15 Ways to Support Staff Morale Over Summer Break

Summer break is a special time for those of us who have worked in the school system. It's part of what allows teachers, staff members, and administrators to recharge and reset for another great year of teaching, leading, and learning. Even when staff members are taking some time off, it continues to be a great time to boost morale, especially for those who crave it, while eliminating the pressure to participate for those who need to fully unplug. Here are some low-pressure ways to support staff morale over summer break!

Finding the Right Staff Morale Balance Over Summer 

We all know that summer vacation is super important in the education world. It offers a chance to breathe, recharge, and take a step away from the busy demands of school. It's also a great opportunity to build in some optional staff morale activities for those who want to build camaraderie and connect outside of the school walls. There's something that feels more relaxed in the summer months that allows staff members to bond differently. 

The important thing to remember is that not everyone will want to participate, and that's 100% OK! We simply want to present meaningful opportunities to connect without the pressure. The key is to create a space that respects boundaries and acknowledges we all recharge differently. 

Some staff members need to fully unplug, and others will want social interaction. When you keep this in mind and make your staff morale activities about optional, low-key ways to have fun over the summer, you will keep the team spirit alive without forcing it. Not to mention, I have always found that people often want to join in all on their own! 

So, let's dive into 15 low-pressure ways to support staff morale over the summer! 

1. Create a Private Chat or Facebook Group 

This is one of my favorite ideas on the list because it's SO easy to make happen! Set up a private FB group for your staff members and share the link via email during the first few weeks of summer. After the chaos of the final weeks in the classroom, your staff members will likely be ready to connect in a fun way! 

They can choose to join if they'd like, or not! Totally optional and leaves the ball in their court. It's fun to post a weekly thread in the group to keep the conversation going. I think you'll probably find that people chime in on their own, too! Soon you'll see vacation pictures, book recommendations, and other fun tidbits about teachers enjoying their summer. 

If you're looking for smaller groups for specific teams, consider an app like GroupMe. This is a private text messaging group that is a lot of fun for smaller groups of people to use. 

2. Start a Staff Morale Book Club 

Most teachers have a long list of books that they never get around to reading. Consider organizing a book club, or a few different ones, for your school. You can choose genres or themes for each one and set up a weekly meeting at a coffee shop or park to discuss. Virtual meet-ups are also a great option!

The key to making this one work is to take some votes on books of popular interest and the pace of reading to consider for your group. You can send out an email well before summer for this one, asking if anyone has an interest, what books they'd like to read, and how many they want to read through over the summer. This can be anything your staff wants it to be, so be sure to "read the room" and make a plan that works for your staff. 

And remember. . . this activity is about rest and recharge, not a summer PD book study.

3. Staff Happy Hour 

This is so much fun and one of the easiest ones on the whole list to organize! Plan to host a few virtual or in-person happy hours over the summer months. 

If you go virtual, you just need to set up the link and share the time in advance. Invite staff members to join if they'd like and bring their favorite beverage to enjoy as you chat!

For in-person events, choose a fun place to meet up and send out an invitation in advance. You can get as fancy as you want with this and plan to have something like a mocktail/cocktail recipe exchange, or keep it low-key with no agenda at all. Oh, and coffee shop happy hours in the morning are usually a hit too, so don't just limit this idea to the evening!

4. Walking Club 

Most teachers and school staff members are eager to get out and move more frequently when summer hits. Support those of your staff who enjoy chatting and walking with a weekly walking club meetup. Mornings at the park or high school track are a great choice, or host a mall walkers club if it's especially hot in your area. The idea is to promote low-impact fitness and connection to boost staff morale in a healthy way! 

5. Yoga in the Park 

Speaking of healthy activities, why not organize yoga in the park? This is especially fun if you have a couple of yogi-masters in your school who can lead the flow. If not, see if you can arrange to have a local instructor, or even good old YouTube, be your guide! This is a really fun activity that your staff members will remember!

