Week 4/1

THRIVE Director Notes

Posts on this Blog will be directed to help families see what is going on in our THRIVE Program.  Items discussed on the Blog have already occurred. To keep updated on what’s coming up please refer to the THRIVE activity calendar or UCM activity calendar.

First-Year Students:

Workplace & Community Skills:

Monday Mr. Brunkhorst taught the class. Students worked on Missouri Connections a web site that helps students review careers. Students worked on finishing up resumes and wrote a cover letter. Mrs. Southard explained where the Career Center is located on Campus and assigned students to visit next week to finalize both their resumes and cover letters.  Everyone finished up the last job shadowing experience. Each Student went to one location on campus or in the community. Some of the job shadowing experiences included Dr. Berry, Veterinarian, Trails Regional Library and the R.I.S.E. Shop Downtown.

Below are pictures of our first-year students at their third job shadow for the semester.  The job shadows have been a good experience for the students. The organizations/businesses have been excellent to collaborate with and have worked well with the THRIVE program.  

Learning Strategies:

The topic this week was Chapter 5 Notetaking.  Covered was the importance of taking notes in class and different ways to take notes. Students turned in pink sheets for OAS. Friday students took the online test over with the Office of Accessibility accommodations.  Some students are finding it hard to complete their work. Homework was collected. Some students did not complete it and were required to attend a mandatory study hall. Time management is essential this time of year.

Personal Math:

Personal Math is learning how to determine yearly, monthly, and weekly salaries.

Read a time card and find overtime pay.

Find income based on salary and tips.

Determine job-related expenses.

Determine commission and find income based on salary and commissions.

Math Skills

Add, subtract, multiply, and divide the money

Find the percent of a number

Round money amounts to the nearest cent.

Second-Year Students:

Transition Planning II:

The students have been having discussions on what is their plan after graduation.  Some students want to move out on their own and to a different city/town. We have had that discussion on how that may look for them and what to expect if this is what they want and their families want.  Discussions have been around budgets, jobs, housing and wants/needs in their lives.

Internship II:

Students did their mock interviews this week at the UCM Career Service Office.  The students were very nervous about this assignment. The students did well and received a lot of positive feedback from the employers who interviewed the students.  The students will have one more mock interview as their final in class.

PLATO:

Students had new assessments on Monday. These will be the last ones for this school year. Students were encouraged to do their best and take their time so the assessments would accurately assess their ability.  Several students did not put in the time we had hoped they would.

Study Time:

The students are still coming, but I didn't get a picture.

THRIVE Activities:

This week they made Cheese Quesadillas.  I’ll have pictures in next week’s post.

Important upcoming dates:

Graduation items: Yes, I’ll be getting items and dates put together over the next month for our THRIVE graduates and families.  The Commencement date is May 11th from 10-12. We’ll then have a THRIVE Reception and presentation of THRIVE Certificates of Success to the new Graduates, from 12:30 - 3:30.  This is an exciting time and Mr. Brunkhorst will be sending out emails to 2nd-year students and their families in the coming weeks to start getting a count of how many will be attending.  I’ll have more information I’ll email 2nd-year families closer to the date.

Athletics to watch:  Men’s and Women’s Baseball, Softball, Bowling,

In addition the students can participate in Intramural Athletics:

• We had enough students to have a Spring Softball team.  I’ll keep you updated on the dates of the games.
• The students can also look to their Spring Student Activities calendar that was left for them the first week.  We also have copies in the THRIVE Classroom.

"This blog is a programming blog written by the director and staff of the THRIVE Program on the University of Central Missouri campus.  This blog doesn't accept any form of cash advertising, sponsorship, or paid topic insertions.

The views and ideas expressed on this blog are purely the blog owners.  This blog does not contain any content which might present a conflict of interest.  We are simply telling you what we plan to do in our program and using the blog to help spread what we are doing on a weekly basis."