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Braving the Wilderness- Book Study (SAMPLE SURVEY)

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Braving the Wilderness- Book Study (SAMPLE SURVEY)

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In January our conference day's Keynote speaker is delivering the message on making connections, empowering educators, and establishing a belonging culture.  I felt that the book study invitation would be a great follow up to keep our momentum going.  (Invitation is below)

The purpose of this opportunity is to promote teacher and staff wellness.  The book study invitation will include why I choose to read this book and what I learned from it in a email to all staff.  This in attempt to make a personal connection to other staff.

Those interested in the book study would then be sent this survey that I attached as a link for you all to view.  It is intended to help me assess the self-awareness that the group brings with them.  This will help me lead the conversations as we move through the book.

Ultimately, after the book study this group could become a self-care affinity group.  I also hope to begin Onward in June for growth in Resiliency.

Thank you all for the great feedback this semester!  See you next time.

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Easily create surveys and polls to collect customer feedback, measure employee satisfaction, and organize team events.

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I would love to have morning check ins for Building B as we are somewhat isolated from the rest of the school. I feel like by meeting we can create a better sense of emotional support for one another and create a more team-like atmosphere that will have a positive impact on both teachers as well as students. If every morning is too much, we can do a weekly or bi-weekly check in to increase the communication between the staff in our building and help us all be on the same page keeping in mind the better we work as a team the greater impact this it will have on our students. "ONE BAND, ONE SOUND" is my vision with this.

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Starting On the Right Foot - Morning Meditation and Yoga

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Starting On the Right Foot - Morning Meditation and Yoga

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This survey and the resulting group (hopefully!) will serve as a starting point for growing the community and promoting wellness among staff in my school. By providing a consistent, welcoming space for mindfulness and self-care, I hope to support teachers and staff in managing stress and finding balance in and out of school. My biggest goal with this idea is to enhance staff well-being, which I believe is critical to creating a positive and supportive school culture. Additionally, the group may serve as a space where like-minded coworkers can connect over shared interests, deepening their relationships and friendships. Over time, I envision this effort complementing broader school-wide SEL initiatives by modeling the importance of self-awareness and emotional regulation which are key for both adults and students in our learning community.

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Starting On the Right Foot - Morning Meditation and Yoga

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Hi Team!
I’m excited about the idea of starting a Morning Meditation/Yoga Group at school to build community and support our well-being. This group would be open to everyone and flexible to fit your schedule - join as often as you’d like! To get started, I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Please take a few minutes to fill out this survey so I can shape the group to meet everyone’s interests and needs. I won’t share the results of this survey with anyone else, so please feel free to be open and honest with your responses :) Sending peace and love to all of you!

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I created this survey to provide an outside of school time and space to get faculty and staff out of their 'element' and have some fun. There have been a few social hours spread out throughout the year and each time it is widely attended. Everyone looks forward to the next event but often we wait months before another is scheduled. Based on the interest and suggestions of events we will schedule more activities through the school year. I believe this group will help us as educators leave that thought process of being martyrs and always working. The SEL initiatives for adults in the building is paramount in creating effective educators for our students.

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Please fill out the survey! Your feedback will help us plan social events that cater to your interests and preferences. The purpose of the survey is to identify those who are interested in meeting on a regular basis and participate in various activities. In the past, we have had events with great turnout with all looking forward to the next event. We know the follow through with being consistent has not occurred and we want to create opportunities to have fun and meet others in the building.

Thank you for participating!

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Please fill out the survey! Your feedback will help us plan social events that cater to your interests and preferences. The purpose of the survey is to identify those who are interested in meeting on a regular basis and participate in various activities.

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The climate at our school has been a bit tense at times lately and I think part of it stems from a sense of overwhelm from initiatives in the past few years, differing instructional philosophies as a result, and just being disconnected from those outside of our teams. I wanted to create an opportunity that would promote wellness, as well as provide a way for us to reconnect on a personal level that can also be aimed at discussions of educator wellness. In essence taking care of ourselves, while working to come together. I plan to send out this survey to all staff members that would like to join, there isn't a space capacity because we will be walking outdoors. I would imagine that if there is a big interest then small groups may form within the larger group as we walk but we can touch base and recap at the end of our route or brainstorm ways to regroup in a meaningful way afterward. Anyone who is interested will complete the survey and then once the information is gathered I will send out information to those who participated about the details of our first walk. I am hoping that moving forward this can be a wellness and self-care affinity group for the teachers, that will help improve the culture and climate of our staff by finding a way to feel more connected, trusting of one another, and available to be the best version of ourselves for our students.

