UNO iSTEM

Bringing iSTEM to every student, we currently provide programs at Norris, Lewis & Clark, King Science, Nathan Hale, Liberty, Belvedere, Howard Kennedy, Miller Park, and Druid Hill. Throughout the school year, we introduce students to concepts like Scratch programming, Mobile App Inventor, Robotics, and Bioinformatics. These programs allow students to make “cool” stuff and practice on their own time.The sessions are taught by trained IS&T undergraduate and graduate students who have a passion for sharing their love of technology, ensuring that students of all ages have role models directly from the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

Water Research Service Learning Project

Thanks to the generosity of the Hubbard Foundation, students from 6 Collective for Youth sites, McMillan Magnet, Norris Middle, King Elementary, Gilder Elementary, Wakonda Elementary and Hartman Elementary participated in a water research service learning program. On March 30, 2018 four of the sites had the opportunity to present their findings to Nebraska State Senators at the state Capitol.

In addition to researching and sampling the  local water supply around Omaha and the students neighborhoods, students researched water quality data in different areas of the world. Topics covered in their research ranged from PH levels, mineral composition in our water supply, alkaline levels, lead and other contaminants among other things.Students used test strips to test water samples. The strip test results gave insight on water quality regarding alkaline and PH levels, lead contaminants and other mineral levels. Here is some of the research that the students shared with the members of the State Legislature:

The strips we used to test our drinking water measured alkalinity, PH, total chlorine, total hardness, iron, copper, lead and free chlorine/bromine. Much of the water that was tested came from bottled water and some even came from program staff members homes. Some of the samples had very high alkalinity and some had very low alkalinity. Having your water be alkaline is not necessarily a bad thing it just means that you water is less prone to become acidic. Additionally , we measured PH levels to make sure that the water was not too acidic or too alkaline. In some cases, too much of either one can cause some damage to your body.

Some of the other components that we measured came back very low or almost none existent.  This is good because we want to make sure that we avoid a situation like Flint, Michigan. Ensuring that people have access to clean drinking water is important because there are some things in water that can cause harm to the body. For example, too much lead in the body can cause the brain and central nervous system to fail thus causing a coma for the person and eventually leading to death. Other chemicals like chlorine are harmful not only to humans, but the environment as well.  According to the EPA the sole purpose of chlorine is to kill living organisms.

The Metropolitan Utilities District reports that the city of Omaha has a PH of 8.99999ppm (parts per million). This indicates that our water is very alkaline. In our research we found the reason  is because of all the nitrates being relapsed into our sewer systems by factories and farmers who use a lot of pesticides and strong fertilizers. This is not a healthy or safe way to have our water be alkaline.

MMA Fighter Houston Alexander Afterschool Programs

As part of Houston Alexander’s Culture Shock Tour several of our program sites have had the great opportunity of working with Houston Alexander. Houston is passionate about teaching the students about the history of Hip Hop Culture. In addition to his Hip Hop History program, Houston also provides programming that is centered around the discipline of Mixed Martial Arts which strengthens student skills in the area of self-discipline, self-confidence, emotion regulation and physical activity.

Click here to learn more about Houston Alexander’s Culture Shock Tour within the CFY program sites.
BOOST Conference 2018!

Collective for Youth is presenting at BOOST Conference 2018 in Palm Spring on May 4, 2018. CFY representatives will be  presenting Fusing is the Future: Using STEM to Create Strong Social Emotional Skills. Together we can BOOST program impact and inspire change for today’s youth. We hope to see you there! Don’t miss this opportunity to network and BOOST your knowledge of the possibilities for out-of-school time and after school programs. Thank you for your continued interest in STEM and Social Emotional Learning. We are excited to share the crucial role OST programs can play in developing youth skills around teamwork, problem solving, resilience, self-confidence, communication and leadership by using STEM education. The objective of this fun hands-on session is to explore the connections between social emotional learning and STEM the Fuse them together. Fusing our efforts would save staff time, be more logical, and more effective for youth.  OST programs that work more intentionally to integrate their efforts around STEM and SEL, developed better-prepared youth whom can handle opportunities, challenges, and decisions come their way. For more information, visit www.boostconference.org. 

Omaha Gives! Save the Date!

Omaha Community Foundation is hosting the 6th annual #OmahaGives at OmahaGives.org on May 23, 2018. It starts at Midnight on May 23^rd and goes through Midnight on May 24th. Check out Collective for Youth’s page and schedule your donation today!

 Check out our Omaha Gives page here!

 

Upcoming Trainings

Don’t forget to register for our next Youth Work Methods training on April 27th!

April 27, 2018; 10am – noon
Are you engaging youth in the critical life skills of planning and reflection? Are you ready to be more intentional about including planning and reflection strategies into your daily routine and activities but not sure where to start? This interactive workshop will introduce participants to powerful and easy to use methods that promote youth engagement in planning, implementing, and evaluating activities and projects. *Registration is required.
Workshop 10: Program Planning and Reflection

Save the Date!
Summer Leadership Institute-July 30-August 1, 2018 from 8-4 each day.

Click here for details!