Welcome back to a new school year! I hope you all had a restful and rejuvenating summer break. As we embark on another year of learning, growth, and community, I want to extend my heartfelt gratitude for the incredible work you do each day. our dedication to nurturing and education our students is truly inspiring.

As the wellness coordinator, my mission is to support your well-being and ensure you have the resources and tools necessary to thrive both personally and professionally. This year, we have several exciting initiatives and programs designed to promote a healthy, balanced lifestyle for our entire school community.

1. Employee Wellness Expo: We will be bringing back the health fair where you can get you annual lab work drawn, accomplish some yearly screenings, and learn about a ton of local wellness resources in Columbia! Mark your calendars for either November 1 or November 15!

2. Physical Wellness Programs: From various group fitness classes to more walking challenges, there will be numerous opportunities to stay active and connect with colleagues. In fact, see below for the first step challenge of the year!

3. Nutritional Guidance and Healthy Eating Initiatives: We will support local workshops and resources on maintaining a balanced diet, along with looking into holding fun activities like healthy cooking classes and nutrition challenges.

4. Mental Health Support: Access to counseling services through EAP, peer support groups, and mental health resources will be readily available to ensure you have the support you need.

5. Work-Life Balance Resources: Tips, workshops, and time management tools to help you maintain a healthy work-life balance, preventing burnout and promoting sustained energy and enthusiasm.

Your well-being is paramount to creating a positive and productive learning environment for our students. I encourage you to take advantage of these offerings and make self-care a priority. Remember, a healthy and happy educator is the cornerstone of student success!

Please feel free to reach out to me at any time with suggestions, questions or concerns. Together, we can make this school year not only successful but also fulfilling and enriching for everyone.

Thank you for your unwavering commitment and passion. Let's make this school year the best one yet!

Bridget Lolli

CPS School Wellness Coordinator

The Paris Olympics may be over, but why not continue with the momentum during our first employee step challenge! Can you handle the heat? Click here to join in our first step challenge of the year to: 👟 Race across the map and unlock motivational messages from Olympic athletes 🏆 Get moving to reach your Stick to It goal 🥇 Participate in special events & learn fun Olympic trivia in the challenge content. The challenge begins September 3 and will last for 3 weeks. By using the MoveSpring App, you will be able to connect a smart watch, phone, or manually enter your steps, aiming to get at least 8,000 steps a day. Good luck to all!

Showcasing CPS leaders and champions who personally model healthy behaviors and truly believe in creating opportunities for school employees to take better care of themselves!

Starting off the year, I want to give a quick shout out to ALL wellness champions. Being a wellness champion means your passion for well-being - no matter your fitness level, shape, or size - makes CPS a better place for your fellow employees. No matter who I showcase each month, know I appreciate each and everyone of you! Next month, I will start showcasing a specific employee's wellness efforts, so start the nominations!

If you want to nominate an employee to be spotlighted for their wellness efforts, fill out this short Google Survey.

What is August anxiety, the September scaries, autumn anxiety, or the end-of-summer blues? These are just all creative and catchy names for the same thing: when you're sad that summer is over.

So how can I beat the end-of-summer blues? Here are a few tips from Caitlin Harper on MyWellbeing that might help you get out of your post-summer funk.

Establish an end-of-summer tradition. There's nothing we can do to stop the passage of time. Instead of fighting the end of summer, lean into it!

Create autumn and winter versions of your favorite summertime activities. Part of what gives us August anxiety is the impending autumn and winter. So think of one or two activities you enjoy in the summer than can translate into a fall or winter activity...kind of like Christmas in July but reverse!

Set goals or intentions for the winter months. If you find yourself growing listless in the winter months, it can help to set goals or intentions to keep your energy up!

Create plans for the future or something to look forward to. Whether you plan something for the following summer or something in the dead of winter to look forward to, having something to look forward to can get you through hard times.

Prioritize self-care and be kind to yourself. In today's culture, we often feel the need to be productive and make the most of every moment. But it's ok to just...not. Be kind to yourself, take care of yourself, and give yourself some grace to just be!

