Plymouth County Cooperative Extension

266 High Street, Hanson, MA 02341 P: 781-293-3541 F: 781-293-3916

Plymouth County Extension 4-H Program

Plymouth County 4-H News and Notes November 2011

November

MARK YOUR CALENDARS

4-H Fundraiser and Dance Night, Whitman, MA 4-H Enrollment and Records Due to Plymouth County Extension Massachusetts 4-H Volunteer Forum, Worcester, MA Plymouth County 4-H Horse Judging Clinic and Tryouts

November 5

November 11-13 Equine Affair, Springfield, MA November 15 November 19 November 21 November 19

November 25-29 National 4-H Congress, Atlanta, GA November 27

Plymouth County 4-H Food Drive, last day to collect!

Round of A Paws 4-H Club at Duxbury Days, Duxbury, MA

Coming in December December 1 December 3 December 3

Plymouth County 4-H Award Nominations Due to PCE

December 15

Donations due for 4-H Teen Council Toys for Tots collection

Plymouth County 4-H at Tractor Supply Grand Opening, Halifax, MA

Plymouth County 4-H Horse Bowl Tryouts, Hanson, MA

Coming in January January 6-7 January 20

4-H/FFA Teen Leadership Conference, Oxford, MA

Plymouth County 4-H Awards Nights, 6-9 PM, Kingston, MA

Coming in February February 4 February 8

4-H Mini Conference, 9 AM, Kingston, MA

Plymouth County 4-H Visual Presentation Training, 6:30 PM, Hanson, MA

Plymouth County/UMass Extension offer equal opportunities in programs and employment and opportunities.

Reminder!
Please make sure to check the Plymouth County 4-H Blog http://4hclover.wordpress.com/ for updated County information and new stories and 4-H club activities for Plymouth County 4-H Clubs. If you would like to have something about your 4-H experience or 4-H club on the blog please email Kathryn Baker at kathrynhammondbaker@gmail.com Also please remember to check the Massachusetts 4-H Website at www.mass4h.org for updated program information.

2011-2012 4-H Year

Reminder to all 4-H clubs that the new 4-H year officially starts on October 1. All 4-Hers must reenroll for the new 4-H year and new members are welcome to join as well. All enrollment materials are at the Extension Office in Hanson, please contact us to arrange to get your materials. Enrollment is due by November 15t

4-H Food Drive

The Plymouth County 4-H Food Drive will start in October and clubs will be asked to collect non perishable food until November 21. 4-H grocery bags are still available at the Extension Office. We also have 4-H reusable grocery bags for all 4-Hers who help to collect food for this community service project. Thank you to Shaws Supermarket in Hanson, MA for generously donating the paper bags for our food drive! Collection locations will include the Extension Office, East Middleboro 4-H Clubhouse, Weir River Farm, Equine Essentials Tack Shop and other local businesses throughout Plymouth County. 4-H will again be supporting the South Shore Community Action Council Food Pantry in Plymouth, MA and a local food pantry in Brockton, MA. Stay tuned for more information about this great 4-H Community Service project for Plymouth County 4-H! If your club is interested in playing a larger role, please contact Molly at mvollmer@umext.umass.edu to help.

Plymouth County 4-H Awards Program

The Plymouth County 4-H Advisory Council will be hosting the Plymouth County 4-H Annual Awards Program on Friday January 20th at the Whitman VFW Hall in Whitman, MA. All 4-H members, volunteers and families are invited to join this event. Dinner will be served and members and volunteers will be honored for their accomplishments during the past 4-H year. Each family that attends is asked to bring a dish for dessert and also an item for the silent auction. The silent auction funds will go back to the Plymouth County 4-H Advisory Council to help pay for 4-H programs like this. 4-H Leaders and Volunteers, please contact Molly for more information on nominating youth for awards. All nominations are due by December 1. If you would like to recognize someone in 4-H for anything, please let Molly know.

Massachusetts 4-H Foundation Mini Grants for 4-H Clubs

The Massachusetts 4-H Foundation has 4-H Matching grants for up to $200 and 4-H publicity grants for $50 available to all Massachusetts 4-H Clubs. Please check their website at www.mass4hfoundation.org for more information about criteria for each grant and an application. All enrolled 4-H Clubs are eligible for these fundraising opportunities.

