National Egg Preparation
Ellie Baldwin, Bleckley County,  earned second place at the National 4-H Egg Preparation Contest! Congratulations!

National Chicken Barbecue
Katie Thigpen, Charlton County, placed 10th at the National 4-H Chicken Barbecue Contest! Way to go!

National 4-H Conference Delegates 2007
Congratulations to the 2007 Georgia 4-H Delegates to National 4-H Conference. They are: April McDaniel - Burke County; Tareva Moore - Worth County; Austin Suggs - Tift County, and Laura Warren - Mitchell County. We know they will represent Georgia well!

Clovers & Co. Alumni Earn Grammy Awards
Georgia 4-H Clovers & Co. was well represented at the Grammy Awards this week!  TWO alumni members won Grammy Awards!

Best Country Collaboration With Vocals
(For a collaborative performance, with vocals, by artists who do not normally perform together. Singles or Tracks only.)

· Who Says You Can't Go Home
Bon Jovi & Jennifer Nettles   (Also lead singer for “ Sugarland ”)

Best Country Song
(A Songwriter(s) Award. For Song Eligibility Guidelines see Category #3. (Artist names appear in parenthesis.) Singles or Tracks only.)

International Opportunities:
Please check the website for complete information: www.georgia4hinternational.org and contact Jeff Buckley for details.

Spend A Month In Japan - Labo Summer Outbound Program - July 11th - August 9th, 2007
Application Deadline - February 26th. Youth from Georgia spend a month living with a host family in Japan .

New Opportunity: Host A Student From Finland For A Month - June 15th - July 16th, 2007
Delegates will be between the ages of 15 and 19.

New Opportunity : Be A Teen Ambassador for Labo Students - July 23rd - July 30th, 2007. Application Deadline - February 26th. Selected applicants will coordinate arrival orientation for the 2007 Year Long Labo Exchange Students in Seattle Washington.

New Opportunity: Spend a Month in Finland - June 18 th – July 17th; Cost: Approximately $3500

OPPORTUNITIES

Calling All 3rd-5th Grade Students for the Home Sweet Home Art Contest!
Make a difference creatively through art by helping protect Georgia 's natural environment through the Georgia Conservancy's 7th Annual Home Sweet Home Habitat Art Contest. Submissions should be related to the theme "Why We Should Protect Georgia's Bog” and must be postmarked no later than Thursday, March 15, 2007. The winning artwork, to be announced in April, will be converted into a hand held fan for free distribution to teachers and students around the state. For more information please visit our website at www.georgiaconservancy.org or email kgarland@gaconservancy.org

Operation Green Plant Free Seeds
America the Beautiful Fund's Operation Green Plant program is offering grants of FREE SEEDS (Vegetable, Flower, or Herb) to encourage citizen efforts to protect and preserve America's lands and resources. These are 2006 seeds with germination rates of 90% to 95%. Grants of 100 to 2,000 seed packets are being offered on the basis of availability and relative need.
Shipping and handling fees for the first set of 100 seed packets is $14.95. Additional set(s) of 100 packets are available for $5 per set. http://www.america-the-beautiful.org/free_seeds/index.php

Guide Dog Puppies
Do you have 4-H'ers who might be interested in raising Guide Dog Puppies? Visit their web site at www.guidedog.org . Also contact Field Representative, Deana Izzo at buttondog3@netzero.net . "Puppy Walkers" receive a pup at about seven weeks of age and care for it until it is 11-16 months old. Puppies are specially bred Labrador and Golden Retrievers. Why not give this project a try?

Project Plan-It
Do your 4-H'ers need help when planning their own service projects? Encourage them to use this great, free resource. http://www.ysa.org/planit/

Student Poetry Contest
The Sarah Mook Memorial Poetry Contest acknowledges, encourages, and rewards the efforts of student poets. Maximum Award: $100. Eligibility: students K-12. Deadline: March 31, 2007. http://www.coreknowledge.org/CK/about/CommonKnowledge/v20I_2007/v20_I_2007_SarahMook.htm

eXtension's Newest Offering: Financial Security for All
Americans struggling to make good money management decisions in a complex marketplace now have a new tool at their disposal. Extension's Financial Security for All brings the wealth of research-based university information on all aspects of attaining personal financial security. Financial Security for All provides Internet visitors with reliable, up-to-date financial security information through online lessons for self-paced learning and a knowledge base of commonly asked questions with research-based, peer-reviewed answers to help users learn more about specialized areas of personal finance. Visit the Financial Security for All page at http://www.extension.org/personal+finance to learn more.

Plan Your Service Project for National & Global Youth Service Day 2007
National & Global Youth Service Day, the largest service event in the world, is April 20-22, 2007. Resources are available to help you plan your service project: Order or download free planning resources: Planning Tool Kits, Service-Learning Curriculum Guides, posters are available at www.ysa.org/nysd/resource/planning.cfm .  The Planning Tool Kit is a comprehensive guide to help project planners identify their projects, recruit volunteers, generate media attention, raise funds, and more. The Service-Learning Curriculum Guide contains eight lessons to develop students' project management skills while planning projects for National & Global Youth Service Day. Classroom Posters are colorful tools to recruit volunteers and decorate project sites. The back of the poster contains a guide for teachers and activity sheets for students. Apply for a grant to support your project: Youth Service America is pleased to offer grants to help young people and organizations plan and implement service projects for National & Global Youth Service Day.  Current grant opportunities include Disney Minnie Grants (to engage younger children in service), the Capital One Youth Service Fund (for youth-led projects in low/moderate income communities in the metro DC area), and Lion in the House Community Service Grants (for projects addressing pediatric cancer).  Visit www.YSA.org/awards for more information. Register your National & Global Youth Service Day project: Registering your service project at www.YSA.org/nysd enables Youth Service America to highlight your project through our national media campaign.

