DEL ARROYO 4-H CLUB

November 2007

Community Club Meeting: Wednesday, November 14, 6:30 pm, LVCS, 543 Sonoma Avenue, Livermore. We will have a potluck dinner prior to our meeting and New Member Orientation.

Potluck dinner – Everyone bring a main dish plus the following:

• Last Names A – K salad
• Last Names L – Z dessert

Bring serving utensils for your dishes and your own plates and silverware. \

4-H SKATE NIGHT was a huge success. Many of our members and parents participated, wore costumes, and had a great time. If you didn’t attend this year, be sure to plan for it next year. It’s fun for the entire family. For those who did attend, it is Item 3 on your new PDR Form.

CAL CONFERENCE applications are due to Carol Crossett at the county 4-H office by November 16. Be sure to include half the fee, $70.00 (the county pays the other half) and $10.00 for a t-shirt. This conference is recommended for 7th through 9th graders. Call Margaret 447-6980 to get your application now.

One of our very active families has moved away. The VanFossen family moved to Twain Harte last month and we wish them well. Sadly, that means that the PASSPORT ON A PLATE and MINI MASTERPIECE MAKERS projects are cancelled. If anyone is able or willing to take over as project leader for either of these projects, please call Margaret 447-6980.

We do, however, have a new project for 5 - 8 year olds. It is Pet Pals, Corrina Male, Project Leader 321-4425. Sign up to learn about all kinds of small pets, costs to raise them, pet care and much more. You do not have to have a pet to participate. Project meetings will be planned according to member interest. Local field trips will be planned. Members will be encouraged to enter an educational poster in the fair. Sign up at the November CC Meeting or call Margaret 447-6980.

SKIT NIGHT, “History of 4-H - Part 2”, is starting to shape up. We have an adult advisor, Christy Ruzicka, and now need members to participate. Please sign up for this fun activity; it earns many credits on your PDR form and can be taken for project credit.

Enclosed in the e-mail version of this newsletter was a draft of our membership roster. Please check the roster for accuracy and call Margaret 447-6980 for corrections and/or additions. If you do not appear on the roster, it is likely your membership application has not been turned in yet.

COMMUNITY SERVICE

THANKSGIVING is right around the corner and preparations for the Livermore Community Thanksgiving Dinner are underway. We have been asked to help provide olives, pickles and desserts. Please bring your olive and pickle donations to the November CC Meeting. Desserts can be delivered to the Bothwell Art Center, corner of 8th and H Streets, after 6:30 pm on Wednesday, November 21. Help is also needed to sort canned food donations, and setting up and decorating on Wednesday, November 21 at 7:00 pm at the old Recreation Center. Friday, November 23, 10:00 am, help is needed for clean up and return of borrowed items. Sign up sheets for set up and clean up will be at our November CC Meeting. If you want to work on Thanksgiving Day contact Beth Moore at 292-8722.

CHRISTMAS is also fast approaching. We will again be sponsoring the Children to Children Holiday Party. Last year we had over 800 attendees, many of whom have no holiday cerebration besides this party. We need donations of new, unwrapped gifts for children age 0 to 18 years. We will have at least 12 ‘Make-it and Take-it’ craft tables. Donations of tape, 6” and under pine cones, mistletoe, and all size gift bags are needed. If you have pinecones or mistletoe please let Margaret 447-6980 know immediately so we can plan for craft tables for them. Sorting and wrapping of presents will be on Saturday, December 1, beginning at noon at Del Valle High School on 5th Street. Bring your own scissors. With enough hands we should be finished in 2 - 3 hours. The party will be on Saturday, December 8 in the Student Union at Livermore High School. Help is needed from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. Guests are scheduled to start arriving at 9:30 am. We can use your help whether you can spare an hour or the entire day. Members and adults are needed to man the craft tables, refreshments, set up and clean up, etc. We have a large number of Hispanic guests and could use some bilingual adults at the check-in tables. Please sign up at our November CC Meeting. All donations should be brought to the November CC Meeting or delivered to Miller’s, 1435 Heidelberg Drive, by November 30. We would like each family to bring two dozen cookies to the party. You can drop them off at 1435 Heidelberg Drive through December 8 if you are unable to come to the party. Please sign up for cookie donations at the CC Meeting.

LIVERMORE VETERANS HOSPITAL:

Help will be needed to put up Christmas decorations. The date for putting up decorations is Saturday, December 1, 9:30 am. Take down is January 12 at 9:30 am. Sign up for helpers will be at the CC Meeting.

We will make a holiday item for the Veterans at our December CC Meeting. We need a group to carol at the convalescent unit and distribute what we make on Tuesday, December 18, 3:30 pm. Sign up will be at our CC Meeting.

Assist with the New Year’s Eve Party on December 31, from 7 pm - about 9:30 pm.