4-H Curriculum
The Plymouth County Extension Office has free curriculum available to clubs and volunteers on a variety of topics. We are cleaning house and all duplicates are available free! First come, first serve! We also have all current 4-H curricula to loan from the office anytime, please come by and check it out.

4-H Ambassador Program

This fall Plymouth County 4-H will be offering a 4-H Ambassador training to get more teens involved in this wonderful leadership and citizenship program. If you love 4-H and want to help spread the message about 4-H, then we want you! 4-H Ambassadors must be nominated by a 4-H club leader or volunteer and should complete a short application process. 4-Hers must have been in 4-H for at least 2 years and be a freshman in high school to participate. Please contact Valerie Schell at 781-293-3541 or vschell@umext.umass.edu for more information about this great leadership opportunity.

4-H Horse Bowl and Hippology

Please join us on Saturday December 3rd from 911:30AM for the Plymouth County 4-H Buzzer Board and Hippology contest at the Hanson Senior Center, 132 Maquan Street, Hanson, MA. Junior and senior 4-H members are welcome to participate for a chance to make the state teams which will compete in April. This is a fun educational experience where kids can test their horse knowledge in a variety of ways and learn more about care and management of the equine industry. For more information please contact Valerie Schell at vschell@umext.umass.edu

Plymouth County 4-H Dance Night Out

Please join Plymouth County 4-H for an adult only fundraiser on Saturday, November 5th at 6 PM at the VFW Hall in Whitman, MA. The evening will consist of dancing and entertainment. Clarie and Roger Vaka, dance professionals of the south shore will be teaching an instructional class on ballroom dancing and then providing music for dancing into the night. Appetizers and desserts will be served and a silent auction will also be taking place. We are asking for a donation of $15 per person to join us in raising money for Plymouth County 4-H programs. Tickets will be available at the door!! If you are interested in making an appetizer or dessert for this event or would like to purchase tickets to attend, please contact Molly Vollmer at 781-293-3541 or mvollmer@umext.umass.edu

Mass 4-H Volunteer Forum

Check out www.mass4h.org for more information on this conference for teens and volunteers held at UMass Medical Center in Worcester, MA. Only $10 per person includes lunch and all materials for the day. Please join us! Volunteers need to register by November 9th to secure their spot at the conference.

Plymouth County Extension

The Plymouth County Extension Office is staffed Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 8-1 PM. If you need to make other arraignments to pick up materials, drop off enrollment or meet with Molly, please contact the office ahead to make sure someone will be there when you arrive.

Snow and Inclement Weather Policy Plymouth County 4-H Facebook

Plymouth County 4-H now has a facebook page. Please search for Plymouth County 4-H and click like to make sure you receive all notices and reminders through facebook. We hope to have the facebook page updated on a daily basis with reminders about 4-H programs. If you would like a picture added, please email it to Molly, mvollmer@umext.umass.edu Due to early storms already this season, we would like to remind 4-H members and volunteers to check the 4-H Blog and Facebook page for the most up to date information on 4-H events and cancelations. We will try to cancel events as early as possible if bad weather is predicted. If possible phone calls will be made for county wide events. 4-H Leaders will determine if it is necessary to cancel club meetings.

Plymouth County 4-H Horse Judging

The Plymouth County 4-H Horse Judging Clinic & Jr. and Sr. Team Tryouts When: Saturday, November 19th Where: D&H Farm, 254 Cedar Street, East Bridgewater (directions follow below) What to Bring: A lunch, drinks, snacks, a clipboard, paper, pencils, warm clothes and barn footwear Horse Judging Clinic / 9A till 11A In a 4-H Horse Judging competition youll be asked to look at 4 horses and put them in order, 1st place to last, based on what you know about the breed or type of horse you are judging. This is a great skill to learn. Newcomers are welcome! Many times a new 4-Her has come to the clinic in the first part of the day and has gone on to make the team in the second half of the day. You do not have to try out for the team if you attend the clinic. Likewise, you do not have to attend the clinic if you intend to try out for the team. Both parts of the day are optional. The first part of the day is open to any 4-Her interested in learning about: What is the ideal build for a horse (conformation) and how does this affect performance? What is the ideal conformation for a horse based on breed, type, gender and age? What is a 4-H Horse Judging competition like? How do you organize your judging notes into oral reasons? Horse Judging Team Try Outs / 11:30A till 4PM You will be asked to judge 3 classes with 4 horses each. You may be asked to judge a mix of halter (conformation or in hand) classes and performance (pleasure or equitation horses). There will be a judge who will decide the official placing. Your placing will be compared to the official placing to determine your score. The classes you are judging will not be announced until the start of the try outs. One of your classes will be an oral reasons class. For this class you will be asked to write up your reasons for why you placed the class in the order you did and youll be asked to use the 4-H format for giving oral reasons (this will be explained in the clinic and it is quite easy.) The most points one can receive for a perfect placing is