Need sites to pilot in March, 2007 Food, Culture, and Reading After School
National 4-H CCS Food, Culture, and Reading is a nutrition education program written to interest youth in grades four to six, after school, 4-H Clubs, home schools, school enrichment, camps, and other youth groups.  It uses literature to learn about food, nutrition, healthy lifestyles, and multi-cultures.  Through a wide variety of experiential activities, youth will be able to recognize a variety of healthful foods within each MyPyramid food group, taste new foods from other cultures, explore the similarities of foods, and develop an understanding and appreciation of cultures that are different from their own. Food, Culture, and Reading has 6 Units with 5 activities plus a take home activity within each unit.  You will not be expected to pilot all Units.  Units include United States , Mexico , Kenya , Russia , Greece , and Japan .  Activity topics are reading, nutrition, cooking, culture, and physical activity. For more information or to sign up as a pilot site, please contact Diane.Mincher@uvm.edu or call 1-802-388-4969.

Teens Belong in the Zoo!
Do you know a teen who likes to teach people the importance of animals and the environment?  Will they be 14-17 years old by June 1, 2007?  Would you like them to gain valuable job experience?  Then, they belong in the Zoo Atlanta Volunteen Program! The program is designed for young adults and focuses on building leadership, interpersonal, and job skills while fostering a sense of responsibility.  It looks great on resumes, too!  Visit us at www.zooatlanta.org and follow the Volunteer links to the Volunteen website for more information.   Application available online; deadline for 2007 participants is March 3, 2007.  For more information about this great opportunity or to have the Volunteen Supervisor speak with teens in your area, simply send an e-mail to Teenvolunteer@zooatlanta.org. 

CAPCO's fifth annual Science Class Challenge, an opportunity to win $250 to $5,000 and a pizza party!
The CAPCO Science Class Challenge is a classroom contest for grades 4-9. The purpose of the competition is to encourage students and teachers to learn about the Earth's protective upper ozone layer, CFCs, and the environment by using provided activities or their own creative methods. (To view last year's winners, visit http://nocfcs.org/scc/gallery/home.htm .) "Most Creative" awards are judged and awarded in two separate categories: Grades 4-6 and Grades 7-9. That means more opportunities to win. For FREE resources to help teach your students about the Earth's upper ozone layer or to find out how to take part in the CAPCO Science Class Challenge visit http://nocfcs.org/scc/home.htm . To enter the contest, you must be a full-time teacher employed by a U.S. public or private school or be a home school educator/parent teaching within grades 4-9. Home schools must have at least 10 students to qualify for "Most Creative" prizes. Deadline for entry is May 14, 2007. With Earth Day on April 22, the spring is an ideal time to recognize 25 years of CFC-free aerosol products and to teach your students about the Earth's protective upper ozone layer and how aerosol products have been made safe for the environment.

Essay Contest: Students envision 'digital dorms' of the future
"A new essay contest gives students the chance to win a college scholarship for sharing their ideas about how technology will be integrated into the 'digital dorm room' of the future. The top student responses will be compiled in book format and distributed to colleges nationwide, possibly influencing the design of future school facilities." The contest is open to high school juniors and young adults up to 28 years of age. Essays must be no longer than 750 words. Deadline: March 16. URL: http://www.gradware.com/scholarship.asp

GEORGIA YOUTH BIRDING COMPETITION FOR GRADES 3-12 ~ Register by March 31 
Plans are underway for Georgia's second annual youth birding competition! The contest is open to 3rd – 12th grade Georgia students. Consider sponsoring a team and working with Partners in Flight to prepare students for this event. http://eeingeorgia.org/net/content/page.aspx?s=34782.0.68.4863

YOUNG NATURALIST AWARDS FOR GRADES 7-12 ~ Apply by April 1
The American Museum of Natural History's Young Naturalist Awards program is for students in grades seven through twelve. Plan and conduct your own scientific expedition, one which will provide original data, questions, and observations on a topic in the natural sciences. You are not expected to make a new scientific discovery. However, your expedition should provide you with a new understanding about the question you investigated. Tell about your expedition in an essay that includes artwork and/or photographs that help to illustrate your findings. Twelve winners, two from each grade, will be chosen. http://eeingeorgia.org/net/content/page.aspx?s=23467.0.68.4863

Bank of America Student Leaders Program
Organization : Bank of American Charitable Foundation Internship; Eligibility: High school juniors or seniors
Deadline : March 9, 2007
Students interested in the Bank of America Student Leaders program should share information about their personal goals and most significant accomplishments. They should demonstrate a clear interest in the crucial issues facing communities today and a strong desire to help build and sustain vibrant neighborhoods for tomorrow. Contact: http://www.cybergrants.com/pls/cybergrants/ao_survey.form?x_gm_id=1499&x_sect

CURRICULUM

4-H Essential Elements Program Planning Tool Launched
Want to know how to intentionally implement a youth development approach and better meet the needs of young people in a positive way? The 4-H Essential Elements Program Planning Tool will help you discover how your
4-H programs measure up next to the essential elements. By taking the 4-H Essential Element survey, you will verify the strong points and identify areas where you can increase your emphasis for each of the essential elements of belonging, mastery, independence and generosity. Need resources that will help your 4-H partners understand and apply the 4-H essential elements? The 4-H Essential Element Program Planning Tool offers some of the best resources from current youth development research and CYFERnet that relate to the 4-H Essential Elements. These can be used for staff support, volunteer training, new staff orientation and mentoring boards and committees. Volunteers will find the 4-H Essential Element Program Planning Tool easy to use and full of good ideas to make them more effective as leaders. The 4-H Essential Elements Program Assessment Tool is a project of the John and Doris Norton School of Family and Consumer Sciences in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at the University of Arizona and National 4-H Headquarters. We gratefully acknowledge the hosting of this Web site by the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Funding for this project was generously provided by National 4-H Council. http://4htools.cals.arizona.edu/assessmentTool.cfm

Students Taking Charge Toolkit
This resource is designed to provide you with the tools necessary to develop and use your student voices to influence nutrition and physical activity policies within your schools. The skills that students learn through the Students Taking Charge process can be applied to other issues that are important to youth. Following the step-by-step instructions in this toolkit will help youth build a strong base to advocate for themselves and their community throughout their lives. http://www.johnstalkerinstitute.org/wellness/toolkit.pdf .

Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities: City Strategies to Combat Childhood Obesity Action Kit
The National League of Cities YEF Institute promotes efforts to use policy and resources to reverse rising childhood obesity rates by promoting physical activity, healthy eating, and access to healthy food. Download the FREE action kit at: http://www.nlc.org/content/Files/IYEF_Childhood_Obesity_Action_Kit.pdf

New Global Awareness Curriculum Helps Students Develop 21st-Century Skills
Apple Computer and EF Educational Tours, an international educational tour company for teachers and students, have developed new curriculum units on global awareness designed to expand students' understanding of cultural similarities and differences across the world. Developed to help teachers infuse global awareness into their classrooms, this new collection of free multimedia curricular units are tailored to specific grade ranges, from pre-K through grade 12, and span a wide range of curriculum areas, from science to language arts and social studies. The units, which are available through the Apple Learning Interchange (click on "Global Awareness"), are mapped to state and national standards. http://edcommunity.apple.com/ali/

Learn to Be Healthy
LearntobeHealthy.org is an online health science learning site designed to help educators communicate important health concepts to children K-6. The site  contains comprehensive lesson plans, interactive games and activities, webquests  and more. The goal of the site is to inspire children - and their families - to  make healthy choices that will last a lifetime. http://www.learntobehealthy.org/

Media-Smart Youth: Eat, Think, and Be Active
A new after-school program helps kids interpret the numerous messages they receive every day to make healthier choices about food and physical activity. The materials, available free on the Web, were developed by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), one of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). "Media-Smart Youth: Eat, Think, and Be Active"! is designed to help young people ages 11 to 13 become aware of how media may influence the choices they make. The program's fun, hands-on, interactive activities teach critical thinking skills that will help young people make smart decisions about what they eat and how they spend their time. The "Media-Smart Youth" curriculum, available at http://www.nichd.nih.gov/msy, consists of 10 lessons and a major project that help young people acquire knowledge and skills in four key areas. http://www.nichd.nih.gov/msy/

New Ways to Work Resources for Engaging and Serving Youth
New Ways to Work, an organization that cultivates partnerships across schools, community organizations, business, education, government agencies, offers a library of free resources on youth development and youth leadership. Among their materials are publications on these topics: Tips and Strategies for Engaging Youth in Planning and Decision Making Bodies; Serving Vulnerable Populations - Youth with Disabilities; Supporting Youth in the Workplace; Working with Students and Schools. http://www.nww.org/librarycontents.html

Mentoring Tools
Free, downloadable resources for mentors and mentor program staff are now available!  Tools for Mentoring Adolescents were developed by the Mentoring Partnership of Minnesota, in collaboration with the Search Institute, to support and strengthen relationships between mentors and mentees.  To download the ten Tools for Mentoring Adolescents, go to Mentoring Partnership of Minnesota's Web site at www.mentoringworks.org.
For additional tips and tools on mentoring, check out the popular Search Institute resource Mentoring for Meaningful Results: Asset-Building Tips, Tools, and Activities for Youth and Adults.

Make fitness fun with this activity-packed workbook -- "What's Up® With Staying Healthy"
This workbook helps young adolescents ages 12-14 move down the road to better health with stories, comics, and interactive activities that address healthy eating and how to choose the right physical activities for their needs and interests. http://go.channing-bete.com/wa/promotion?p=1&code=H401T

GRANTS / AWARDS

Awards for Youth Community Service
"The Hitachi Foundation is sponsoring the Yoshiyama Awards for Exemplary Service to the Community, which honors up to ten high school seniors for their community service. Afterschool providers may nominate students. Those selected will be awarded up to $5,000 each over two years." Deadline: April 2.
URL: http://www.hitachifoundation.org/yoshiyama/index.html

Grants for Public Beautification and Horticultural Education
Fiskars Project Orange Thumb grants award Fiskars Garden Tools and materials such as plants, seeds, mulch, etc. to eligible gardening groups. Maximum Award: $1,500 in implements and materials. Eligibility: gardens and/or gardening projects geared toward community involvement, neighborhood beautification, horticultural education and/or sustainable agriculture. Deadline: February 28, 2007.
http://www.fiskars.com/US/Garden/Project+Orange+Thumb/About

Grants to Improve Teen Driver Safety
State Farm and the National Youth Leadership Council are sponsoring Project Ignition, which funds programs that give high school students and their teachers the chance to work together to address the issue of teen driver safety. Maximum Award: $10,000. Eligibility: students grades 9-12. Deadline: April 15, 2007.
http://www.sfprojectignition.com/00home/

Community Improvement Grants from Hamburger Helper
Hamburger Helper is looking to lend a helping hand to neighborhoods nationwide with its "My Hometown Helper" grant program. Individuals from communities and organizations across America can submit a written essay of 250 words or less describing how the "My Hometown Helper" grant would help improve their community project. Maximum Award: $15,000. Eligibility: Requests for funding must be sponsored by a municipal or civic organization or public school. Deadline: May 31, 2007. http://www.myhometownhelper.com/

Red Laces Program to Fight Childhood Obesity , Deadline: March 30, 2007
Stride Rite and Saucony are accepting applications for its Red Laces Program to Fight Childhood Obesity. The purpose of this program is to support communities and nonprofit organizations that provide after-school physical fitness programs for kids. Programs should emphasize increased participation in running.   Eligible applicants include nonprofit organizations. For complete program information and application guidelines, please visit http://www.sauconyrunforgood.com/ .

Red, White & Green Grants
Youth Service America and the Civil Society Institute are excited to announce the second round of the Red, White & Green Climate Change Grant. This opportunity offers $500 to young people in the United States between the ages of 1 5-25 and to organizations that engage youth ages 15-25.  Applicants are expected to develop and implement a service-learning project about climate change that engages their community, policy-makers and candidates running for election in 2007 and 2008 . We welcome projects where youth work in partnership with adults (parents, coaches, teachers, youth leaders, etc.): but the p rojects should be youth-led, and must take place between May 1 and October 31, 2007. Selected grantees will share the outcomes and next steps of their service projects with each other and with climate change experts.  They will also present their recommendations to high-level policy-makers.  Please visit redwhiteandgreen.org to learn more about this initiative. Applicants need to download application materials at www.YSA.org/awards .   BOTH the Introduction & Requirements document (.pdf format) and the Application & Guidelines document (word format) are required to submit a competitive application. We encourage applicants to review the evaluation form before filling out their application, although only grantees will need to complete the evaluation after their projects take place. A list of grantees and project descriptions from the first round of Red, White & Green! grants is available at http://www.ysa.org/Awards/rwgwinners.cfm Questions? Email redwhiteandgreen@ysa.org .  Application deadline March 9, 2007 5pm EST .

