THRIVE Week 4/6

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.  

DIrector Notes: 

We will keep families posted on any new developments involving our campus and the coronavirus.  

We have been very excited to see all that the students are doing during this time.  Please keep the Facebook posts coming.  

First-Year Students:

Workplace & Community Skills (Mrs. Southard & Dr. Manning): 

Monday students were asked to watch three videos on soft skills and write a ½ page paragraph on what they are and how they would use them in their job or internships. This week was personal space and body language. There were a lot of questions about the coronavirus. Dr. Manning explained different scenarios and how people can perceive a situation. Students worked on Missouri Connections on a work importance locator on Friday.

Learning Strategies (Mrs. Southard): 

The topic this week is note-taking. Students used notability and took notes from the screen. Mrs. Southard discussed some key things to listen for in a lecture to write down. Students had several assignments due this week. I understand in some households several people are using the same internet and at times papers a student thinks gets submitted does not. So I am not counting anything late at this point, in other words, no points will be deducted due to assignments being late. In Learning Strategies Class we finished up chapter 5. The online test was open from Friday at 2:00 to Monday at 9:00. Students were given instructions to use their resources. They could use their textbook, class notes, have someone read the test to them. The test was set for students to take the test as many times as they like. The program will keep the highest score each student made on the test. Students were also encouraged to use google hangouts and discuss the possible answers to the question on the test. 

Personal Math (Mrs. Garnier): We worked on the concept of compound interest and how savings and investments that earn compound interest earn more money than accounts that earn simple interest. We discussed interest in terms of how it can grow our money. This weekend the students are watching a video and writing a short paragraph on the difference between debit cards and credit cards. Next week we begin a unit on credit. We’ll learn what it is, how it works, and why it’s important. 

Second-Year Students:

Transition Planning II (Dr. Manning):   During Transition class the students have been working on budget/money assignments.  Working with money is something the students can do on their own with their families during this time at home.  Have the students pay for certain items at home with play money and then have them tell you how much change they should get back when paying.  Further, have the students tell you what type of currency they will be using to pay. For Ex: What type of dollar bills will they be using and what type of coins will they be using.   

We want the students to continue to contact transition resources in their area.  For Ex: Vocational Rehab office, County Board Services, WILS. These offices can help the student find jobs, living arrangements, and transportation.  

Internship II:  They students are using YouTube videos to research their careers.  Once the students find a YouTube video, the student needs to watch the video and write a reflection on the video.  During the reflection, the student needs to answer these questions: What was the video about? What did you learn from the video?  Is this a career you could see yourself pursuing? Is there training you may have to do? Is there a demand for this career? What skills do you already have for this career? Can you use these skills in your daily life?

We will be doing a couple of YouTube videos a week during this time.  Further, we want the students to continue to look for jobs and send cover letters/resumes to business.  The students can also send a follow-up email/phone call to the business.  

A little bit of studying with their peers…  well, maybe a little socializing as well.

PLATO (Mrs. Southard): All students had new assessments for April. Every student completed the assessments on time and completed their two hours on each subject. Mrs. Southard was so happy students took plato seriously the first week of working from home. 

THRIVE Activities:

I’ve found more of our students doing some great activities.  Great job students!! I’m also hearing from families that you are doing a great job cooking and doing chores around the house!  I love seeing how independent you all can be. Here are just a few of the posts on Facebook. Please log in to see them all...

Important upcoming dates:

2nd-year Families:  In the coming months, we’ll have some updates for 2nd-year graduation and activities.  At this time graduation has been postponed and will be rescheduled by the President of the University at a later date in the summer.  Please monitor your emails. I’ve heard of no updates at this time.

"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."