50 points. Therefore you can earn a total of 150 points for placing all 3 classes correctly. The most points one can receive for a perfect set of oral reasons is 50 points. Therefore the most points one can receive is 200 total. There will be 6 people chosen for each team, 4 team members and 2 alternates. To be on the team you must meet these requirements:
You must be one of the top 6 high scoring Juniors or Seniors for the try outs that day You must be a 4-Her in good standing You must be able to attend the State 4-H Competition which is rd typically the 3 Sunday in April (which falls on the last weekend during School Spring Break) You must be able to attend a majority of the practices and we average 2 practices per month December through April and they fall on Saturday or Sunday mornings most of the time

Directions to D&H Farm: From the Hanson Train Station on Route 27 in Hanson Follow Route 27 South Towards Whitman Take Left onto Franklin Street (toward Lipinskis Farm) You will pass a small farm stand on your right (Lipinksis) As you pass farm stand Franklin turns into Cedar Street You will pass one or two left hand turns onto small streets, continue straight on Cedar Eventually you will pass a left hand turn onto Crescent Street Continue on Cedar but slow down as you are nearing entrance to D&H Farm on your right Immediately after passing Crescent you will go around a bend You will see a house on your right with two whiskey barrels out front and a telephone pole next to the second whiskey barrel Take a right hand turn immediately after 2nd whiskey barrel and telephone pole You will be on a dirt road between two metal fences, pass through gate to property, it will be open for you At guard house take a left and follow path SLOWLY up to left and park near big indoor ring which you will see clearly Questions? Call or Text Reva Levin at 917-319-7784 or email reva.levin@dowjones.com

End of fair season!

The 4-H show season has come to an end and Becky McPherson and Jenna Illingworth of Hoof-nWhiskers finished on a high note at the Big E in West Springfield and the Topsfield Fair. At the Big E 4-H Dairy Goat Show Jenna finished as ADGA Grand Champion Alpine with her goat Lilly and Becky finished as Reserve ADGA Grand Champion Alpine with her goat Flicker. In the Junior Show Jenna won Junior Grand Champion Alpine again with her yearling Anuva and Becky was Junior Reserve Grand Champion with her 4 to 6 month old Venus. Moving on to Topsfield the next weekend Jenna was the 4-H Senior Fitting and overall Fitting Champion (pictured with Lilly) and Becky and her Toggenburg kid Harmony (pictured) scored a best of breed twice at the ADGA show on Sunday and Monday.

Plymouth County 4-H Teen Council

Plymouth County 4-H Teen Council will be doing a 3rd annual Toys for Tots collection drive in December. Please consider donating a new unopened toy for a child in need this holiday season. Our 4-H Teens will be collecting at the Extension Office and East Middleboro Clubhouse, all donations will go to the Marines Toys for Tots program and distributed locally to a child this season.

4-H/FFA Leadership Conference

Massachusetts 4-H and FFA are offering a joint conference for teens with a focus on leadership. It will be held on January 6-7 at the Clara Barton Center in Oxford, MA. Cost is only $50 if you register by December 1, register for $60 up until December 10. For more information and a registration form, please go to www.mass4h.org and click on Leadership programs. Questions, call Molly Vollmer at 781-293-3541 or mvollmer@umext.umass.edu

Contact Us
Molly Vollmer, Educator Plymouth County Extension 266 High St Hanson, MA 02341 Phone: 781-293-3541 Fax: 781-293-3916 mvollmer@umext.umass.edu Learn by Doing