Blog for Week 11/1

 

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.

Cold and Flu Season Is Just Around the corner…

We talked to the students last week about the colds and flu season.  We discussed hand-washing and the use of hand sanitizer to help keep healthy.  We will also be discussing the cleanliness of the dorm rooms and keeping their areas clean.  Last year we seemed to have a healthier bunch of students, which I believe is from us continually keeping our offices sanitized and the students doing a good job of keeping their areas clean, also.  The teachers discussed what it looks like to self-quarantine and what it means.  It doesn’t mean that the student has COVID.  We typically will ask students that are feeling sick or have a cough to stay in their dorm room.  They are still responsible for attending class but virtually through Google Meet.  This has helped keep our students from getting sick.  Then we also talk to their roommate and suitemates about cleaning rooms and not using their roommate or suitemates items.  If a student is sick the dining halls have an online system for them to use to get their meals brought to them.  We also have and will continue to talk to students that aren’t dressing for the weather…  I’ve still seen some students wearing shorts to class...

Possible Roommate Changes: This will happen the week after Thanksgiving break, for those wanting to change roommates.

Hello Families, last week we sent each of our students a Google Form to fill out.  At the end of the semester, all students on campus have the ability to change roommates.  So we have done the same for the last few years.  If students don’t want to change they don’t have to, they’ll tell us in this form.  If they do, we ask that they let us know their top 5 choices of roommates, then who they don’t want to roommate with.  Then the staff works hard to make all students happy, unfortunately, sometimes this doesn’t work out but we do our best.  We do tell them that many times it’s not the best decision to room with your best friend.  We’ve had students, over the years, try this and end up not being the best of friends.  We encourage you to discuss this.  We will let students know the week prior to Thanksgiving Break who they are rooming with if there is a change.  Then the week they get back from break THRIVE staff and other students will help make the moves so everyone is moved before they leave for Winter Break.

Thanksgiving Break (November 20- 28).  

Students will need to be out of the dorms by 6 pm on Friday the 19th.  Please make sure you have made arrangements for this to happen.  Students will receive a check-off sheet the week prior that they will typically have to leave taped to the door.  Here is a listing of things from previous years.  

• Close and Lock Window

• Remove all trash & recyclables to the appropriate place        

• Turn off lights

• Turn off alarms

• Close and lock bathroom door and room door 

I’d also suggest that students look at items that they won’t need over the Winter break and start to take some things home.  We will have a Room check the weekend prior to help ensure the rooms were clean the weekend before they leave, we will also remind the students that they need to leave their room very clean and organized when they leave.  We encourage families to make sure and look to see what they could take home on Thanksgiving break to help with this.

First-Year Students:

FIrst-Year Students Finals Week is November 29-3rd, the first-year students leave a week early during this first semester.  They will need to be out of the dorms by 6 pm on Friday the 3rd of December...  During this week the first-year students will have their finals for this semester and they will be able to leave after their last final.  There will also be a check-off sheet that the students will need to make sure of and do before they leave for Winter Break.  

University Foundations: Debra Southard  Discussion this week centered around finishing the semester.  We had a conversation about the use of the office of accessibility and how students will utilize those services next semester. All students were encouraged to make an appointment in the writing center. We took a tour of that area at the beginning of the semester. I want students to learn to reach out of other sources on campus for help. Students were assigned several small writing assignments.  

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

This week has been all about health and nutrition. We talked about the importance of personal hygiene in fending off illnesses, acne, and skin issues. Students learned about MyPlate.gov and took a quiz on the site to see if they have healthy eating habits. They learned how to read food labels and the difference between processed and unprocessed foods. Students were surprised to learn that healthy foods can be made unhealthy simply by how they are prepared. 

Technology Literacy:  Lisa Garnier

Students are continuing work on their iMovie book trailers. They are making progress and learning a lot about working in teams and sharing responsibilities. Most of them have a solid plan and many have begun filming scenes and choosing images to include in their movie trailers. 

Career Exploration: Michael Brunkhorst

This past week the students finished up on the work experiences section of their resumes.  This coming week they will be working on including their educational information as well as activities that they were in during high school or before THRIVE.  I’ve asked students to continue to use their resources… parents, and families to help them remember some of the information.  Please contact them if they haven’t to help them get all their activities on their resume.  We should be doing their final draft over Thanksgiving break and the students will be asked to turn in their final copy for part of their final.

A few pictures from our student's bowling class last week…

Second-Year Students:

2nd-Year Students Finals Week:

Finals week for our 2nd-year students is Monday, December 6th through Friday, December 10th.  The students will be able to leave after their last final, as they don’t have regular classes this week, it’s just finals.  You’ll want to get with your students to see when this might be.  We do encourage the students to leave once their last final is completed unless they have made arrangements with Dr. Manning to work at their internship during this time.  By having the students leave as soon as they are finished with finals, the rest of the students have more quiet time to continue to study with fewer distractions.  Students will need to be out of the dorms by 6 pm on Friday, December 10th.   

Transition Planning I: Gary Manning

We finished Habit 6 (Synergy).  During our discussions, we talked about how we need to cooperate with each other and listen to each other.  This can be difficult at times especially when we get frustrated with each other.  

The students worked on Math skills during class.  Within these lessons, we discuss money/budget and decision-making.  We use real-life examples in spending money.  

Internship I: Gary Manning

The past couple of weeks the students have had to make decisions on their internship for the spring semester.  This can be a difficult decision to make.  I have suggested to the students to make sure they discuss these decisions with their families.  I have finalized most internships for the spring semester but am still working on a couple of the internships.  

Plato: Debra Southard

Most students had completed a health topic. They switched to academic success. So students need to complete 1 hour of each topic a week. Writing, math, reading, academic success, and the topic they selected earlier. Students are to take their time answering the questions. Plato’s purpose is for students to continue to work on their basic skills with the possibility of increasing their grade level. Plato is considered a class. Students can complete plato and should be encouraged to complete plato every day. It should be worked into their daily schedule. 

THRIVE Activities:

Mentor Activities: This last Saturday night the students had a movie night, Space Jam: A New Legacy was playing at UCM Union Cinema.  It looks a few of our students showed up to watch and join in the fun.

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

Important upcoming dates: 

Next Mentor Activity:  

This coming week, Katie is going to have a cooking activity, Burritos, and rice.  

Tonight’s Reminder:  Housing Informational Virtual Meeting for 3rd & 4th Year families:

The Housing information meeting has been set for November 8th from 6-7. I shared the link last week with families that had contacted me..  If you have questions please let me know.  If you want to be included also, please email me and I’ll send you the link.

Thanksgiving Break (November 20- 28).  

Students will need to be out of the dorms by 6 pm on Friday the 19th.  Please make sure you have made arrangements for this to happen.  Students will receive a check-off sheet the week prior that they will typically have to leave taped to the door.  Here is a listing of things from previous years.  

• Close and Lock Window

• Remove all trash & recyclables to the appropriate place        

• Turn off lights

• Turn off alarms

• Close and lock bathroom door and room door 

I’d also suggest that students look at items that they won’t need over the Winter break and start to take some things home.  We will have a Room check the weekend prior to help ensure the rooms were clean the weekend before they leave, we will also remind the students that they need to leave their room very clean and organized when they leave.  We encourage families to make sure and look to see what they could take home on Thanksgiving break to help with this.

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."