How do I get ready for summer judging?

  1. Complete your project book and activities as outlined in your the Project Guidelines for your particular project.
  2. Practice reviewing your project with an adult. Have them ask you questions about what you did and learned from your project.
  3. Schedule an project judging appointment by July 8th for each project that you are completing this summer by clicking this link.
  4. What day is my project judging? Review your project information in the 4-H Member Handbook.
    • Can’t make it on your assigned day? No problem! Although you won’t be eligible for county awards/state fair consideration, you can sign-up for late/make-up summer judging on July 27th at the Ag Center/Extension Office by calling 740-653-5419 to make an appointment.
    • That still doesn’t work for you? No problem! Although you won’t be eligible for county awards/state fair consideration, you can talk to your 4-H advisor to work with you to review your project for completion for the year.

WHAT IS INVOLVED IN INTERVIEW JUDGING?

Interview judging is a discussion between the judge and 4-H member regarding the member’s project, the member’s learning experience and development and plans for the future. It is a one-on-one discussion. Members do not have to participate in interview judging to complete a project, but it is an excellent way to build skills in interviewing and provides an opportunity to compete for county awards and state fair participation. Listed below are a few statements or questions often used in making the interview meaningful to the 4-H member. These types of statements help a judge find out about the member’s knowledge, accomplishments, interests, and challenges with the project.

I. PAST EXPERIENCES & PROJECT SELECTION
a. What projects have you taken in 4-H?
b. Why did you select this project this year?
c. What did you hope to learn from the project?

II. THE PROJECT
a. Knowledge of project – subject matter – use of project terms.
b. What went well with the project? What did you do? What did you accomplish?
c. What problems did you encounter?
d. What assistance did you have? – 4-H Advisor, Junior Leader, Parents, Friends or Relatives.
e. Questions related to 4-H project book content.

III. PLANS FOR THE FUTURE
a. What more would you like to learn in this project area?
b. What project will you take next year?
c. What are your other interests?

IV. PERSONAL INFORMATION & KNOWLEDGE OF 4-H
a. What 4-H activities have you participated in within your club or county?
b. Leadership experience in local club
c. Overall knowledge of 4-H
d. Plans for future – schooling, career, etc.
e. What was the biggest thing 4-H taught you this year?

V. ADDITIONAL TIPS TO PREPARE FOR JUDGING:
This is an interview, so 4-Hers will want to keep in mind:
a. Wear nice clothes (dress pants/slacks, skirts, nice blouses, tops, etc.)
b. Grooming is essential. (hair, nails, etc. should be presentable)
c. Shake the judge’s hand
d. Be polite; use please and thank you
e. Do not have gum or other food in their mouth!

Summer Judging Results from Day 3 (Wednesday, July 15th): Engineering & Environmental Science

We are so proud of the hard work 4-H members have put into their projects this year! Congrats to all!

Here are the results of our members who participated in judging on Day 3 (Wednesday, July 15th). For a complete list of results, click here.

Summer Judging – Please Schedule an Interview Time by 5:00 p.m. Friday, July 10th!

Greetings 4-Hers!

Thank you to those who recently responded to last week’s survey regarding project completion options. We have taken survey responses into consideration, along with OSU’s guidance on primarily using virtual options for events due to the potential continued spread of COVID-19. In that light, we will be conducting project judging interviews using the online video conference format called Zoom. This will allow for a live, interactive interview with a judge and 4-Her. For those 4-Hers that do not have access to adequate technology to support a Zoom interview, we will offer a few limited slots for an in-person interview. Please read details below before choosing your judging appointment.

All SUMMER project judging will be conducted the week of July 13th. Projects will be judged on these originally scheduled days:

  • Monday, July 13: Food, Home Dec, Genealogy, Laundry, Health, Child Care
  • Tuesday, July 14: Demonstration, Communication, Creative Arts
  • Wednesday, July 15: Engineering and Environmental Science
  • Thursday, July 16: Clothing

Awards this year will be simplified with Outstandings and Honorable Mentions across projects. There is no state-level competition this year, so the primary focus of county judging will be the interview experience and an opportunity for the 4-Her to share what they have learned. Note: we will not be awarding special overall food or clothing awards this year.

