The News Spreader February 2012

LEADERSHIP FOR TOMORROW THROUGH LEARNING TODAY

Those look delicious! - Ormstown 4-H’ers learned the basics

of cake decorating on Dec. 10th, see the story on page 3.

“What IS this?” Howick 4-H’ers make their own meal

thanks to Loblaws. See page 6 for details

Carrie Simpson smiles as she and Tom MacDougall are

introduced at the Square Dance Competition, Jan 21st. A group photo of all 40 dancers, see text page 2 & more photos page 8

The News Spreader QUEBEC 4-H

21,111 Lakeshore Road Macdonald College

Harrison House 3-04 Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC

H9X 3V9 Phone: 514-398-8738 Fax: 514-398-8652 www.quebec4h.com

PRESIDENT

Mathieu Rouleau oldestrolo@hotmail.com

VICE-PRESIDENT

Tiffany Nelson tiffany.nelson@mail.mcgill.ca

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Lorelei Muller office@quebec4h.com

AGRICULTURAL LIAISON

Caitlin MacDougall agliaison@quebec4h.com

In this Issue

Page 2—Square Dance Competition Update Page 3—Ormstown 4-H Club News Page 4—Upcoming Events and Opportunities Page 5—Quebec 4-H Summer Job Opportunities Page 6—Lachute and Howick 4-H Club News Page 7—National Volunteer Leaders’ Conference Report Page 8—photos from club and provincial activities

Quebec 4-H Motto:

Leadership tomorrow through learning today.

Canadian 4-H Motto:

Learn to do by doing.

I Pledge

My Head to clearer thinking

My Heart to greater loyalty

My Hands to larger service

My Health to better living

For my club, my community and my

country.

What is 4-H?

Quebec 4-H is about developing self-confidence, learning skills in communications, leadership, problem solving and goal setting but most of all, Quebec 4-H is about having FUN! We’re here to promote the personal development of youth aged 6 to 25 in agricultural and rural communities. With a focus on fun and learning, we provide opportunities to develop the skills needed in an ever-changing future. Using the talents and energies of our members, volunteers and staff we create innovative ideas and programs as well as maintain our successful traditional ones. Members can choose from projects ranging from livestock to square dancing. We work to spread the impact of 4-H and to help the youth of today become the leaders of tomorrow.

February 2012 Page 2 Quebec 4-H News Spreader

Quebec 4-H Square Dance Competition The square dance competition hosted by Quebec 4-H and

held in Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue on January 21st was a great suc-

cess! Five teams participated: Ormstown juniors and seniors,

Howick, MAC JAC, and Richmond. There were over 80 people in

attendance for lunch, the competition and open dancing. Neil Mac-

kay’s band played for all the sets, and the judges were Kyra Kal-

weit, Sharon Silverson-McOuat and Kelley Allen.

The senior teams placed: 1-Ormstown, 2-Howick, 3-MAC

JAC, 4-Richmond, and the Ormstown Juniors placed 1 out of 1.

Best Junior Caller went to: 1-Angela Neal, 2-Kristen

Maither, 3-Julie Neal, 4-Katie Mackay.

Best Junior Couple was Kayleigh Tannahill and Chloe-

Jade Demers (Ormstown). Best Senior Couple was Emmitt Lausas

and Dawn Bradley (Ormstown) and Best Up-and-Coming Couple

was Samual Rouleau and Vanessa Templeton (Howick).

Admission for dancers and spectators was free, as the event

was part of the ongoing Quebec 4-H Square Dance Revitalization

Project funded by Canadian Heritage. Everyone enjoyed the Vir-

ginia Reel and several square dances while the judges were delib-

erating. This was a great opportunity to practice before the

Ormstown competition. Photos can be seen on pages 1 and 8.

Page 3 Quebec 4-H News Spreader February 2012

Special Guests Visit Ormstown 4-H Banquet

Submitted by: Amber Thompson and Ashleigh Cavers

The Ormstown 4-H banquet took place on November

25 at MacDougall Hall. The guest speakers were Kel-

sey and Jim Bryson. They talked about their big

world record-setting pumpkin that weighed 1818.5

pounds. Esther Cavanaugh catered the banquet and

the food was so good.

