Wellness For Educators At MacArthur Middle School

As educators, we all know that it is our duty to be a consistent, supportive, and caring presence in the lives of our students. Our young people come to us having experienced or experiencing trauma, needing structure and positive reinforcement, and reaching out for people to help them grow into mentally and physically strong adolescents. Though this is 100% true, we sometimes forget that we have c

olleagues right next to us that have similar needs and also need support.  Furthermore, studies have shown that people who work with others who have experienced trauma suffer from secondary trauma. With this in mind, Mr. Musselman and Ms. Weiss created the MacArthur Middle School Staff Wellness Board that gives weekly tips and tricks on how to become more mindful people that have access to more information on how to be mentally strong and physically and emotionally healthy. 

Next to our staff sign in sheets, we placed a white board that we update each week to include an idea or strategy to assist our staff to live a healthier lives.

For example, in Week 1 our board read, "We all know how to budget our money but have you ever considered budgeting your meals? Pull up the Notes section in your phone and write down what you eat for each meal for two weeks. Take a look at it and study your habits. Where can you substitute a healthy meal for an unhealthy one? What day of the week do you tend to cheat on? Could you prepare extra food the night before so you have leftovers and don't have to eat out?" During Week 2 our tip was, "Take 5 minutes to decompress every day! Even if that means sitting in your car before or after work or before you walk into your home. Take 5 minutes where you aren't looking at your phone or doing anything else. Breathe, look at nature, be grateful. 5 minutes every day." 

These strategies do not require staff members to carve out time in their already busy schedules for another initiative, to go to the gym, or attend meetings. They are simple suggestions that they can use to better themselves each week.