Grants to help youth make positive life choices
Grant Title: Allstate Foundation Grants Organization: Allstate Foundation
Eligibility: Nonprofits ; Value: Varies
The Allstate Foundation supports national and local programs that fit within three focus areas. Proposals for program support must address needs within one of the three focus areas to be considered for funding. Safe and vital communities programs should address catastrophe response, youth anti-violence, neighborhood revitalization, or teen safe driving. Economic empowerment programs should address financial and economic literacy, insurance education, or empowerment for victims of domestic violence. Tolerance, inclusion and diversity programs should address teaching tolerance to youth, ending hate crimes, and alleviating discrimination.http://www.allstate.com/Community/PageRender.asp?Page=funding.htm

YOUTH DEVELOPMENT

Census: Students on track
A U.S. Census report says most of the country's students are academically "on track" and reports improvements for school children ages 12 through 17.
http://www.suntimes.com/news/education/206591,CST-NWS-census11.article

After-school care a worry for at-work parents
According to the Afterschool Alliance, about 40,000 kindergartners and almost 4 million middle school students in grades 6 to 8 care for themselves after school, and a new study shows that their parents' workplace productivity suffers when they worry whether their children have proper after-school care.  http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0103/p14s01-legn.html

A new crop of kids: Generation We
CNET reports that kids brought up in a technology-rich environment, and have parents who aren't clueless about technology or afraid of it, are part of a new generation of youth that are naturally familiar with technology and comfortable with the world at large. Research suggests that such children have a much more global outlook at younger ages that their peers, and unlike the entitled generation of twenty-somethings dubbed "Generation Me," this new crop of tech-savvy youngsters under the age of eleven are part of "Generation We."
http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/showclips.cfm?clipid=2102

NEW CENSUS REPORT ON CHILD WELL-BEING
This interesting and easy-to-read report from the U.S. Census Bureau highlights many aspects of children’s lives that are related to their well-being and readiness for school, such as children’s living arrangements and their family’s characteristics, early child care experiences, daily interaction with parents, extracurricular activities, academic experience, and parents’ educational expectations. These data show that income and family structure affect various aspects of children’s everyday life. Children living in families below the poverty level, children whose parents have lower levels of educational attainment, and children in families with single parents tend to have less daily interaction with their parents, such as talking, being read to, or sharing daily meals, than their counterparts in other situations. Children whose families live below poverty and with lower levels of family income are less likely to participate in extracurricular activities and to be academically on-track than children living in families above poverty and with higher levels of family income.
http://www.census.gov/prod/2007pubs/p70-109.pdf
 
Overweight Kids Getting Grownup Diseases
The nation's childhood obesity problem is hitting pediatricians' offices as children, aging before their time, show up with conditions more common in middle-aged adults. In Atlanta , as across the country, doctors are seeing young patients with Type 2 diabetes, gallstones, and even nonalcoholic cirrhosis that can require a liver transplant. http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/stories/2006/10/19/1019obese.html?COXnetJSessionIDbuild169=F2UkiIqFd9CF2qxNgaBqIvO7ydp8RJZM05B1Uwj2FHc11tEBzuql!-1474770159&UrAuth=aNaNUOaNXUbTTUWUXUWUZT%5bUUUWU\UaUZU\U%5bUcTYWYWZV&urcm=y

More students involved in risky online behavior, group says
California-based i-Safe surveyed 170,000 school-age children last year, in which around two-thirds of high school students admitted to committing some type of inappropriate online behavior.
http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070205/NEWS01/702050326/1006/news01

The Impact of After-School Programs that Promote Personal and Social Skills
More than 7 million children in the United States are without adult supervision for some period of time after school. Studies show that youth benefit from structured activities with opportunities for positive interaction with adults. The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning recently posted a review of analytic
research about the impact on children's social and emotional development and school success. (Connect for Kids) http://www.casel.org/downloads/ASP-Exec.pdf

Survey of Students' Out-of-School Time
What do high school students do after school? Chapin Hall's three-year survey of Chicago area public school students found that: 25 percent of youth participate in a structured activity on any given day, 42 percent do homework or other academic activities, and the 14 percent of youth who are not engaged in any structured activity would like to participate in one. http://www.chapinhall.org/article_abstract.aspx?ar=1441&L2=62&L3=105

The Obesity Report Card - How Do States Measure Up?
Most states have begun to tackle what is now considered epidemic of childhood obesity. In its Obesity Report Card, the University of Baltimore Obesity Initiative gave California, Illinois, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Tennessee top marks for their legislative and public policy work to control childhood obesity. Other states were praised for government and grassroots efforts -- including New York City for tackling trans fats and New Jersey for school board-level interventions. http://www.ubalt.edu/experts/obesity/

Do you want carrot sticks with that?
French fries are becoming less popular with kids as children grow more fond of fresh vegetables including carrots, according to an annual survey from the School Nutrition Association. The changing face of school cafeterias is good news for some states such as New Jersey, which has a policy that bans candy and requires a la carte foods to have no more than 8 grams of total fat per serving and 2 grams of saturated fat. http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/4487173.html

A Supersize Problem
An estimated 17% of U.S. children are overweight, and policymakers are turning to schools to help students trim down and shape up. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports the number of overweight children ages 6 to 11 has doubled in the past 20 years; for adolescents 12 to 19 years old, the overweight figure has tripled. The latest Education Update examines the many causes of today's overweight problem in students.
http://www.ascd.org/portal/site/ascd/menuitem.ab1d8e6fc42e2ffcdeb3ffdb62108a0c/;jsessionid=FZSEZuZsu9G1fNxLH0ee9z2uoNKiJemY6rOZaPbwU2aSibD1zNXg!-1281384286

Research Shows Youth Lack Understanding of Online Privacy Risks
A recent survey of 1,000 parents and 600 children in Canada shows that although more than 96 percent of parents have discussed online privacy with their children, 70 percent of children (ages 10 to 14) believe that everything posted online is confidential. Experts note that although most adults fully understand the dangers associated with putting personal information like names, addresses, and phone numbers on Web sites, many youth regularly post such information online without realizing the dangers. Researchers say young people may have difficulty distinguishing their physical location from the online world and drop their inhibitions when they go online. Miriam Kaufman, an associate professor at the University of Toronto, said, "Anyone older than 25 has a pretty clear idea about what privacy is and what it means. People younger than 25 have a different idea." http://www.canada.com/globaltv/national/story.html?id=e7ac4ed1-9de7-49e6-a1c8-5251ba6920c5

Important Statistics on Underage Drinking
Nearly 90 percent of 10th graders and 75 percent of 8th graders think that alcohol is either “fairly easy” or “very easy” for them to get. Forty percent of children who start drinking before the age of 15 will become alcoholics at some point in their lives. Delaying the use of alcohol until the legal age helps avoid many of the associated problems. If the onset of drinking is delayed by 5 years, a child's risk of serious alcohol problems is cut in half.

