​Congratulations to Jayonna Taylor, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Muncie Youth of the Year! Jayonna is a sophomore at Muncie Central, a member of the Upward Bound program, the president of the BGCM Keystone program, and a wonderful young woman. Tonight in her acceptance speech she spoke about how her mentor, Miss Gabbi, helps inspire her to work harder and gives her the tough love she needs. 

Upward Bound's connection to the Boys and Girls Club is strong. Both Miss Gabbi and Mr. Duane (our Project Coordinator and College Coach, respectively) work part-time at the Boys and Girls Club of Muncie. Further, the Boys and Girls Club was essential to helping us recruit new students during our first project year. This spirit of cooperation and collaboration has lead us to develop a more substantial partnership over time -- stay tuned for details on how the Boys and Girls Club and Upward Bound working together will positively impact Muncie students like Jayonna. 

In the meantime, congratulations Jayonna! We are so proud of you!

General Travel Rules:
 If you didn't turn in the permission slip on time, you don't get to go.
 Students will be on time and prepared to leave at the time of departure.
 Students will follow the instructions of UB staff at all times and will be respectful to our tour guides and attentive to anyone addressing the UB group.
 Upward Bound is NOT responsible for student valuables. Students must keep track of their own items and guard themselves as best they can against theft or loss.
 As representatives of the Upward Bound program, participants will adhere to our program’s values and expectations at all times. UB students are not cruel to each other and do not try to hurt or exclude each other. We are a family.
 At the end of each day, students will check the bus for trash or messes left behind and clean them up.
 Dishonesty (stealing, lying, etc.) will not be tolerated. Participants will treat others, as well as property, with respect. This includes property of the places we visit, the hotel, other guests, staff, and peers. Destruction of property will be the responsibility of the offending party and his/her family.
 Students must keep track of time and meet up with the group ON TIME whenever they are allowed to do things on their own or in small groups.

Hotel Rules:
 There will be no members of the opposite sex in any participants’ room AT ANY TIME.
 Students in same-sex relationships may not room with someone they are dating.
 There will be an announced curfew, and from that time until the announced time the next morning, students will be expected to stay in their assigned room.
 Students found outside their room after curfew for ANY reason other than a medical emergency will have their parents called immediately and have ALL privileges revoked for the remainder of the trip.
 Students may not leave the hotel without UB staff permission/supervision.
 Students may not charge anything to the room — including movies, games, room service, or long distance phone calls. We will speak to hotel staff to have these options removed if possible.
 Students will display appropriate behavior while visiting any hotel. Appropriate hotel behavior includes:
 No running in the hallways.
 No loud noises, yelling, or loud talking in the hallways and bedrooms, especially when people are trying to sleep.
 Student may congregate in two areas only, in the lobby or recreational facilities (like the pool and gym), and only before curfew. Students can’t hang out in others’ rooms. When hanging out in common areas, students must be respectful of guests and staff.
 Treat the hotel staff, including the maids, with respect. Do not leave disgusting messes in your room.

This itinerary is SUBJECT TO CHANGE before the trip dates, but should help students get a better idea of what they're competing for and help parents get a better idea of what students will be doing in Chicago. This trip is intended to be both educational and fun. Only the top 12 students (as chosen by our competition rules, listed in another post) will be eligible to go on this exciting trip.

Students who wish to go on the trip MUST turn in all paperwork on time and meet our eligibility requirements. They also MUST be able to arrive on time for departure and have a parent/family member able to pick them up on time when we return. Please look at arrival/departure dates/times to make sure this is something your family can arrange.  Pickup and dropoff will both occur in downtown Muncie at the Patterson building, but happen at times outside of those when the MITS bus usually runs -- this is why it's important to make sure you can arrange for someone to pickup and drop off your student.

