Blog 1/9, the first post of 2023!

 

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.

It looks like they are ready to go…

First-Year Students:

Learning Strategies: Debra Southard  

First-year students meet Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 8:00 A.M. We have had a couple of students struggling to get to class on time. We have talked about reading the syllabus from each class. Some syllabi are detailed and give assignments and dates when they are due. Students are required to bring a planner to class. They are asked to write what they need to work on. Students were asked to set up front in their non-THRIVE class. Mrs. Southard has emailed each instructor and told them about the student enrolled in their class. 

Workplace & Community Skills:  Gary Manning

Students will learn about the process of career development and planning, which includes self-assessment, job search strategies, awareness of workplace issues, and decision-making.  This course will also guide and assist a student’s exploration into their current self-concept, their abilities and strengths, their framework for accomplishment, and self–evaluation.  It will discuss the concepts and practices of self-determination and person-centered planning as tools to help individuals recognize or identify their aspirations (goals) and the support needed to attain these goals.  Students will develop a resume, cover letter, and thank you notes. Students will also have several opportunities to job shadow at various locations.

Daily & Independent Living Skills (DILS):  Joni Shelton

This course for 1st year students meets on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2:00 to 3:15. This course will cover 5 modules. 1) Daily Health and Wellness, 2) Career and Work Ethics, 3) Personal Health and Safety, 4) Community Living, and 5) Everyday Math Skills.

This week in addition to talking about course expectations, we started Daily Health and Wellness with Sleep, Hydration and started Nutrition. Students are keeping a sleep log for the week, and next week we will review the sleep log and create an action plan to ensure adequate sleep. Also next week we will continue discussions about Nutrition and students will keep a Food and Beverage log. 

Looks like we had a few students relaxing after a hard week…

Second-Year Students:

Notes from the Director:

Hello second-year families, just a reminder that if you are planning on returning to UCM for our optional third- year, please send a letter of intent to me.  This helps us know how to plan for next year.  Also, you’ll want to make sure your student goes into their MyCentral page and fills out the housing agreement for Fall of 2023 and if they are in an apartment do their new lease agreement.  They can call Housing if they have questions at 660-543-4515.  It’s important that you do this so that your student can have a chance at their top choice. If you change your mind the deposit can be returned to you.   If you aren’t planning on coming back for a third-year please email me so I can also update our list.

Transition Planning II: Gary Manning

The students will be learning about transitioning from being a 2nd year student in the UCM THRIVE program to getting a job, moving into an apartment, utilizing public transportation, budget, paying bills and daily/independent skills may be for them. 

 

Next week we will start working with money.  The students have to make change when they buy something and recognize the different types of bills/coins.  Please have your students start using bills/coins in their lives instead of swiping their debit/credit cards.  

 

Internship II: Gary Manning

Within the class the students will be learning about professionalism, job skills, filling out job applications, resumes, interviewing skills and researching different careers.

The students will also be doing workshops at the UCM Career Service and Life Design Center throughout the semester.

Personal Finance II: Mrs. Garnier

We jumped right into understanding credit this week. We talked about the credit in terms of loans, credit cards, and debt in general. They were surprised to learn that some debt is actually an investment, such as student loans, car loans, and mortgages.They also learned that some debt is bad, such as credit card debt. Life lessons!

Students getting ready for PE…

Plato: Debra Southard

First and second year students had new diagnostics in reading, writing and math. This will determine their grade level which will select the questions for the next few weeks. Also students had two additional topics they selected. New topics are always added to plato. There is a wide variety to pick from. Many students are tell me they enjoy this part of plato. 

Third-Year Students:

Notes from the Director:

Hello third-year families, just a reminder that if you are planning on returning to UCM for a fourth year, please send a letter of intent to me.  This helps us know how to plan for next year.  Also, you’ll want to make sure your student goes into their MyCentral page and fills out the housing agreement for Fall of 2023 and if they are in an apartment do their new lease agreement.  They can call Housing if they have questions at 660-543-4515.  It’s important that you do this so that your student can have a chance at their top choice.  If you aren’t planning on coming back please email me so I can also update our list.

Transition Planning IV: Mrs. Garnier

We are starting the semester with a unit on time management. We are evaluating how much time we spend on different areas of our lives - school, job, life. The goal is to recognize what we do in a typical day/week and use that information to help us use our time more effectively. We are using the 168 Hours model created by Laura Vanderkam. I read the book over break and was inspired (my big discovery is that I watch WAY too much television in my “down” time, lol). I’m hoping the time tracking and analysis will teach the kids to schedule time for class, studying, work, and fun time with friends and family. When we use our time wisely, we are less stressed about getting “things” done. Here’s to a great semester!

Internship IV: Mrs. Garnier

We have all the schedules done and internships assigned. The students all start their internships next week. I am hoping for great things!

Foods & Nutrition II: Mrs. Southard

This semester the class meets Tuesday and Thursday. This week we have reviewed safety and hygiene and talked about what if situations that could arise in a kitchen setting. Students worked on jamboards.

THRIVE Activities:

Mentor Activities: This past weekend the mentors had the students go to the Basketball games.  Our Jennies are ranked 7th in the league at this time.

Great Job Everyone!!  For more pictures please join our THRIVE Facebook and/or Instagram pages.

Important upcoming dates: 

Next Mentor Activity:  The next Mentor Activity will be going to the 2nd Black Panther movie.  

"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."