Sioux County Newsletter
May 2020
Calendar of Events
May 12 - Virtual Speech Workshop at 4 pm
May 18 – 4-H Council at 6:30 pm
May 21 - Virtual Volunteer Training at 6 pm
June 11-13 – Fort Robinson Horse Camp
June 18 – Wilderness Wonders Camp
June 20 – Dawes County Progress Show
June 23 - Western Livestock Challenge
June 27 – Box Butte County Progress Show
Cancellations
June 3-4 – LOG N Camp – Cancelled
June 11-12- Design Camp –Cancelled
Jamie Goffena's Retirement
With honor and pleasure I have worked with Nebraska Extension and 4-H for 25 years. I treasure the times with those who have delighted my journey. Thank you for all the assists along this path.
Often we don’t know the best blessings until long after an experience. The best blessings realized from 4-H will not be the faded rosettes but will be the knowledge learned, the friendships developed, and the character growth from new adventures.
May 8th I start a new adventure commonly known as retirement. Until the day when I can travel again, I will be content with farm animals, sewing, cooking, reading, gardening, hiking, biking, kayaking and enjoying the beautiful Pine Ridge.
Always take the scenic route! Farewell and God Bless. Love you, kids! Jamie
Jamie Goffena
233 Goffena Road
Chadron, NE 69337
Office Closures
Due to the COVID-19 virus outbreak, the Nebraska Extension Offices in Sioux, Dawes, and Sheridan Counties will be closing their doors to walk-in traffic, effective as of Friday, March 20, until further notice. Staff are working remotely to deliver learning opportunities to Nebraskans. Many Extension programs will be available online. To contact UNL Extension: Sioux County call 308-668-2428 and leave a message or email jnixon@unl.edu, Dawes County call 308-432-3373 leave a voicemail or email dawes-county@unl.edu, Sheridan County call 308-327-2312 leave a voicemail or email jack.arterburn@unl.edu.
4-H Scholarship Deadline - Extended
Are you interested in attending a 4-H Camp but are not sure you can afford the fee? Apply for a 4-H Camp Scholarship. These scholarship applications are due on May 15th. We realize families might not know for sure what camp they are attending yet, we ask you go ahead apply for any camps you think you might attend. You can submit your application to the Nebraska Extension-Sioux County Office. You can find the application at https://extension.unl.edu/statewide/northernpanhandle/scholarship-opportunities/.
Concerns about Upcoming Events
During this unknown time, many of you may be wondering about our summer 4-H activities. Currently we are being directed to make determinations about events six weeks out. For now we are going to continue to plan activities for after June 15th, including Fair. We will continue to keep you posted as things get closer. For those of you who are not sure about purchasing animals feel free to wait as long as you need but if you want your youth to still have the learning aspect and responsibility of the project to go ahead and purchase the animal. We have state teams looking into different show options in case it is state mandated to not host face to face events. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions.
Speech & Presentation Contest
This year there will not be a regional Speech Contest, instead each county can send 5 intermediates and seniors to the State Speech Contest. The State Speech contest will have youth submit their recorded speech videos online by June 15th. The County Speech and Presentation Contest will be held on June 4th at 4pm. PSA’s are to be 60 seconds are less and be around the Inspire Kids To Do theme. The Clover Bud speech length is under 2 minutes, Juniors 1-3 minutes, Intermediates 3-5 minutes, and Seniors 5 to 8 minutes. For more information about the rules visit the Contest section of the Fair Book at https://extension.unl.edu/statewide/northernpanhandle/sioux-county-fair/.
To help youth prepare for this contest, we will be hosting a virtual speech workshop on May 12th at 4 pm. Please contact Melissa Mracek at mmracek2@unl.edu for the workshop link.
Volunteer Training
We will be hosting a 4-H Volunteer training on May 21st at 6 pm virtually. Please contact Melissa Mracek at mmracek2@unl.edu for the meeting link. This training will help volunteers complete their necessary screening and is strongly encouraged for any adult hoping to help with 4-H summer events or interested in serving as a paid workshop instructor.
Wilderness Wonders Camp
Wilderness Wonders Camp has been moved to June 18th and to just a one day camp about water. The camp will still be for youth entering 3rd through 5th grades. They do not have to be 4-H members to attend. The camp will be held at Camp Norwesca from 9 to 5 pm. Youth will participate in fun activities including archery, water rockets, water slide and more! The fee for the one day camp is $40. This camp is limited to 40 youth and registrations are due by June 1st. The registration form can be found at: https://extension.unl.edu/statewide/northernpanhandle/event-calendar/.