Day 1 - Monday March 25
6:00am Departure from Ivy Tech C.C. Patterson Building (108 S Walnut St) (ET).
9:30am Arrival in Chicago (CT). Meet Tour Guide
at the Museum of Science and Industry.
10:30am Admission to the Museum of Science and
Industry, followed by lunch at the Museum.
3:00pm Guided tour of Chicago including Millennium Park, Buckingham Memorial Fountain, Lake Shore Drive, the Loop and much of Chicago's famous architecture.
4:30pm Check into your hotel:
Springhill Suites Chicago O'Hare [8101 W.
Higgins Rd., Chicago, IL (773) 867-0000]
5:30pm Dinner at Gino's Restaurant.
7:30pm View Chicago from atop 360, formerly the
John Hancock Center Observatory.
 
Day 2—Tuesday, March 26
7:30am Breakfast at your hotel.
9:30am Visit the Shedd Aquarium. View over 6,000
aquatic animals and walk the Oceanarium's Pacific Northwest coastal trail. See beluga whales, dolphins, sea otters and seals.
12pm Time for lunch ($10 cash will be provided).
1:30pm Visit the Field Museum of Natural History.
Trace the history of the universe at one of
the world's greatest museums.
5:00pm Dinner at Bubba Gump Shrimp Company at
Navy Pier.
6:30pm Time to visit Navy Pier, one admission ticket
included.
 
Day 3—Wednesday March 27
8:00am Breakfast at your hotel and check out.
10:00am Visit the Lincoln Park Zoo.
Time for lunch ($10 cash will be provided).
2:00pm Visit and tour the University of Chicago
(pending schedule availability).
3:30pm Activity TBD—We are currently trying to schedule a visit to a tech company or startup in Chicago.
5:00pm Time for dinner ($15 cash will be provided).
6:00pm Depart for home (CT).
11:00pm Approximate arrival back at Patterson Building in Muncie (ET).
 

Chicago Trip Competition
All Upward Bound students may compete for one of 12 spots on our Chicago Merit Trip during Spring Break. The trip will be themed around math, science, and technology — but will also include lots of fun, tourist-y things.
The trip is scheduled to take place Monday, March 25 - Wednesday, March 27.
 
To be eligible:

• Students must come to at least 5 UB events per month starting in November 2018.
  • Tutoring, workshops, and field trips all count.
• Students cannot have any F’s on their end-of-semester report card in December 2018.
• Students cannot have any D’s or F’s at the spring grade check deadline of Feb 28, in any class.

To win:

• The top 12 eligible Math/Science students will be chosen based on their percentage grades in math/science classes.
• Students taking AP, Honors, or dual-credit courses will be given a 5% boost per advanced class, due to the difficulty of their classes.
• Students who attend more than 10 UB events per month (Jan/Feb) will also be given a 5% boost, due to their commitment to Upward Bound.

The Ivy Tech Community College Upward Bound program has won an additional $39,985 grant for the 2018-2019 year to give our students learning opportunities in math and computer science.
To do this, we are partnering with Ball State’s Center for Information and Communication Sciences (CICS), and its Center for Emerging Media, Design, and Development (EMDD).
What does this mean for me?

• CS Workshops: Upward Bound will begin offering Computer Science workshops and field trips in November of 2018 and continue offering them through the end of the school year.
  • Technology is important for ALL students these days, so all students are expected to attend these, even if they don’t plan to pursue a career in tech.
• Chicago Spring Break Merit Trip: Students will have the opportunity to compete for one of 12 spots on our Spring Break trip to Chicago, which will be computer-science themed — but will also include lots of fun Chicago destinations and great local food.
• Summer Tech Classes: EMDD and CICS will be teaching weekly tech classes as part of our Summer Academy, and students will get to choose between two areas of interest:
  • UX Design and Development
  • Emerging Media and Storytelling
• End-of-Summer Merit Trip to Washington, DC: Students who participate in the full summer program can earn a spot on our end-of-summer merit trip through their grades, attendance, and behavior.