Researchers estimate that alcohol use is implicated in one- to two-thirds of sexual assault and “date rape” cases among teens and college students. Thirty-eight percent of girls ages 12 to 17 have used alcohol at least once. Of these, nearly 19 percent are current users and 7 percent are binge drinkers (have consumed five or more drinks in a row at least once in the past month).

Alcohol use in adolescents is a strong predictor of both sexual activity and unprotected sex. Teenage girls who drink are more likely to have sex and have it without a condom than girls who do not drink alcohol. Half of the girls who have sexual intercourse by the age of 16 are intoxicated at the time and half later regret their action.

Research suggests that children are less likely to drink when their parents are involved in their lives and when both parents and children report feeling close to each other. Adolescents drink less and have fewer alcohol-related problems when their parents discipline them consistently and set clear expectations about drinking.
Parents' drinking behaviors and favorable attitudes about drinking have been associated with adolescents' initiating and continuing alcohol use.

In some colleges, as many as 87 percent of nonbinge drinkers experience one or more secondhand effects of other students' misuse of alcohol. These effects include having sleep or study interrupted, having property vandalized, or being the victim of a physical or sexual assault. As many as 360,000 of the Nation's 12 million undergraduates will eventually die from alcohol-related problems, many of which began in college. This is more than the number who will get M.A.s and Ph.D.s combined. Alcohol on college campuses is a factor in 40 percent of all academic problems and 28 percent of all dropouts.

New Test Shows Students Lack Tech Literacy
The Educational Testing Service—which creates the SAT exam—has recently piloted a new exam designed to test students' technology literacy. Called the Information and Communication Technology Literacy Assessment (or ICT), the exam evaluates students' abilities to perform such tasks as finding reliable information online and managing email. During the recent testing, the exam was given to thousands of students nationwide. ETS officials expressed their surprise at results that demonstrated that the students lacked a high level of technological savvy. "They were raised using computers," said Sonia Gonsalves, a psychology professor at Richard Stockton College. "Students were very technologically competent, but not necessarily proficient at using information." Read more at " Tech-savvy kids? New test shows shortcomings in cyber literacy ".

HURRIED LIFESTYLE AND HEAVY ACADEMIC, EXTRACURRICULAR LOAD TAKING TOLL
A new report from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) says free and unstructured play is healthy and essential for helping children reach important social, emotional, and cognitive developmental milestones as well as helping them manage stress and become resilient. The report, "The Importance of Play in Promoting Healthy Child Development and Maintaining Strong Parent-Child Bonds," is written in defense of play and in response to forces threatening free play and unscheduled time. These forces include changes in family structure, the increasingly competitive college admissions process, and federal education policies that have led to reduced recess and physical education in many schools. Whereas play protects children's emotional development, a loss of free time in combination with a hurried lifestyle can be a source of stress, anxiety and may even contribute to depression for many children. The report reaffirms that the most valuable and useful character traits that will prepare children for success come not from extracurricular or academic commitments, but from a firm grounding in parental love, role modeling and guidance. Still, many parents are afraid to slow their pace for fear their children will fall behind. The report suggests that reduced time for physical activity may be contributing to the academic differences between boys and girls, as schools with sedentary learning styles become more difficult settings for some boys to navigate successfully. To help parents and teens develop resiliency and understand the role of stress in life, the AAP has created a resiliency website that features additional information on stress reduction and coping skills, as well as a stress management plan teens can personalize to fit their personalities and lifestyles. http://www.aap.org/pressroom/play-public.htm

ZOOMERS: THE NEW WORLD OF ACADEMICALLY DRIVEN YOUTH
What happened to high school? It doesn't take a genius -- or a precocious high school student -- to understand that ramped-up achievement is tightly connected to ramped-up competition for slots at prestigious colleges. At top high schools, tension about college admissions permeates the atmosphere, and students push themselves to the limit. But with so much college coursework before college, educators say, the academic progression is out of whack. Of course, there have always been smart kids, writes Laura Pappano in the New York Times. But whether out of fear, cultural conditioning or some inherent spark, more adolescents than ever before are emerging from the pack and distinguishing themselves academically. Super-achievers aren't just bright; they crave that distinction. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/07/education/edlife/07prepared.html

Preteen girls at special risk for obesity
A report in The Journal of Pediatrics found that girls are more likely to gain weight in their preteen years than when they are teenagers. Researchers tracked the weight of more than 2,300 black and white girls starting at age 9 and through their early 20s . http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2007-01-08-tweens-diet_x.htm

"Veggie U" puts students in touch with nature
"Veggie U," a healthy-eating program started just one year ago at an Ohio farm that markets premium vegetables to top restaurants, could extend to as many as 500 classrooms nationwide by year's end. Under the initiative, children grow lettuce in class as they follow a five-week curriculum in nutrition.
http://www.veggieu.org/tabook.jsp

MP3 Players Let Students Learn On the Go
More and more students are using MP3 players as a tool to enhance their learning outside of the classroom. The devices are being used to store study guides, downloaded books, and language instruction. For example, instructors at Tidewater Community College in Southeastern Virginia use MP3 players to help students practice their language skills anywhere. Although the most growth in this area is seen at the college level, students as young as elementary school age are using the players to hear books read aloud. Already several MP3 players have been manufactured which specifically target grade-school age children. Belinda Jacks, who manages school libraries in the Dallas area, said that hearing books read aloud, in any form, actually increases literacy. A 2006 survey of 1,000 teens found that over half owned a portable MP3 player. http://www.southbendtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070212/Biz02/702120418/-1/Biz/CAT=Biz02+

Excess Body Fat May Be Dangerous Even for Non-Overweight Youth
While the dangers of childhood obesity have been getting a lot of press lately, researchers have found that excess body fat can cause problems even for children who aren't overweight or obese. A study of 471 teens ages 13-15, published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association , finds that adiposity, or fat in body tissue, is tied to reduced elasticity of blood vessels -- an early warning sign for cardiovascular illness. http://www.sgul.ac.uk/sghms/index.cfm?787200FD-FFA9-4333-1492-634D3B084348 .