YGB Clinic
Box Butte’s 4-H Council is hosting Chastin Legget’s You Gotta Believe Livestock Camp on June 10th at the Box Butte County Fairgrounds in Hemingford. Youth can participate in Beef, Sheep, or Goat portion of the showmanship clinic. The fee for the camp is $125 per exhibitor. Participants will need to bring their animal, water bucket, show halter, collar, and show stick. Sheep will need to be ruff shorn within two weeks before the camp. Lunch will be provided. Youth can only bring one species to the clinic. 4-H Scholarships. Registration is due by May 11th. For the registration visit https://extension.unl.edu/statewide/northernpanhandle/event-calendar/. Feel free to register and pay the fee at the workshop.
Weekly 4-H Project Ideas
Each week Nebraska Extension 4-H Staff are creating Weekly Project Ideas youth can complete at home with the materials they will have at their homes. These items will be posted on the Nebraska Extension Sioux County Facebook page. These activities are potential fair projects that can be entered in the County Fair this summer. Youth are encouraged to post a photo with a hashtag #NPNE4H.
Our 4th project focuses on your closet! This fair project can be entered in Department C: Consumer Management, Division 240: Shopping in Style, Class 4: Show Me Your Colors. Select 6-8 color photos of you wearing different colors. Half should be what you consider good personal colors and half should be poor personal color choices. Write a brief explanation with each photo describing your selections. Refer to the Shopping in Style manual pg 23 for more information. Entry should be a 14”x22” poster.
You may be wondering how do you know what colors look best on you? One way you can determine that is just by draping colors over you a better way to help you determine is to utilize the quizzes on one of these websites. This website (https://www.instyle.com/how-tos/how-to-find-best-color-to-wear-for-your-skin-tone) helps you determine your skin tone and gives suggestions of colors that will look good on you as well as those that won’t. If you are struggling on how to determine your skin tone, utilize this website: https://stylecaster.com/beauty/cool-warm-skin-undertones/. Once you have determined the colors that look good and bad on you, you just need to take 3 to 4 photos of you in good colors using clothes in your closet and 3 to 4 photos of you in bad colors. You can utilize what you learned from these websites to help you write your explanation for each photo. Clover Kids can decorate a t-shirt using only the colors that look good on them.
The fifth week 4-H Project Activity youth can do at home is a recipe file (E35004)! The exhibit could be a recipe file or binder. Each recipe must accompany a complete menu in which the recipe is used. This activity can be a State Fair project that can be entered at the county fair this summer. Clover Kids can create a food placemat to enter at the county fair. Find the full Food & Nutrition State Fairbook section at; https://4hfairbook.unl.edu/fairbookview.php/exhibits/20. Don’t forget to balance the menus with foods from the different MyPlate food groups. Attached is a tip sheet for building a healthy meal.
Our sixth at home fair project is a Veterinary Science Poster. Maybe you have seen something different happen during calving season this year or you want to inform people about a disease. Posters should not exceed 22”x28”. Topics of posters can be maintaining animal health, an animal disease, normal and abnormal characteristics, animal health or safety, public health or safety, animal management, safe livestock working facilities. This exhibit presents the viewer with a design that is simple and direct, unlike a display that usually presents more information. Since it is a science poster, make sure your information is correctly cited. Clover kids can create a poster about an animal breed. This project can be exhibited in H840001 Large Animals or H840002 Small Animals.
Photography Challenge
Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday youth and adults will be challenged to take a picture around a certain topic and submit it to the Nebraska Extension Staff. The photos can be emailed to Melissa Mracek (mmracek2@unl.edu). The winners of each photo challenge will be posted on Facebook the following day or two.
4-H Care Kits
Sioux County 4-H Council and Nebraska Extension are creating 4-H Care kits for 4-H members to pick up weekly from Laura Button’s house. Watch for Remind texts of when they are ready to be picked up. These kits will include supplies and lessons for an activity the youth can complete at home. We encourage the youth to share with Nebraska 4-H what they created by sharing a photo on Sioux County 4-H page and adding #NPNE4H. Families can sign their youth up for the 4-H Care Kits by registering their child for 4-H.
Virtual at Home Learning Website
This website has resources for participating in Living Room Learning on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 1 pm MT. Also you can learn how to join the Boredom Busters activities on Mondays and Wednesdays at 1 pm MT. You can also locate their recordings from previous sessions. Other resources on this website are the high school Virtual Field Trips, the A Beautiful Day resources for youth ages 1 through 8, along with Clover Kid activities, and STEM at home lessons for all ages. The STEM at Home lessons can be utilized by teachers or parents that want to give their youth hands on activities. Underneath the Self-Paced activities, you can find the Embryology lessons and videos for those that would like to learn about chicks’ development. All these resources can be found at https://4h.unl.edu/virtual-home-learning.
Nebraska Extension Sioux County Office
Email: mmracek2@unl.edu
Website: go.unl.edu/siouxcofair
Location: PO Box 277 Harrison, NE 69346
Phone: (308) 668-2428
Facebook: facebook.com/UNLSiouxCounty