5 Ways to Boost Staff Morale this Fall!

If you work as a school administrator, a parent volunteer, or a member of a school sunshine committee, you probably already know just how important staff morale is. Keeping staff morale high is crucial to creating a warm and welcoming school environment. Teachers and other school staff members work hard! Let's help them feel appreciated and boost staff morale this fall with some fun and fresh ideas!

Fall is a Great Time for a Staff Morale Boost 

Fall is a fun time in any school environment. Depending on when your school started for the year, the fall months of September, October, and November mean that students and staff have settled into a new routine. 

Once the hectic air of back-to-school season has left the building, fall feels like a warm and cozy hug for most of us! 

As a long-time chairperson of my school's sunshine committee, fall was one of my favorite months to embrace special activities and events to boost staff morale. 

There are so many great themes to play on in the fall, plus it's a good idea to build those staff relationships before the holiday season rolls around! Today I'm sharing some ideas that are great for any time of year, but they're especially suited to fall! 

So if you're looking for new ways to recognize staff in your school, here are 5 fun ideas to inspire you. 

1. Apple Buffet 

Nothing screams fall like all things apple in the Midwest! When I came up with the idea for an apple buffet, I was inspired by the local apple orchard just up the street from where I lived. If you've ever visited an apple orchard, you know there's a certain kind of "fall magic" that you can just feel in the air. The humble apple is a most prized fruit and is used to make all kinds of wonderful fall treats. 

Make the most of apple season in your area with an apple buffet for staff members! I did this by purchasing a variety of apples, and putting them out with all kinds of toppings. 

Some fun toppings include caramel sauce, chocolate sauce, crushed cookies, chopped nuts, and coconut. On the day of, simply set up a buffet table with paper plates, napkins, apple slicers, apples, and toppings. As staff pass the table, they can choose an apple, slice it, and dress it up! 

This resource includes announcement signs, decorative posters, sign-up sheets, ingredient labels, and reminder tags to make setup and planning a breeze. You can also decide if you'd like to run this as a potluck-style event or provide all of the ingredients yourself. Either way, this is a fun idea to celebrate autumn, and boost staff morale! 

2. Jeans Day Certificates 

As a teacher who worked in a school with a strict dress code, nothing was better than having a "Jeans Day"! 

And once fall rolls around, it's even better to be able to wear your coziest pair of jeans to school! 

Since I loved wearing jeans so much, and I knew my colleagues did too, using certificates for "Choose Your Own Jeans Day" was a total no-brainer. 

When I ran the sunshine committee, we used these certificates as a prize for staff meetings, to celebrate holidays, and more. 

School administrators loved handing these out when they observed great lessons being taught during observations as well! 

Everyone loved getting the option to wear jeans on any day of their choice, and it's a great inexpensive option to add to your list of ways to thank staff for their hard work. 

3. Soup Potluck 

Does your school have potlucks from time to time? We had them often, and while they were usually holiday-themed, my favorite was our annual Soup Potluck in the fall. Everyone loved not having to bring their lunch to school that day! Plus, what is more cozy and comforting than soup? 

To host a soup potluck, I put out sign-up sheets well in advance to make sure we had a nice variety available. On the day of, I set up enough tables to hold everything and provided power strips for everyone to plug in their slow cookers. In the morning, staff would come in and set up their pot along with little tags that said what kind they brought. 

When lunchtime rolled around, everyone was so excited to taste test different soups and enjoy them with bread or crackers. I love the sense of community that comes with potlucks! It's always fun to host this on a Friday, or the day after a big local football game was held. 

This resource helps make planning and executing a soup potluck fun and simple. Included, are announcements, sign-up sheets, a timeline for a successful soup day, reminders, room décor, and more!

4. Staff Appreciation Post-It Notes 

Over the years, I have discovered that one of the BEST ways to boost staff morale is through small tokens of appreciation. 

That's why I love these Post-it notes so much! They're simple and easy to use, and always leave a big impact. 

This resource comes with 18 different messages that will brighten any staff member's day. 

Simply choose your template, affix your post-its to it, and load them into the printer. 

Add a personal touch after printing and you're good to go! Then, pop these on your colleagues' desks, on a car window, on a wall, or in another spot you know they'll find it. 

These are a fun and easy way to show that you're thinking of them and that their hard work is appreciated! 

These are also nice to hand out (unfilled) to staff members so that they can recognize each other throughout the year. 

5. October Staff Boo

This last idea is perfect for the month of October, and SO much fun! This activity begins slowly and picks up speed as other staff members get involved. Start it at the beginning of the month for the most fun! 

To implement it, you will begin the chain by making 2 copies of the BOO sign included in this resource. 

You'll choose colleagues to BOO and pick up a special treat for them at a drive-through, or grocery store. 

Finally, you'll leave the signs and treats at their desk and place another sign on the door. 

When the staff member finds their sign and treat, they continue the chain by doing the same. The pace picks up as more and more staff are BOOed throughout the building! 

This is always a staff favorite and such a wonderful way to boost staff morale. This resource comes in handy when used alongside the Staff Favorites Book as well. That way everyone will have plenty of treat ideas to get for their colleagues!

Have Fun Boosting Staff Morale this Fall 

Which of these staff morale-boosting activities was your favorite? It's hard to choose, and the good news is that you don't have to! In fact, I have found that including lots of activities like these throughout the year is the best way to help ensure that staff know they're appreciated and keep morale high. Plus, activities like these make any school more fun to work at, which was always reason enough for me!

Have fun planning your own staff morale events and activities this fall! If you'd like to take a closer look at these resources, along with lots of others, you can check them out in my TPT shop!