Fannin 4 - H Flash 01/01/2016 VOLUME 1, ISSUE 4 Happy New Years! Happy New Years everyone! We hope everyone had a wonderful, safe and exciting start to their New Year. Let us make sure we welcome 2016 and take advantage of the New Year! New Year s is always an exciting time of year. It is the opportunity to start something new. Maybe a new hobby, a healthy choice, start a new 4-H project or develop a community service opportunity. Remember, through 4-H there are so many wonderful opportunities and projects available to help you learn and try something new and exciting! We look forward to helping everyone this year trying something new, setting new goals and achieving greatness. New Year s Eve Facts & Trivia The first New Year was celebrated 4,000 years ago by the ancient Babylonians It s tradition to ring in New Year s with family and friends because the first people you see will either give you good luck or bad luck. Internationally, one of the biggest celebrations is in Sydney, Australia. More than 80,000 fireworks are set off from Sydney Harbour Bridge Time Square New Year s Eve Ball was first dropped in 1907 after there was a fireworks ban. Back then, a 700- pound ball embellished with 25-watt bulbs made of iron and wood was dropped. Now however, it weighs 11,875 pounds, is 12 feet in diameter and is adorned with 2,668 Waterford crystals This tradition has continued in Times Square, except for in 1942 and 1943. The ball was not lowered because of wartime restrictions In Colombia, Cuba and Puerto Rico, some families stuff a large doll, which is called Mr. Old Year, with memories from the past year. They also dress him in clothes from the outgoing year. At midnight, he is set ablaze, thus burning away the bad memories. Quote of the Month: Surround yourself with the dreamers and the doers, the believers and thinkers, but most of all, surround yourself with those who see greatness within you, even when you do not see it yourself. Inside this issue: New Year s Eve Facts & Trivia Leader/Volunteer Training Recordbook Training 2 1 2
Thursday, January 7th Thursday, February 4th. FANNIN 4-H FLASH As a friendly reminder, we will be having a Leader/ Volunteer Training on Thursday, January 7th at 5:30 P.M. The meeting will last approximately half an hour to forty-five minutes and will be located in the conference room at the Extension Office. We will be covering a variety of topics to help Also, please remember that we will be having a Recordbook training on Thursday, February 4th at 5:30 P.M. The training will be located in the Conference Room at the Extension Office. We are very fortunate to have Derrick Bruton agree to come and teach our members and their families how to successfully complete their Recordbooks. This is an outstanding opportunity to meet our great District 4-H Specialist. Leader/Volunteer Training volunteers, project leaders and club managers be more successful in leading, teaching, and preparing our 4-H members for their futures. You need to be an approved 4-H volunteer before you can chaperone any 4-H event, or travel with 4-H members to 4-H Recordbook Training Recordkeeping is a valuable skill taught to members of the Texas 4-H program. Members are encouraged to keep project records and have these records reviewed annually by submitting a Texas 4-H Recordbook. The primary purposes of completing a recordbook are for a young person to develop the skills necessary to set goals, work toward achieving those goals, reflect on his/her experiences and set new and higher goals for competitions. Page 2 We are always looking for new adult volunteers to mentor 4-H youth, lead local clubs, and run events. If you know other adults to help volunteer with the 4-H program, please make sure they come to our training as well! themselves. Another benefit is to prepare young people for the process of completing quality academic scholarship applications. All 4-H families are encouraged to join and learn how to successfully complete their record books, This is a great opportunity to all 4-H families! If you plan on attending, please register by calling the Extension Office
Page 3 VOLUME 1, ISSUE 4 Something that I have always found interesting is the different cultures around the world and one culture in particular always comes to mind during the first of the year. That is Chinese Animal Zodiacs or shengxiao (shnng-sshyaoww) which means born resembling. Each year is represented by an animal and it s reputed attributes. Traditionally these zodiac animals were used to date the years. 2016 is the Year of the Monkey. The monkey is the ninth of twelve animals in the Chinese Zodiac. The Monkey is widely perceived as smart and powerful. - Krystal Color the picture and write your New Year s resolutions on the back.
January 2016 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 2 3 4 Livestock Judging Practice 5 6 7 Leader/ Volunteer Training 8 9 10 11 Livestock Judging Practice Bonham 4-H Club 12 13 14 15 Mandatory Shooting Sports 16 District IV Lock-In 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 District IV Extension Texas Star 4-H Family 4-H Family Lock-In Office Closed 4-H Club s Archery Archery Camp Camp Rabbit 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 4-H Family Archery Camp Livestock Judging Practice 31
February 2016 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 2 3 4 Recordbook Training 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Bonham 4-H Club Mock Competition 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Rabbit Texas Star San Antonio 4-H Club Competition 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 - Dallas World Record Sandwich Making Contest 28 29
Fannin 2505 N. Center Street Bonham, TX 75418 Phone: (903)583-7453 Fax: (903) 583-1092 E-mail: fannin@ag.tamu.edu County Extension Office Don t forget to visit us at: http://agrilife.org/fannin4h/ or on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/fannin-4-h to find out about important dates and upcoming competitions, practices or events. We are constantly adding and updating our pages. We add anything on our pages that we get from our club leaders and other Extension Agents from around our District. Make sure to subscribe to our website. That way you will get an e-mail notification every time something is added or changed on the website so you can ensure you have the most recent information. If this is still not enough 4-H for you, you can always go onto http://texas4-h.tamu.edu/ and get caught up on what is happening at the state lever or even go to http://www.4-h.org/ to know what is happening at the National Level. Whichever way you go, you will always learn new things about 4-H and grow more passionate about the wonderful youth organization that 4-H is. Check out this 4-H! This month s 4-H project of interest is: Beef Cattle The beef project teaches the fundamentals of the Beef Cattle Industry. But it is not all work and no play! With things like the calf scramble for scholarships and money towards your next project, the memories gained through this project are going to last a lifetime. This project is open to all regular 4-H members of any age. You should try this project if you enjoy farm animals, cows, animal nutrition and care, and learning about the cattle industry. Through the Beef Cattle, you are responsible for the purchase and primary care of your livestock. This is a year-round commitment that starts in the early summer for steers and either early summer or early fall for heifers. 4-H members will explore all areas of the industry such as animal husbandry, livestock selection, health and care. You can also compete with beef cattle at local, county, state and national cattle shows. There are so many people more than willing to help any 4-H members out with their beef cattle projects, both local families and the extension office personnel. In this project, members will learn responsibility, proper nutrition, proper care for their livestock, and decision making.