The schedule for regular All Team and YD Team Meetings was disrupted with the Galaxy Conference being held in mid-September. That set off a domino-like effect on the remaining meetings for the year. We've put together a schedule that may not fall on the normally assigned dates for these meetings, but they have been discussed and approved by the Admin Team to try and avoid any scheduling conflicts. Please take a few minutes and add these to your calendar and hold the dates as priorities.

4-H Professionals,

Please join us to participate in an interactive, online training opportunity to learn how to train volunteers and community partners in 4-H Science programs. 4-H National Science e-Academy Educational Highlights include:

• Participants will come away with the knowledge they need to train volunteers and community partners in 4-H Science programs.
• Subject matter experts, from across the country, will lead you through more than 22 hours of interactive learning sessions.
• Educators from within 4-H Science will make themselves available to answer questions and share their valuable experience and expertise.

We can promise that this virtual learning conference is unlike any other online learning opportunity that you have participated in previously. Please watch a short video Orientation of the E-Academy to learn more about this professional development opportunity.

Visit the E-Academy web page on 4-H.org for more information and to register for this training.

An overview of the sessions are as follows:

Day 1 (Feb 26): 4-H Science 101: 4-H science resource exploration, self-assessment and the tie in to high quality positive youth development

Day 2 (Feb. 28): Working with volunteers for 4-H science programs

Day 3 (Mar. 5): Working with limited resource and multicultural audiences in 4-H science programs

Day 4 (Mar. 7): Inquiry-based learning and Next Generation Science Standards

Day 5 (Mar. 12): 4-H Science evaluation and fund development

Day 6 (Mar. 14): An in depth look at some of our organizations' best practices and developing individual implementation plans

Once you register also be a on the lookout for weekly emails leading up to the conference announcing the 4-H Science Multi-Media Challenge, the opportunity to share your best practices and programs in a Virtual Poster Session, and an opportunity to win prizes!

Just a reminder that there are some great resources online related to the 4-H robotics curriculum.

Online facilitator resources and professional development modules can be found at: http://www.4-h.org/resource-library/curriculum/4-h-robotics/facilitator-resources/professional-development/#Expand3

For example, there is a professional development module on Community Resource Cultivation: Participants develop strategies for building community support and continue to develop the action plan started; this includes strategies and templates for recruiting, funding and marketing a robotics program.

It is that time of year again to order your electronic steer tags for the upcoming weighing, tagging, and tattooing of state fair steers in Jan and Feb.

This year I would ask that the 4-H Youth Development Educator in each unit email me with your tag number request for the counties you are responsible for.
We will mail them out to you for your distribution in your counties. This will prevent duplicate orders and mailings to individual counties. Please review the following check list before requesting EID tags:
In addition, there will be no charge for the EID tags this year. The State 4-H Office will be covering the cost of tags.

1 – I have attached an incomplete spreadsheet for you as a guideline as to what you have ordered and how many were used last year by unit and county. Click Here

2 – Please look for and use any tags left over from last year before figuring what you will request this year. Last year's tags can and should be used this year.

3 – Please coordinate your unit order between Youth Educator and Program Coordinators, and then place one order for your entire unit.

4 – Remember all state fair steers get weighed, tagged, and tattooed (with box K) this year.

5 – Send back any unused tags to the State 4-H Office immediately following your weigh ins.

6 – For nomination forms, rules, and procedures please review the attached documents in the portal. Click Here.

7 - When requesting tags via email please make sure your name and complete mailing address, and phone number are in your email as well as where you would like the tags sent if they are not going to the main office.

8 – Remember to make 3 copies of the nomination forms and keep one in your office, mail original to Dan Jennings, and mail one to the owner/exhibitor.

9 – Please give yourself plenty of time in making the request because tags can take up to a week or longer to receive in the mail due to bulk, weight, and postage delivery method (large padded envelopes or boxes).

10 – County steer weigh-ins this year need to take place from January 26^th to March 15^th (most usually occur the last weekend in Jan and the first two weekends in Feb).

11 – I plan to host a webinar on the procedures and paperwork of this as well as other livestock related items in January TBA.

12 – Return original copy of nomination forms to me at new address listed below:

Dan Jennings
University of Illinois Extension
1100 E. Warrenville Rd
Suite 170
Naperville, IL 60563

Thank You,

Dan Jennings
djjennin@illinois.edu
PH: 815-218-4358

Nearly 60 llinois 4-H staff attended the 2012 NC Region Science Academy in St. Louis. An exciting followup to this professional development opportunity is being offered as the 2013 4-H Science E-Academy.

