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Cecily Ellis crowned Rhody Queen!
3/11/2009 8:33:00 AM Rhododendron Festival Queen Cecily Ellis of Quilcene and Princess Kayla Reynolds of Port Townsend will represent Jefferson County during the 2009 festival season. The pair received their titles Saturday. Photo by Charlie Neu
Cecily Ellis of Quilcene was named queen of the 2009 Rhododendron Festival at coronation festivities Saturday, March 7. Kayla Reynolds of Port Townsend will serve as princess. The pair will represent Port Townsend and Jefferson County during the 2009 parade and festival season.
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Note: Cecily is a member of the 4-H Big Quil Enterprises club in Quilcene - a youth-run oyster club! Congratulations, Cecily!
Leaping Lizards - Nature Mapping
The program featured in the video above is a great example of hands-on education. 4-H groups might want to become involved in NatureMapping too! (The video is from Edutopia.org)
"Shortly after I began working at Waterville, I was handed a binder of lessons to get me started teaching elementary school science. I quickly realized that the curriculum was boring and shallow. We had to do something different. I signed up for a NatureMapping workshop, and that got me started incorporating the program into my curriculum, beginning with birds, because I knew a lot of bird-watchers. The kids would bring in their own sightings and team with birders by phone to record what species they saw, and where. We would write up the information and email it to Karen Dvornich, the NatureMapping coordinator at the University of Washington, who added it to a growing collection of data about sites where common Washington species are found."
- Diane Petersen is a teacher at Waterville Elementary School.
Go to "How To: Start Counting Critters."
4-H Life Skills Model
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Life skill outcomes were chosen as measurements of quality because Family Living and 4-H Youth Development programs focus their work on teaching youth and adults the life skills necessary to become Capable, Competent and Caring Citizens. The life skills model "Targeting Life Skills" (TLS) from Iowa State University was used as a model to create this system. The Targeting Life Skills (TLS) Model consists of 35 life skills. These life skills were identified through a process of reviewing and integrating numerous life skills models. Those life skills or competencies that consistently emerged as being necessary for individuals to attain success in life were used (Hendricks, 1999).
PROGRAM PLANNING
Programs that incorporate the TLS Model help individuals reach their full potential through a positive approach to life skill development. The model provides a format incorporating major points of program planning:- Delivering information and skill practice at the appropriate developmental level for the target audience
- Writing specific learning objectives for life skill development that are measurable
- Completing an instructional plan that creates experiences based on experiential learning theory to achieve life skill development
- Identifying observable/measurable indicators of change using these indicators to effectively evaluate program impact/goal. (Hendricks, 1999)
Paws-N-Claws 4-H Cat Show 2009!
Laurie Hampton, 4-H leader of the Paws-N-Claws cat club, leads this annual Cat Show in Jefferson County, Washington State. Featured are kids and cats in the Washington State 4-H Cat Project! Cat Project Poster by 4-H member, Patricia Lamas. Pamela Roberts, videographer.
Playing with Physics!
Tyrus Wilcox, 4-H Network News cameraman, created this video, using footage he took while playing on a pogo stick and skateboard. Tyrus went wild with video filters to see what he could experiment with stylistically. He also played with Garage Band, mixing various tracks and clips to match the style he was after in each section of the video.
Check out the result! Great job, Tyrus!
2009 4-H Leader of the Year: John Ludwig!
John Ludwig, has been chosen as the 2009 Jefferson County 4-H Leader of the Year. John has been a volunteer 4-H leader for 5 years and heads the 4-H Olympic Peninsula Rocketry Club (OPROC), a free educational program for youth in Jefferson County. John is also completing his third year as President of the Jefferson County 4-H Leaders Council. Because of his genuine enthusiasm for rocketry and for kids, John has inspired more and more youth to join his club. OPROC started its first year with two eager teens, but that number has now grown into a solid group of 12.
John started building model kits when he was 10 or 11 years old. He built plastic car kits, military vehicles, mobiles of U.S. missiles and spacecraft. He was fascinated with science fiction and anything to do with space. He laughed, “My brother’s friends would buy models for him for his birthday and then I would help build them. We also enjoyed blowing them up on the 4th of July!”
John had the benefit of growing up in a family that valued working with their hands. His father, in particular, was exacting when it came to details. John remembered, “My dad created a building out of recycled materials. The concrete foundation had to be carefully shot with a transit to be perfectly aligned and level. From this experience and many more I learned a keen sense of detail and quality.”
Working with his hands on various projects was a constant source of satisfaction for John. He felt strongly that, “ You add your own personality to everything you build. I’m sure that if I looked at what I built then it wouldn’t be up to my standards now, but you have to start somewhere. I know it’s not a Steinway piano, but nothing is perfect - you set a standard and strive to do better next time. It was a stress reliever for me - there was no peer pressure to it - just competing with myself. “
After years away from rocketry while raising his family (along with wife, Bonnie), John watched a television show about model and high-powered rocketry. This rekindled his 30-years previous interest in model rocketry. He had to relearn everything he had forgotten. He started up again and by 2004 had 10 kids from his church learning the basics. By 2005 he became a 4-H rocketry leader.
Asked why he leads his 4-H club even though he has no children in the program, John shared, “The biggest benefit for the kids is the experience of building something with their own hands and getting that satisfaction. Once it’s built, you have to launch it and see it work. I love to see the sparkle in their eyes and the smiles after a successful rocket launch. It’s unbelievable how far you can go with it – the mathematics, scientific concepts, simple aerodynamics, principles of flight and design. Many of the astronauts today started out with model rockets in their youth. I always remind the kids to shoot for the moon, and even if you don’t make it you’ll be with the stars!”
Asked about the positive impact of 4-H, John replied, “A person without a dream ends up working for a person with one. Maybe in some small way I can give them some of the skills they can use in everyday life – time management, responsibility, team work, communication skills, simple electronics, working with paint, glue, wood, etc. They can pass it on to someone else. Pay it forward. Rocketry is the hook – it can create an openness to explore, spark one’s imagination to examine different possibilities in this world. ”
To join OPROC call John Ludwig at 385-0341 after 4 pm. To join 4-H or to become a 4-H leader, call Pamela Roberts, 4-H coordinator, at 379-5610 ext. 207 or go to http://4h.jefferson.wsu.edu.
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