HCAP Weekly July 4, 2016

In this week’s issue:

Families Come Together to Learn about STEM Careers
Central District Service Center Staff Go the Extra Mile to Help LIHEAP Applicants
HCAP Staff Learn About Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder
The Weatherization Assistance Program Shares Tips on Saving Energy
Hā Initiative Students Learn About the Forces of Nature
HCAP Head Start Now Accepting Applications for the 2016-2017 School Year

Families Come Together to Learn about STEM Careers

During the month of June, each of the five Hā Initiative: Creative STEM After-School Program’s STEM Exploration Centers hosted their student’s families for this quarter’s Family Night BINGO extravaganza. Family and friends of students were invited to join in on the fun of learning about the world of STEM and different careers offered in the field. At each of the STEM Exploration Centers, the students and families played a STEM Careers BINGO game. With this engaging, educational activity the students and parents learned about many different careers such as Biomedical Engineer, Genetic Counselor, Astronomer, Sports Engineer, and much more. And of course the students were itching to get their hands on all the fun prizes!

Each STEM Exploration Center displayed student projects. The Waiahole STEM Exploration Center students shared their research on their future STEM careers. With help from teacher, Denise Miya, each student found a career that interested them and researched the qualifications needed to acquire a job in that field. Meanwhile, the students at the Kalihi-Palama STEM Exploration Center created a presentation about the new walking robot they designed. The students even gave a demonstration to their parents who were very impressed!

The Hā Initiative: Creative STEM After-School Program hosts Family Nights four times a year at each of the five STEM Exploration Centers. Food and refreshments are always provided as well as information on all of the programs and services offered at the Honolulu Community Action Program, Inc. Stay tuned for upcoming Family Nights!

Central District Service Center Staff Go the Extra Mile to Help LIHEAP Applicants

Central District Service Center’s Community Workers Taumafai and Lahela have assisted many applicants applying for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). Recently, Taumafai and Lahela assisted two different LIHEAP applicants in dire need of help.

The first applicant they assisted was Kim. Kim, a hearing impaired LIHEAP applicant, contacted the Leahi District Service Center requesting an American Sign Language Interpreter. The Leahi District Service Center immediately contacted Taumafai, who performs sign language interpreting. Taumafai made arrangements to meet Kim at the Leahi District Service Center. This would be Kim’s first time applying for the LIHEAP program and she was worried about her ability to communicate with the staff. Taumafai greeted Kim through sign language, which allowed Kim to feel more comfortable with the application process. Taumafai was able to assist Kim with applying for the program and Kim was very grateful for HCAP’s assistance.

The Central District Service Center also received a call from Corine and John, a young couple with two very small children, whose electricity was disconnected the day before. Corine and John, despite both working full time, find it difficult to make ends meet. Corine was very concerned about getting her electricity turned back on because their children had already spent the night with no electricity. Corine came into the Central District Service Center, and even though it was after LIHEAP hours, Lahela immediately assisted her. Lahela was able to contact HECO and make arrangements to restore Corine and John’s electric service. This was Lahela’s first year assisting LIHEAP applicants and she has been an incredible help to so many households. Corine and John were very happy to have their electricity restored and thanked the HCAP staff for assistance.

The Central District Service Center is very fortunate to have such caring and dedicated staff members and will continue to provide quality services for the betterment of the community.

HCAP Staff Learn About Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder

Last week, Dr. Ann Yabusaki from the Coalition for a Drug-Free Hawaii conducted a staff training on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). FASD is an umbrella term describing the range of effects that can occur in an individual whose mother drank during her pregnancy. Most individuals go undiagnosed. FASD can cause serious social and behavioral problems. Dr. Ann shared some tips on developing successful interventions for students and adults with FASD. Mahalo to Dr. Ann for presenting this valuable information to the HCAP staff!

The Weatherization Assistance Program Shares Tips on Saving Energy

There are approximately 224 million cable boxes in the United States, dotted across the nation’s living rooms and bedrooms. They consume approximately the same amount of electricity as four enormous nuclear reactors running around the clock!

Therefore, cable boxes have become the largest single energy user in many homes, apart from air conditioning. Cable boxes don’t just consume power when in use they also suck up energy when they’re turned off. This is because there’s work being done under the boxes’ casing: spinning hard drives, program guide updates, and software downloads, all going on in the background. As a result, cable boxes use nearly as much power turned off as they do when they are turned on.

All in all, a set-top cable box with a DVR can consume as much as 440 kilowatt hours a year, meaning that it can account for $154 in yearly electricity bills.

What can you do:
• Plugging your set-top box, television, and other home theater equipment into the same power strip and then turning that power strip off when you’re not using the TV will save you on energy costs.
• Plan to turn on your set-top box a few minutes before you intend to start using it, as the box may take some time to boot up.
• ENERGY STAR certified set-top boxes (Version 3.0 or higher) are 40% more efficient than conventional models. Contact your cable or satellite provider to inquire about swapping out your existing box for an ENERGY STAR Version 3.0 or higher model.

Go the extra mile:
• If your outlets or power strip switch are difficult to reach, try a “smart strip,” which can turn off selected devices completely when one device, such as your television, is turned off or in standby mode.
• If you use your DVR to record programs you can’t watch live, consider reducing your electricity use by watching those shows on a more energy-efficient device, such as a laptop.
• If you have multiple DVRs in your home, consider paring down to one or keeping the extra DVRs unplugged until they are needed.

Hā Initiative Students Learn About the Forces of Nature

The Hā Initiative: Creative STEM After-School Program students at the Central STEM Exploration Center have been studying different types of forces. In particular, they have been learning about the transfer of energy, inertia, potential energy, kinetic energy, gravity, friction, and aerodynamics.

First, the class studied aerodynamics, wind resistance, and friction. The students observed different Supercars and made a list of characteristics that each car had in common. They noticed that the Supercars were smooth, curvy, small, and low to the ground. The students discovered that the car’s smoothness allowed the vehicles to easily slide through the air. They also realized that the small size of the car helped to increase its speed. Finally, the students observed that by making the cars low to the ground, less air could pass underneath the cars, which also makes the cars go faster.

At the end of the lesson Mark, their teacher, asked the class to stand in front of a fan and hold up their hands, palms up. The teacher asked them, “how much wind can you feel on the back of your arm?” Each student replied with variations of “not a lot.” Then the teacher asked them to make their hands flat, and point them at the fan. All the students agreed that they could feel more wind on their arms. This solidified the students understanding of wind resistance.

Next, the class learned about inertia and the transference of energy. They were given a stack of Jenga blocks, and a ruler with a bottle cap tapped to the end to be used as a knob. Using the modified ruler, the students were to hit the bottom Jenga block out of the stack without knocking over the rest of the blocks. All of the students thought that this task was nearly impossible. But once the teacher succeeded, the students took up the challenge. As the activity wore on, the challenge became more elaborate. Some of the students lined up stacks of blocks end to end to see if they could clear two rows at the same time. The class learned a lot about the forces of nature and is looking forward to the upcoming pine car derby race!

HCAP Head Start Now Accepting Applications for the 2016-2017 School Year

Are you or someone you know in need of free or affordable preschool? Spread the word! HCAP Head Start is now accepting applications for children 3-5 years for the 2016-2017 school year. Families are encouraged to apply by calling (808) 847-2400 or visiting our website.