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 →
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.
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.
1. 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
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
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
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
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.
As we navigate through the next few days, please remember: Our Employee Assistance Program (EAP) has counselors available if you or someone in your household needs support. Our EAP provider, GuidanceResources, offers an abundance of self-serve tools, including 24/7 on-demand counselors. You are entitled to 8 free sessions per calendar year. Call 833-306-0108 (toll-free) for direct, 24/7 access to a GuidanceConsultant who will answer your questions and, if needed, refer you to a counselor or other resources, or visit guidanceresources.com (Web ID: ALBEMARLE). Continue reading →
On behalf of BeWell Albemarle, we are sharing the following resources associated with the Great American Smokeout, an opportunity for people who smoke to commit to healthy, smoke-free lives, coming up on Thursday, November 17. To celebrate the Great American Smokeout, community members who quit tobacco and nicotine will share their quit journey on Tuesday, November 15, at 10 a.m. To hear these inspiring stories, please register to join the webinar. Continue reading →
In an effort to better streamline the workers’ compensation process for all school division employees, we are happy to announce the activation of a new email address! Effective immediately, you can email any documents, questions or requests related to workers’ compensation to workerscomp@k12albemarle.org.
When you send an email to this address, you will reach all members of the HR Safety Team. Continue reading →
Starting next week, we are expanding the self-serve options available in the ADP Employee Portal to include reviewing your benefits elections and requesting changes to your benefits enrollments in conjunction with a mid-year Qualifying Life Event. Also, our vaccination clinics are well underway! ALL Albemarle County and Albemarle County Public Schools employees and public safety volunteers are eligible to participate with no out-of-pocket cost. Please read on to learn more about each of these announcements. Continue reading →
The following article was updated on September 28, 2022, with links to the clinic schedule and vaccine consent form.
We are happy to announce that ACPS and Giant have partnered again this year to bring important vaccinations to 50 school and local government locations throughout Albemarle County. All ACPS employees (including part-time, temporary, substitutes, interns, and student teachers) are eligible to receive flu and other vaccinations with no out-of-pocket cost, even if you do not participate in the school division’s health insurance program.
You are welcome to attend any of the clinics held at any of the locations listed on the schedule. You are not limited to your work site or the date on which your work site falls. Continue reading →
If you’ve ever flown on an airplane, you’re familiar with the pre-flight safety routine when the flight attendant demonstrates how to put on an oxygen mask and reminds you to put on your own mask first before helping others. ACPS is focused on student mental health, but we know we also have to support the mental health and well-being of our staff so they, in turn, can support students.
One way we do this is by providing the services of our Guidance Resources® Employee Assistance Program (EAP). In addition to resources like the ones below based on current events, EAP also provides employees and their families with an opportunity for confidential one-on-one support. Continue reading →