Cartoon Network, FDA Partner On Nutrition Pitch
KIDS AND TWEENS are being encouraged to "Spot the Block" of nutritional information on packaged food labels in a campaign that is now airing on the Cartoon Network. The public education campaign is co-sponsored by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in a first-of-its-kind partnership. Featuring characters from popular programs like 'Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends,' kids will be taught about portion control and a healthy eating lifestyle. "Spot the Block" also will feature a microsite where kids can use interactive tools to better understand the nutrition labeling of their favorite food products.

LIVING NEAR BUSY ROADS TIED TO KIDS' LUNG RISK
Growing up near a freeway stunts a child's breathing capacity for a lifetime, significantly increasing the risk of serious lung and heart diseases later in life, according to researchers who monitored thousands of Southern California children for up to eight years. The landmark study, led by a team of University of Southern California scientists and released Thursday, delivers a sobering answer to a long-standing question about the health effects of being raised near a busy roadway where air is chronically polluted. These children not only are more likely to develop asthma, but their lung development can be permanently cut short, increasing their odds of having a heart attack or a life-threatening respiratory condition, starting as early as their 50s. The findings carry profound policy implications nationwide for agencies that monitor and regulate air pollution, for locally elected officials who determine where to place new roads and housing tracts, and for education officials who buy property for new schools, reports Chris Bowman in The Sacramento Bee. http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/113954.html

Teaching and Assessing Students With Disabilities: A Toolkit for Parents
The Department of Education is offering a site and CD designed to help parents work with schools, and understand the services available for their children. It includes tools to help parents understand assessment and instruction and get even more involved in IEP discussions and other decision-making meetings. http://www.osepideasthatwork.org/parentkit/index.asp

STUDENTS GET MORE NEWS IN CLASSROOM FROM INTERNET THAN TV OR NEWSPAPERS
A new survey by the Carnegie-Knight Task Force at Harvard University shows a strong movement in America’s classrooms toward the use of Internet-based news and away from the use of newspapers and television news, a trend that is virtually certain to continue. The study also shows that teachers, as they have moved to the Internet, have switched from using hundreds of local news outlets to making use of a small number of national ones. Internet-based news in the classroom is dominated by the websites of a few top news organizations including CNN, PBS, and The New York Times. In fact, the classroom use of non-U.S. websites, such as BBC’s, even exceeds the use of local TV or newspaper sites. The report is based on parallel national surveys of over 1,250 social studies, civics, and government teachers in grades 5 through 12, as well as several hundred Newspaper-in-Education (NIE) program directors at daily newspapers. The survey of teachers showed that half are making greater use of news today than they were a few years ago, an increase attributable to developments outside the school such as the war on terrorism and the fighting in Iraq. For over 20 years, hundreds of large and small U.S. dailies have provided free or reduced rate copies of their newspapers for classroom use by students through the Newspapers-in-Education program. Touted as a means of improving students’ reading, spelling, and writing skills as well as contributing to civic education, it has also been a way to encourage students to become lifelong newspaper readers. Most newspapers continue to promote hard-copy newspapers at a time when teachers and students are moving online.http://www.shorensteincenter.org

PLAYGROUND HEROES: HOW CAN WE TEACH KIDS TO STICK UP FOR PEERS WHO ARE BULLIED?
In "Playground Heroes" in the latest issue of Greater Good magazine, researchers Ken Rigby and Bruce Johnson make clear that research has not only documented the great prevalence of bullying at schools; it's also shown that quite often, children serve as passive bystanders to bullying. They neither join in the bullying nor try to stop it, but just watch it from the sidelines. Yet when these observers do intervene, more often than not they're successful in stopping the bullying. So why don't they intervene -- and perhaps more importantly, how can parents and teachers effectively encourage them to intervene when it's appropriate for them to do so? Drawing on the results from a six-country study that they ran, called the International Bystander Project, Rigby and Johnson offer concrete strategies for helping children act on their best intentions.
http://greatergood.berkeley.edu/greatergood/current_issue/rigbyjohnson.html

Video Games as Tools in Workforce Preparation
"Mathematics, science and video games? A U.S. university professor is urging schools to consider using video games as tools to better prepare children for the work force. For although many educators scoff at the idea of video games in schools, the U.S. military has titles that train soldiers, teenagers with cancer use a game to battle their illness virtually and physically and some surgeons use video games to keep their hands nimble. David Williamson Shaffer, an education science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, says schools should use games to prepare children to compete in the work force, where juggling technology is a daily requirement." http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070111/tc_nm/videogames_schools_dc

Dividing classes by gender becoming more common
At least 253 public schools across the nation are offering single-sex classes, according to the National Association for Single Sex Public Education. Although the approach of separating boys and girls has its critics, supporters believe there are fewer distractions to learning in same-sex classrooms. 
http://www.cnn.com/2007/EDUCATION/01/25/same.sex.schools.ap/index.html

THE SUPERGIRL DILEMMA
A new research report from Girls Inc., reveals that girls today experience intense pressure, at ever younger ages, to be everything to everyone all of the time. Girls are particularly frustrated with the growing expectations that girls should please everyone, be very thin, and dress "right." And while stereotypes about girls’ leadership capabilities and math and science abilities have diminished, persistent gender stereotypes and escalating stress levels limit girls’ potential and undermine their quality of life.
http://www.middleweb.com/mw/news/supergirl.doc

