Aug 24, 2011 | Education
The Ke Alahele Education Fund has freed Iao School robotics advisor Jayne Hori from worries about fundraising and allowed her and her students to focus on learning. “It fits perfectly with STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Math) standards and learning opportunities,” she said. Both of Hori’s children, Taylor, a high school senior, and Trent, a sophomore, have benefited from a grant in their middle school days and now in high school. “They both are not afraid of taking STEM type classes or programs in and out of school,” Hori said. Instead of raising funds for travel, Hori said she and her students pour their energy in preparing and then participating in robotics tournaments.
“The Ke Alahele Education Fund has impacted me personally and professionally,” Hori said. Grants have helped pay for registration fees, robotics kits, extra robotic equipment and parts, laptops and travel. According to Hori, a lot of grant making institutions do not pay for travel. “It takes a lot of the worry out of the way when you receive funding from Maui Economic Development Board. The students can concentrate on their project and the parents don’t have to worry about how they going to come up with the money to pay for their child’s travel expenses.” She said it would be hard on students if they worked on robotic projects and then didn’t have a venue to share and test their knowledge. Hori said MEDB’s Ke Alahele Education Fund opportunities are also open to community civic groups such as 4-H and Boy and Girl Scouts, and fund all kinds of STEM activities, not just robotics.
“A Pathway to the Future,” a benefit dinner and auction for the fund, will be held on August 27th at 4:30 p.m. in the Grand Wailea Resort. Guests include U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye and Ms. Irene Hirano, and Mayor Alan Arakawa and Ann Arakawa. For tickets, which are $150 per person, call 875-2300 or visit medb.org.
Aug 17, 2011 | Community
Guided by the Focus Maui Nui vision, values and key strategies for action, Youth Alliance members are empowered with the skills and experiences to become leaders for change. For the third consecutive year, 16-year-old Adam Skelton has signed up to be a part of the Youth Alliance. “I’ve learned a lot and picked up experiences I’ve never had before,” the Upcountry student said.
Youth Alliance members in grades 9 through 12 gather monthly during the school year to explore the many facets of the Maui community including the business sector, cultural sites, civic leaders and sometimes a Neighbor Island. This behind-the-scenes look is accompanied by projects and activities that give participants a greater understanding of how the Maui community works. “I wish the program would have been available to me when I was in high school,” said Willow Krause, a 1998 Baldwin High School graduate and Youth Alliance project coordinator.
Skelton said Krause accommodates the students by exploring their fields of interest. For example, Skelton, who has aspirations of building his own business one day, has seen first-hand how local entrepreneurs thrive. He said he’s not interested in a firefighter career, but visiting a local fire station gave him insight into the field. “Firefighters don’t just fight fires. They go out into the community and help out in a number of ways.” Born and reared on Maui, Skelton said it was the Youth Alliance program that brought his attention to local issues such as the previous public school Furlough Fridays, organic farming and points of interests on Lanai.
Skelton said he would highly recommend students to enroll this school year. “I’d say ‘Give it a try and see how you like it. You might just love it.’“ Applications are now being accepted from high school students including those who are homeschooled. The program is free, and the deadline to sign up is Sept. 9. For more information, contact Krause at 875-2432 or willow[at]medb[dot]org.
Aug 10, 2011 | Community
Health care is one of the most important needs in the community, and the Kihei Wailea Medical Center is contributing its time and talent toward helping the island’s uninsured. The staff and its physicians, Dr. Marcus Griffin and Dr. Gayland Yee, have held free health screening clinics for more than 100 patients during the last two years. The most recent event in June drew 60 patients and has inspired other health care providers to follow the medical facility and Office Manager Joel Krause’s lead. “People want to help, they want to give back and that positive energy is wonderful,” Krause said.
Griffin and Krause get so many volunteers from the staff of 28 at Kihei Wailea Medical Center that they had to turn away some for this most recent venture. Krause said they also get a lot of help from other labs and therapists — Clinical Laboratories of Hawaii, Maui Diagnostic Imaging, and Bodies in Motion — as well as Safeway, which supported the initiative. Dr. Griffin started the free clinics as a means to give back to the medical field in which he himself has received so many rewards. “Even if we help only one person, this clinic will still be a success,” Griffin said. Krause said the free clinics are important to the Kihei Wailea Medical Center as it strives to live out an updated mission statement: “Working together to care for our community.”
Krause figures the value of the free clinic day runs to thousands of dollars. It’s meaningful to the uninsured, who often delay getting medical help because it’s unaffordable for them. There are plans to hold a comprehensive free medical screening day that would feature a variety of medical specialists offering services from obstetrics to opthamology plus a blood drive. “Our goal is to be able to help as many patients as possible with all types of concerns,” Krause said. “We hope to have several offices open all over South Maui providing free service.”
Aug 3, 2011 | Community
Continuing our series on newly appointed County Department Directors, reflecting the role of government in responding to community values and needs.
Maui County Parks and Recreation Director Glenn Correa returned from retirement to serve a second-term for a department he feels passionate about. “It’s a golden opportunity,” he commented. Correa said the success of his department falls on the 430 people who work in divisions including recreation, aquatics, maintenance, planning and administration. “We cannot be everything to everybody, but we try very hard to meet the expectations of the community with the resources we have because we know that our parks department impacts everyone,” he said. The Parks and Recreation Department oversees 145 parks covering 1,620 acres on Maui, Molokai and Lanai. This includes the Waiehu Golf Course, 22 community centers, 55 tennis courts and nine swimming pools.
“I know there are many times when the public feels we just don’t have enough park facilities to serve our community,” Correa said. He said there are future plans to add more facilities, and meanwhile, heavy use requires proactive upkeep and maintenance. Correa said he values the teamwork within his department and his hope is that the community will recognize and acknowledge what the department does to serve the people of Maui.
Correa is a 1967 Baldwin High School graduate who served in the U.S. Navy and saw combat in Vietnam. After four years of military service, he returned to Maui in 1971 and was initially employed by American Electric. He was first tapped to work for the County as a electrician’s helper at the Department of Parks and Recreation. He has served under five mayors, nine parks directors and now a two-time appointee of Mayor Alan Arakawa. He loves playing golf and has been married for nearly 40 years to his wife, Lani.
Jul 27, 2011 | Education
With 30 years of teaching experience, Karolyn Mossman knows what works in the classroom. Yet the Kalama Intermediate School teacher says that what happens outside of the classroom — at home — can really make a difference in the academic success of students. Parents and guardians can help by showing they care about their children’s school work and by creating a home environment that sets them up for success.
Keiki thrive on consistent routines, she says. “Bedtime, meal time, study time and leisure time are essential for most children,” Mossman says. “It also means building in adequate time for eating and resting. Sleep is a regenerative process. Children’s brains need rest for learning, retaining, thinking and using all the information we want them to take in.” She also recommends parents try to free their children of distractions, like television, and check on homework. However, says Mossman, “They don’t have to get everything right all the time. Avoid the temptation of doing it for them. If they rush through it at home without effort, correct them by focusing on the effort, not on the product. “If they have no homework, or say they have no homework, have them read, or write a journal entry for an age-appropriate period of time — TV off, video games not allowed. Get them into the routine of completing an academic task at home for a specified period of time daily.”
As students head back to school, Mossman recommends checking their backpacks daily during the year for notes from teachers. “Communication is best when both the family and the school can share perspectives and collaborate for the student’s best progress,” says Mossman, a longtime leader in the Hawaii State Teachers Association. She reminds parents and guardians not to forget about their child’s stomach. “Eating properly increases your children’s wellness and school success,” she says. “Worry less about weight than about healthy food habits.”
