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Staying on Top of Staff Morale
Being an administrator comes with many of its own unique duties and responsibilities. One of which usually includes monitoring staff and ensuring the employee climate stays positive. If you are in charge of this task, you know firsthand it can feel a tad overwhelming. But even though it can feel a bit tricky to juggle at times, staying on top of staff morale is SO worth it. When you work hard to focus on boosting motivation and morale in your school, you can look forward to:
- better relationships
- better work ethic
- more positive staff meetings
- a sense of community among staff
- happier students and families and so much more!
There's no end to the value of taking care of your staff and focusing on team building. This is especially true during busy months like September. So whether you start the school year in August or in September, making staff morale a priority this month will go a long way. Here are 5 ways you can stay on top of staff morale in September!
1. Back to School Scratch-Offs
Have you tried using scratch-offs in your staff meetings yet? If not, you're in for a major treat! The idea behind this staff morale resource is a bit like those lottery tickets you can get at the gas station. You'll pass out cards that are pre-filled with prizes and covered with scratch-off paint or stickers. Then, staff will get to scratch off their ticket to reveal a fun prize. And don't worry, you don't have to spend tons of money on the prizes for them to be fun!
My Back to School Scratch-Offs feature prizes like class coverage, copies made for the week, an impromptu jeans day, and prime parking. You can pick and choose the prizes that work best for your group and print them off accordingly. I think it's fun to pass out a single ticket to everyone, but you can also use these as a prize for other games and team-building activities you might be using during your meetings. There are also blank tickets that you can fill out yourself for other types of prizes as well. For more fun prize ideas, be sure to read this post next!
2. September Staff Morale Photo Scavenger Hunt
Speaking of team-building games for your staff meetings, I've got a really fun one for you to try! This Staff Morale Photo Scavenger Hunt is fun and easy to play at your September meeting and will have everyone eager to participate! To play, you'll choose from a list of 45 different prompts for pictures to search for in phone photo libraries. This resource comes with 3 different categories including Teacher Life, My Work Family, and Work-Life Balance.
After you select the categories and slides to use, you will display them one at a time on a SmartBoard during your staff meeting. You can also print the cards off to be used like task cards instead of displaying them digitally. Staff will have to search their own personal phone photo library to see if they can find a photo to fit the prompt. If they can, they mark it down on their sheet. If they can't they have to move on to the next prompt. When all the slides are gone through, you'll be able to award prizes to winners who were able to "find" the most photos! This is a fun game to play in teams and really helps your staff get to know each other well.
3. Breakfast Cart
Is there anything better than having breakfast prepared or picked up for you? I don't think so, which is why I recommend using a Staff Breakfast Cart in your September staff morale activities! When teachers and other staff members are feeling a bit run-ragged from back-to-school festivities, they will be so happy to see a delicious cart filled with goodies waiting for them! If you don't have a cart, this is a great purchase and you will get a ton of use out of it. Check out this one as it will definitely do the trick!
At my school, I used the resources in this packet to simplify this process. We used it monthly each year, so I liked to laminate the signs for future use. This resource will last you well beyond September! Inside you'll find sign-up sheets for 9 months. The idea is that every month a different staff team hosts the breakfast cart. This is a great way to show staff appreciation for each other, build a sense of community, and work in some time to socialize with colleagues.
You may also decide to use Sunshine Committee funds or admin funds to organize it for the first month. This is an especially great idea for September when administrators are looking to show appreciation to staff. Then, every following month, another staff team can host. A monthly breakfast cart will absolutely make staff feel valued and appreciated during the busy month of September and beyond!
4. Sunshine Post-it Notes
Looking for a simple way to spread a little sunshine during September? Try these post-it
note messages, which are designed to make your staff feel valued and appreciated! This resource includes printing instructions and templates so that you can print off these fun little notes for your staff. Each one has a cute phrase and image. There are 18 total messages to choose from, making this a great option to personalize the messages for specific staff members.
note messages, which are designed to make your staff feel valued and appreciated! This resource includes printing instructions and templates so that you can print off these fun little notes for your staff. Each one has a cute phrase and image. There are 18 total messages to choose from, making this a great option to personalize the messages for specific staff members.
To use, simply print them off, add a personal note if desired, and leave them in mailboxes, on desks, or car windows. I know your staff will LOVE beginning or ending their day with a personalized note just for them! Each of these notes has a "sunshine" theme, making them perfect to use all year long!
5. Hop to It Scavenger Hunt
Alright friend, I've got one more fun September staff morale resource to share with you today! In this Hop to It Scavenger Hunt, staff members will scour the school for small, plastic frogs that have been marked with numbers 1-100 and hidden. At the end of the day, you will all meet up and take stock of which frogs have been found. Then, you'll draw numbers from a hat, and the staff member with the frog with the corresponding number wins a prize!
This is a fun activity, especially if you get creative with how you hide the frogs throughout your school. I liked to place some in obvious areas, and others in no-so-obvious areas. You can find plastic frogs frequently at the dollar store, or on Amazon. If you choose to incorporate this activity, you'll also want to consider what prizes to include. These can be low-cost items like packs of pens, candies, gum, or scratch-offs, as well as larger items like gift cards. The best part about this game is that it's easily adjustable to your school, and your staff morale budget!
September Staff Morale BUNDLE
Looking for a way to take some of the stress off your plate when it comes to planning staff morale activities for September and beyond? If so, I know you'll love my resource bundle options! You can find all of the September Staff Morale Resources mentioned here in the September bundle. You get all 5 activities, so you don't have to worry about planning and can instead just print and go! This bundle will make it super simple to ensure you have some fun staff morale activities ready to go in September.
And if you'd prefer to be prepared for the whole year, I've got good news! I've bundled together 60 different resources perfect for motivating your staff all year long! Each month includes 5 different resources that align with the month, season, and holidays. This huge bundle will remove all of the stress from planning staff motivational activities and put the fun back into showing your staff how much you care! Check out the Full Year Staff Morale Bundle to get ahead on your planning so you can sit back and enjoy these activities with your staff each month.
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