Over 12 interactive, online sessions will be offered over three weeks. All staff involved in supporting 4-H science volunteers are encouraged to participate. "Master" volunteers who play a role in supporting and/or training other volunteers are also invited to participate. Sessions will be accessed online. Each participant is encouraged to be at their own computer. More information on the session topics will be provided soon.

SAVE THE DATES!!!!

February 26 & 28

March 5 & 7

March 12 & 14

Daily Schedule: (Central Standard Time)
Plenary Session - 11:00-11:45
First Interactive Session - 12:00-1:30
Second Session - 2:00 - 3:30
Coffee House - 3:45 - 4:15

Thank you to everyone who participated in the 4-H Policy Changes session at the All 4-H Staff Meeting this week. The three documents that were distributed during our discussion have been uploaded on the Portal to help guide county staff through the beginning of the new 4-H year.

* FAQ #2 - Additional Questions on 4-H Fiscal Issues and Policies (add this to the 1st FAQ document)
* Sample of Best Practices - The Nuts and Bolts of 4-H Clubs
* Next Steps for Fall 2012: 4-H Checklist

These can be accessed on the Portal: Groups: 4-H Contacts: Staff Development: Webinars: 4-H Fiscal Issues and Policies 2012.

Also included in the webinars section is a copy of the September 6 PowerPoint (in Notes view). If you have not already done so, this would be a great resource to have available along with your Unit Management Handbook and FAQ documents.

Continue to send success stories, best practices, and any further questions to us.

Sheri Seibold and Karen Moore

Sept 6, 2012 – Webinar on 4-H Fiscal Issues and New Policies: "The Nuts and Bolts"

This email provides the logistical information for the Sept. 6 webinar: 4-H Fiscal Issues and New Policies: "The Nuts and Bolts" of Implementation in the Unit. The webinar will be held on Thursday, September 6 from 10:00 a.m. to 12 noon. The ID is 3687 and the password is 9327. The intended audience is 4-H Program Support Staff, Office Support Staff working with 4-H as well as 4-H Youth Development Educators and County Directors. To join the Meeting Place conference go to https://meetingplace.aces.illinois.edu/a/85278fec56deb8d4ec2b872cc05a0064. You will be able to print off the power point just prior to the webinar. Be sure to enter your Unit number and name of each staff member attending in the chat box when you enter the webinar.

During this webinar, we will be sharing the specifics of the new policies, resources to help complement the policies, and implementation strategies for the new 4-H year. By Sept. 6 you should also have received your 2012 Unit Management Handbook. Please have that with you for this webinar. We will also be sending a file with a summary of the changes in the UMH for 2012 prior to the webinar. A number of new/revised materials will be posted to MyExtension Portal (staff use) and the Illinois 4-H web site (member, parent, volunteer, staff use). The posting should be completed by the end of the day on Sept. 6.

We look forward to sharing information with you for the new 4-H year! Please be sure to share this message with Office Support Staff who work with 4-H.

Responses to the 4-H Career Development Survey have been coming in from 12th grade 4-H members from across Illinois and the data is starting to be compiled by the Survey Research Lab. Your support of the data collection process is greatly appreciated. Dan Horn has posted several new items to the portal to assist you in sending email reminders to non-respondents. Items needed to complete the next steps include: 1) Reminder Letter for Survey (includes content for the email reminder); 2) Instructions to Generate Reminder Emails for Survey; 3) Spreadsheet containing Completed Codes as of 5-23-2012; and 4) Instructions for Creating Spreadsheet. The Career Development Study Task List identifies target dates for sending email reminders as May 24-June 2, with the optimal response rate being for email surveys sent on a Monday, Thursday, or Friday.

If you need technical assistance, please contact Dan Horn, dchorn@illinois.edu; or call 217-333-0826. All of the information associated with the 4-H Impact Studies are posted on the Portal; 4-H Contacts; Evaluation.

Due to additional changes in some State Fair plans, we have changed the 4-H 101 Webinar on the 2012 State Fair to Wednesday, June 6 at 1:30 p.m. (It had been originally scheduled for Wednesday, May 30th.)

If you are already registered for this Webinar, you will still receive the information regarding codes, etc. If you still need to register for the session, please do so by Monday, June 4 so that we can get you the information.

Career Development Study – The Email invitation is now ready to send to 12^th grade 4-H members in your unit. The target dates for sending the email invitation are May 3-12, with the optimal response rate being for email surveys sent on a Monday, Thursday, or Friday. Dan Horn has posted several items to the portal to assist you with this process including: 1) Instructions for Creating a Spreadsheet for Career Study through DMS which helps you obtain contact information for 12^th grade 4-H Members (creates an Excel spreadsheet with member's name and email); 2) Instructions for Generating Emails for Career Development Survey (initiates sending customized emails to all 12-grade members simultaneously); 3) Codes for Surveys (Unique codes assigned to your Unit); and 4) the 2012 Evaluation of 4-H Programs in Illinois – Survey Invitation Email: 4-H Career Development which is the IRB approved document text to send to the 12^th grade 4-H members.

