HCAP WEEKLY November 14, 2022

Hā Initiative Attends Hawaiʻ i First Lego League District Competition

Students from the Hā Initiative: Creative STEM After-School Program attended the Hawaiʻi First Lego League district competition at Kalani High School on November 11th. The Hā Initiative has First Lego League teams at 4 of the STEM Exploration Centers and each team has been working extremely hard with their teachers and coaches in preparation for the upcoming local competitions. The PaloloTrons, HalawaTrons, and PalamaTrons are HCAP’s “Challenge Teams” who were invited to compete in the district competition. First Lego League is a global robotics program designed to help students and teachers build a better future together. The students are given a theme and are tasked with coding their robot designs to complete as many missions as possible during a 2.5-minute window while incorporating the First Lego League core values of discovery, innovation, impact, inclusion, teamwork, and fun. This program challenges students to experiment and grow their critical thinking, coding, and design skills through hands-on STEM learning and robotics. The competitions also inspire team members to gain real-world problem-solving experience, embrace one another’s differences, and enjoy celebrating their accomplishments together.

This year’s First Lego League theme is energy. Before the competition, the students researched an energy problem and worked together to find a solution that would help their respective communities. On the day of the competition, the teams gave 30-minute presentations to the judges about their energy research. They also had fun accomplishing their robotic missions through three rounds of challenges. All teams have been invited to participate in the state competition on December 3rd at the Blaisdell Center in Honolulu.

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Intern Spotlight: Jayden Fuata

Jayden Fuata is a Kumuhonua Transitional Living Center Case Manager Intern. Jayden is from the Waiʻanae Coast on the island of Oʻahu and he recently graduated from the University of Hawaiʻ i at Mānoa with a bachelor’s in Sociology. During high school, Jayden volunteered at the Leeward District Service Center, assisting with the distribution of food and other supplies to the homeless community in the area. Jayden also volunteered at the Lanakila Meals on Wheels program where he helped prepare meals for the elderly around the island who were living alone or in homes during the holiday seasons. These programs helped Jayden gain first-hand experience in being a helper to those in need and in part sparked his interest in pursuing a career in community service. Jayden is interested in the legal system or research/data analysis as a career route and plans on pursuing a master’s degree.

Jayden was intrigued with the HCAP’s Kumuhonua Intern position because of how the staff directly assists those in need to overcome obstacles, such as finding housing and employment. Jayden states that he is inspired to be in this role because of how HCAP positively impacts the lives of others. Jayden shared that one of the most important things he has learned as a Kumuhonua Intern is responding rationally and objectively to client needs and working through all responsibilities as a means of getting the best results.

Jayden shares, “I’m so glad I was able to land an opportunity like this, to get a hands-on experience of what it’s like to work with and help people in need achieve more fulfilling lives. It truly is awe-inspiring and heartwarming to witness the work that HCAP staff does with the members of the community they serve. They really do try to make a positive impact on people’s lives and I hope to help them with that goal, as well.”

Head Start’s Election

The Head Start parents and keiki at Kunia III participated in an election. The election focused on selecting the classroom’s next educational investigation or study which is based on the keiki’s current interests. After taking a poll during circle time, there were three subjects that stood out rather evenly amongst the group. It was clear that the only way to decide between boxes, trees, or insects was to hold an election. During drop-off, parents assisted their keiki by reading the question of the day, identifying their name card, and placing it under the topic of interest. In doing so, the keiki strengthened their fine motor, name recognition, and letter recognition skills. While determining the election’s results, keiki counted the number of names in each column, compared the quantities, and determined that their subsequent investigation would be on trees.

Click Here for more information about HCAP Head Start & Early Head Start.