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Hi Team! I feel so fortunate to work in the amazing community of dedicated educators and would love to have more opportunities to connect. For so many of us, we can go all week without seeing teachers on the other side of the building or only get an opportunity to give a “Hey! How’s it going?” in passing. I know that many of us have felt a shift in climate over the past few years and have been looking for a way to get reconnected. In addition to the wonderful people we work with, we are also so lucky to be located in a beautiful walking area that I know I at least could take greater advantage of. With that said, I would like to start a walk and talk group. The goal would be to help us reconnect, enjoy the beautiful community around us together, catch-up, and help us boost our climate back to where we would like it to be! Please take a moment to complete the short survey below if you would be interested! This is totally voluntary and is not meant to be “one more thing to do”, but the rather the opposite actually! ALL ARE WELCOME!!! Thank you! Looking forward to getting started :)

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I created this survey to try to bring staff together. We are in 2 separate buildings and hardly see each other. The East and West schools have become very divided. By creating these wellness groups, it will give us a chance to decompress and spend time with each other. We don't have staff meetings-our last time together as a group was at convocation in September. Teachers have taken to shutting their doors during the Wednesday afternoons and doing their own thing. I am hoping this brings us together.

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Hello East and West School! Because we are in 2 different buildings and we hardly see each other besides the parking lot, I thought it might be nice to reconnect! This survey is to promote staff wellness. The sessions would be held every other Wednesday during our Professional Development time. The purpose of these groups is to alleviate work related stress and connect with colleagues.

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The school currently names one Wednesday of the month “Wellness Wednesday” with no given guidance or resources. We are told we can do whatever we need to do in the confines of the school building. The school has a school climate team but there focus is more on the social aspect of wellness not the others. They focus on building staff relationships. The Members of this group will focus on the other contributing factors to overall Wellness. Wellness Wednesday Connoisseurs will meet after school once every two weeks face to face to put together and discuss Wellness resources to educate themselves on Wellness and find Wellness resources they can utilize. At the same time the will share out their findings to educate staff and make resources more accessible for staff.

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https://forms.office.com/r/2sUeYNeE3v

This survey was created by Autumn Caraglio and Ava Rowland to gauge interest and aid in the planning of a "Wellness Wednesday" group for staff at Mill Road School. The details of the group can be found within the survey, but basically it consists of “Choose-Your-Own Self-Care Adventure” meetings in which participants select one of the two offered self-care activities (these will come from feedback received in the survey). This will be provided monthly; however, if there is high demand, the frequency could be increased to weekly or bi-weekly.

Our school is a special education K-8 school for students with significant behavioral/social/emotional needs in addition to their disability (including but not limited to ADHD, Emotional Disability, Autism Spectrum Disorder, and Intellectual Disability). This creates an especially high-stress work environment for staff with high instances of secondary traumatic stress (STS). Our hope is that through regular meetings centered on self-care, staff will have the opportunity to combat toxic stress, reconnect with one another, and build community. This project also partners well with our current school-wide initiative centered on restorative practices and the use of nonviolent communication.

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This survey was created by Autumn Caraglio and Ava Rowland to gauge interest and aid in the planning of a "Wellness Wednesday" group for staff at Mill Road School. The details of the group can be found within the survey, but basically it consists of “Choose-Your-Own Self-Care Adventure” meetings in which participants select one of the two offered self-care activities (these will come from feedback received in the survey). This will be provided monthly; however, if there is high demand, the frequency could be increased to weekly or bi-weekly.

Our school is a special education K-8 school for students with significant behavioral/social/emotional needs in addition to their disability (including but not limited to ADHD, Emotional Disability, Autism Spectrum Disorder, and Intellectual Disability). This creates an especially high-stress work environment for staff with high instances of secondary traumatic stress (STS). Our hope is that through regular meetings centered on self-care, staff will have the opportunity to combat toxic stress, reconnect with one another, and build community. This project also partners well with our current school-wide initiative centered on restorative practices and the use of nonviolent communication.

