Blog 11/11

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- Many assignments were given this week. We are preparing to write a story about themselves. We have been working on bits and pieces of points of discussion for their papers. One of the things we did this week was listing their personal characteristics and ones they are proud of. Students submitted assignments on BB. We had a lesson on metaphors. Students were asked to write a metaphor about their life that will be added to their paper next week. Assigned also was to write two paragraphs about their future life in 10 years. 

DILS & Tech Literacy: First, I want to thank my colleagues for covering for me last week which allowed me to attend my niece’s graduation from Army Basic Training in South Carolina. While I was gone, the students worked very hard on projects in both DILS and Tech. This week in DILS we are working on PowerPoint presentations about the careers they are interested in and will present those next week before we leave for Thanksgiving break. In Tech, we are working on a Technology Purchase Project paper where the students choose two products to compare (iPhone 11 vs iPhone 8, iPhone vs Android, Xbox vs PlayStation, Windows vs Mac, etc.). Those papers are due Friday, November 22nd. We are also introducing an iMovie Trailer as their final project for Tech Lit. Students are pairing up to create their own iMovie trailer using their iPads. Those movies will be shown in class the week after Thanksgiving break.

Some of our students getting ready for class.  We even have some 2nd-year students that were helping out.  Can you find Mrs. Southard????  You should be able to spot two of her…

Daily Independent Living Skills - 

Technology Literacy- 

Relationships class-  Last week's class was canceled due to my illness. Students used that time to work on other assignments. So today we finished discussing We continued our talk about engagement and marriage. This week focusing more on marriage and getting along with others. 

Second-Year Students:

Transition Planning I: We are talking about listening skills and the five poor listening styles that we may use: spacing out, pretend listening, selective listening, word listening and self-centered listening.  Some of the positive listening styles are: genuine listening, stand in their shoes, and practice mirroring. The students always have good discussions on when we talk about how they communicate with their parents/families.  We also have a discussion about professional communication skills and how we may listen differently to our supervisor then we do with our friends or families.   

Internship I:  The students will have their first mock interview next week.  The interview will be with Dr. Manning. This mock interview will help them be prepared for the second mock interview during finals week.  The students will need to dress professional, act professional, and communicate in a professional way. Further, the students will need to bring in a professional resume and be prepared for the interview.  

• The students' internships will be done during the week of finals.  The students are supposed to coordinate with their supervisor to finalize a date on when their last day will be.  

Plato-  ALL students completed plato the week of November 4th to 10. Some were short a little on their time but all had some done if not the full two hours. Monday morning students were reminded to write down their time on plato for the week so they would know where to start counting. Plato reports are run on Monday morning. So the time goes from Monday to Sunday and starts over again next Monday.

THRIVE Activities: 

Mentor Activities: 

Pizza Party threw by the Student CEC group on campus.  Looks yummy!: Here are a few of the pictures. There are more on our Facebook page along with some videos.

Just a reminder that the pictures posted on the blog are typically just a sample of what is on Facebook.  So, if you want to see more and keep more updated, please go to our Facebook page - UCM-THRIVE.

Important upcoming dates:

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 December 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 on 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."