After reading online about a number of Hawai'i schools suffering through summer heat as classes returned for a new year, the University of Pennsylvania Hawai'i Club in Philadelphia has put $1,500 toward donating fans and air-conditioning units to a number of the hottest Island schools.

The schools that received assistance from the club of about 50 Hawai'i-reared undergraduates and graduates included Wai'anae Elementary, Nanakuli Elementary, Lanakila Elementary and 'Ewa Beach Elementary.

The club also donated school supplies to Ma'ili Elementary and the Hawai'i Community Action Program in Wai'anae to help families who couldn't afford them.

"We ... wanted to help public elementary schools in poor districts because elementary schools are incredibly important to a child's mental development and they are too easily forgotten for donations after a keiki finishes school," wrote Eaton J. Kuh, co-president of the club and a member of the Class of 2006.

Members of the school's Alumni Association-Hawai'i Chapter donated $450 to help with the club's project.

RESOURCES

10TH-GRADERS CAN TAKE PSAT IN OCTOBER FOR FREE

Students in grade 10 can take the Preliminary SAT at no cost in October, according to the state Department of Education.

The state Legislature appropriated $175,000 to the DOE to pay for the cost of the test for all high school sophomores to help them get familiar with taking the college entrance exam. Most colleges require SAT scores and students who take the PSAT generally fare better on the SAT than those who don't, according to the DOE.

Students can take the PSAT on either Oct. 18 or Oct. 21.

For more information, contact the post-high school counselor at your public high school.

ON THE WEB

International Year of the Ocean — Kids' & Teachers' Resources offers information about oceanography, meteorology, resource conservation, and marine biology. Links are provided to information about coral reefs, threatened and endangered species, and educational programs such as GLOBE, where students and teachers collect data that is used by scientists and researchers, and Adopt A Buoy, where National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration measurement equipment can be brought into the classroom.

Go to www.yoto98.noaa.gov/kids.htm.