Blog Posting for 10/11

 

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.

Fall Break information:

In a couple of weeks, I’ll have more information on the Fall (Thanksgiving) break and then Winter Break.  For now, I want to let you know that the dorms will close at 6 pm on Friday the 19th of November.  All Students will need to be picked up after their classes to be taken home for the week break, then on Sunday the 28th the dorms will open back up at noon to allow students to come back and get ready for the next week.  The students will get more information on things to do before leaving the week before.

Homecoming Weekend is here… October 23rd.

Homecoming weekend is here.  The students have had the opportunity to bowl, decorate their dorm room doors, participate in a blood drive, decorate the Spirit Window, Homecoming Carnival, Pep Rally, and also decorate and be in the Homecoming parade.  We encourage all students to be here this weekend and join in the festivities.  

Selection of classes:  Is this week.

Families, it's that time of the year already.  Your students will be looking at different classes that they could take for the Spring Semester.  We always suggest that you talk to your student at this time to see what they are thinking about and why?  In their Personal-Centered Plan Meetings, their teachers discuss what they are wanting to do in the future and how these classes fit into that plan.  If you have concerns please talk to your student about why they are choosing a particular class.  If you have concerns after this discussion please let their teacher know but remember that we do primarily go off of your student. We will be able to start enrolling our students in classes around the middle of October. 

Internships: Are being discussed.

Second-year students will be choosing new ideas for their Spring internships.  Then Dr. Manning will begin a discussion as to why and how this fits into their job/career interests.  Dr. Manning will then discuss options with potential supervisors on the availability of internships for these jobs.  The students should know their internship placements before they leave for Winter Break.

First-Year Students:

University Foundations: Debra Southard   

Monday students participated in an open house. We are talking about how to increase test scores.  Words like always, never or only the statement are likely to be wrong. We practiced taking a test. We read a test together as a class and discussed possible answers. Students are practicing their writing skills also. 

Individual & Family Health and Relationships:  Debra Southard & Lisa Garnier 

This week we talked about the high cost of having a baby and raising a child to age 18. The latest data indicates that raising a child from birth to age 18 costs approximately one-quarter of a million dollars, which came as a huge surprise to the class. Friday we talked about an infant/ child's needs. How to tell if a child is sick and just regular well-being. Students did pretty well on their midterm tests. 

Technology Literacy:  Lisa Garnier

Another week, another project in Technology Literacy. This week we are learning about the accessibility features on our phones. Students are reading about features that their phones have, either iPhone or Android, and writing a four-paragraph reflection paper discussing the 2 accessibility features they find most useful on their phones. This is always a fun assignment because they get to play with their phones in class and learn about cool tech features that can help them succeed in life. 

Career Exploration: Michael Brunkhorst

In last week's Career Exploration class, we went over their last Missouri Connections assessment.  It looks at what work values they like.  This helps them look at another aspect of work.  It’s not just all about the money.  To continue to maintain good employment we like for the students to look at what really matters to them.

Second-Year Students:

Transition Planning I: Gary Manning

In class, we are discussing Habit 3 - Put First Thing First.  We all procrastinate at times and then we fall behind in our work.  Once we fall behind we may get overwhelmed or very stressed.  Within this chapter, it helps us to decide on what we need to get done first and then go down the list to the least important items.  I have encouraged the students to use planners, lists and calendars to help them to be organized and responsible.  One of the biggest issues students have is peer pressure and wanting to hang out with friends instead of doing school work.  

Internship I: Gary Manning

We continue to stress job skills and being professional at your job.  The students are doing well in their skills.  One of the biggest items the students have problems with is using their phone at their job when they are not supposed to.  Students also get distracted and may socialize too much.  We talk about the difference between having good customer service skills and socializing too much with the customers.  

Plato: Debra Southard

Students worked hard on completing the assessment. Each student had an opportunity to select a topic of their choice. So Career's topic ended in Plato. It was replaced by a variety of topics offered. Some of the topics included: World History, Native American Studies, Physical Education, Life Science, Earth, and Space Science, and Business English. 

THRIVE Activities:

Lots of activities this past week.  

THRIVE Open House was held last Monday.  The students did a great job of introducing themselves and we had a great turnout for both sessions.

Mentor Activities: Last weekend the students enjoyed a Tailgate before the UCM Football game…

A little more painting on the Spirit Window for Homecoming… with Savanna, Katie, and Lucas…

This weekend the students…

Down Syndrome Walk at Arrowhead…with Savanna.

BonFire with Lucas...

Finishing touches on Spirit Window…

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

Important upcoming dates: 

Next Mentor Activity:  

This weekend is Homecoming and the mentors did such a great job of getting ready for this time.  Many hours of helping students decorate for the float, Spirit Window, and other events.  Great Job Savanna, Lucas, Paige, Katie, Hope, and Claire...

Homecoming Weekend:

The weekend of October 22-24th is Homecoming.  The THRIVE students will be in the parade Saturday morning and during the week there will be other activities that they can sign up for to keep them busy.  We hope to see you there.

Center for Human Services Virtual Meeting about possible financial assistance:

Just a reminder that families that want to learn more about agency assistance and how the Center for Human Services can help, there is a virtual meeting on Tuesday, October 19th from 6-7.  If you haven't received the link or want to be included please email Mr. Brunkhorst and he'll get you the link.

Housing Informational Virtual Meeting for 3rd & 4th Year families:

I am still needing families that want to join in our virtual meeting on Housing options for the 3rd & 4th year to email me their best times.  We are looking at the following dates between 5-8.  November 1, 4, 8, or 11th.  Please email Mr. Brunkhorst at mbrunkhorst@ucmo.edu .

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."