4-H Public Presentations Kickoff Workshop
SPRING 2009

What: An opportunity for new or experienced presenters to learn more about the 4-H Public Presentations program.

When: Wednesday, January 7, 5:30-7:30 p.m. (light dinner provided)

Where: Tompkins County Cooperative Extension Education Center, 615 Willow Avenue, Ithaca NY

Who: New and experienced presenters are invited to a fun, hands-on, 3-part workshop. Open to any youth age 5-18.

Sessions for Experienced Presenters:

Skills Room 1-with Anna Susmann & Donna Stauffer (45 mins.)

Covers: Summaries & introductions; Expressing Enthusiasm; Poise & Postures; Note cards & posters.

Skills Room 2- with Diane Beckwith & Sherron Brown (45 mins.)
Covers: Eye contact; Volume & rate; Sources; Gestures.

Sessions for New Presenters:

What Is a 4-H Presentation?-Room 3-with Dianne Walter & Megan Tifft
Covers: Posters & note cards; Introduction, body & summary; Event & program information; Fielding questions; Sources; Appearance; Q & A

Produced in NY Contest (a new way to present) -with members of the 4-H Consumer and Family Science Committee. Learn how to give a silent foods presentation, gain confidence and skills in presenting to the public, develop your knowledge and skills in food prep and presentation. PiNY presentations do not move on to District level competition, however, participation in this contest qualifies for participation at the 4-H Youth Fair and NYS Fair.

All workshops will be fun and hands-on. We will start the night with a light dinner and an overview of the program.

FREE workshop. Please RSVP by 1/4/09 by contacting Megan Tifft at met38@cornell.edu, or 607-272-2292. 

Sign up today for the Strengthening Families Program.
This seven week workshop series for Parents / Caregivers and Youth 10 -14  is offered at no cost to participants!

Help Youth:
· Prepare for teen years
· Avoid problems with drugs and alcohol
· Strengthen family communications
Parents/Caregivers discuss:
· What youth this age are like
· Rules and consequences
· How to solve problems with youth
· Ways to show love and support
Families:
· Have fun in activities and games
· Discuss what makes your family strong
· Solve problems together
Youth learn ways to:
· Handle frustration
· Resist peer pressure
· Appreciate parent/caregivers
· Get along with others

Dates: Wednesdays, Feb. 25, March 4, 11, 18, 25, April 1, 8  (Snow Date April 22)
Time : 6:00˜8:00 p.m.
        6:00 -7:00 parent group, 6:00 ˆ7:00 youth group,
        7:00 -8:00 family group
Where: Dryden Middle School, Dryden
To sign up of for more information:
       Dryden students / families call: Kate Benas 844-8694 ext. 9204# or Mary Hicks 844-8694 ext.9444#
        All others call Tompkins County CCE 272-2292
        For FREE childcare call by Friday, February 12.

This program is sponsored by:
Family and Community Development of Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County
Co-sponsors include: Dryden Central School, Dryden PTA, Tompkins County Department of Social
Services, Tompkins County Mental Health, & Tompkins County Department Probation Department
Join us because parenting can be better together! 

Tompkins Girls Hockey Association (TGHA) is seeking girls who are interested in learning how to play ice hockey.  TGHA currently has open enrollment for its entry level Initiation hockey for beginners of any age.

Girls in the Initiation program receive lessons in skating and hockey skills and play games at the beginner level on Mondays at 6:00 p.m. at The RINK and/or Thursdays at 5:15 p.m. at Cass Park Rink.  Girls may choose to attend the program one day per week, or for both sessions each week.  Coaches emphasize having fun while safely learning the fundamentals of the game of ice hockey. The Initiation program is open to girls ages 4 and up.  Girls can advance to TGHA’s House program whenever they are deemed ready by the trained coaching staff. The season ends in early March; half season fees are available.

Girls who are interested in finding out more about Initiation hockey are invited to attend TGHA’s “Bring a Friend to Practice Night” on January 5, 2008 from 6:00 to 7:00 pm at The Rink (1767 East Shore Drive, north of Ithaca).

For more information about registration, used equipment loans, and scholarships, call 280-4380 or email TGHA0809@yahoo.com.  Further details about these programs as well as registration with USA Hockey can also be found at www.ithacagirlshockey.com

(The Ithaca Community Fine Arts Booster Group (FABG), an affiliate of IPEI, has awarded $5,518 in mini-grants to area Ithaca City District Schools.  Funded projects include: a Beauty and the Beast Storytellers visit, a recorded book project, music and art equipment, theater tickets, a visiting calligrapher, a guitar building workshop, movement with a primary autism class and a dance residency to support literacy in preschool.  In addition, $750 in annual grants was distributed to the drama clubs at the middle and high schools.  

