Food & Nutrition Starting

NOTE: The January 5 meeting has been moved to January 10 from 4:30-6:30. 

Please plan on the dates below to start the food and nutrition project.  We will also have 2 meetings in February TBA.  The competition is at TX A&M Commerce on Saturday 2/25 9 am - 2 am.  See attachments for more info.

As of now we have ....

Morgan Reynolds Senior div.

Victoria, Kylee, Brook, and Kate Intermediate div.

McKayla, Alexa Junior div. ( We could use 2 more girls to round out this Junior team....please let me know)

All please plan for the meeting below, it will be quite a TREAT!  Thanks John

Chef Cody Hayes at Rockwall HS...

Thursday, Jan. 5^th from 4:30-7:00 and Thursday, Jan. 26^th from 4:30-7:00. 

For Complete guidlines and rules for the District 4 Food & Nutrition Competitions go to http://d44-h.tamu.edu/district-events/

To see all of the state rules and guidelines for the Food Challenge go to:  http://texas4-h.tamu.edu/library/files/healthy_lifestyles_foodchallenge_manual_11-12.pdf

Merry Christmas from the Rockwall County Extension Office

Texas 4-H Dog Certification

We are excited about the dog project activities that are coming up this year.  One of the biggest is the Texas 4-H Dog Show in July.  It will be held July 13-15, 2012 in Conroe, Texas.  The 2012 Rulebook is in the final stages and we hope to have it posted by the first part of December. 

However the first step is to Certify the active dog projects.  Attached, you will find a fillable PDF of the Texas 4-H Dog Project Certification form. 

The Texas 4-H Dog Project Certification form must be completed and submitted to the Texas AgriLife Extension County Office by January 10, 2012 to be eligible for the Texas 4-H Dog Show.  Even if a member has not yet decided to participate in the Texas 4-H Dog Show, it is recommended to complete the form(s) so the opportunity is still available in April/May when registration for the Dog Show is due.

The first page is the Certification Form designed to be completed one per family.  If the dog is registered, a copy of the registration form should be attached to this page.  If the dog is not registered, the second page will need to be completed with photographs of the dog.  One Non Registered/Non-Purebred form must be completed per dog.

These forms will be maintained in the county.  At the time of Texas 4-H Dog Show Registration, County Extension Agents will refer to these forms to verify certification and approve registration.

This form is also available at:

http://texas4-h.tamu.edu/projects/dogshow/index_youth_dogshow.php  

Photogaphy Project Kickoff

We are having a Photography Project Kickoff on Thursday, December 29th, 2 - 5 p.m. at the Historic Courthouse, Downtown Rockwall.  Sessions will be held in the District Courtroom on the third floor.  You will want to bring:

• digital camera or cell phone w/camera. 
• USB cord for downloading pictures onto computer
•  bottled water for your use 

During this time we will be both inside and outside so dress appropriately.  There should also be one adult with each family represented to help the 4-Hers as they go about with assigned tasks.  It promises to be a very fun afternoon.  See you there. 

Oh What Fun it is to . . . Christmas Party

December the 3rd was a very busy day.  There was very nice weather for the Rockwall Christmas Parade; there was great success at the District Consumer Decision Making Competition; and then there was the . . . Christmas Party!!  If you missed it, you missed a very fun time.  The party was held and the Wood Creek Amenities Center, in Fate.  74 people came out and  while the weather outside was frightful, inside it was quite delightful.  It provided a super stage for fun and social interaction.  We started the night by dividing clubs up for a butter shake off relay.  Each club was given a cup of heavy whipping cream and had to shake it until it became butter while passing it to each club member present.  Talk about fun!  It was quite humorous to see the excitement as 4-Hers learned that making butter is not all clean fun, sometimes you get dirty.  The parents also joined in the challenge pitting the dads against the moms.  They too took on the task.  It basically took 7 to 10 minutes providing a great ice breaker for everyone to get involved. We had fresh butter too.

Next we moved to the Architecture Design Competition, having each club design a Christmas structure with the donation food items brought.  The winning team was a combination of the Lucky Shamrocks and Gold Buckle clubs.  The runner up was designed and constructed by the Rockin'  Riders club.  Congratultions to each.

Then we had a team building activity of Self Control.  4-Hers held noodles together like a zipper. Then one person would walk through the zipper while it opened in front of them and closed again behind them.  This activity took a lot of self control for the people in the zipper line.  More over it took a lot of trust and faith from the person walking through it that they could successfully get to the other end without being hit by a noodle. I am happy to say that was successful and everyone had a chance to go through the zipper.  How fun!

There was also a time just to visit and learn about what is going on in the county 4-H program.  There were a lot of stories shared and everyone had a blast.  If anyone has pics from the party, please send them my way.

District Consumer Decision Making Results

The District Competition was held on December the 3rd while the Rockwall Christmas Parade was in full swing.  The competition was held and Texas A&M - Commerce.  Rockwall County was well represented and we have much to rejoice about.  Highlights from the event include:

Jordan Huff - 1st place High Point Individual Junior Division
Ryan Ullom - 2nd place High Point Individual Junior Division

1st Place Intermediate Team: Team members included: Bradley Simpson, Trevor Rowe, Emily Ullom, and Reese Simpson.
Bradley Simpson - 2nd High Point Individual Intermediate Division
Trevor Rowe - 5th High Point Individual Intermediate Division

Also we had two more individuals competing including, Naomi Romero - intermediate and Bobbie Carr - senior.

Congratulations to everyone for stepping out and competing on the district level.  I had the opportunity to listen to reasons and I was very impressed with Rockwall County's reasons giving abilities.

Congratulations again to all the participants, parents, and coaches.  Thank you Mrs. Simpson for heading up the group.  Thank you Dr. Romero for coaching reasons.