Ormstown 4-H Holds Craft Day 9 Ormstown 4-H’ers as well as leaders and parents

met at MacDougall Hall in Ormstown on November

13 for an afternoon of making Christmas crafts. We

made paper cone Christmas trees that we decorated

with Caitlin MacDougall. We made another craft out

of bailer twine with Allis Neely. We braided the

bailer twine then we decorated it with Christmas

decorations. We also made Christmas wreaths out of

pipe cleaners that were then decorated. Last we made festive cranberry orange cookie mixes in mason jars and baked a

batch to eat. A great gift giving idea – and we all had lots of fun.

Ormstown 4-H Loblaws Project Report For our food projects 7 members from the Ormstown 4-H

club got together at Laura & Caitlin's house on June 28,

2011 to make strawberry jam and pineapple strawberry

jam, we had fun learning the basics and really enjoyed eat-

ing the product. On September 4, 2011 we learned how to

make dill pickles, we had fun getting the cucumbers and

making the brine.

On November 13, 2011 during our Christmas craft day we

made cranberry orange cookies, which were very yummy to

eat, and on December 10, 2011 we got together with the

help from Lizzie Ellis to learn how to decorate cupcakes, we learned how to make royal icing and how to use the icing

tools. Thank you to Caitlin for her time and knowledge we greatly appreciate it! We would also like to thank Loblaws

Companies Ltd for helping us learn more about food.

Members learned how to make and dye icing, use icing tips and bags, and practice techniques on their cupcakes before

eating them or taking them home to share with families. Several kids went home with blue or red tongues!

Club News

Page 4 Quebec 4-H News Spreader February 2012

Innovative Ag Tour 2012 Hosted by Ormstown 4-H on March 9-11

Come visit farms and agribusinesses in the Ormstown area this March! Confirmed so far: visit to Bergeries Mimeault—a sheep producer with an on-site shop, Ferme Kostka—a start-up Holstein herd, a Canadian horse farm with an owner who worked for Cavalia, Anglo Acres Farm—Angus/Simmental cow-calf operation, with plans to also visit a large-scale dairy farm, commercial green-house, alpacas, and more! Bowling will be the Saturday night entertainment—with lights and a kareoke machine! Billeting provided.

Register by February 15. Cost $60 per participant.

My Quebec Roots Video Contest

CBC, the QCGN and Quebec community groups are sponsoring a video contest to encourage Eng-lish-speaking students to discover the history and heritage of their families and communities. Must be a student between 13-18 years old. Videos must be 2-3 minutes long and be received by April 30th. You could win an IPAD, IPOD or gift certificate. Visit www.qcgn.ca/myquebecroots

Merial Box Back program This program will again be taking place this year. Collect 2.5L, 5L, and 20L Ivomec and

Eprinex Pour-On boxes from your local vet clin-ics or farmers, fill out the labels and send them

back to Merial, and you will get $10 for each box given back to your club!

Envelopes must be postmarked no later than the deadline, February 29, 2012. For more informa-

tion visit: www.ivomec-4h.com

Save The Date! - Intermediate Leadership Camp—May 25-27

- Provincial Rally, Shawville—July 5-8 - Summer Junior Camp—August 12-15

- Back to School Pizza Party, Harrison House, Ste-Anne’s—Sept 5

Upcoming Events and Opportunities

Ormstown Square Dance Competition

Saturday, April 21st at 7:30 pm Ormstown Rec Centre, 85 Roy St

Any 4-H club is welcome to attend and put in a team. Admission: free for participants. Entrance fee for specta-tors. There will be dancing open to everyone afterwards;

a light lunch will be served following the competition. Contact Janice Barr for details: barrneal@rocler.com

Richmond 4-H Dance

Saturday, April 14th at the Centre St-Famille Tickets are $5 pre-sale, and $7 at the door

Slightly Haggard will be playing Info: contact Maria Enright at 819-826-1377

Intermediate Leadership Camp May 25-27 at Camp Kinagalawi (near Richmond)

New this year: Intermediate members (aged 13-15) can learn their leadership skills in a camp set-ting! Work in teams or “clubs”, run mini-meetings, use monopoly money to buy supplies, compete in

challenges, and develop communication skills, when doing outdoor adventure activities.

Register by May 1. Cost: $60 per participant.

Check out the Opportunities

Guide that was sent with

this News Spreader to see

other programs, scholarships

and travel opportunities!