6. Fishing Club 

Do you have any fishing enthusiasts in your school? If so, a fishing club could be a great way to encourage connection throughout the summer and continue to boost staff morale. Plan to keep this event relaxed and early in the mornings when fishing is best through the summer months. Take this up a notch by providing coffee and donuts for even more fun! 

7. Plan Summer Social Events 

One of my favorite ways to support staff morale over the summer is with a few strategic summer social events. These can be planned and budgeted for well in advance. Send out invites ahead of time and mix it up throughout the summer so that staff have many opportunities to attend. Plan a morning event one time, a lunchtime event another, evenings, weekends, and so on. Having some variation in the timing of your social events will help boost participation. Here are some ideas for events to host:

• BBQ 
• Picnic in the park 
• Potluck brunch 
• Escape room challenge 
• Mini golf night 
• Local sporting event
• Group volunteer day 

The idea is to make sure you give staff plenty of notice and keep the pressure low. Remember that many staff members are traveling over the summer months, so don't expect your whole crew to show up, but simply having it open to those who can and want to attend is a wonderful way to keep staff morale high. 

This is also a great way to let new staff members get to know the crew in a low-pressure way. So don't leave those new hires out of the action.

8. Plan a Summer Challenge 

Everyone likes a little friendly competition, and this idea will allow you to boost staff morale without having to have staff present in one place over the summer. Consider planning a few different challenges that staff can participate in. They'll keep track of a log over the summer, and then they can turn it in come fall to be entered into a raffle. You can even arrange a private chat group for these to keep motivation high. Some ideas include:

• fitness challenges
• step counting challenge 
• reading challenges 
• decluttering challenges
• self-care/recharge challenges 

All you'll need to do is decide what to challenge your staff with, and then create printable tracking pages to log progress. For reading challenges, they can keep track of books or pages read. For decluttering, maybe they have to write down 5 things per week that they purged from their household. For self-care, they can do something just for themselves once per week and write it down or fill in a square on a tracking coloring sheet. Have fun with this one!

9. Celebrate Summer Birthdays 

Do you have staff with summer birthdays? Consider hosting a group celebration to recognize them! You can plan a picnic at a local park or an ice cream social at a local shop. Send out invitations well in advance to allow time to get a head count.  

If a get-together doesn't seem feasible, simply send out cards or small gifts in the mail to those with summer birthdays. No matter what you choose, this will make your staff members with birthdays that fall in the summer feel remembered and appreciated!  

10. Send out Personalized Snail Mail 

Everyone loves getting mail, right?! I know that I do! It feels great to be remembered, and I know that your staff will love getting a personalized note or postcard over the summer. Make a checklist of all your staff and mail out a set number per week to ensure you have enough time to send everyone a card. 

These summer postcards are perfect for this. They are quick and easy to print and use. All you need to do is jot down a quick note, add a stamp, and send out the staff love.

11. Deliver Surprise Treats 

If you have some PTA volunteers, administrators, or sunshine committee members willing to help out, consider dropping off surprise treats like iced coffee or donuts to your staff members' homes. You can even drop off gift cards if you're not sure who is home and who's on vacation. This is a really thoughtful gesture that everyone will enjoy. 

12. Optional Staff Survey 

One great way to support staff morale is to get an idea of how your school is "showing up" and what can be improved. Organize an anonymous survey that can be completed over the summer as a way to collect feedback on how things are going. You might ask questions about staff meetings, communication, and how your administration can better support them. 

The key is to make sure you emphasize that these are optional, confidential, and meant to be supportive of staff. You might also consider sending out gift cards in exchange for feedback to help you plan what kinds of staff morale activities to include the following year. 

13. School Spruce Up Day 

Another fun idea to help staff connect with each other over the summer is to host an opportunity to tackle a big project together. This again should be optional! Possible ideas include things like:

• paint the staff lounge
• playground improvement 
• supply closet clean-outs 
• plant flowers in front of the school

Hosting events like this always brings staff together and helps build a sense of community in your building. Make sure to make this event feel like a party! Play fun music, have some food or treats for those who participate, and make this extra fun! 

