BLog 2/16
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:
Update on Graduation for this year’s 2nd-year graduation/celebration:
In the coming months I’ll have emails to the families of 2nd-year students but I did want to share the times of graduation and our THRIVE Celebration. The students will graduate with the College of Education’s program in the afternoon at 2 pm, on May 9th.. Since the students will walk in the afternoon, we’ll have their celebration in the morning. The THRIVE celebration is where we’ll give the students a Certificate of Success. This will be from 10 -11 am on May 9th. This should give time for families to go grab a bite and then be at the Multi-Purpose building around 1:30 pm. Again, I’ll have more information going out to the families in the coming month.
Update on Scholarships:
We have worked with the students’ MyCentral to make sure that they have “Opted In” for scholarships. This should enable them to automatically be put into our THRIVE scholarships. However, to increase their chances of getting one of our needs-based scholarships, please make sure you work with them to fill in the new essay component that helps explain how they are financing their education. We will rely on this information to help us know who needs the scholarship and how much? We have experienced a drop in one of our main donors, so the following years, we may not have as much money to send our students. You will also notice that some of the scholarships are for 1st-2nd year students and some are for 3rd/4th year students. We did this to try to even out the available scholarships for each group. Please make sure your son/daughter works with you on the essay component to ensure all information is there. Plus, there is a word count on the essay, so please make sure it has enough information… Thank you and good luck to everyone.
Job Shadow coming up for First-Year students:
First-Year students will also be getting ready for their first job shadow soon. This will give them some ideas as to what the job is like and help them find out what internship possibilities they might have.
Rec Center Activities:
We have the sign up sheets for the Rec Center activities in the THRIVE Lobby… Basketball started last week, we’ll hope to have pictures…We just sent in our two Cornhole participants this morning. We are down to Softball and Badminton that are due in the coming weeks.
First-Year Students:
The Collegiate Choir sang the national anthem at Thursday night’s game…
Foods & Nutrition I: Joni Shelton
Students had their 1st cooking labs this week, where they demonstrated their measuring techniques by making blueberry muffins. They also continued their measurement skills by watching videos on proper measuring techniques, viewing a presentation about equivalents, and completing a Measuring assignment.
Wow, blueberry muffins… I didn’t see anything come my way… they look yummy.
Workplace & Community Skills: Gary Manning & Mrs. Shetton
Job skills were discussed, and an individual's body language on how other people perceive that body language. We are also in the process of setting up job shadows for the students. They have submitted five locations where they may want to job shadow.
We also started to look at 5 elective classes for the Fall 2026 semester. Please have a conversation with your student about what classes they are thinking about.
Daily & Independent Living Skills (DILS): Mrs. Swainston
This week students learned about a variety of contraceptive devices and the pros and cons of them. Students filled out charts that discussed what type of method it was (barrier or chemical), Advantages and disadvantages of each method, whether it required a prescription or was available over the counter. Students were shown educational displays that demonstrated how to properly use internal protection devices. It was a bit uncomfortable for some students, but they are learning to handle uncomfortable conversations.
Someones working hard at the bench press…
Second-Year Students:
Transition Planning II: Gary Manning
This week the students are researching apartments within their home town. This has created some anxiety with some students. The students know that finding an apartment needs to be realistic and they cannot afford an apartment that may coast them over $1500/month. We also discussed having a roommate to split the cost.
Internship I: Gary Manning
We have been discussing certain body language you need to have in a professional setting compared to the body language you may have when you are at home or with your friends. We have also discussed observing social cues from other people and what those social cues may be.
The students also had to start researching jobs in their home area or if the student is thinking about coming back for a third year, the student had to research different internship locations.
Aleks at his internship at the game.
Personal Finance I: Lisa Garnier
Students have been learning about budgeting for transportation, food, and housing. They have learned about the costs of different types of transportation, such as buying a car, insurance, gas, and regular maintenance, as well as public transportation costs. We also discussed the difference in the cost of eating out vs. preparing meals at home. Students were surprised to learn that grocery stores use strategies like placing higher-priced, name-brand items at eye level on shelves to encourage customers to spend more. They learned to look higher and lower for better deals.
Third-Year Students:
Transition Planning IV: Lisa Garnier
This week, we worked on adding skills and internships to resumes and completing a generic cover letter. Then, we adapted the cover letter for specific summer internship opportunities.
Internship IV: Lisa Garnier
Students are working hard and doing well.
Fourth-Year Students:
Senior Portfolio II: Lisa Garnier
We didn’t have class this week as the instructor was out sick
Internship VI: Lisa Garnier
Students are hard at work and doing well!
Plato:
Students are continuing their PLATO work in Math, Language Arts, and Reading. We are seeing an improvement in the number of students who are completing their minutes on time each week.
THRIVE Activities:
Coed Basketball league starting up. Close game 55-57… We’ll get them next time.
Student CEC group gave a Valentine’s Day party…
Mentor Activities:
Here are the upcoming activities that the mentors will be doing…
Kickball with Jamee… well, it was supposed to be kickball. The rainy day made Jamee look for an indoor backup plan... It was Wicked at the movies in the Union...
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. Please also don’t forget to update your FAFSA early this year. There is a new scholarship setup. Staff helped students get started, but parents are encouraged to help with the financial need essay. This will help get scholarships out.
Next Mentor Activity:
Here are the upcoming activities that the mentors will be doing…
Movie night with Cooper…
UCM Athletics:
Basketball is in full swing with both Mules and Jennies playing games on Thursdays and Saturdays.
"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."
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