WEBSITES OF INTEREST

What is Your Relationship Reality for Teens
The National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy is pleased to announce that it will be partnering with the Dibble Fund for Marriage Education, Family, Career and Community Leaders of America, and Public Strategies, Inc in an ongoing effort to help teens develop the knowledge and skills necessary to build strong relationships.  Visit their latest online effort, What is Your Relationship Reality? , a healthy relationships web portal designed for teens.  Included on the page are facts about healthy relationships, tips for maintaining a healthy relationship, and a place where visitors can tell us their own relationship reality.  Future efforts will include a similar portal geared toward adults, that will feature advice for parents, educators, and faith leaders to foster healthy relationships with the teens in their lives

Underage Drinking Prevention Action Guide and Planner
This action guide is intended to help communities create programs to prevent underage drinking by:
Providing community organizers with ideas and suggestions for accomplishable underage drinking prevention activities that target communities, businesses, social events, media, parents and youth; Providing community organizers with ways to coordinate prevention efforts with government agencies, local groups, and other grassroots organizations; Providing factual information about the issues involved in the underage use of alcohol that can be disseminated through your prevention activities and help inform your audiences. The guide is divided into monthly planners, each of which suggest particular themes or issues to focus on underage drinking prevention. http://download.ncadi.samhsa.gov/prevline/pdfs/phd858.pdf

Ready by 21
Research shows that not enough young people are Ready by 21™ — ready for college, work and life. Only four out of ten young people are doing well by the time they reach adulthood. The Forum for Youth Investment believes that by encouraging alignment of ideas, resources and stakeholders, the country can ensure that significantly more young people are Ready by 21.
http://www.forumfyi.org/_catdisp_page.cfm?LID=93C0AD70-FCEC-4F38-837E17F6DE20DC7F

Nickelodeon launches virtual world for kids
Reuters reports that Nickelodeon, the children's TV network, announced that it is launching a web-based virtual world named Nicktropolis. Within this virtual world, children will be able to create their very own 3D rooms, and move through the site by taking on a 3D avatar--similar to those found on the popular site Second Life. The new virtual world will feature gaming, online video, popular Nickelodeon brands, and other features that will enable children to interact with their favorite characters from the channel. http://www.nick.com/nicktropolis/game/index.jhtml

CDC 5 A Day Team Announces Arrival of Updated 5 A Day Website
The CDC 5 A Day team is thrilled to announce the arrival of the updated 5 A Day website (formally the NCI 5 A Day website) located at http://www.5aday.gov . This website contains valuable information for the consumer and health professional, as well as a section for state fruit and vegetable coordinators. The website features a tool in which consumers can determine how many fruits and vegetables they need daily based on their age, sex and activity level. Consumers can then find examples of what a cup and a half cup of fruits and vegetables looks like, as well as helpful tips for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. The recipe database contains over 600 healthy recipes which each contain at least one 1/2 cup serving of fruit or vegetables. The health benefits of eating fruit and vegetables is also presented. The Fruit and Vegetable of the Month pages are also available.

Get Egg-cited about science
http://www.planet-science.com/parents/easter_pdfs/eggbox.pdf
Here are "seven experiments for hard boiled investigators" all involving eggs. Each experiment (demonstration, really - there are no questions involved) illustrates a scientific phenomenon and does something either gross or cool.

Linerider - http://www.linerider.org
Here's an addicting little online gem. It teaches physics, but your kids will just think it's fun. Linerider couldn't be simpler. It starts with a blank screen. Kids draw sloping lines with a pencil tool and press "play." A little guy on a bike rides the lines, obeying the laws of physics. Draw the line too steep - he falls off the bike. Draw it too bumpy - he falls. Too long on an upward slope - he slows and rolls back. People have made really complex and clever drawings with this thing. The site offers you a chance to watch videos of other people's drawings, which is a great way to get ideas of how to make your own drawings work. Kids can also save and share their own drawings. More games: Sodaplay physics
Perfectly Symmetrical Math
Lemonade Stand

'NOVA scienceNOW' explores asteroids, dieting---and more
The PBS series NOVA scienceNOW has returned to television and the web with a new host, astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, and several new topics of exploration--from whether a "doomsday asteroid" the size of the Rose Bowl will hit Earth in 2036, to why most attempts at dieting prove so frustrating. At the series' web site, students and teachers can watch streaming video of past programs, download podcasts, and get the latest information about upcoming segments, science in the news, and the facts behind the headlines. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/sciencenow/

College-Prep Site
The Massachusetts Department of Education and the Board of Higher Education are spending $250,000 to promote a Web Site intended to boost interest in college to middle and high school students. The marketing campaign includes advertisements on buses along with radio, movie theater and television ads. The Web Site, ReadySetGotoCollege.com , provides eight steps for getting into and being successful at college. http://readysetgotocollege.com/ Georgia site: http://www.gacollege411.org/

Health Web Sites Expand Personalized Offerings
Recently,the founder of America Online, Steve Case, launched a new health Web site called RevolutionHealth.com. The site aims to provide users with personalized features to help them manage their health information and to access health resources. For example, the site lets users store data about their health, create a network of people around certain health topics, and even access a telephone service for help with health care concerns. Although site visitors can sign-up to use the site's features for one year for free, the company intends to charge a fee for its resources and content in the future. However, other no-cost Web sites, such as WebMD and Everydayhealth, have both revamped their own sites to meet consumer demand for personalized services comparable to those offered on paid content sites. RevolutionHealth.com

WHAT'S NEW ON CYFERNET?