14. Summer Photo Challenge 

This is another fun way to get staff connecting over the summer, without having to arrange in-person events. Choose a weekly or monthly prompt and have staff who would like to participate submit photos to a Facebook group or chat thread. Prompts could be things such as:

• favorite summer treat
• outdoor adventure
• summer sunset 
• book you're reading 
• something that made you smile 

Create a slideshow of these pictures to show off during your back to school staff meeting! You can even vote on the best picture of the challenge and award prizes to the winners. 

15. Just for Fun Staff BINGO 

Everyone loves a good game of BINGO, right?! I certainly think so! We play BINGO throughout the year as a form of staff morale, but have you ever considered playing it throughout the summer? You can make simple BINGO boards with just for fun prompts on them. Here are some ideas:

• watched a movie 
• read a new book 
• went swimming
• tried a new recipe 
• went to a farmers' market
• found a great deal 
• laughed until you cried 

You get the idea! These prompts should be FUN, low-pressure, and something everyone can enjoy. Encourage staff to fill in their BINGO boards over the summer and plan to bring them back in the fall to be entered into a raffle. I advise sending out a few, friendly reminders with the BINGO card attached to the email so that everyone remembers! This is a great way to support staff morale over the summer and is sure to be a hit! 

Have Fun with Summer Staff Morale at Your School!

I hope you found a fun idea or two to try with your staff members this summer! The key is to choose things that feel low-key and lighthearted! Make sure everyone knows these are optional and there's no pressure to participate. We want staff to feel relaxed over the summer and do what fills their cup! Whether that means connecting with others, prioritizing personal goals, or just unplugging, I hope you and your staff find ways to rest and recharge this summer!

Looking for More?

Be sure to read this post next if you're looking for summer staff morale projects to tackle over the summer. These ideas will ensure you're prepped and ready for the next school year! 

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Summer Staff Morale Shopping List

I was the leader of the Sunshine Committee in my school for many years. While much of the planning, preparing, and doing happened during the school year, I always liked to take advantage of the summer months to get ahead and stock up! This always made the staff morale events during the school year run a lot smoother. Come along to grab my summer staff morale shopping list that will make your faculty activities a breeze!

Why Summer Prep Will Be a Game-Changer for Staff Morale 

So, here's the thing. . . we know the importance of staff morale activities in a school environment, of course! Teaching is harder than ever, and every single faculty member in a school deserves to be recognized and appreciated for the important work they do. But if you're like most administrators or sunshine committee members, you're probably a little short on time, energy, and funding for these activities. I get it! This was totally me for many years! It can feel like a major struggle to pull together staff activities every month when you've got your own classroom responsibilities and a full-time job to manage at the same time. 

This, my friends, is why preparing for staff morale activities over the summer will be a total game-changer! Taking some time to sit down, map out your plans, and do a little prep is going to make everything fall into place later. With just a little bit of forethought and summer shopping, you'll finally have the time, energy, and mental capacity to truly enjoy staff morale activities all year long. By prepping for the first month back, you will always be at least one month ahead, giving you a little breathing room throughout the school year. 

Not to mention, summertime is a great time to catch a bunch of sales that will benefit you throughout the year. Between Amazon Prime Day in July and Back to School sales, you'll have plenty of opportunities to save! 

8 Ways to Prepare Staff Morale Activities Over the Summer 

Ready? Let's dive into the shopping list that will help you make staff morale easy to implement come fall. I've broken this summer staff morale shopping list into 8 different projects, or ways you can work on staff morale over the summer. That way, you can choose an idea that sounds fun to you and shop for those items specifically. I hope this makes summer shopping easier!

1. Stock the Lounge Fridge with Fun Beverages 

At my school, I loved setting up a well-stocked fridge for faculty members to enjoy as they get their classrooms and workspaces ready for the new year. In the summertime, keep an eye out for fun beverages like soda, sparkling water, flavored water, and plain water that go on sale. Many local grocery stores run great sales on these items near holiday weekends. Oh, and don't forget wholesale club stores too, like Costco or Sam's Club. 

