbud Day Camp - Children ages 5-8 learn what 4-H has to offer./August 2-5/9:00 a.m.-noon/Register by: July 19th/$25.00/Northern Piedmont Agricultural Research and Extension Center
Go Green for Sewing - August 19th/9:00 a.m.-noon/Ages 8-13/Register by: August 5th/ No cost/Orange Extension Office

TO REGISTER FOR ALL ACTIVITIES, CALL THE EXTENSION OFFICE AT 672-1361

Monday, June 14, 2010

Yep, it's Monday at Camp!

Not that we follow stereotypes all that often, but this was a MONDAY in every sense of the word. Overall we had a successful second day of camp. The weather was hot and sticky, but not totally rainy or wet. Just a couple of showers quickly passed by right after we went in for dinner, but that was it.

Today's theme celebrated the 1960s, so we had a 4-H March in which campers displayed their passion for a topic or issue. Each pack carried a homemade banner, and each camper was given the opportunity to make and hoist a sign that showed their feelings on the topic. Several groups chose the ongoing Gulf oil spill, several wanted more air conditioning at camp, some encouraged us to go green and clean up the Earth, and one group campaigned for more pool time. It was fun, and parents, you should be proud of the creativity and enthusiasm shown by your kids!

This morning in classes, the activities were varied, but great. Leathercrafters stamped and dyed leather wristbands custom fit for their arm. Woodworkers sanded the pieces to their birdhouses, and archery students practiced handling the bow. T-shirt artists crafted stamps out of dried macaroni and random puzzle pieces, and those in Fun with Foods enjoyed a throwback to the 60s when fondue became popular. Today's recipes were for cheese fondue and chocolate fondue.

Recreation and pool time went well this afternoon. It was hot, so the campers enjoyed a nice long dip in the pool. Of course, they also made certain to fully utilize the pool snack bar. We guess sometimes the camp meals just don't fully satisfy :).

Our Great Bears led a nice campfire and we closed out the evening with dorm meetings. The warm temperatures and long days of camp can wear out some folks and cause a few to miss home. We're hopeful that tomorrow's forecast cooler weather will help. Parents you can help, too, with encouraging e-mails and positive vibes for the campers. Just as they tell you all year long that Orange and Madison are "boring" or "there's nothing to do", remind them of the great opportunities we provide at camp. Things are going very well, and we're on track for another fabulous week of camp. Stay tuned for more happenings...

Sunday, June 13, 2010

OM 4-H Camp Day 1 = GREAT!!

Have had a good first day!! Weather was great. Sunny skies and no rain. The campers got to enjoy the pool and the 50's Rock and Roll Rally. All the campers are doing just great even those who had shaky start. Chicken patty and tater tots for dinner. YUM! The day ended with campfire. Campers are at their dorms meeting new friends, sharing stories and getting ready for lights out. Looking forward to more fun tommorow.