If you need technical assistance, please contact Dan Horn, dchorn@illinois.edu, or call 217-333-0826. If you have questions regarding who should receive the survey, when to send the initial invite, and later follow-up, or other research procedures, please contact Denise Legvold, dlegvold@illinois.edu, or call 217-333-0910. If email or internet access is not available, paper-copies of the invitation can be sent, but NOT paper-copies of the survey itself. Additional information related to the email reminder for non-respondents will be posted to the portal mid-May. Please refer to the Career Development Study Task List for a complete listing of the steps to follow for survey distribution. We look forward to using data collected from this survey to understand how 4-H influences the post-secondary decisions of 4-H members.

4-H Club Experience Study – Many of you have been successful in completing club visits and administering the 4-H Club Experience surveys in your Unit. Please refer to the 4-H Club Experience Study Task List as you move through the process if you have questions OR contact Pat McGlaughlin, patm@illinois.edu; or call 217-333-0913. Important steps to remember: 1) Keep the surveys for each club in a separate envelop with a cover sheet (template posted on the portal); 2) Mail packets of completed surveys to the Survey Research Lab at the address provided on the Task List; and 3) Email a copy of the completed Random Sample Spreadsheet to Pat McGlaughlin when all data collection is complete in your Unit.

4-H Science Study –Remember to identify 4-H science clubs, programs and events in your unit to target for the 4-H Science Survey. Even though the completed surveys are not due until September 1^st, it is important to schedule appointments to administer the surveys when the clubs or groups are meeting, and when the science focused events are scheduled. If you have any questions related to the 4-H Science Study, please contact Lisa Diaz, lbdiaz@illinois.edu; or call 217-333-0910.

Thank you for your assistance in this data collection process!

Under the direction of 4-H YD Educators each county is engaged in collecting data this spring and summer in preparation for fall reports. Please review carefully the Task List for each study that has been posted to the Portal under Evaluation. Note the tasks that can be completed now while we wait for IRB approval. DO NOT communicate details of the study to 4-H members until after we have IRB approval. It is critical that appropriate research methods are used in collecting and handling data. Look to your 4-H YD Educator for guidance.

Educators – task lists, overview slides, team meeting recordings, sample impact documents, and supporting research references have been posted for your use as you plan with Unit staff.

Thank you everyone for your assistance. This is an exciting statewide endeavor that will benefit everyone as we strive to tell our impact story locally and statewide.

Keep an eye on the 4-H Council Professional Development Calendar for upcoming webinars on a wide range of topics: http://www.4-h.org/professional-calendar/ If you aren't able to attend at the scheduled time, archives of the webinars can be accessed on the 4-H Council website as well.


See the following topics related to robotics:

Recruiting Volunteers and Community Partners 4/3/12 2:00-3:15

4-H Robotic$!4/18/12 2:00-3:15

WeDoRobots, What are they and what can 4-H do with them 5/2/12 2:00-3:15

Introduction to Robotic Opportunities for 4-H Programs 5/23/12 2:00-3:15

All About FIRST Competitions 5/30/12 2:00-3:15

4-HMindstormNXTRobots 6/20/12 2:00-3:15

4-H Junk Drawer Robotics7/18/12 2:00-3:15

Implementing the 4-H Robotics Platforms 8/15/12 2:00-3:15

Robotic Opportunities for 4-H Programs 9/5/12 2:00-3:15

4-H Robotics Programming– All Year! Every Year!9/12/12 2:00-3:15

Planning Robotics Trainings and Professional Development11/14/12 2:00-3:15

Robotics Summer Camps – making it happen 12/12/12 2:00-3:15

NGCP (National Girls Collaborative Project)
Webinar Finding Funding and Resources to Support Your Program
March 28, 2012
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM Pacific

The handouts and PowerPoint from the 4-H 101 Recognition for Excellence Part 1 Webinar have now been posted to the 4-H Contacts portal under Staff Development = Webinars = Recognition & Awards.

The link to the recording of the Webinar has also been posted at that location.

Please let me know if you have any questions related to the Recognition program. Remember that the Competition level and the Club/Group information on Recognition for Excellence will be covered at the 4-H 101 Webinar scheduled for Thursday, April 12. You can register for Recognition for Excellence Part 2 and other 4-H webinars at: http://web.extension.illinois.edu/registration/?RegistrationID=6575.

Register for upcoming 4-H 101 webinars via the updated registration site.These training opportunites are appropriate for 4-H staff, office support staff and county directors since each staff role has a unique part in supporting the Illinois 4-H program.

