Reasons to Celebrate
Jim Gorman's students present to the head of STEM at NASA
Last week, Jim Gorman brought a group of students to the Maine Space Conference where Jim participated in a panel discussion on implementing space education in high school classrooms and students presented their space projects at a symposium poster session where they presented to the head of NASA. Kudos to Jim for enabling this amazing Deeper Learning experience for these students. focusing on us
After 2 1/2 months in classrooms and supporting students, this time of year some of us feel a bit tapped out. We've done so much already: getting to know students and families, becoming familiar with new routines and curriculum resources, setting goals, open houses, conferences and more. Daily we are asked to solve all sorts of problems, facilitate conflict, be creative and all while we keep the trains running on time. It's a lot. And, because of the demands, our energy is often directed outward - focusing on the needs of others. However, because our profession requires that we bring our best selves to schools every day. In order to do that we need to focus on ourselves as much as our students. To help bring a focus to us, we'll use a portion of our weekly update to share ideas, strategies, or opportunities that might be help with self-care and turning our attention that we need in order to bring our best to our students and families. To start, take a look at these 3 opportunities offered by MPY:
Self-Compassion for Educators This on-demand video, provided by MPY starts by acknowledging that more than ever, educators are burned out and exhausted. In fact, a recent study found working in education to be as stressful as working in an emergency room! Take some time in this workshop to learn some basic self-care and self-compassion practices to restore your inspiration and love of teaching. Enhancing Personal Development Having a self-wish isn’t selfish! – Often in life, especially for educators, developing themselves does not get prioritized. Through this webinar series, you will assess your current “scores” in areas like self-care and time management. Inspired by this, you will then learn valuable methods to better live your best life, while still navigating your current responsibilities. This 5-part webinar series begins December 1st and is offered once a month from 9:30-11:30 am. Even if can't attend the live webinar, you can register and access the recordings because of your registrations. Self-Care for Educators in the Post-Pandemic Era: This 5-part webinar series, offered every other week aims to help enhance educators’ and clinicians’ well-being through the development of self-caring attitudes, actions, and acknowledgement of a communitarian-based perspective that should neither stigmatize nor leave anyone behind. In this 5-part series, participants will learn: 1) the foundational principles and science of self-care; 2) about their own embodied experiences that set the tone for both burnout risk and cultivation of more sustainable well-being; 3) how to broaden and build their internal resources to boost resilience; 4) application of practical and effective techniques for enhancing mind-body-relational wellness; and 5) how to integrate self-caring attitudes and actions into a sustainable lifestyle. The webinar series starts Friday, January 5th from 12:00-2:00 pm, and runs every other week. Register here. If you are interested in either of these programs, you need only create and MPY account (use these instructions) and registering on the website or using the links above. Even if you can't attend the webinar dates and time, registering will provide you access to recordings of the live sessions. District book Study
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