Autumn and I hold two different positions within the building, so it was a great experience to work on this project and exchange ideas with each other.

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This wellness group survey will be used to measure interest and gather ideas about participating in a monthly wellness group activity. A group will be formed of interested staff members and we will decide how our gatherings will look based on the needs and desires of the group. The survey includes ten themes to consider as well as an option to add a different theme. This will allow the group to focus our time throughout the year, support collaboration, and build upon each others' strengths.

My school does not currently have any climate or staff wellness initiatives, nor do we have any wellness supports in place. Several years ago when we had monthly Wednesday afternoon choice groups, many staff members chose to stay in their rooms alone and complete work. Two years ago, school staff engaged in restorative circles every other week, but many people shared that the circles just felt like another initiative. My hope in providing this survey and forming this group is create a community focused on self-care, well-being, and resiliency. By giving the staff choice in what we activities we will do, when we will meet, and so on, hopefully we will grow as a collaborative community, supporting one another on our journeys for well-being.

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Hello Everyone! After hearing many staff members share that they were feeling tired and overwhelmed, and watching many amazing educators leave the profession due to burnout, I decided to embark upon a wellness journey several years ago and it changed my life. This year, I would like to invite you on a wellness journey through participation in a wellness group. This wellness group will be open to staff members with an interest in self-care, well-being, and resiliency. Taking time for ourselves and making space for others to heal will help us heal as individuals and become stronger as a group. All are welcome to participate -- we will make this group our own and grow together in wellness. Please complete the survey below to express your interest in this group. Share your own ideas in the optional comment space at the end of the survey. I will reach out to you about first steps once everyone has an opportunity to complete the survey.

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I’m excited about how this Wellness Wednesday survey and group could help achieve some larger goals in my work setting. Right now, teachers are feeling overwhelmed and stretched thin, so having a space to decompress, practice self-care, and connect with others could be a much-needed relief. I see this group not only as a way to support teacher and staff wellness but also as a stepping stone for bigger initiatives. For example, fostering open communication and collaboration in the group could encourage teachers to get more involved in decision-making, which often feels like "just one more thing." Over time, this could grow into school-wide SEL initiatives or even shape how we approach professional development, focusing more on emotional well-being alongside instructional needs. I’m looking forward to seeing how this could impact both individual teachers and the broader school culture in the future.

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Our school does not have a dedicated teachers space. I work in a school for students with high anxiety and school avoidance, and teachers must be at their best every day. It is exhausting, and as we grow teachers are struggling with the increased number of students and how mentally taxing it can be. A suggestion was made that there should be teachers' room where teachers can let down their walls and have a short respite from the stresses of the day. The Administration has an idea of what this space will look like but it will not be utilized if it is not giving what the teachers need. Knowing the Adminstration's ideas I have created a survey to gather what the teachers see this space as and if they will use it. There is also an additional idea to have wellness meetings on different topics in this space and we would like to see if the teachers would be interested in participating. Our goal is to prevent teacher burnout and teachers leaving the profession.

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Cultivating Mindful Qualities Community of Practice

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Cultivating Mindful Qualities Community of Practice

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Do you ever feel like the ups and downs of the classroom are taking a toll on your ability to be fully present at work or home? We are in a career of caring for and giving to others, which can take a toll on our physical and mental being. If you are interested in inviting more peace and productivity into your practice, considering joining the Cultivating Mindful Qualities Community of Practice.

Inspired by the district-level Cultivating Mindful Qualities for Responsivity and Equity community of practice led by Dr. Almut K. Zieher (Education Collaboratory at Yale Child Study Center), this school-based community of practice explores the nine qualities of: non-judgmental awareness, curiosity, active listening, empathy, perspective-taking, patience, openness to feedback, self-reflection, and a beginner's mind. Teachers who engage in the groups will be encouraged to reflect on classroom experiences, learn skills to foster responsivity and equity, and to share applied learning.

Having personally found better relationships with students, staff, community, and myself, I hope that this group will expose teachers to strategies that work. Many of my colleagues face health challenges that are exasperated by the every day job of being a teacher. Together, I believe we can make a healthier experience for us and the entire community.