Project displays: in order to offer flexibility, you may create a poster and have it near you for zoom judging, or a digital poster that you could ‘screen share’ and later print out to display at the fair. Note: food projects will NOT be required to complete a portfolio this year. Instead you could do a mini poster to display at the fair. The choice is yours.

Online (Zoom) Judging for all summer projects:

  • Extension staff will ‘host’ the meeting and send a link to the judge and 4-Her. Staff will remain online throughout the meeting as tech support, timekeeper and to provide a 2nd adult to avoid any one-on-one meetings with youth.
  • 4-Her and judge will utilize their own computer with a camera or device from their own homes.
  • This is a ‘live’ interactive interview and the judge can ask 4-Her questions.
  • Training will be provided on how to participate in a zoom interview.

In-person Judging for youth without access to internet or computer/phone:

  • Note: this option is reserved for members who cannot do a zoom interview because they do not have access to technology
  • Safety measures:
    • 4-Hers, judges and staff will be asked to wear masks. (provided if needed)
    • Plexiglass tabletop shields positioned between the judge and 4-Her
    • 6-foot distance between everyone
    • Surfaces will be sanitized after each 4-Her
  • Held at the Ed Sands building at the fairgrounds the week of July 13.
  • 4-Hers will wait in their car until it is time to be judged.

As a reminder, if you have a project that you do not plan to complete, please email Missy Koenig at Koenig.398@osu.edu with the project you wish to drop from your record. You also have the option of interviewing with your club advisor for project completion. Please contact your advisor to make arrangements.

We are excited to see all that you have completed and learned in your 4-H projects this summer. Please click on this link to schedule your SUMMER judging appointment by 5:00 p.m. Friday, July 10th: Summer Judging Scheduling Link Please note:  If you have multiple summer projects or multiple 4-H members, you will need to re-select the link to schedule additional projects, it is not member specific.

~Fairfield County 4-H Team

Please Respond: Member survey regarding 2020 4-H Projects

All 4-H members (excluding Cloverbuds) should have received an email from Stacy Hicks on Tuesday, June 16th that shares an overview of 4-H project completion. Families with multiple 4-H members should receive multiple emails personalized to each member. We are asking that all 4-H members reply to the survey so we can continue making plans for summer judging. We have decided to extend the deadline for response to this email to Sunday, June 21st.  Please refer to the email you received for a link to follow and complete the survey to help us plan for judging this year.  The survey will take less than 30 seconds to complete.  If you have any questions, please contact the office at 740-653-5419. If you did not see an email with this survey link, please let us know (and be sure to check your junk/spam folders in your email).

Thank you for your help!

“Investigating Electricity” Virtual Special Interest SPIN Club

Join Hamilton County 4-H Volunteer Dean Rettig for the “Investigating Electricity” Virtual Special Interest (SPIN) Club!
Dates: Tuesday & Thursdays June 2, 2020- June 18, 2020
Times: 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

REGISTER HERE: https://osu.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_beLF8Kl32cA7AEt

Session 1

  • Introduction
  • Going back and forth (galvanometer – AC vs DC)

Session 2

  • The Electric Detective’s Most Important Tool  (Intro to Multi-Meter / volt-ohm meter
  • To Flow or Not To Flow (conductors vs insulators

Session 3

  • Ohm’s Law  (water bottle / garden hose demo)
  • Decoding Circuit diagrams   (Into to Circuit diagrams)

Session 4

  • Case of the Series Circuit – measuring voltages across items in series circuit
  • Case of the Parallel Circuit

Session 5

  • Circuit Sense – more complicated circuits diagrams
  • Short Circuits

Session 6

  • Making a 3-way switch

Equipment List (Amazon Wish List):

  • Volt/Ohm meter aka Multi-meter
  • AA or D batteries
  • battery holder
  • paper clips
  • 22 or 24 gauge wire
  • compass
  • cardboard
  • flashlight bulb
  • bulb holder

Please Remember to THANK YOUR SPONSORS!

We need to make sure our sponsors receive thanks and appreciation for supporting Fairfield County’s youth. This would include applying for the Bertha Wilson Scholarship, receiving awards at Summerfest, as well as receiving awards at the Fairfield County Junior Fair.

Please make sure if you are receiving awards (or have received awards already this year), to write a thank you note to your sponsor for these awards. Several people took lots of time making sure there was an address label for your particular sponsor on the back of rosettes/ribbons and attached to trophies.

