HCAP WEEKLY August 26, 2024

Hā Initiative Opens Doors at Pauoa Elementary School

On August 19, 2024, HCAP’s Hā Initiative: Creative STEM After-School Program opened its newest classroom at Pauoa Elementary School to excited students ranging from second-grade to fifth-grade. This new location will now become the base of operations for Hā Initiative’s Honolulu STEM Exploration Center. Students spent the first few days of the STEM class settling in and getting to know their peers and new teacher better through playing games and icebreaker activities such as Bingo, Wordle, Would You Rather?, and How Are We Similar and Different?, Guess Word!, and the Draw On My Back Challenge.

Aligning with STEM’s curriculum on nutrition, students spent a day identifying different fruits, counting the number of seeds, describing each fruit’s traits, and will later create a bar graph to display their data. Students were able to prepare apples, nectarines, pluots, peaches, Kiwano melons, grapefruit, dragonfruit, and cacao seeds. Under careful supervision, brothers Josiah and Jared washed, peeled, cut, and distributed fruits to the class. Keleiah was the only student that could identify the cacao pod, and Kalaꞌi nervously tried the new fruits by first tasting them with his tongue and decided whether he liked them or not before eating whole pieces.

In an upcoming lesson, students will learn more about cacao since it’s a fruit that most of the students have never seen before; they will learn about the extensive process required for cacao seeds to transform into thousands of different forms of chocolate and will also get to sample different variations of chocolate.

Coinciding with this year’s FIRST LEGO League robotics theme “SUBMERGED” relating to marine science, students began learning about sea animals and their habitats. Each student chose a marine animal to color or paint, and will later conduct a small research project. Animals of choice included the seahorse, crab, jellyfish, shark, and fish. Just as a fun finishing touch, students applied a top coat of glow in the dark paint to their art pieces.

Click here to learn more about the Hā Initiative.

HCAP Names New Weatherization Assistance Program Manager

HCAP is pleased to announce that Amber Keaulana has been named its newest Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) Manager. The WAP Program Manager is responsible for leading a team in assisting low-income households to significantly reduce their utility bills through energy efficient home measures. The WAP team conducts comprehensive home energy audits for eligible clients and carry out the process of installing cost-reducing energy alternatives in their homes.

Amber has been the Employment Core Specialist I at HCAP’s Nā Lima Hana Employment Core Services (ECS) Program since February of 2023. Previously, she gained technical experience as a Battery Service Technician, as well as a Warehouse worker and driver. She has completed both a Medical Assistant Diploma Program and an Office Management Program at Hawaii Technology Institute. Amber is knowledgeable of the social and community resources available throughout O’ahu and has been an excellent communicator and bridge for the ECS program.

Amber shares, “They say, ‘The journey teaches us a lot about our destination.’ I am beyond blessed and grateful that my journey has led me here to HCAP and now the WAP Coordinator. I have had some amazing teachers and opportunities here, and I am thrilled to continue working with my awesome team to help reduce the costs of energy consumption in the households of our communities. With the people we serve at the heart of what we do, I will continue to take this kuleana seriously and personally.”

As Amber transitions into her new role, Robert Piper, HCAP Executive Director, states, “It is with great pleasure that HCAP welcomes Amber as the Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) Manager. In a program that has exceeded expectations in the past years, I am confident that Amber will continue upholding the level of work that HCAP’s WAP has been able to able to accomplish thus far. Seeing all the amazing work she has done for our ECS program, it is proven that her strong work ethic and leadership skills will back her in leading this program well. We are looking forward to seeing the work Amber will accomplish in this new role and the growth she will bring to WAP.”

Click here to learn more about the Weatherization Assistance Program.

Creativity and Exploration with Head Start

HCAP Head Start children across the island are being creative and exploring within their classroom environments. Creativity and exploration are fundamental concepts in early childhood education that foster the development of social skills and knowledge, which ignites children’s curiosity, help them to express and manage their feelings, and provide opportunities for critical thinking and problem solving.

The children at the Keiki Country II and Heeia classrooms used their fine motor skills to read books, paint portraits, and explore with slime. While the children at Waipahu II got creative with glue and colored tissue paper as they decorated their special letters.

Click here to learn more about HCAP Head Start and Early Head Start.