Funds are raised through Fine Arts Booster Group performance booklet ad sales. The boosters produce performance booklets for middle and high school concerts and plays throughout the school year, totaling over thirty events each year.  

 The next mini-grant deadline will be February 1, 2009 and applications are available by calling 277-4631 or emailing fabg_president@yahoo.com.

The Fine Arts Boosters support all the arts for all the kids.  FABG strives to foster appreciation for the arts, advocate for the arts, and improve learning opportunities for all.  To reach these goals, the boosters fundraise, communicate, form partnerships and give grants.  The boosters invite everyone to celebrate and support the fine and performing arts in the Ithaca City School District.  

FABG is an affiliate of Ithaca Public Education Initiative (IPEI).  IPEI is a community-based, not-for-profit organization that works to develop supportive community and private sector relationships with the Ithaca City School District.

Ithaca Community Fine Arts Booster Group (FABG)
101 East State Street, #182,The Commons
Ithaca, NY  14850

Fall 2008 Mini-grants  requests totaling $7,754, amount available $5, 518

Fall Creek Elementary, theatre/storytelling, Sharon Ossont- $659
Books Out Loud project with fourth graders, recording books and theater training

Fall Creek Elementary, theater/storytelling, Karen Keller  - $600
Beauty and the Beast Storytellers

Northeast Elementary, music, Rich Schlenker, $175
Cd player for use in teaching lessons with recorded accompaniment

South Hill and Belle Sherman Elementary, dance, Diana Levy, $500
Movement residency with Lisa Tsetse, literary focus with pre-K

Beverly J. Martin Elementary, other,  Nicole Dauria,  $300
 Awareness through Movement with primary autism class

Lehman Alternative Community School, music, Shannon Cockbill, $500 
Support for guitar building class

Ithaca High, art/culture, Claudia Miettunen, $300
 Visiting artist to Chinese language and culture class, Jim Hardesty

Ithaca High School, art, M. Pasquale-Bowen and L. McKown, $700
Visit to the Cloisters

Ithaca High School, theater, Alexis Lord, $700
Trip to see Hamlet

Ithaca High School, art, Jocelyn Lutter Carver,  $584 
Electric pottery wheel

Ithaca High School, art, Judy Cogan, $500 
Laser jet printer and ink

Applied:

Elementary Schools 5
Middle School  1
High Schools 6

Drama Fund $750 available
Funded Ithaca High, DeWitt, Boynton and Lehman Alternative Community School.

Join us at the Ithaca Youth Bureau for a casual evening of fun to practice your chess skills, learn some new ones and play new opponents.  Add to the fun and bring a dessert to share (optional).  The Chess Gatherings are free, but pre-registration is appreciated.  Players of all ages and abilities are welcome.  Children under the age of 10 must be accompanied by an adult.  We’ll be gathering at the Ithaca Youth Bureau on the following dates:

January 15th 6 - 7:30 PM

February 12th 6 - 7:30 PM

The Finger Lakes Runners Club will be hosting an All-Comers Indoor Track Meet Series this winter.  The first meet is on Sunday, December 7, 2008 at Cornell Barton Hall.  Registration is from 8:15 am - 9:15 am.  The meet starts at 9 am.  The cost is free for members of the Finger Lakes Runners Club; $1 for all students and free for kids ages 6 and under.  Ono-member adults pay $3.  The order of events include: 2- miler, 55 meters (kids heat), 200 meters, 1500 meters (includes a heat of race walk) and a 400 - 200-200-800-meter medley relay.  All ages and abilities are welcome.  For more information contact Tim Ingall at timingall@hotmail.com

Registrations for winter basketball, indoor soccer and cheerleading are now being accepted.  Basketball programs for youth include: Small Ball for youth in grades 1st and 2nd grade, classes run from Jan. 4th - Feb. 8th on Sundays, the fee is $30; a  6th Grade Basketball League for girls and boys begins Dec. 1st with weekly practices and a weekly game beginning mid-Jan, fee is $55. Indoor soccer includes a skill development program for youth ages 4 - 5, program meets on Saturdays, fee is $35.  The indoor soccer league is open to youth in grades 1 - 9, weekly practices begin mid-Dec and games on Sunday beginning Jan. 11th, the fee is $50.  For    Cheerleading for youth in grades 1st-6th begins Dec.4th, the fee is $40. For more information or to register contact  Ithaca Youth Bureau 273-8364.  Scholarships are available!   

ITHACA—Teens once again have the opportunity to view some big screen versions of their favorite books at the Tompkins County Public Library.
 
The library’s teen movie program, Books into Movies, resumes November 19th with the movie adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s intriguing fairy tale-like novel, Stardust.
 
In celebration of Jane Austen’s birthday, Books into Movies will continue with the December 16th screening of her classic novel, Emma and on January 28th, teens are invited to a presentation of Muppet Treasure Island, a zany take on Robert Louis Stevenson’s adventure story.
 