Once completed, 4-H 101 Webinarrecordings, powerpoints with notepages, and related documentswill be archived on the Portal; 4-H Contacts; Staff Development; Webinars.

Registration is open for these upcoming webinars:

Monday, March 12, 2012 - 1:30 PM - Think Green
Tuesday, March 13, 2012 - 1:30 PM - 4-H Fiscal Issues
Tuesday, March 27, 2012 - 10:30 AM - 4-H Shooting Sports
Thursday, March 29, 2012 - 10:00 AM - SPIN Clubs
Tuesday, April 3, 2012 - 1:30 PM - State Fair Online
Thursday, April 12, 2012 - 1:30 PM - Recognition, Part II
Tuesday, April 24, 2012 - 1:30 PM - PYD BIG-M, Part I
Thursday, April 26, 2012 - 1:30 PM - PYD BIG-M, Part II
Wednesday, May 30, 2012 - 1:30 PM - State Fair Update


Click here for more information or to register: http://web.extension.illinois.edu/registration/?RegistrationID=6575
NOTE: A confirmation for each 4-H 101 Webinar will be sent to your email account when you register. Save all email confirmations so you do not duplicate your registration.

Be aware that webinar times and days of the week vary and note those dates and times on your calendar.You are encouraged to register at least five days prior to each webinar as topic-specific information may be shared with participants prior to some sessions.

Event: 4-H Robotics

Description: Recruiting Volunteers and Community Partners to support 4-H Robotics Programs

Presenters: Amy Rhodes and Ann Sherrard, Extension Educators, 4-H Youth Development, University of Maryland Extension

Host: Partner Ops Aconnect 2

When: Wednesday 22 February 2012, 02:00 PM - 03:15 PM Time Zone: (GMT-05:00) Eastern Time (US and Canada)

To register for this event, please go the following link:

http://nationalfourhcouncil.adobeconnect.com/e3werlhoaua/event/registration.html

Register for any or all of the upcoming 4-H 101 webinars.

This is a training opportunity for 4-H staff, office support staff and county directors, since each staff role has a unique part in supporting the Illinois 4-H programs.

The following 4-H 101 Webinars have already been completed and the powerpoints with notepages and related documents are available on the Portal under Groups; 4-H Contacts; Staff Development; Webinars:

Registration is open for these upcoming webinars:

• Thursday, February 16, 2012 - 1:30 p.m. - Starting New 4-H Clubs
• Thursday, February 23, 2012 - 10:00 a.m. - SPIN Clubs
• Tuesday, February 28, 2012 - 1:30 p.m. - 4-H Ag Premium Fund
• Monday, March 12, 2012 - 1:30 p.m. - Think Green Initiative - DATE CHANGED
• Tuesday, March 6, 2012 - 1:30 p.m. - Recognition - Part I
• Tuesday, March 13, 2012 - 1:30 p.m. - 4-H Fiscal Issues
• Tuesday, April 3, 2012 - 1:30 p.m. - State Fair Online
• Thursday, April 12, 2012 - 1:30 p.m. - Recognition - Part II
• Tuesday, April 24, 2012 - 1:30 p.m. - PYD BIG-M, Part I - NEW ADDITION
• Thursday, April 26, 2012 - 1:30 p.m. - PYD BIG-M, Part II - NEW ADDITION
• Wednesday, May 30, 2012 - 1:30 p.m. - State Fair Update

Click here for more information or to register.

NOTE: A confirmation for each 4-H 101 Webinar is sent to your email account when you register. Please check for those email confirmations so you do not duplicate your registration.

Note that webinar times and days of the week vary. Please register at least 5 days prior to each webinar, as topic-specific info may be shared with participants before the sessions.

Celebrate and learn more about the first 100 years of youth development as a field of study in "Youth Development's 100 Year Legacy: Lessons to shape future research and practice," a webinar sponsored by CYFERnet, University of Minnesota Extension and the Journal of Youth Development.

The webinar is set for Monday, Feb. 13, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Central Time. It's free, but you must register in advance. Click here to find out more or to register.

Teleconference: 1-866-628-8620 Code 185831

This webinar is part of a series provided by National 4-H Council and covers topics of 4-H science curriculum, volunteerism, fund development and evaluation. To access toolkits of related resources, a full calendar of upcoming events (and archive of past webinars) go to http://www.4-h.org/resource-library/professional-development-learning/science-training-guides-resources/

4-H Program Coordinators, Community Workers and Educators:

Please hold Tuesday, Jan. 17 and Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2012 for All-Team Meetings. To reduce your travel time and expense, we'll hold them in four locations around the state. County Directors are invited to attend, too, if their schedules permit.

More details coming soon – meantime, mark your calendar!