HCAP WEEKLY December 16, 2024

Head Start Keiki Learn the Importance of Physical Activity
Kalihi STEM Students Learn About Anatomy
High School Graduate Completes Nurse’s Aide Certification

Head Start Keiki Learn the Importance of Physical Activity

An aspect of the comprehensive services that HCAP Head Start & Early Head Start provides to children is health literacy. Curriculum studies on health and nutrition help children learn about the importance of overall health and wellness. The Head Start children at Kaimiloa are learning about the importance of physical activity through engaging in various exercises in and out of the classroom.

Physical activity promotes children’s overall health, wellness and development while improving their cognitive, gross and fine motor skills. It also aids in reducing the risk of health related illnesses. One of their classroom activities involved the creation of their own gym. The children created a treadmill, dumbbells and barbells out of paper and recycled material to learn about how the muscles and tendons work within their body.

Click here to learn more about Head Start & Early Head Start.


Kalihi STEM Students Learn About Anatomy

Hā Initiative: Creative STEM After-School Program Kalihi students have been diving deep into the fascinating world of human anatomy. Students have been exploring the amazing structures and systems that make bodies work, while engaging in hands-on activities that bring these concepts to life. Throughout the month of December, students have been learning about the 11 major organ systems that help the body function. During their lesson on the circulatory system, students made “blood slime” to simulate the components of blood – white blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets.

To further investigate how the heart pumps blood, students built their stethoscopes from upcycled materials. They used these instruments to listen and measure their heart rates, comparing their resting heart rates with those taken after exercise. The class was fascinated by how the heart beats so much faster after moving.

The respiratory system came to life when students created their very own lung models using plastic bottles and balloons and were able to visualize how lungs expand and contract when breathing.

The students’ favorite human anatomy activity so far was designing and building a robotic hand model using straws, string, and paper. Students studied the structure of the human hand and replicated it using straws for the bones, string for the tendons, and paper for the palm and wrist. Pulling the strings made the fingers bend, mimicking how tendons control movement in the human hand. The students worked together to refine their designs, adjusting the straws’ lengths and string tension for smoother movement. Some even created control mechanisms to make the hand function like a real one. This project provided a fun way to explore both human anatomy and simple mechanical systems.

Click here to learn more about Hā Initiative.


High School Graduate Completes Nurse’s Aide Certification

Growing up, Adrian would help his mom to care for elderly and disabled patients in their home. By observing his mom and assisting her where he could, he became interested in the idea of helping senior citizens and people with disabilities or lifelong illnesses. His desire to enter the medical field grew into a passion while seeing the work his mom did. This inspired his career aspirations.

Due to financial hardship and only having his mother for support, he was not able to afford tuition for higher education. After graduating from high school, Adrian researched forms of tuition assistance and possible training programs he could attend. Through HCAP’s partnership with Professional Healthcare Educators (PHE), Adrian was referred to HCAP’s Nā Lima Hana Employment Core Services (ECS) program to receive tuition assistance.

HCAP’s Kalihi-Palama District staff enrolled him in the ECS program, to which Adrian was approved for tuition assistance to attend PHE’s Nurse’s Aide training program. After the 3-week long training, Adrian received his certificate of completion in November.

Adrian remarked, “Through the program I learned a lot about helping patients and can’t wait to apply the skills I learned to help my mom with her patients.” Adrian is continuing in training to improve his nursing skills and he plans on working in an elderly facility after he finishes his nurse training program.

He is well on his way of meeting his goals of gaining the necessary skills to be successful in the field and to be able to assist his mother financially while taking care of her.

Click here to learn more about Nā Lima Hana.