Blog 10/28

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:

University Foundations- Students took a test over chapter 5. Due on test day was a handout. Students were to write a paragraph about what they studied the past week every day to prepare for the test. We also switched books from Step by Step to  Skills for Success. This book will focus more on personal skills. We wrote a to-do list for the week. Discussed the importance of following instructions on assignments and asking for help. 

Daily Independent Living Skills - This has been Personal Safety Week in DILS. We talked about who to call in emergencies (Police, Fire, Ambulance, Poison Control, Gas Company for gas leaks), what constitutes an emergency, what they should do in emergency situations. We’ve also talked about basic safety around the home/dorm room including proper use of extension cords, proper storage of household chemicals/cleaners (bleach, disinfectant spray, laundry detergent, etc.), and basic safety around the house like having non-slip backing on rugs, room to safely maneuver around furnishings, and cleaning up spills and clutter to avoid slips and falls.

Technology Literacy- We are learning about cyber safety as it relates to social media this week. We’ve talked about privacy settings, what not to post/share with others, not accepting friend requests from strangers, turning off the location function, and many other ways to stay safe on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat as well as other social media apps.

Relationships class- Today's topic was engagement. We discussed what couples need to be discussing and planning when two people are engaged. It was stressed Weddings are planned for months and sometimes for years but it's the marriage that should be planned out. How to react to situations in a relationship was discussed. We completed a couple of worksheets in class about marital roles and expectations. 

Second-Year Students:

Transition Planning I: The students are discussing Habit 4 “Win-Win”.  There are four quadrants in this habit; “Win-Win”, “Win-Lose”, “Lose-Win”, and “Lose-Lose”.  We are discussing how to compromise certain situations and be in a “Win-Win” situation.  

Internship I: The internships are going well.  Over the semester the students have had to learn a lot about time management, communication and being proactive with their classes, classwork, internship, and social life.  We still have some bumps in the road but this is a learning process.  

    The students are working on cover letters to send to the supervisor where the student would like to have a spring internship.  The students are also in the process of asking their current supervisor for a letter of recommendation to have in their portfolio.  

Plato- Most students completed plato the week before. Students can work on Plato on the weekend and it will count for the following Monday's report. But students can not work ahead on PLATO for it to count for a Monday in the future.

THRIVE Activities: 

Mentor Activities: 

Halloween Party:  Most of the students were able to attend the party.  It looks like we had many different ghouls and goblins on hand.  Here are a few of the pictures.

Thank you Cards with Claire:  We had many students that participated with Claire on Saturday.  Here are a few of the pictures.

Important upcoming dates:

MIPSA Conference: 

On Monday, November 4th our staff and four students went to Springfield, MO for our Fall MIPSA conference.  MIPSA is a group that is made up of other Transition Programs that are similar to THRIVE. This group works on ways to assist families/students in finding out about our programs and helping with leadership opportunities for our students/staff.  The students that have THRIVE classes will have alternate assignments that day. The Dean’s office will be assisting with any student concerns during the day.

Fall Break / December Finals:

The week of November 25th will be our Fall Thanksgiving Break.  Students will need to be out of the dorms by Friday at 6 pm.  Then the dorms will open back up on Sunday at noon on the 1st.  

Finals for First-Year students will be the week following, Monday, December 2nd to Friday, December 6th.  First-Year students will be taking finals in their Elective and THRIVE classes this week.  We’ll have more specific information in later Blogs. The First-Year students will need to be out of the dorms by Friday the 6th or Saturday the 7th.  They will need to follow check-out procedures before they leave. The mentors and staff will go over the procedure the week before. If students don’t follow the procedures there can be a fee charged to their account.

Finals for Second-Year students will be during finals week, December 9th through the 13th.  The Second-Year students will need to be out of the dorms by Friday the 13th at 6 pm.  They will need to follow the check-out procedures before they leave. The mentors and staff will go over the procedure the week before. If students don’t follow the procedures there can be a fee charged to their account.   For Second-Year students here is the link to when their finals are. This can help you plan when should be done with finals. The THRIVE staff would like for students to be picked up after their last final. That way the students that are left in the dorm can have some quiet time for studying for their finals.

Spring Dorms Open:

The dorms will open back up on January 12th at noon for returning students for the Spring Semester.  The students will need to be moved back into their dorm by Sunday night. There won’t be a study hall this Sunday.

"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."