The Tuesday Letter
Agricultural Experiment Station & Cooperative Extension Service

  
Vol. 9, No. 32   June 24, 2003

IN THIS ISSUE...

...Partnership Meeting Dates Have Been Set for 2004
...Retirement Celebration for Richard Vanderlip
...National Cooperative Curriculum System Design Team Proposal Opportunity - July 11 Deadline
...Planning to Submit a Proposal for Ag-Telecom Grant?
...Kansas Children's Cabinet is Accepting Applications for Community Planning Partnerships for Early Childhood
...Master Schedule

RETIREMENT CELEBRATION FOR RICHARD VANDERLIP
The Kansas State University Department of Agronomy cordially invites you to a retirement reception and dinner at the Blue Hills Room, 2317 Tuttle Creek Boulevard, on Saturday July 26, to honor Richard Vanderlip for his years of service to the department and Kansas State University. The evening will begin at 5:30 with visiting and fellowship, followed by dinner and a program to honor Richard’s career.

Whether or not you find it possible to attend, we would like your participation in the following ways:

2. In lieu of donations for a gift, donations can be made to the "Purple Coat Fund." These funds will be used to insure the KSU Alumni Reception at the annual meetings of the American Societies of Agronomy, Crop Science and Soil Science will continue. Please make checks payable to the Agronomy Social Club.

3. Send dinner reservations to Retirement Dinner, Kansas State University, NE Area Extension, 1007 Throckmorton Hall, Manhattan, KS 66506-5504. There is a $14 per person charge for dinner. Please make checks payable to Agronomy Social Club. The reservation, letters, and gift contribution can be mailed to the same address. The reservation deadline is July 16, 2003. 

4. Any photos you have that could be used to celebrate Richard’s retirement would be appreciated. Photos can be professional or comical, work related or not. Photos that could be classified as "ancient history" would be especially appreciated. Please write your name on the back of the photo so that it can be returned after the party. --Scott Staggenborg sstaggen@ksu.edu 

NATIONAL COOPERATIVE CURRICULUM SYSTEM DESIGN TEAM PROPOSAL OPPORTUNITY
JULY 11 DEADLINE
Do you have a passion for a particular 4-H topic and wish you could find the funds to develop state-of-the-art experiential learning materials in that subject? Would you enjoy collaborating with dedicated experts from around the country in jointly developing better materials than one person could do alone? If so, this opportunity may be for you or a colleague!

As a result of a national survey to determine the greatest needs states have for new youth development curriculum products, the National 4-H Cooperative Curriculum System, Inc. selected three projects from the 15 highest priorities to possibly develop products - Workforce Preparation, Service Learning/Community Service and Introductory 4-H Projects.

Whether any or all of these priorities will result in proposals to develop new curriculum support materials will depend on interest expressed to initially participate in the development of a pre-proposal due August 15, 2003. If the pre-proposal is accepted by the Curriculum Committee, a full proposal would need to be developed and accepted for funding by the Committee December 1, 2003.

If you or any members of your staff, including volunteers and youth, are interested in being a part of a national design team to initially draft a pre-proposal for any one of the three priorities shown below, e-mail or call by July 11, one of the 4HCCS Points of Contact listed. All initial work to develop the pre-proposals will be done electronically. If a full proposal is accepted for funding, all design team member expenses, including possible attendance at the 4HCCS Design Team Workshop in San Antonio in February, will be reimbursed by 4HCCS.

1. Introductory 4-H Projects
Approximately 35% of 4-H youth, 2,391,415 youth, are in grades K-3. Of these, perhaps half do not return after their first 4-H experience. While current Cloverbuds material are excellent for the youngest 4-H participants, there appears to be a compelling need for a Helper's Guide for use with youth, 8-10, both in traditional clubs, and in after school settings. The principal intent of these materials should be to help youth understand 4-H, and "feel like 4-H'ers." This set of materials for helpers will focus on fun, hands-on activities to familiarize K-3 kids with the kinds of opportunities 4-H can offer them. It needs to help youth learn to work within experiential learning cycles and become a contributing member of a group.

4HCCS Point of Contact: Dean Aakre, 701-231-8595, deaakre@ndsuext.nodak.edu 

2. Community Service and Service Learning
Community Service is one of the "trademarks" of 4-H. Through community service opportunities, youth better understand their community and its needs. Youth learn to think of themselves as people who make a difference in the world around them. It is a perfect vehicle for meaningful youth/adult partnerships. This Helper's Guide can help make community service a meaningful learning opportunity, an opportunity to shape values, as well as a contribution to the community. Further, it should include reproducible planning and reflection materials to help make Community service into a well-planned service learning experience that contributes meaningfully to the development of the participating youth.

4HCCS Point of Contact: Mary Arnold, 541-737-1315, mary.arnold@oregonstate.edu 

3. Workforce Preparation
Today, all youth need to prepare themselves to join the workforce. Yet only 1% of 4-H participants presently are involved in career exploration and employability. One focus of this series needs to be on really understanding one's own traits, preferences and interests, probably through interactive web-based instruments and experiences. Youth also need to know the kinds of preparation needed for various careers, and the rewards likely in each. The series should help participating youth choose other 4-H opportunities to sample the kinds of skills they will need, for the careers they want. It is highly likely that many if not most of the series can utilize already existing web resources.

4HCCS Point of Contact: Chad Higgins, 225-578-6751, chiggins@agctr.lsu.edu 

For more details, contact Jim Adams, 785-532-5800 or via e-mail at: jadams@oznet.ksu.edu . --Jim Adams

PLANNING TO SUBMIT A PROPOSAL FOR AG-TELECOM GRANT?
Please note that the Agricultural Telecommunications proposal template is up and ready to go. The RFP guidelines are located at: http://www.adec.edu/ag-telecom/rfp/2003.html . The proposal template is located at: www.adec.edu/ag-telecom/proposals . --Kathy Wright kwright@oznet.ksu.edu 

KANSAS CHILDREN'S CABINET IS ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR COMMUNITY PLANNING PARTNERSHIPS FOR EARLY CHILDHOOD
Community partnerships and coalitions seeking to develop a comprehensive system of early childhood services that ensure children are ready for school may be eligible for $10,000 planning grants from the Kansas Children's Cabinet and Trust Fund. Proposals are being accepted no later than August 1, 2003 for planning grants which will be awarded from October 1, 2003 to September 30, 2004. Local Extension offices are among the recommended partners for the early childhood community coalitions.

Applications can be downloaded at www.kschildrenscabinet.org . --Elaine Johannes ejohanne@oznet.ksu.edu 

VIEW THE MASTER SCHEDULE OR ADD NEW ACTIVITIES AND EVENTS . 

Submit corrections to previously submitted items to jzarger@oznet.ksu.edu .

DATES TAKEN FROM THE MASTER SCHEDULE FOR JULY 2, 2003, THROUGH JULY 8, 2003:

Wednesday, July 2
.... NC District 4-H Horse Show, Salina, Becky Dillon A58212@yahoo.com 

Friday, July 4
.... Independence Day

Saturday, July 5, through Tuesday, July 15
.... 4-H Venturers Trip, Ely, MN, Statewide, Pat Fultz pfultz@oznet.ksu.edu

Monday, July 7, through Friday, July 11
.... National 4-H Shooting Sports Match, Whittington Center, NM, Gary Gerhard ggerhard@oznet.ksu.edu

Tuesday, July 8
.... SW District 4-H Horse Show, Garden City, Darl Henson dhenson@oznet.ksu.edu
.... EC District 4-H Horse Show, Lawrence, Holly Applegarth 913-755-4044.

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