As you stock up on drinks, why not prepare the fun materials that go along with them over the summer, too? Check out this resource to grab the printable signs and reminders to go along with your well-stocked fridge! 

2. Put Together Welcome Gift Bags for Staff

Another great way to show staff members that you care is with a small, yet meaningful gift to kick off the year. This doesn't have to be anything fancy, just thoughtful! I liked to use fun gift tags like these. They are bright and cheerful with a cute message on each one. All you need to do is print them off on white cardstock and then decide what to include in your welcome gift bags. 

The great thing about this is that they are fully customizable to any budget. Include practical things like the annual calendar and fall staff newsletter, but also some fun things like candy, snacks, and maybe even my personal favorite, Flair Pens. Then, put all your goodies in a gift bag and grab some colorful tissue paper. Attach a cute tag to the front and you're good to go! I know your staff members will feel so special when they receive these sweet little gifts! 

3. Make Sub Swag Bags

Speaking of gift bags, why not let your substitute teachers in on the fun?! We all know how hard it is to find quality substitute teachers, and I think one of the best ways to encourage them to come back to our school is by showing them they are part of the team too! That's why I created these Sub Swag Bags. If you have a little extra time to work on staff morale prep over the summer, I highly recommend getting these ready. You will feel like a total rockstar by having these prepped and ready to go! 

The resource includes printable thank you cards, gift tags, and a suggested shopping list to make putting these bags together a breeze. I recommend buying gift bags and tissue paper in bulk and printing off the gift tags and thank you cards over the summer. Then, you just need to decide what goodies to include to make these special!

A map of the school and staff handbook make great, practical additions. Don't forget to include some fun things, too, though! Snacks like chips, bite-sized candy bars, apples, or even freshly-baked cookies from the cafeteria are really fun. You might also consider ordering pens that say something like "There's no sub for a great sub!" or your school's name on them. Extra Gum is also fun since they are an extra special sub! 

4. Grab Materials for Postcards, Mirror Shoutouts & Staff Photobooths 

Summer is a great time to stock up on Astrobright paper and cardstock. I used this stuff for everything! This is a great time of year to stock up on colored paper, cardstock, and white cardstock. The white cardstock is perfect for sending out Staff Welcome Back Postcards over the summer. This little gesture means so much and really doesn't take long, so consider adding it to your summer prep list. I liked to buy it in a variety of seasonal colors to print out our Mirror Shoutouts, thank you notes, and other decorations so that each month felt fresh and fun. 

In my school, I used the mirror shoutouts as a way to leave encouraging, fun notes in the staff bathroom. They're also great for creating a photobooth, too! For this option, you will just use the printables inside the resource along with dowel rods to create cute little signs. Add some other fun props like hats, glasses, and scarves, if you wish. Then, hang a black tablecloth for a fun backdrop, and you're ready to go! 

5. Put Together Welcome Back Baskets for Team Restrooms 

Everyone loves to feel welcome, and setting up baskets of toiletries and supplies in each of the staff bathrooms is a great way to let the faculty know that you care. That's exactly the idea behind this Welcome Basket Resource. Inside, you get detailed instructions and a list of suggested items to build these baskets with items you find at the dollar store, such as:

• hand sanitizer
• lotion
• mouthwash
• bandaids
• stain remover wipes
• sewing kit
• dental floss

Really, you can include anything that you think could help a staff member out, just in case! I like to use baskets like these because they are cute and will hold up well. In the resource download, you will also find a variety of cute tags to decorate your baskets with. This resource will make to quick and easy and set up welcome baskets for the fall! 

6. Make a Sunshine Corner Hub

Does your school have a Sunshine Corner yet? If not, I highly recommend adding this to your list of things to prep and shop for over the summer months. The idea behind this is that it will be a landing place for everything staff need to know. You will want to have a bulletin board here to keep practical info in one place, like your district calendar, event info, holiday schedules, and more. 