Please note that we often lose sponsors because they do not receive a note of appreciation and thanks from our youth members receiving the awards that they have sponsored. If a member is not sure of their sponsor for an award received at Summerfest or the Fair, please contact the Extension Office and we will help you get the information you need.

We also strongly encourage youth to share information about their project, award(s) received, and perhaps a picture! Sponsors really enjoy reading this information.

Please Remember to THANK YOUR SPONSORS!

We need to make sure our sponsors receive thanks and appreciation for supporting Fairfield County’s youth. This would include applying for the Bertha Wilson Scholarship, receiving awards at Summerfest, as well as receiving awards at the Fairfield County Junior Fair.

Please make sure if you are receiving awards (or have received awards already this year), to write a thank you note to your sponsor for these awards. Several people took lots of time making sure there was an address label for your particular sponsor on the back of rosettes/ribbons and attached to trophies.

Please note that we often lose sponsors because they do not receive a note of appreciation and thanks from our youth members receiving the awards that they have sponsored. If a member is not sure of their sponsor for an award received at Summerfest or the Fair, please contact the Extension Office and we will help you get the information you need.

We also strongly encourage youth to share information about their project, award(s) received, and perhaps a picture! Sponsors really enjoy reading this information.

Summerfest Awards Program

Our annual Summerfest Awards Program will be held Saturday August 25, 2018 at the Liberty Center, 951 Liberty Drive Lancaster OH.  Members who completed their summer projects and received a 1st-3rd place, Honorable Mention or Outstanding were mailed invitations to the event (with a mistake on the postcard) oops.  The event starts at 7 pm.  We look forward to seeing you help us celebrate the great work done with summer projects.  This event is open to the public.

Summer Judging Continues on July 16th and 18th!

Although the 2018 Summer Judging Schedule is no longer available in 4-HOnline, we welcome all members who are ready for their projects to participate in their respective judging days! Feel free to the call the office 740-652-7264 next week if you still need to schedule your judging time.

The schedule is based on the purple Member Handbook, pages 22-30.  Please read these pages and make sure you are signing up for the correct project on the correct day.  (An example are the Self Determined projects – there are some that are judged on a different day – see page 22).

Judging Dates 2018   

  • Thursday July 12, 2018 – Demonstration Contest (NO ONLINE SIGN-UP), Self Determined Projects, Writing, Leadership and Citizenship, Cake Decorating, Scrapbooking, Collectibles, Creative Art, Quilting, Theatre Arts, Photography. Judging results are posted here.

  • Friday July 13, 2018 – Health, Babysitting, Genealogy, Home Decorating and Design, Money Management, ALL Food and Nutrition Projects. Judging results will be posted here.

  • Monday July 16, 2018 – Science Fun projects, Rockets, Airplanes, Radio-Controlled Vehicles, Robotics, Electricity, Rope, Small Engines, Solar Energy, ATV, Computers, Woodworking, Welding, Veterinary Science, All Environmental Science, Gardening, Horseless Horse, All About Dogs.  Judging results will be posted here.

  • Tuesday July 17th – Modeling Practice at Liberty Union High School

  • Wednesday July 18, 2018 – All Clothing Projects.  Style Review in the evening at Liberty Union High School.  Judging results will be posted here.

Good luck with your summer judging projects!

Summerfest and Junior Fair Award Winners – Don’t forget to THANK YOUR Award Sponsors!

All Junior Fair Awards were sponsored this year for the 4-H Summerfest and Fairfield County Junior Fair. It is important for our members to extend their appreciation and gratitude to our award sponsors. Members are responsible for providing their thank you note in an addressed and stamped envelope and mailing the thank you note directly to the award sponsor. If you received a trophy or special award at Summerfest or at the Fairfield County Fair, a thank you note with your sponsor’s information was included.

Members may reference this guide from Oregon State Extension for helpful thank you note writing tips. Please make sure you say more than “I really enjoyed taking this project this year.” or “Thank you for sponsoring this rosette.” Our sponsors want to know more about you and your 4-H/FFA experiences. Take the time to write a thoughtful thank you note just as they took the time and money to recognize your accomplishments this year.

If you need to know who your sponsor is or the address for your sponsor, please do not hesitate to contact the Extension Office and we can provide that information for you.