The Veterans Hospital would also like members to come on Tuesday evenings to socialize with the residents. We need an adult to be in charge of this and be available at the VA hospital for the first couple of meetings to make sure things run smoothly. There will be an ongoing sign up for those interested. Contact Zel Helstrom 373-9447 for more information.

CAROLING FOR Hacienda Care Center, December 11 from 6 pm - 7 pm. Sign ups will be at our CC Meeting.

BREAKFAST WITH SANTA - LARPD Robert Livermore Community Center, Saturday, December 8, 8:30 am - 11:00 am. Members must pre-register to help. Call Sue Michel 455-1922 or Katrina at LARPD 373-5748.

TRI-VALLEY YOUTH FOOD DRIVE is again asking for our help in distributing bags and collecting food. All food collected in this drive stays in this valley. The drive will take place in April. Bags can be distributed any time during the prior week. They need to know about how many members will participate so they know what size area to assign. A sign up will be at our CC Meetings.

Remember - after the first of the year our committee and community service opportunities are very limited and the new record book puts a much greater emphasis on community service hours in order to qualify for star ranks. Now is the time to get involved and earn those credits for Super Member and Star Ranks.

MEMBER NEWS

I went to Rosewood Gardens. It was fun to give them candy because they were nice.
By C. Morris

I helped out at the LARPD Kids Carnival, and it was fun. I led the cake-walk booth. I would like to do it again next year!
By A. Morris

I was the junior leader for the “Fine Art” project, and this experience taught me many leadership skills. Before I go on I will explain a few terms we use in art. The first term is abstract: an abstract is a piece of artwork that doesn’t have to have an actual form or idea. The second term is medium: medium is the type of material we use for a piece of artwork. Some types of medium we used last year are: colored pencils, pastels, oils, watercolor, and even condiments! Like salt, pepper, baking soda, and sugar. For my first meeting, we painted a watercolor abstract by using different colors. On the second meeting, we used a combination of watercolor and pastels, and we also practiced sketching. On the third meeting, we used oils to paint, and then we went over water coloring again. After that, we learned how to shade our sketches. On the fourth meeting, we completed our oil paintings by putting highlights and shading. On last meeting, we did scratch art and finished our Annual Project Report. By being a junior leader, I learned to communicate better to others, and I also had a great time helping others with their paintings and sketches. During this time, I painted a picture of two turtles swimming together, and an abstract of the letter “B” in calligraphy. Both of these paintings were entered at the Alameda County Fair. My turtle painting got first place, and judge’s favorite, while my abstract “B” got first place, best of class, and best of show. I really enjoyed being a junior leader last year, and this year I will continue more teaching responsibilities; it’s great for my communication skills and I really enjoy spending time with others.
By J. Choi

Dear Friends, I am writing because I am looking for temporary work in Livermore through the end of the year, after which I will be moving to Mountain View. I have experience in child care, tutoring, home and animal care, and data entry, as well as in designing costumes and clothing. More specifically, over the past couple of years I have tutored students in Math, English, Science, and SAT prep. As a vet tech, I cleaned kennels, groomed and medicated pets; and, in a data entry position, worked to clean up databases. I have also done house sitting, pet sitting, and baby sitting. Currently, I am responsible for designing and altering costumes for XX people for Moving Art Dance Company’s winter show. I have my own transportation and am available Monday and Wednesday mornings and Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday evenings. If you know of anyone looking for someone with these skills and qualifications, I would be most grateful for the contact information.

Thank you very much,

Miranda Munro (925) 321-4807

Note: Miranda is a past president of Del Arroyo and was a terrific 4-Her. Please contact her if you can help in her job search.

Important Notes for Members & Parents Project Members and Parents -

Please adhere to the following rules:

1. Arrive and depart project meetings on time. Do not be more than 10 minutes early or leave more than 10 minutes late.
2. Attend all meetings. Put them on your calendar. Phone in advance if you are unable to attend. Remember - you can be dropped from a project if you miss 2 meetings.
3. Pay the project leader promptly when notified of costs for materials.
4. Be on your best behavior so that you and the other members of your project get the maximum benefit from each meeting. Unruly or disruptive behavior will not be tolerated. Your Project Leaders are volunteers and deserve the utmost respect and appreciation.

At our Community Club meetings you can sign up to lead the flag salute or 4-H Pledge at an upcoming Community Club meeting. This is primarily for 1st year members and mini members, as they can take credit for a talk on their PDR Forms.

If you received a page from the enrollment packet in an emailed or hard copy newsletter, please sign where indicated and return it to Margaret at the CC Meeting or her home, 1435 Heidelberg Drive, Livermore. The enrollment forms have already been submitted to the county office and they will reject the forms with missing pages if we don’t send them immediately.

Project Leaders – periodically you might receive an updated list for your project. Please discard your old list and use the new one, as these are issued when members are added or errors are discovered. Call Margaret 447-6980 if you have questions about an updated list.

The following information was provided by the state 4-H office if you wish to make a donation to help 4-Hers affected by the Southern California wildfires: