Jun 11, 2014 | Education
A Ke Alahele Education Fund grant for Montessori School of Maui was intended to support its engineering and robotics programs plus help provide a practical learning environment for students to enhance their skills in science, technology, engineering and math or STEM. But it went beyond that, according to Thomas Daubert, the school’s director of development. “In its first year, our after-school Robotics and Engineering studios have provided a fun learning environment for up to 16 students each session,” he said. “The students came away with increased skill development and a new way to perceive themselves and the physical world around them,” Daubert said.
At Montessori, students work in teams to learn the mechanics of simple machines, basic electronic circuits, polarity, magnetism and more. Jason Verkaart, the Robotics studio coordinator, is also a parent of a student at the school. Each session culminates in a fun competitive race or game using the vehicles and systems constructed throughout a course. “Our students have become very excited about seeing the physical application of math, engineering and science coursework and have personally experienced the enthusiasm of a parent working within his profession,” Daubert said.
Daubert said the program was a good fit for a Montessori school with its strong emphasis on hands-on, experiential learning. “As a Montessori school, on a daily basis, we work to develop the interests of each unique student through practical collaborative work, which is the basis for a successful Robotics program. This is a great fit for our school, and we look forward to finding even greater connective points between this after-school studio and our core curriculum activities in the coming year.” MEDB established the Ke Alahele Education Fund to power up STEM Education in Maui County. This year’s Ke Alahele Education Fund Dinner and Auction will be held Aug. 23 at the Grand Wailea Resort. Call 875-2300, or www.medb.org
Jun 4, 2014 | Small Business
For more than 60 years, Ben Franklin Crafts has carved out its niche in Maui County’s business landscape with a simple guiding principle – top flight customer service. “Everything we do is somehow linked to satisfying our customers externally as well as internally,” said Carrera Catugal, Ben Franklin’s Assistant Store Manager at the Queen Kaahumanu Center. “That includes everything from simply bringing in local products to creating an enjoyable work environment for our employees and an enjoyable shopping environment for our customers.”
The first Ben Franklin store opened in 1951 in Kahului, but its roots go back further than that, Catugal said. It began as a modest dry goods store in Kahului, the K. Kamitaki store, owned by Shikano Kamitaki. The store transformed into the Kahului Dry Goods Store, run by Kamitaki’s children, Tadami and Matsuko (Mizoguchi). Today, Ben Franklin Crafts is committed to serving local crafters, Catugal said. The store organizes a semi-annual craft fair and provides local crafters the opportunity to sell hand-made craft products in the store. Catugal said it’s a source of pride for Ben Franklin employees that “we not only have customers who visit our location, sometimes daily as part of their livelihood, but that we can in turn provide a venue that allows crafting to be a viable lifestyle.”
She credits Ben Franklin’s success to “the freedom that we have as a business to engage our community outside the walls of our store.” She cited the store’s craft fair and its participation in Maui Economic Development Board’s STEM Conference. This year, the Ben Franklin team held sessions for approximately 150 students who learned about science through the use of everyday household items. “We are sending the message that we are not just another business with a bottom line, we are an active member of a growing community.” Catugal said she’s upbeat about the prospects for Maui’s economy. “When organizations like MEDB partner with the businesses that service Maui County, I feel that Maui’s economy will prosper and that even in times of hardship as a nation, we here on Maui will have stability,” she said.
May 21, 2014 | Innovation
The Maui Economic Development Board is continuing to honor the legacy of the late U.S. Senator Daniel Inouye with an award program in his name. “Senator Inouye was a visionary who saw how important it is to affirm and invest in our students, the future of Hawaii,” said MEDB President and CEO Jeanne Skog. First presented in 2013, the Daniel K. Inouye Innovation Award advances Senator Inouye’s dream of empowering students who demonstrate an innovative use of STEM tools and capabilities to serve and improve our community.
Deadline for award applications is July 15. The winning project will be one that is ‘outside the box,’ but nevertheless has a practical function and value to the community. Last year’s first honoree was a STEM project conceived and produced by King Kekaulike students Lotus Chen and Sierra Harrell. Using GPS technology and practical applications of math and science, the students mapped out roads leading to and from their school campus. Then, they marked areas that needed crosswalks and sidewalks and took note of troublesome spots where motorists might lose sight of pedestrians. They shared their geospatial map with state and county officials, and their work resulted in Governor Neil Abercrombie releasing nearly $1 million for the Maui County Old Haleakala Highway Sidewalk project.
“Dan would have been pleased that these students worked on a project to potentially save lives,” said his widow, Irene Hirano Inouye. “He was always delighted to see the talented and articulate students display their science, technology, engineering and math projects.” The award will be presented at the annual Ke Alahele Education Fund dinner on August 23 at the Grand Wailea Resort & Spa. All Maui County middle and high school students are eligible to submit applications. Students need not be in a STEMworks lab to be considered. Each team must have a teacher adviser who will need to sign the project application. For more information on how to enter, or to make reservations for the Ke Alahele dinner and auction, visit: www.medb.org
May 20, 2014 | Small Business
Facebook’s Small Business Boost is coming to Maui! with special guest speaker, Senator Brian Schatz
Through a special partnership with local business organizations, the Maui Economic Development Board (MEDB) and Facebook invite you to join experts from Facebook’s Small Business Team as they share best practices, success stories, and strategies for how to grow, manage, and understand your small business identity on Facebook. There are over one billion people on Facebook. Learn how to reach the right audience for your business and turn them into loyal customers.
Location: The King Kamehameha Golf Club (Waikapu Ballroom, 2500 Honoapiilani Hwy) in Wailuku.
Date: Sunday, May 25th.
Time: 4:00 Checkin & Networking 4:30 – 6:00pm Presentation
This is a FREE event!
Register for the event
May 14, 2014 | Education
Kualapu’u School teacher Susan Forbes began her Ke Alahele Education Fund grant project with a goal – field a competitive robotics team. It was a building year at the Molokai K-6 charter school and this year the students were not ready to compete. The hope is that soon the returning students will have enough foundational knowledge to handle the robotics materials and that program hours can be expanded to give students enough time to complete their projects, Forbes said.
While she was unable to immediately field a competitive robotics team, Forbes was able to adapt how she trains the students. “I no longer ‘train’ the students individually,” she said. “Instead, I train one student at a time, with the expectation that the student will go on to train another student and so on. This works well and results in students becoming better listeners and observers during the initial teaching,” Forbes explained. All the team members, except two, were exposed to robotics for the first time this school year, Forbes said. “At the end of the year, all participating students learned how to build, program and operate a robot. In addition, the problem-solving format of the challenges promoted perseverance, higher-order thinking, and teamwork – since difficult problems are best tasked out to groups. The students also learned “how to work with one another and to develop their own values and character,” Forbes said.
STEM education incorporates knowledge of science, math and technology with creativity in design and engineering, she said. And, by incorporating the components into one, “student engagement and learning are enhanced.” Forbes said schools should support education in science, technology, engineering and math “not only so that their students see the connection between problems, ideas and solutions/products, but also that their students are better prepared for the types of careers that await them.” MEDB established the Ke Alahele Education Fund to power up STEM Education in Maui County. This year’s Ke Alahele Education Fund Dinner and Auction will be held August 23 at the Grand Wailea Resort. Call 875-2300, or go to www.medb.org.