Finding Resources to Support Workforce Development Services for Youth
http://www.financeproject.org/publications/workforce_youth.pdf

Getting Serious about Teen Relationship Abuse
http://www.connectforkids.org/node/562

Making Good on a Promise: What Policymakers Can Do to Support the Educational Persistence of Dropouts
http://www.jff.org/JFF_KC_Pages.php?WhichLevel=1&lv1_id=4&lv2_id=0&lv3_id=0&KC_M_ID=287

An Overview of Alternative Education: Helping Disconnect Youth Succeed
http://www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/411283_alternative_education.pdf

10 Things Each of Us Can Do to Help Our Adolescent Boys
http://www.connectforkids.org/node/97?&tn=hp/lf/2

Are Boot Camps Obsolete?
http://www.connectforkids.org/node/5030

The Downside of Girl Power?
http://www.connectforkids.org/node/4257

Cyber Bullying: No Muscles Needed
http://www.connectforkids.org/node/3116

Community-Based Learning: Engaging Students for Success and Citizenship
http://www.communityschools.org/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=44&Itemid=49

Youth as City Leaders
http://www.nlc.org/iyef/networks___assistance/7164.cfm

People, Places and Possibilities: Integrating Mentoring and After-School
http://www.forumfyi.org/Files/ostpc11.pdf

Keeping Your Teens Drug-Free: A Guide for African American Parents and Caregivers
https://ncadistore.samhsa.gov/catalog/productDetails.aspx?ProductID=17295

The Importance Of Professional Development For Youth Workers
http://www.childtrends.org/Files/Professional_Development_Insight.pdf

Out-Of-School Time is Critical for Children: Who Participates in Programs?
http://www.childtrends.org/Files/OST_is_Critical.pdf

Teens as Volunteers
http://www.childtrends.org/Files/Teens_as_Volunteers_Fact_Sheet.pdf

Baby Boomers and Beyond: An Untapped Resource for Volunteers in Out-Of-School Time Programs
http://www.childtrends.org/Files/Baby_Boomers_and_Beyond_Brief.pdf

Putting Youth Work on the Map: Key Findings and Implications from Two Major Workforce Studies
http://www.forumfyi.org/Files//Putting_Youth_Work_on_the_Map.pdf

Understanding the Afterschool Workforce: Opportunities and Challenges for an Emerging Profession
http://www.cornerstones4kids.org/images/NAA_PDF_rw111506.pdf

Growing the Next Generation of Youth Work Professionals: Workforce Opportunities and Challenges
http://www.forumfyi.org/Files//next_gen_final_reportRW1.pdf

Diversity Data
On January 24, the Harvard School of Public Health in partnership with the Center for the Advancement of Health and with support from the W. K. Kellogg Foundation launched a website ( DiversityData.org) that brings together a wide range of indicators of how people of different racial/ethnic backgrounds live. The site includes comparative data about housing, neighborhood conditions, residential integration, and education—and goes beyond many similar websites by including information on health factors such as disability rates, health insurance, births to teenager mothers, births to unmarried mothers, prenatal care, smoking during pregnancy, preterm births, and low birthweight rates. In addition, this data can be viewed within racial/ethnic subcategories.

Zany Zoom Ins, a YouthLearn Activity in Photography
Are you and your kids getting into photography in this new year? Check out 'Zany Zoom Ins: Fun With Close-Up Photographs', an activity in the YouthLearn collection. Even if you're introducing photography as part of a larger project, you'll want to spend time over several sessions introducing photographic techniques to help kids understand elementary concepts like distance, angle and framing. "Zany Zoom Ins" is an intermediate activity you can use along the way. In this activity, the kids take ultra-close-up photographs of common objects
to identify what they are. URL: http://www.youthlearn.org/learning/activities/multimedia/eyeball.asp

QUOTES AND INSPIRATIONS

"Listening is the most effective persuasive strategy in existence. Nothing builds trust, loyalty, commitment, and action like feeling heard. We live in a society of unaccountable government and corporate power, where people's everyday experience is akin to talking to a telephone company's customer ‘service’ department. In this context, civil society organizations can be a breath of fresh air. The Internet represents an opportunity for scaling up listening to our stakeholders that we haven't seen since the intimate life of villages. In so doing, our organizations will raise more money, mobilize more volunteers, and build vastly greater capacity to pursue our missions."
-Michael Gilbert

"A friend hears the song in my heart and sings it to me when my memory fails."
-Unknown

"Be of good cheer. Do not think of today's failures, but of the success that may come tomorrow. You have set yourselves a difficult task, but you will succeed if you persevere; and you will find a joy in overcoming obstacles."
- Helen Keller

"When we accept tough jobs as a challenge to our ability and wade into them with joy and enthusiasm, miracles can happen."
- Arland Gilbert

"Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish."
- John Quincy Adams

"How far you go in life is largely determined by how far you lift your expectations for yourself, daily. Expect little and that's exactly what you will receive. Expect achievement, and have a burning desire to make it happen, and achievement is what you will earn."
- Greg Werner

"When we are motivated by goals that have deep meaning, by dreams that need completion, by pure love that needs expressing, then we truly live life."
- Greg Anderson

"If you have no confidence in self, you are twice defeated in the race of life. With confidence, you have won even before you have started."
-Marcus Garvey

GEORGIA 4-H FACULTY

4-H is a community of young people across America learning leadership, citizenship and life skills.

University of Georgia 4-H Staff
Roger C. (Bo)Ryles, State 4-H Leader / Unit Head, boryles@uga.edu
Arch Smith, Associate State 4-H Leader, asmith@uga.edu
Jeff Buckley, 4-H Educational Program Specialist, jbuckley@uga.edu
Peter Croffie, 4-H Program Assistant, ofotsu@uga.edu
Jenny Jordan, Extension 4-H Specialist, jwj4h@uga.edu
Lauren Ledbetter, Grants Program Coordinator, lauren1@uga.edu
Mandy Marable, Extension 4-H Specialist, mmarable@uga.edu
Casey Mull, Military Coordinator, mullcd2@uga.edu
Mary Ann Parsons, Development Coordinator, Georgia 4-H Foundation, parsonsm@uga.edu
Heather Shultz, 4-H Educational Program Specialist, hkalino@uga.edu
Cheryl Varnadoe, Extension 4-H Specialist, cv4h@uga.edu
Charlie Wurst, Extension 4-H Specialist, cwurst@uga.edu
Steve Walker, 4-H Technology Specialist, stevew@uga.edu
Marilyn Poole, Northeast District 4-H PDC, marpoole@uga.edu
Lori Purcell, Northwest District 4-H PDC, lpurcell@uga.edu
Teresa Harvey, Southeast District 4-H PDC, tharvey@uga.edu
Laura Perry Johnson, Southwest District 4-H PDC, lpj4h@uga.edu

CONTACT GEORGIA 4-H AT 706-542-4H4H or www.georgia4h.org

Written by Cheryl R. Varnadoe
Extension 4-H Specialist
Marketing, Public Relations and Recruitment
with contributions from the Georgia 4-H Staff
cv4h@uga.edu