All movies will be shown at 6:00 PM in the Borg Warner Community Meeting Room.
 
Refreshments will be provided by the library’s Teen Advisory Group through the Tompkins County Public Library Foundation with a gift from the Cornell Panhellenic Association.  
 
Movies have been selected with a teen audience in mind; however, parents are encouraged to review ratings of each movie prior to allowing their children to attend. The library will not restrict admittance to films based on age or maturity.
 
For more information, contact Adelle Leise at (607) 272-4557 extension 276 or 277
 
  

The Ithaca Alternative Gift Fair once again offers holiday shoppers a variety of meaningful gifts that support local charitable organizations. This year’s Fair will be held from 11 am to 7 pm, Saturday, December 6, at the First Presbyterian Church, 315 North Cayuga Street, Ithaca. Thirty-one organizations will participate in the event.

NOTE:  LACS/Akwesasne Freedom School, Multicultural Resource Center is participating in this event.

Gifts range from $5 to an unlimited donation, and include items such as are healthy meals for school children who may otherwise be hungry, materials to build affordable housing, support for community discussions on racism, shelter for abandoned pets, and many gifts that support at-risk youth and families.

Now in its fifth year, the Fair has earned more than $90,000 and has reduced the impact on the environment of conventional gift-giving. All of the money earned at the Fair goes to the participating organizations. New this year is an online store at www.ithacaaltgiftfair.org for those who can not attend the event.

This year’s Gift Fair organizations are: Cancer Resource Center of the Finger Lakes, Catholic Charities of Tompkins County, Challenge Industries, Community Building Works!, CRESP Center for Transformative Action, Dispositional Alternatives Program of Family and Children’s Services, Dream Factory of Central New York, Finger Lakes Independence Center, Foodnet Meals on Wheels, Franziska Racker Centers, Greater Ithaca Activities Center, Human Service Coalition 2-1-1 Tompkins, Ithaca Alternative Gift Fair 2009, Ithaca Public Education Initiative, Ithaca Health Alliance, Ithaca Youth Bureau, The Learning Web, Loaves and Fishes, LACS/Akwesasne Freedom School, Multicultural Resource Center, Natural Leaders Initiative, New York Coalition for Health School Food, Opportunities Alternatives and Resources (OAR), Planned Parenthood of the Southern Finger Lakes, SewGreen, SPCA of Tompkins County, Sustainable Tompkins, Southern Tier Advocacy and Mitigation Project (S.T.A.M.P.), Tompkins Community Action, Tompkins County Public Library Foundation, and the Women’s Opportunity Center.

The Ithaca Alternative Gift Fair is sponsored by the CRESP Center for Transformative Action and Tompkins Community Action with support from the Alternatives Federal Credit Union.  

Global Lens 2008 — FREE for high school teachers & students
All screenings in Willard Straight Theatre 
http://cinema.cornell.edu

The Kite
Thursday, November 13 - 7:30
Monday, November 17 - 7:00 w/post-screening discussion
2004. (Lebanon):  On the eve of her marriage, a Lebanese girl realizes she is in love  with the Israeli solider guarding the border checkpoint that separates her from her fiancé.  Lebanon’s official 2003 entry for the Academy Awards’ Best Foreign Language Film, the film is “poignant, humorous, and exquisitely realized.” (Filmref.com). Video projection. 1 hr 15 min

The Fish Fall in Love
Friday, November 14 - 7:15
Wednesday, November 19 - 7:00 w/post-screening discussion
2006. (Iran).  A group of resourceful women use food to convince a stubborn businessman to allow them to continue operating a restaurant in a building he owns. “The scenery is great…and the food prepared in the restaurant looks absolutely scrumptious.” (Toronto Sun). Video projection. 1 hr 36 min

The Bet Collector
Wednesday, November 19 -  9:30 w/introduction
Thursday, November 20 -   7:00 w/post-screening discussion
2006. (Philippines).  A resilient Manila housewife’s (Gina Pareno) job of collecting cash bets on the local numbers-game takes a psychological toll on her in  the days before All Saint’s Day.  “Pareno commands with breezy charisma and empathy.” (Village Voice).  Video projection. 1 hr 41 min

 Let the Wind Blow
Friday, November 21 - 7:00 w/post-screening discussion
Saturday, November 22 - 5:00
2004. (India).  At the height of nuclear-tensions between India and Pakistan, a restless group of friends weigh the bitter reality of their lives against fate and the philosophy of a nation. More at globalfilm.org. Video projection.1 hr 33 min

The series is cosponsored with the Cornell Global Development Club and AIESEC Cornell

 Mary Fessenden, Director, Cornell Cinema
104 Willard Straight Hall
Email: mkf2@cornell.edu
Phone: 607-255-3883