Bus trip to Royal Would you and your family be interested in visit-ing the Royal? Richmond 4-H Club is hoping to ar-range a greyhound bus to go up to Toronto for the last weekend of the Royal, in order to see and participate in the square dance competition. If you would be in-terested in hopping on the bus, please fill out the sur-vey found at this link:

www.surveymonkey.com/s/NVNHHG3

Garfield Weston International Exchanges

One Quebec delegate will be eligible to travel interna-tionally on a 4-6 week exchange (with home stays) this summer. Their twin will come to Canada in the summer

after your visit and will also stay with host families. Must be 18+. Apply by Feb. 15 to Qc 4-H.

Page 5 Quebec 4-H News Spreader February 2012

Summer Employment Opportunities Quebec 4-H Summer Employment - May 22 – Aug. 24, 2012*

Job Requirements for all positions

Between ages 15 – 30 years

Regular full time student during previous academic year; returning to full time studies Aug./Sept. 2012

Bilingual

Outgoing, energetic, enjoy working with youth

Self-starter, disciplined and must be punctual

Computer skills (Excel, Word, Powerpoint)

Membership and/or knowledge of 4-H would be considered an asset.

Program Assistant – will carry out basic office procedures, support local club activities and assist in the coordina-

tion of provincial activities including Junior Camp and Provincial Rally where responsibilities include:

registration of participants

organization of event logistics

production of program books

promoting and reporting on events

attending and supervising the Rally (July 5-8) and Camp (Aug. 12-15)

Public Relations Assistant – will promote Quebec 4-H at various fairs and events as well as liaise between the

provincial office and local clubs. The PR Assistant may work some hours from home. A license and vehicle are re-

quired. The job includes working several weekends.

Tasks include:

securing and manning booth space at fairs

developing promotional material

promoting and reporting on events

attending and supervising the Rally and possibly also Junior Camp

Archivist – will organize photos, past issues of the News Spreader and other memorabilia. The Archivist will per-

form research through old documents and contact with clubs in order to compile a historical record. They may collect

information for the 100th anniversary 4-H Canada e-history project as well.

Note: The PR Assistant and Archivist positions are available conditionally upon reception of grant from Service Canada

to be confirmed during the second week of May.

These positions are made possible thanks to funding from Service Canada.

*Dates may be negotiated.

Please send your résumé and cover letter to Quebec 4-H by April 1, 2012.

Quebec 4-H

Macdonald College, Harrison House 3-04

21,111 Lakeshore Road

Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC

H9X 3V9

Tel: 514-398-8738

Fax: 514-398-8652

office@quebec4h.com

Page 6 Quebec 4-H News Spreader February 2012

Lachute 4-H Serenades Seniors with Christmas Carols

In mid-December Lachute 4-H Club held their annual car-

olling at the seniors residence in Lachute. We have been

doing this for almost 20 years. Amazing!! We bring all

our talent, piano, guitars, drums and voices and sing carols

and recite Christmas poems to a crowd of 30-40 seniors.

Then we serve them Christmas cookies, tea and coffee.

The kids get to mix with the seniors and the seniors really

enjoy it. This year with all our younger members the choir

was especially sweet. Good fun!

Submitted by: Donna Clark

Club News

Howick 4-H Learns About Healthy Eating By: Ben Hooker

Thanks to a Loblaws Nutritional Funding grant, the Howick

4-H club was able to put on an afternoon and evening of healthy

cooking and eating for all of its members organized by dietician and

former Howick 4-H member Emily Templeton. The event took

place on Friday, November 25th at the United Church in Howick. At

1:30 in the afternoon, seven younger members attended to learn

how to make healthy snack food for their family. They made yogurt

parfaits, a bean dip with some veggies and homemade granola bars

that they then ate as a group. Another activity the members partici-

pated in was talking about Canada’s food guide and how to keep

meals at home balanced and healthy.

In the evening, older members stopped by to try their hand

at cooking some food for supper. The members made a delicious

homemade tomato soup for an appetizer that was loved by all. Then

the main course consisted of two stir-fries, one shrimp and one

chicken with a variety of vegetables mixed in. Finally for dessert, Julie MacFarlane whipped up a delectable raspberry

pudding to finish off the meal.

On behalf of Howick 4-H I would like to like to thank Emily Templeton very much for coming in to show us

how to keep our meals both healthy and delicious. It was an activity that was enjoyed by all who participated and we

can’t wait to take what we learned home with us. I’d also like to thank Beth Hooker for applying for the grant, organiz-

ing the day and keeping things running smoothly.

