Oahu 4-H - Newsletters

On July 26th, 2008, we held the 4-H Achievement Banquet at Schofield Barracks, Nehelani, to close up the previous 4H year. A special thanks to the Pot of Gold 4-H club for chairing this event. At this luncheon, we said our goodbyes to our beloved graduating seniors – who I wish the best of luck to, as they embark on a new journey in their lives – and initialized your new executive council for the 4H year 2008-2009.

I, as your president, look forward to working with all of you this year on making this year a successful, as well as a memorable one; so don’t be shy! I would hope to see a plethora of participation this year in our events, and hopefully more new members.

On Friday, August 1st, 2008 – Sunday, August 2nd, 2008, the executive council, along with Aunty Rose, attended a retreat at Turtle Bay Resorts. On a whole, I felt, (along with the rest of the council), that this was a very productive retreat. The work that was supposed to last us until Sunday was completed by 3 PM on Saturday. We planned a tentative calendar of events for the year, which will be approved at the council meeting on September 1st, at the Urban Garden Center starting at 1 PM. At this meeting, we will also propose a budget for the year.

We all look forward to seeing all of you there! And please stay for the Rally day that will follow the meeting!

Just recently on August 1-3 the Executive board of the Oahu 4-H Organization had their retreat which took place in a condo on the lovely properties of Turtle Bay. We enjoyed our stay there while planning many exciting activities for this 4-H year. Getting our work done, enjoying our weekend, and each other’s company, this year’s Executive Board is ready to start off this 4-H year with enthusiasm and a great big smile on our faces.

I would like to welcome all of you to the new 4-H calendar year. We ended last year with the 4-H Achievement Banquet and the State 4-H Livestock Show at the Bishop Museum. We are about ready to start another year. I met last weekend with the Exec Board at a retreat at the Estates at the Turtle Bay. The group planned out the calendar for the year, worked on the budget, did some skill building activities, worked on changes to the by-laws and bonded as a group. They have come up with a calendar of events that would be beneficial to everyone. When the Livestock does their planning for the year, I would like to incorporate their schedule into the calendar.

The first half of the 4-H calendar year from July to December 2008, in addition to carrying out the events of the Council, I will work with the Livestock clubs because Steve Nagano will be on sabbatical until the end of December. Also, Maryknoll has announced that she will be retiring from Cooperative Extension Service at the end of September.

I would like to encourage all club members and leaders to come to the Rally Day called Oahu 4-H S.E.T. Makahiki on September 1, 2008 (Labor Day) from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm. The first Council meeting will start at 10:00 am, with lunch to follow and Pa’ani to begin at 1:00 pm. I hope to see club members and leaders attend this event.

I am asking that 4-H leaders including the Livestock clubs to turn in the forms by Halloween Day, Friday, October 31, 2008. My office need the following forms:
          4-H Youth Enrollment (Y-1)
          Media and News release (Y-3)
            Parental Permission and Medical
            Information (Y-2)
            4-H Volunteer and Enrollment (F2)
            Club Group Enrollment (F4)

It is important that all members fill out the member forms and adult volunteer leaders fill out the volunteer enrollment forms. I need your forms on the due date, so Kyrra the Exec VP can work on the directory.

On August 15, 2008, everyone is invited to Parents And Children Together (PACT) Kuhio Park Terrace’s (KPT) 1st Annual P2P Cultural Fashion Show sponsored by our 4-H Teen Leadership Committee at our Teen Center. P2P or Past 2 Present is the name of the fashion show. We will be showcasing clothing from the past and the present. We will be featuring many of the cultures we have here in our community such as Samoan, Tongan, Hawaiian, Filipino, Micronesian, and African. The event will take place in KPT’s Kameha`ikana Resource Center Gym (1485 Linapuni Street, the building with the huge parking lot between the two tower complexes) and the program will take place between 6:30 PM-8:00 PM. Along with the Fashion Show, there will also be featuring Tahitian, Hip-Hop Dancing and much more. We will also be having booths with sample foods from each culture and projects done by our younger 4-H members on their own cultures. So come down to the KRC Gym and join us at PACT/KPT’s 1st Annual Cultural Fashion Show. Contact Carline Tanuvasa at 842-1843 for more information.