But, it will also be a place where sunshine spreads, too! In this area, you can display your staff shout-out board, store thank you notes, and other fun forms of recognition. You can read all the specifics about setting this up in this post, but here's what I recommend including:

Make a Staff Shoutout Board

In your Sunshine Corner Hub, you'll need a Staff Shoutout Board to kick things off! This is a place where you can leave kind notes to staff and encourage them to do the same. To get started, grab a poster frame like this one over the summer and spend a little time getting it set up. All you need to do is have the included printable enlarged at a print shop and add it to the frame. 

When you head back to school in the fall, place it in a central location where staff will see it regularly. Then, round up a supply of markers and Post-Its and place them next to the frame. Write a couple of shout-outs to staff to get the party started. Before you know it, staff members will be writing kind notes to each other too!

Speaking of Post-Its, those also pair perfectly with this resource. Inside, you will find an assortment of templates to print fun little notes right on the Post-Its! Over the summer months, I stocked up on a lot of these to make it super simple to give out thoughtful notes of recognition all year long. Grab an assortment of colors so that you can match your notes to the current season for even more fun.

Add Tasty Treats for Staff 

The Sunshine Hub is also a great place to keep some special treats for your staff. Here are some of the things you can purchase or prepare over the summer to get ready. 

Kindness Plate

A kindness plate is a cute plate that you can use to fill with treats for your staff. Grab these Kindness Plate Templates, then upload them to Shutterfly or your print on demand store of choice. You can also go the route where you paint a plate yourself at a pottery art studio. Then, every once in a while, fill the plate with a special treat for your staff!

 

Candy/Treat Container 

The contents of this can be filled with different items throughout the year. I always liked to choose items that were aligned with the season to add a little extra fun to the mix! 

Treat Cart 

If you really want to take this up a notch, create a treat cart that can "live" in the Sunshine Corner, but also be moved from place to place as needed. This is SO great if you want to plan a day once per month when you will deliver snacks or treats to your faculty. You can read all about this idea in this blog post. I recommend getting a cart like this and using this staff appreciation treat cart resource alongside it to make it easy to implement. 

7. Plan a Fun Staff Game for Back to School 

I am all about making staff morale activities fun and a little out of the box. That's exactly why I loved preparing a game like this, Hop to It Frog Hunt, over the summer months to use in the fall. The idea of this game is that you will hide small plastic frogs all over your school. Each one is numbered, and as staff spot them, they collect them throughout the day. 

At the end of the day, you will use numbered cards to draw randomly and raffle off prizes to staff. Inside the resource, you will find everything you need, minus the frogs, to make this happen! You get prize ideas that are no cost and budget-friendly, a prize recording sheet, a staff announcement flyer, and number cards to raffle off prizes. This would be a great activity to prep over the summer. Just add frogs and you're ready to go! 

8. Prep Scratch-Off Tickets for the Whole Year 

Have you ever tried using Scratch-Off Tickets at your staff meetings? They are such a fun way to reward staff, show appreciation, and get everyone excited to attend. Scratch-offs are a bit like lottery tickets you can buy at the gas station. You'll pass them out to staff, and they will "scratch off" a sticker to reveal a prize. So fun, right?! 

In my Year-Long Bundle of Scratch Offs, you will find themed tickets for the whole year! Each month includes tickets with seasonal pictures and sayings to add a bit more fun to the mix. Consider prepping these over the summer months by printing the tickets on white cardstock and then adding the stickers. You will be SO happy you did this! 

Oh, and if you need ideas for prizes, be sure to read this post next for tons of great options! 

Have Fun with This Summer Staff Morale Shopping List! 

I hope you enjoyed reading through what was always on my summer staff morale shopping list. The great thing about this is that you can pick and choose the projects and staff morale activities that look the most appealing to you. Don't forget, you can find all of the resources mentioned here in my store on TpT. I hope you found something fun and new to prepare over the summer. One thing is for sure: a little bit of summer prep will pay off big time when it comes to keeping staff morale high all year long! Have fun, friend! 

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