Volunteers Needed for Safety Drill on July 14

Volunteers needed on red background

Throughout the school year, ACPS has participated in a multi-organizational training project with our partners in the Albemarle County Police Department and Albemarle County Fire Rescue. Together, we are collaborating to review and test the policies, knowledge, skills and abilities necessary to respond to an active threat at a public school. We have conducted seminars, workshops, and a tabletop exercise. This work will culminate in a full-scale, in-person drill this summer on Friday, July 14. The purpose of this drill is to provide a safe environment for public safety and school personnel to practice plans and procedures in response to a simulated active threat incident.

We are seeking about 80 volunteers to role-play as teachers and students during the July 14 drill. If interested, please submit this Google Form by Friday, June 23. This is available to staff only; do not forward or share this link. Continue reading

Updated Workers’ Compensation Panel of Physicians Form

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Human Resources is pleased to announce that we have updated our Workers’ Compensation Panel of Physicians Form to include our new occupational health provider in Charlottesville, Velocity Urgent Care. The current version of the form can also be accessed through our Workers’ Compensation web page.

As a reminder, we have partnered with TeleCompCare, a nurse triage/telemedicine program that offers an innovative solution for injured workers to get immediate, appropriate care when a workplace injury occurs. Continue reading

Introducing TeleCompCare, a New Workers’ Comp Program

Personal Injury icon

Human Resources is pleased to announce a new program within our workers’ compensation and safety department: TeleCompCare, a nurse triage/telemedicine program that offers an innovative solution for injured workers to get immediate, appropriate care when a workplace injury occurs. TeleCompCare is available 24/7/365—24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year! Click the images below to explore the program, its benefits, and the TeleCompCare workflow: Continue reading

Free Six-Week Program for Those Who Want to Quit Tobacco Starts March 22

Quit Nicotine/Smoking Blue Ridge Program Logo 2023

Wednesdays, March 22 – April 26, 2023 | 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. | Virtual (Zoom)

The Quit Nicotine/Smoking Blue Ridge Program is offering free support for those who want to quit nicotine, smoking or vaping. Participants will learn about and experience strategies for quitting, such as medication options, acupuncture, stress reduction, nutrition, and more. Residents of Charlottesville, Albemarle, Fluvanna, Greene, Louisa and Nelson are welcome to join. Support sessions will be held every Wednesday, March 22 – April 26, via Zoom. To join, email the group facilitator, Scott Mein, at scottrmein@gmail.com or call 862-432-0490.

Join the #OurHearts Movement!

Join the OurHearts Movement banner

February is American Heart Month! To help promote heart health and spread awareness during the month of February, the offices of Safety & Wellness and Community Engagement have teamed up with Ragged Mountain Running Shop to give away a pair of shoes (up to $150) to a lucky ACPS employee!

To enter, simply post a picture of you or your family doing heart-healthy activities on social media: Use #OurHearts and #EngageACPS in your posts, and tag @TheHeartTruth_NHLBI on Instagram; @TheHeartTruth and @EngageACPS on Twitter; and @HeartTruth on Facebook. If you don’t use social media, you can submit a photo via email to BeWell@k12albemarle.org. We will select the winner by random draw on March 1, 2023! Continue reading

It’s Not Too Late to Join Our Virtual Gratitude Campaign!

Gratitude Campaign 2022 Header

Thank you to all of you who have participated in our Virtual Gratitude Campaign! Our Gratitude Jamboard is filling with such positive messages! Many of you have shared heartfelt thanks for special relationships, places, traditions, and more, and I have overheard colleagues talking about how joyous and therapeutic is has been not only to read the messages of gratitude, but to participate.

Our Gratitude Jamboard will remain open through the end of November. If you missed it, please check out our November 16 Compass post for more info about our gratitude campaign, plus some helpful guidance on letting go of thoughts that no longer serve you in order to make room for new growth.

Continue reading

Virtual Gratitude Campaign 2022: Join Our Gratitude Jamboard!

Gratitude Campaign 2022 Header

As we transition into fall, you may notice the weather is a little cooler, the days are a little shorter, and the trees and plants around us have begun to transform. They are shedding what they no longer need in preparation for new growth in the spring.

Fall is a symbolic time of year when we get to reflect on where we are in life, where we want to go, and how we want to get there. It’s also a time of acknowledgement. Sit with those feelings you are ready to release, similar to the way the trees gently let go of their leaves. Can you align yourself a little more with the environment around you and use this time to shed what no longer serves you? Is there something you need to work through in order to let go? Can you invite the intention of new beginnings?

As everything around us spins, feverishly transitioning and transforming, allow yourself some time and grace, just as you would do for your best friend, your child, your partner. May this guide be a gentle reminder to check in with yourself and a resource to refill your cup. After all, it’s almost the season of giving, and you can’t give from an empty cup! And remember, after a period of transformation, there is new growth.

Letting Go Can Be Beautiful

1. Reminisce

Reminisce

Something causing you trouble? Look back to the earliest time you can remember feeling that way.

Journal about it: What happened? Who was there? How did you feel? What conclusions did you come to?


3. Review

Review

Examine the beliefs you have now identified. Try viewing the situations that led to those beliefs from other angles, other perspectives even. Were you unnecessarily hard on yourself? Did you absorb the beliefs of other influential people in your life without recognizing that YOU HAD CHOICES?

Re-View: Consider it from another point of view and give yourself some grace. Choose a new belief that works better/best for you.


5. Receive

Receive

Great! Now what?! Releasing thoughts renews your energy and allows you to receive that energy back. Imagine the leaves, released from the grip of spring and summer, resting on the forest floor. As they turn to compost, the once vibrant nutrients return to the soil, supporting the ecosystem within.

2. Reflect

Reflect

Now, take those memories that you reminisced about and reflect. How would you sum up what you believed in that moment about yourself or about your life?

Write it down. Reflect on all the ways that belief has played out in your life. You may unearth other projections of that belief that branched out into other areas of your life and then reinforced it.


4. Release

Release

Just as the trees release their leaves, consider releasing these thoughts altogether. It is SO much easier to let go of unhealthy thoughts and beliefs when you’ve gone through this process of Reminisce-Reflect-Review, because it takes the mystery and power out of them. Ultimately, there are simply just different ways to perceive and react.

Just like the leaves, at one point in your life, those feelings and beliefs probably served a purpose, but that time is long over. Thoughts should be used to serve a helpful purpose and then released so that new inspiration can flow. Rather than just telling your thoughts to go away, practice presence. Shift your attention to what is right here, right now.


When you let go of negative thoughts, you receive back all of the energy you were expending on keeping them alive. That’s some powerful thought composting! Everything in life offers us something in the present moment.


VIRTUAL GRATITUDE CAMPAIGN 2022!

Now that we have some extra space, let’s start refilling that cup with positivi-tea! Being more grateful can lead to enhanced well-being, deeper relationships, improved mood, and better physical and mental wellness and more!

We welcome you to join us in sharing about some of the people, places, things, etc., in your life for which you are grateful or that bring you joy! You can tag a work friend or colleague as a public shout-out in a moment of gratitude, or you can leave an anonymous comment about something that holds value for you. Let’s hold space for one another as we enter into this holiday season:


Feel free to comment on more than one page if you’re feeling extra thankful! Our 2022 Gratitude Jamboard will be editable through the end of November 2022.

Stay safe, and happy writing!