Page 7 Quebec 4-H News Spreader February 2012

NATIONAL 4-H LEADERS’ CONFERENCE

by: Erin Scoble and Phyllis Danforth

Leader’s Conference, what is that all about? What a fantastic opportunity!

Erin Scoble and Phyllis Danforth shared in a fantastic opportunity to represent Quebec 4-H at this year’s National

4-H Leader’s Conference which was held in Edmonton, Alberta January 12th-15th. After a very early start on Thursday

morning, we arrived in Edmonton just after lunch. With a little free time before registrations, we decided to visit Canada’s

biggest mall – West Edmonton Mall. It was quite impressive to see a wave pool, skating rink and sea lion show; all within

wall to wall stores. And that was only a 1/3 of it! After registrations and during supper we were introduced to the other 16

leaders who came from all over Canada. Most of these Leaders were part of multi-clubs.

On Friday, after an elaborate breakfast, we were ready and eager to start our first workshop of many. We were

taught how to coach our Members in answering their own questions and solve their own issues. We were all shown how

each one of us has an “inner quacking duck” that makes us want to fix, to do, to take over for the young people. A definite

wrong approach we were explained. We were told that we need to control that inner duck so that the Members will become

more independent and “learn to do by doing” on their own.

After lunch we learned about the 3 styles of communication: visual, auditory and kinesthetic. We learned that to

have a successful Club with positive and dynamic meetings, we need to consider the 3 communication styles and reach out

in different ways to engage our Members. Not everyone learns or processes information the same way. We were given the

opportunity to observe this firsthand when we were put into groups of 4 and given a roll of tape and a box of straws with

the challenge to build a tower 5 straws tall which could hold a full glass of water. Discussions, drawings or tackle the task

immediately, what to do? The four teams approached the challenge very differently and proved to us that we do communi-

cate very differently, more so in a group and information isn’t always understood clearly.

That evening the National Leaders joined the Alberta Leaders (over 250) and also some from Montana for a

Hero’s supper. There were many amazing interpretations; classic super hero, hockey players, Super Moms, patriots from

our history and more. Saturday, was a very busy day filled with conferences relating to humor, games, how to make meet-

ings more interesting and how to have effective Clubs.

After a very intense day, we again met up with the other

National Leaders for a formal dinner and dance. With

permission from our hosts; we shared our Valley enthusi-

asm for square dancing and started up a few sets. They

didn’t know that square dancing could be so much fun.

Even after many of us had gone to bed, “games

of spoons” continued to be played. As the spoons started

flying around our heads and chairs toppled over, we de-

cided this game was truly not for the weak at heart but

truly an Albertan tradition. You had to be one to appreci-

ate the intensity.

Although many of us were preparing for an early depar-

ture on Sunday morning, stories and sharing of ideas

were ongoing even at the airport.

If you are a Leader or a very involved parent

within your club, this conference is for you! Witnessing

the dedication and motivation of the other 16 national

Leaders proves to us that what we do is worth it! The en-

richment obtained from the contacts, ideas and conferences strongly validates why we are so active within our Clubs.

Thank you to the Canadian 4-H Council and the Quebec 4-H for this wonderful opportunity.

National Events

The 4-H Leadership Training Program is now available : www.4-h-canada.org/training.

4-H leaders and volunteers can now learn about the 4-H program by taking short quizzes on a variety of topics. This

course is laid out in 12 quiz modules, allowing for easy self-directed learning. It offers a balance between information and

questions to help reiterate the main facts. Topics 1-7 are especially for new leaders, 8-12 are for experienced ones. Sec-

tions on conflict resolution, fundraising, judging and parliamentary procedure can help strengthen your club and your

skills. Contact Quebec 4-H to let us know what other resources you would like to see offered, and what you think of this

online resource. Quebec 4-H would like to organize a conference call sharing session for leaders, let us know if you

want to participate. This is an opportunity to find out what other clubs/leaders do and share information.

Page 16 Quebec 4-H News Spreader February 2012

MAC JAC dips and dives… Best Senior Couple: Emmitt Lausas and Decorated cupcakes at the Ormstown food day

Dawn Bradley, Ormstown Senior team

Richmond 4-H’ers do a centre fall Best Up-and-Coming Couple: Samual Rouleau and Vanessa Katie Mackay calling

Templeton from the Howick 4-H team for Howick

Ormstown Seniors with their first place ribbons Everyone dancing a few sets before the placings are announced