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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.  Please refer to the THRIVE activity calendar or UCM activity calendar to keep updated on what's coming up.  Also, if you want to learn more about assistance with your son/daughter learning how to drive please contact Mr. Brunkhorst.  

Director Notes: 

Well, it looks like winter decided to come back last week. First-year students will also discuss and prepare for their first job shadow. These job shadows help them determine what internships they would like to do next year. We look forward to some great conversations over the next few weeks.

Spring Break-Coming up March 8-16.  Students will need to leave the dorms by 6 pm on March 7th.  I’ve asked that the students get with their families to see about picking them up.  First-year students should be finished with their classes by 3 pm.  If they have their CIT meetings they will need to get with their counselor.  The Second-& Third-year students will need to look at their internships for that week as well as classes.  If you have further questions please get with Mrs. Southard, Dr. Manning, or Mrs. Garnier.  I will be sending out a Google form this Friday for them to fill out so we know when they are leaving.  If your student doesn’t contact you by Wednesday please give them a call and talk about this with them.

Students will also consider what classes they would like to take. They will be asked to choose their top five classes. Then, staff will look at what fits into their schedule and discuss it with the students over the next few weeks.

Families we also need your help with next year.  If you haven’t sent me a letter of intent, please have your student do so.  This will help us get ready for next year.  Also, the students will need to fill out the Housing Agreement for next Fall.  It’s in their MyCentral.  If you want us to help them please email us and we can work with them.  

First-Year Students:

Foods & Nutrition I: Debra Southard  

Monday we finished making Monkey Bread. It would be beneficial for students to review the steps of the recipe before they have the laboratory experience. We do go over the steps. But I have seen a few that did not understand what we were doing. But I understand it was their first time in the kitchens. They are learning and will get better. Next, we will be making omelets. 

Here is a picture of the students making Monkey bread…

Workplace & Community Skills: Gary Manning & Mrs. Southard

The topics this week were the differences between feedback, criticism, and praise. We also discussed some possible scenarios at work and how to handle them. 

Students will do their job shadowing next week. Then the students will be asked to write two paragraphs about their experiences. Students will also have to write a thank you note to the person they job shadowed.

Daily & Independent Living Skills (DILS):  Joni Shelton

This week we continued our NearPod lesson series with  Creative Problem Solving. These online lessons provide information and a chance for students to self-reflect, share in pairs, and share with the class their thoughts in each area. We will finish this series of NearPod lessons next week, with an accumulative group assignment.

Second-Year Students:

Transition Planning II: Gary Manning

We continue to discuss budgets.  Comparing their revenue to their expenses.   

We continue to discuss working with Vocational Rehab and other agencies to help find jobs/summer jobs.  Further, we continue to discuss the next process/challenge in their lives with graduation coming up in May.

Internship I: Gary Manning

The students are updating their resumes and working with the UCM Career Service Office on their resumes this week and next week.

The students will begin utilizing the resources at the Career Service Office.  Those resources include interview skills, resume building, mock interviews, and professional dress attire.

Personal Finance I:  Lisa Garnier

Students learned how to budget for housing, food, and transportation. A big part of these lessons was understanding the different items that fall into these categories. For example, learning that housing encompasses rent, utilities, and renter insurance, to name a few. Food includes dining out and groceries as separate items, and transportation can range from a bus pass to a car payment, car maintenance, and gas.

Third-Year Students:

Transition Planning IV: Lisa Garnier

We reviewed what is included in housing, food, and transportation budgeting. Students learned how much parents are spending on the students' food and housing. This is always an eye-opener, especially when they learn that the rent for their rooms on campus is less than the average rent in the “real” world.

Internship IV: Lisa Garnier

Everything is going well. 

THRIVE Activities:

Men’s 5 on 5 Game…

Pickleball…

I didn’t get one of the Pickleball games.

Mentor Activities: 

Here are the upcoming activities that the mentors will be doing…  

The students played basketball with Jamee at the Rec Center.

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

Important upcoming dates:   

Next year’s Interviews are coming up in February- Students will have online or group work for their THRIVE classes so that the team can be involved in the interviews.

THRIVE Scholarships should be up and ready for you to apply for.

Next Mentor Activity:  

Here are some pictures from the SCEC group's Valentine’s party they gave to our students…

Next week Kaylee will have another activity. 

UCM Athletics:

Basketball is in full swing with both Mules and Jennies playing games on Thursdays and Saturdays.  Baseball also started in the last few weeks, so more activities for the students to get involved in.

"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."