11/2 Blog Post

 

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:

Director Notes:

With two breaks coming up I wanted to give first-year families some information about leaving.  

For Thanksgiving break, the students should take their electronics with them when they leave with chargers.  They also will need to do the following: 

1. Empty all trash

2. Get any food that’s open out of their room.  

3. Turn off any alarms that they may have in their rooms

4. It’s a good time to take home any summer items.

For Winter Break:  

First-year students leave one week earlier than the rest of the students.  First-year students will need to be out of the dorms on December 4th, by 6 pm.  Their finals will be the week of November 30th - December 4th.  They will get a check-off sheet that will instruct them on what they need to have done before they leave and it generally needs to be checked off by an RA.  Here is a sample list, I’ll make sure the students have the updated list the week they get back from Thanksgiving.

1. All garbage from the room disposed of in the dumpster.

2. Room free of any other garbage swept, and cleaned the bathroom, also.

3. Clear the floor of all items not belonging there.

4. Unplug everything in their room, including power strips and extension cords

5. Unplug and leave the refrigerator open, placing a towel at the bottom of the refrigerator to catch any moisture.

6. Take home all perishable food items

7. Clean and store any dining ware

8. Close all windows and close all blinds.

This will give you some ideas on what will be needed during these times.  

University Foundations: Debra Southard  

Monday we practiced using google hangout while everyone was in the classroom. Dr. Chancler was holding classes on hangout due to the weather. We discussed dressing for the weather, textcaster, and being responsible to complete work on their own if we do not have face to face classes. Students were assigned outlining the chapter and shown a PowerPoint slide that would help them. Tuesday we did a google hangout from each student's dorm room. It went very well. We discussed practicing explaining, expanding, and elaborating on an assignment. Students were asked to explain what they want to achieve while in the THRIVE program. Friday students had a writing assignment in class. Students were given the questions ahead of time so they could practice.

All the students were working hard on a writing assignment.  They are learning to be more descriptive in their writing.

Daily & Independent Living Skills:  Lisa Garnier

It was nutrition week in DILS leading up to the Halloween weekend. Our information comes from the MyPlate.org nutritions website. We talked about portioning, the different food categories (Fruits, veggies, protein, grains, and dairy), and nutrition tips for men and women. The kids were excited to use the MyPlan calculator on the site to see what their calorie intake per day should be and see how much of each food category they need to stay within a healthy, nutritious caloric intake. We finished the week with how to eat healthy on a budget, meal planning for one, and what to have on hand in their dorm refrigerators to maintain top nutrition.

Technology Literacy:  Lisa Garnier

Tech lit was kind of quiet this week. The kids learned how to keep their laptops in the best condition by cleaning screens, keyboards, battery compartments, and vents regularly. We talked about the proper tools for this task (microfiber cloth, screen cleaner, soft brush, and an air tool or compressed air). Cleaning computers, iPads, and cell phones regularly are especially important during the pandemic.

Relationships 101: Debra Southard

 We discussed the high cost of having and caring for a baby. Students were surprised at the amount of equipment and supplies a baby needs. We talked in statistical percentages as “most likely to happen” when teens marry. 

Second-Year Students:

Director Notes:

With two breaks coming up I wanted to give Second-year families some information about leaving.  

For Thanksgiving break, the students should take their electronics with them when they leave with chargers.  They also will need to do the following: 

5. Empty all trash

6. Get any food that’s open out of their room.  

7. Turn off any alarms that they may have in their rooms

8. It’s a good time to take home any summer items.

For Winter Break:  

Second-year students have finals the week of December 7th - December 11th.  Second-year students will need to be out of the dorms on December 11th, by 6 pm.   They will get a check-off sheet that will instruct them on what they need to have done before they leave and it generally needs to be checked off by an RA.  Here is a sample list, I’ll make sure the students have the updated list the week they get back from Thanksgiving.

9. All garbage from the room disposed of in the dumpster.

10. Room free of any other garbage swept, and cleaned the bathroom, also.

11. Clear the floor of all items not belonging there.

12. Unplug everything in their room, including power strips and extension cords

13. Unplug and leave the refrigerator open, placing a towel at the bottom of the refrigerator to catch any moisture.

14. Take home all perishable food items

15. Clean and store any dining ware

16. Close all windows and close all blinds.

Transition Planning I: Gary Manning

We discussed The Relationship Bank Account (RBA).  We discussed how we should build positive relationships and what type of characteristics a positive relationship has.  Some of those characteristics are: keeping promises, small acts of kindness, being loyal (not gossipping), listening to each other, saying you are sorry, and having clear expectations of each other.  Next week we will start discussing Habit 4 (Think Win-Win).  

 

Taylor doing a bit of studying in the Union.  Great job, Taylor!!

Internship I: Gary Manning

This week the students started working on cover letters for their spring internships.  They are also working on updating their resumes.  We will be discussing job interview skills starting next week.  We will be doing mock interviews and the pros/cons of having a good interview.  

Plato: Debra Southard

Almost everyone had plato completed last week. Some students were asked to come to the THRIVE class early in the morning to work on Plato. Mrs. Southard has discussed how to prioritize their assignments in order to get Plato and other assignments completed as well. 

THRIVE Activities:

Mentor Activities: A trip to the Pumpkin Patch-

This weekend we took students to the Pumpkin Patch just North of Warrensburg.  I believe they were very tired when they left.  Here are a few pictures.  There are more on Facebook with a couple of videos, also.

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

Important upcoming dates:

The next Mentor Activity will be a cooking activity...Pizza anyone???

UCM Football is back!  We just learned that three MIAA teams will have 3 exhibition games in the month of November.  There will be limited seats available and for those that can’t come to the Burg, it will be televised.  I’ve shared the news on our THRIVE Facebook page.  The home game will be on Saturday, November 14th at 3 pm at Walton Stadium.  They will also tr4avel to Maryville on November 21st to take on Northwest Missouri State.  

"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."