“Health Rocks” is a National 4-H program with a main objective of reducing youth tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drug use. It’s not enough to ‘just say no’! 4-H & ‘Health Rocks’ program assists youth ages 5-12 to develop valuable life skills such as communicating with others, identifying facts versus fables, and dealing with stressful emotions.

4-H members will involve participants in a Fact or Fable ball toss game. The information shared develops children’s awareness about the need to resist risky behaviors, make good choices, and to build internal resilience. This knowledge teaches them to avoid choices that are detrimental to their health and may distract them from achieving their goals.

Looking for six (6) Oahu 4-H volunteers to run ‘Fact or Fable’ ball toss game. Work in teams of two from 7:00 am-10:00 am to ask kid’s fact or fable question, ball toss, provide answers and to hand out prizes.

Please contact Kyrra Lau-Eglinton at 626-1685 by Tuesday 8/13 with your name, phone # and email address. A follow-up email with location & meeting time will be sent on Thursday 8/14. Training and job assignments will be given out at 6:30 am, at the event.

As you start to plan for your new 4-H year, please consider helping with Operation: Military Kids’ Hero Packs. Our goal for this year is to put together and distribute 1000 Hero Packs statewide as in the fall, 1700 guard and reserve soldiers will be deploying (again) to Kuwait. Our neighbor island 4-H’ers are taking care of the packs on the neighbor islands but that still leaves us with filling about 750 packs for Oahu children. We do have some items to fill the packs with but we are seeking assistance from other youth groups to either gather donated items or to create items for the backs. If your club (or you know of others) is willing to create/donate picture frames, journals, mini scrapbooks, baby bibs, etc with a “Hero” theme, please contact me at 956-7196 or email nakatsuk@hawaii.edu. We will need items by mid November. Mahalo!

Claire Nakatsuka
nakatsuk@hawaii.edu

This past month, thanks to the efforts of 4-H Read to Me volunteers Annette Wong and Janice Motoshige, 18 teens from Canada and the east coast created storybook aprons read to children at the Onemalu Transitional Shelter and Weinberg Village in Waimanalo. The teens were part of a 5 week West Coast Connection service-learning tour in Hawaii. Each day of the 5 weeks spent in the islands was devoted to doing a service in the community. The teens built homes, cleaned the Ronald McDonald House, and much more.

Our visitors’ 4-H Read to Me experience started with an apron creating session with our expert volunteers and a storytelling session with Mrs. Lynne Waihee of Read To Me International. The next two days were then spent visiting and reading to the children and their parents in Kalaeloa and Waimanalo. What a great way for our visitors to share aloha with our island folks!

Claire Nakatsuka
nakatsuk@hawaii.edu

There is a new international robotics tournament coming to Hawaii this fall that middle and high school 4-H clubs can participate in. There will be team scrimmages on each of the islands....Maui, Oahu, Kauai, Big Island...as the official fields have been purchased for each island. Check out this website for more information: http://www.spacegrant.hawaii.edu/HI-robotics.html

(Chartered under the National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program, the Hawai`i Space Grant Consortium is developing interdisciplinary education, research, and public service programs related to space science, earth science, remote sensing, human exploration and development of space, and aerospace technology. This is accomplished through a variety of programs: undergraduate research fellowships and traineeships, innovative college courses, workshops for educators, educational web sites, public exhibitions, lectures, tours, primary school programs, and space-themed summer camps for families.)

The America Supports You Freedom Walk is a national tradition that calls on people to reflect on the lives lost on September 11, 2001, remember those who responded, honor our veterans past and present, and renew our commitment to freedom and the values of our country. Each year the number of walks held throughout the nation grows, as more people are moved to participate.

