Cassie Smith was still new to Northwest Arkansas when she formed the Cooper Elementary School 4-H Club. Now, after two years and a new venue, the club is going strong.
The youth organization 4-H, Smith explained, allows members to choose their interest areas and work either independently or in small groups. Some of the small groups have a leader and meet on a regular basis. The entire club meets once a month at New Life Christian Church.
They also do service projects together and have visited nursing homes, handed out poppies with the American Legion and Auxilary and helped pack boxes to send to the troops overseas.
The members learn leadership skills, Smith said. They elect their own officers who help with planning.
The independent members get a 4-H project book in the area they choose and work on it mostly by themselves. Sometimes school work corresponds with their project books and they can count that. Occasionally, a countywide workshop will be held for the independent members and, sometimes, the monthly meeting may be dedicated to one of the interest groups.
There are 16 members between the ages of 5 and 15, Smith said. They are always open to more.
Smith also has a new co-leader, Alisha Jernigan.
In 2014, when the group was getting started, Smith said her son's interest in robotics was one reason she decided to form a 4-H Club.
The robotics group of the Cooper 4-H Club recently won a regional meet in the FIRST Lego League Robotics competition. They chose the team name PRIME which stands for Programmers, Roboticist, Inventors, Mechanics and Engineers. Using the materials in a kit provided by Lego, each team was asked to build an autonomous robot to solve a real-world problem.
This year's challenge was titled "Animal Allies." Participants were encouraged to find ways for animals and people to work together. They identified a problem and then designed a solution. They were also required to give a live presentation.
Team PRIME received the ACE (Advancing to Championship Event) Award and the Core Value Award. The team will go on to compete at the state level in January. Smith won the Coach/Mentor Award.
According to the website, http://www.firstlegoleague.org, core values include team work, learning together, friendly compeition, professionalism, cooperation and fun.
Contact Cassie Smith via email at [email protected].
General News on 01/04/2017