Junior-Senior DPA is one of our cornerstone programs of 4-H. Youth who participate learn skills in resume building, speech\essay writing, presenting in front of an audience, and more. We wanted to share some key information and deadlines with you so that you and your child can make an informed decision on whether they wish to participate. Youth who wish to participate should CALL us at (912) 557-6724, ext. 0 to register. Spaces are limited for each project, so the sooner you register the more likely you will be able to attend in your assigned project.
Event Details
The Junior-Senior DPA competition will be held on February 3-5, 2022 at Rock Eagle 4-H Center. The Tattnall County Extension\4-H Office will provide transportation and chaperones for the trip. Youth will be able to share their presentations, participate in community service projects, attend a dance, engage in fun recreational activities, have a chance to win summer camp scholarships, campaign and vote for District 4-H Officers, and have a chance to receive an award if they are in the top three of their project categories. It is a busy, fun-filled weekend. Youth are able to meet new friends from counties all across Southeast District and also become closer with other 4-H’ers from their county. There will be a $40 fee for youth to participate which will be due to the Extension Office (cash or check) by January 22nd. This assists us in covering the cost of lodging, meals, transportation, and a county DPA shirt. Some scholarships are available for youth who have a financial need. Your child will also need to bring money for our lunch stop at Zaxby’s on the way home on Sunday and may want some cash for snacks\souvenirs in the Rock Eagle dining hall.
Portfolio Requirements
The first part of the project is the portfolio. This is basically a short resume of your student’s activities over the past year.
- For 9th-12th graders, the requirements are a cover letter, a two-page resume, and two pages of photos. This age group of 4-H’ers are required to turn in a rough draft of their project by December 18th to rbowen1@uga.edu.
- For 7th – 8th graders, the requirements are a two-page resume and one page of photos. This age group of 4-H’ers are required to turn in a rough draft of their project by January 6th to rbowen1@uga.edu.
- Sample portfolios and templates for photo pages are available online at www.flowcode.com/page/4hjrsrdpa
- We will have a limited number of workshops to assist youth with their portfolios. If your child would like to participate in one of these workshops, please sign them up for a set time and location through our scheduling website at: SignUp Genius. Additional times will be added as we finalize our January schedule.
Presentation Requirements
The second part of the project is the presentation. This presentation varies based on the project your child chooses. For students in the Performing Arts Projects, the presentation is limited to 4 minutes of them dancing, singing, or playing an instrument. All Performing Arts participants will need to attend two practices in January to share their presentations with the Extension staff. Opportunities will be offered in Glennville and Reidsville. Dates for those will be shared after we see how many portfolios are turned in.
For students in the Cooking Projects, they will select a recipe from our 4-H recipe book to prepare in front of a panel of judges. These students will need to come to the Extension Office in Reidsville for at least three sessions with Mrs. Rachel (our Family and Consumer Science agent) to learn about safe food preparation and proper presentation skills. Those practice dates will be set individually with each student.
For all other categories, youth will prepare a speech and slide presentation to share just as our Cloverleaf 4-H’ers do. Junior (7th & 8th) 4-H’ers need to have a 7-8 minute speech with approximately 7-8 slides. Seniors (9th-12th) need to have a 9-11 minute speech with at least 9 slides. We will have workshops at NTMS, STMS, and the Extension Office in January for youth to work on their speech presentations. All presentations for Performing Arts, Cooking and Other Projects must be completed and ready for our county dress rehearsal on January 24.
Campaigning for District Board
Is your child a leader in their school, club, and\or community? We are looking for youth in 7th grader to campaign for District Junior Board and youth in 9th-11th grade to campaign for District Senior Board. This is an amazing opportunity for your child to extend their leadership growth and development while meeting friends from all over Southeast District. If you are interested in more details on campaigning for District Board, the application packets with details are available by contacting the Extension Office.
Graduating Senior 4-H’ers
If your child is a graduating 12th grader, they will need to complete the Graduating Senior Form and return it to the Extension Office no later than January 3rd. Your Senior will be recognized at the Graduating Senior Reception on Saturday, February 4th. If you wish to attend this ceremony with them, please be sure to notify the Extension Staff no later than January 22nd so that we can add you to the visitor list for Rock Eagle. Graduating Senior Forms can be obtained from the Extension Office.
Signing up for DPA!
If your child is interested in competing, you will need to call the Extension Office at (912) 557-6724, ext. 0 to register them for the competition by December 9th. We are limited to a certain number of 4-H’ers we can have compete in each project category, so the sooner you sign your child up the more likely they are to get to participate in the project they are interested in. We will do our best to update the competitor list as we receive call in registrations, but it may not be up to date at all times. The competitor list with projects listed is available here.
Once your child is registered for the competition, they can start working on their portfolio and can use the link here to sign up for a practice day at STMS (Glennville) or the Extension Office (Reidsville). If you do have additional questions, we hope you will call and talk with us about those! Mrs. Rebekah, 4-H Agent, can be most quickly reached on her cell phone at (478) 494-9312. We look forward to hearing from you soon!
Wild About 4-H Reward Day
We are hosting a fun day to help youth competing in DPA improve their project work to score better on their portfolios. Youth who submit their portfolio to rbowen1@uga.edu by the event on December 20th will get a $20 discount off of this event. If you would like to register for this event, please call the Extension Office at (912) 557-6724, ext. 0.