The tradition was born when Pentagon employees, seeking a way to honor the victims of the attack on the Pentagon and their families, and pay tribute to those who responded to that attack as well as those who serve, organized a walk from the Pentagon to the National Mall. Nearly 15,000 people took part. Now, America Supports You Freedom Walks are taking place in communities across the nation. Last year 255 communities participated, and every state was represented, along with eight nations overseas.

Operation: Homefront (Hawaii) is planning a walk on Oahu. More information to be sent soon. Mark this date on your calendars!

I would like to introduce our 4-H state exchange. We are located in Lancaster County, PA. This is centrally located just hours away from Washington DC, New York City and Shore points. We have several airports that are located also within a 1-2 hour range. We have approx 12 4-Hers in the program at this time and have recently exchanged with Texas, Oregon and Kentucky. Lancaster County is a beautiful area of Pennsylvania. When we host we like to offer a variety of sights that the traveling state can choice from. We always visit the Amish sights and learn and experience their way of life including a buggy ride and a visit to an Amish home/farm We spend a day at Hershey Park riding the many rides and seeing shows. The park has a new section that is all water rides, then take a tour to see how chocolate is made at Chocolate World. Most groups choose to take a day trip to the shore for lots of fun in sun as well as spending the evening on the boardwalk. We can offer historic sights such as Gettysburg or Philadelphia. We have many types of farms and can offer farm tours. We like to travel and Host 7-10 days so we have plenty of time to do all the things you would like to do. We make sure everyone has a chance to taste all the local cooking by having a Pennsylvania Dutch meal.

We are looking for an exchange in either 09 and 2010 or 2010 and 2011. If you would be interested in talking more about this opportunity please let me know.

Sharon Sherick
Lancaster County, PA 4-H State Exchange
ssherick@dejazzd.com

Are you an educator or youth worker interested in learning about how to assist military children? As part of Hawaii’s Operation: Military Kids efforts, there are two workshops set that will address military culture, the deployment cycle, fostering resilience in kids, and building community capacity. The intent of the Ready, Set, Go training is to increase understanding of the unique issues facing military youth.
The following are workshops scheduled:
September 17, 2008 Hale Ikena (Fort Shafter) 9 am – 11:30 am
September 24, 2008 Nehelani (Schofield) 9 am – 11:30 am
If you are interested in attending this FREE workshop, please contact:

Tamsin Keone - Army Youth Education Support Services Director
ph. (808) 655-8326
email: tamsin.keone@us.army.mil

The Military Child Education Coalition (MCEC)’sTM Living in the New NormalTM initiative is the most recent effort to serve military children. Sparked by concerns about military children dealing with illness, injury, or death of a parent, the Living in the New Normal or LINN initiative was developed through collaboration with experts in the fields of trauma and grief, resiliency, health care, and child development.

LINN encourages families to ensure their children have the tools to weather life's storms, fosters homefront efforts to support military children, and provides educators and other concerned adults with information to help them support children during times of uncertainty, trauma, and grief. LINN's efforts are predicated on the belief that children are courageous and resilient and that these skills can be strengthened through deliberate encouragement by the adults in their lives.

MCEC will be offering a LINN workshop in Hawaii on October 29-30, 2008 at the Nehelani. Mrs. Eric Shinseki will be leading the team of MCEC educators. The workshop will be offered FREE as part of the Joint Family Support Assistance Program-OMK initiative. To obtain a registration form, please contact Claire Nakatsuka at nakatsuk@hawaii.edu or 956-7196.

For additional articles on 4-H youth development nationwide, check out the National 4-H Clover Corner News at http://www.4hblogs.org/ccn/

If you have a disability and require special assistance during any of our planned 4-H activities, please call the applicable County Extension 4-H Youth Development Agent two weeks prior to the event.

We welcome your story ideas and 4-H job listings.
Please e-mail them to nakatsuk@hawaii.edu