Start off the school year right by using Headspace to establish healthy self-care habits. This is FREE to K-12 teachers and supporting staff when you use your CPS email. I highly encourage you to start using it and make it a part of your daily regimen!

As we dive into the new school year, it's the perfect time to inject some health and wellness into our daily routines. Meetings are an essential part of our work life, but they don't have to be sedentary or monotonous. Therefore, I propose we transform our gatherings into dynamic, engaging, and health-promoting experiences by adopting healthy meeting policies!

What do I mean by this? Simple changes like offering nutritious food and beverage options instead of candy bowls in the middle of a table or other sugary options, physical activity breaks at certain intervals to boost brain stimulation, or even scheduling a walking meeting if it's with a small group of people.

By implementing healthy meeting standards, we can create a supportive environment that cultivates a culture of health. To help your building get started, The National Alliance for Nutrition and Activity (NANA) created a toolkit that covers all the tips and tricks. So who is with me???

One fun way to motivate yourself throughout the year is to create a bucket list of items you want to accomplish with your students! Designed to infuse your classroom with enthusiasm and connection, the Teacher Bucket List offers a series of fun and stress-free challenges for educators to tackle throughout the year. Print the list I attached above or create one of your own to help kickstart your school year with positivity!

Employee Step Challenge: September 3, Join the first employee step challenge of the year to: Race across the map and unlock motivational messages from Olympic athletes. Get moving to reach your Stick to It goal. Participate in special events & learn fun Olympic trivia in the challenge content. Click here to join your fellow employees and get stepping!

Garden Club: Weekly on Tuesdays from 5:30pm-6:30pm. Interested in gardening, but have a busy schedule? Join CCUA for a drop-in garden club! Weekly on Tuesdays, our staff will be hosting flexible drop-in gardening time in the demonstration gardens at Columbia's Agriculture Park, 1769 West Ash St. Drop in and join to ask questions, gain hands-on experience, or just walk by and enjoy the park! No commitment required!

TeachWell: TeachWell is a text-based wellness program from the Missouri Department of Mental Health as a thank you to educators. This comprehensive program aims to support the mental health and well-being of educators, recognizing that their emotional and mental well-being directly impacts their ability to create a positive learning environment for students. TeachWell offers a series of courses addressing key topics such as preventing burnout, seeking help, the benefits of movement, managing depression and anxiety, and fostering resilience through self-care and team care. Sign up for free bite-size wellness exercises that come to you via email or directly to your mobile device.

Family Fun Fest: August 21, 6pm - 8pm @Albert-Oakland Park. Entertainment for the entire family that includes music, food trucks, live performances, art activities, hands-on learning, face painting, balloon art, and fun for all. This month, Family Fun Fest focuses on ways that kids and their families can take care of community, nature, and themselves in unexpected situations. We'll learn about safety, weather, and helping others.

Kaleidospoke Glow Bike Ride: August 24, 7pm - 10pm. Light up your bike and get ready to GLOW on the MKT Trail at the 10th Annual Kaleidospke! This non-competitive, family-friendly, supported, night time ride takes participants from Flat Branch Park to Twin Lakes Recreation Area and back for an approximately 8-mile round trip ride. Check out more information on Kaleidospoke Glow Bike Ride

Below are local gyms that offer educator discounts to CPS Staff. I am working to increase this list, so if you have a gym you would like me to reach out to, please let me know! To download the PDFs, you must open this newsletter in the internet browser by clicking "view in browser" at the top.

Employees who are benefit eligible (working 30 hours or more per week), their spouses, and children age 13 and over are eligible to receive services at the EAP free of charge.

For more information click on the brochure on the right, or to schedule an appointment, contact the EAP at 573-815-6034 or at eap@boone.health.

Boone Health Employee Assistance Program is located at 1605 E. Broadway, Boone Medical Plaza 2, Suite 200, Columbia, MO 65201.

This newsletter is brought to you in collaboration between the following CPS departments:

• Nutrition Services
• Occupational Health
• Physical and Health Education
• Psychological Services (Outreach Counseling & School Psychology)
• School Counseling
• School Nursing