Week of 3/30 THRIVE Posting

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.  Well, we’ve made it through our first week of virtual classes and the stay-at-home order for Johnson County and now the State of Missouri’s order.  We are very proud of how the students have switched to online/virtual experiences. We know that this is a change and it is for many of the UCM students.  Our teachers as well, have and are learning new techniques and skills in this new virtual environment. If you have any concerns please contact us. I made some calls to parents over this week to get any ideas or concerns that have come up with this new learning environment.  If I couldn’t reach you I tried to leave a message. Since we’ve been asked to stay home I’ll be using emails in the future. 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 Dr. Manning and Mrs. Southard were happy to see every student on google hangouts. Students had worked the week before with the program so they were able to use it effectively. Dr. Manning explained how the online class was going to be structured. Mrs. Southard explained the discussion board and activities that would count due to the “new normal.” Wednesday topic included an assignment that is listed on Blackboard. Students had several questions about the assignment that took most of the class time. We would like to see students reading the instructions and emailing us questions in the future so as not to take up class time. Friday Mr. Brunkhorst guided students in Missouri Connections students were assigned a skills assessment. 

Friday we were showing the students how to do Missouri Connections Skills Assessment.  

Learning Strategies (Mrs. Southard): 

Monday we discussed how the class was going to run. We reviewed some of the items talked about that morning in the Workplace and Community Class. Wednesday Students took time asking questions and again we hope students will first read the assignment then email us with questions if they have any. This week students were assigned outlining chapter five, a Kahoots and some questions to answer. We discussed the importance of taking notes whether at school or in the work environment. Friday We continued to discuss note-taking. Students were asked to always have a notepad with them during class so they can write down any instructions or questions during class. All students were shared a to-do for this week. Assignments are opened regularly; it is important students check the blackboard and emails often.

Personal Math (Mrs. Garnier): We had some minor glitches in our first Hangouts math class, but with the help of Mr. B and the university, the problem is solved. Our second class was very productive, and I was thrilled to spend time with “my” kids again. We will finish our short unit on saving and investing this week then move on to understanding credit followed by consumer skills to end the semester. I’m using the Announcements section on the Personal Math home page in Blackboard, so the students need to be checking this regularly. I’ve updated grades for those who completed late work over Spring break, and I’ll input grades for assignments as the assignments come in. It’s important that students check their email often and respond to invitations from instructors. I have invited all students to my Hangout office hours which are Monday-Friday 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. and on Wednesdays from 6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.  Students aren’t required to attend these sessions, but if they have questions or need homework assistance, I’ll be available on Hangouts at these times to assist them.

Second-Year Students:

Transition Planning II (Dr. Manning):    The students need to complete their professional portfolios (resume, cover letter, reference letters, evaluations from a supervisor/Thrive staff).  

The students need to continue to fill out job applications or send out cover letter/inquiry letters to businesses.  Even though a lot of businesses may not be accepting applications/resumes at this time, this gives the student the experience of pursuing a job.

The student needs to continue to contact their local Vocational Rehab (VR) Caseworker.  VR will be a resource for the student/family from the transition from being a college student to joining the workforce.  There are other resources we can provide to the student/family that will help with the transition from college.  

Internship II (Dr. Manning):   Unfortunately, with the students not being able to continue their internships here at UCM, we will be using YouTube videos to help with researching the student’s career path, interest, soft skills, and career skills that the student will need.

The students’ have been contacting their UCM supervisors to tell them to thank you for the experiences that they received during their internships.  Further, the students’ need to be asking for reference letters to continue building their professional portfolios.  

PLATO (Mrs. Southard): All students had new April assessments. Students completed them on time. She has stressed several times the importance of completing all work on time. It will be easy to get behind. 

THRIVE Activities:

This weekend students moved home for Spring Break.  Have a great week everyone. I’m going to pull some activities that students have posted instead of Mentor Activities.  Here are just a few from our THRIVE Facebook page. Please go to Facebook to see all the great activities that our students are doing.  Great job of staying active in this stay at home environment.

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.

"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."