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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