Bonham Elementary staff gets tips on wellness during the pandemic
(BONHAM ELEMENTARY SCHOOL -- April 22, 2020) — Bonham Elementary offered a virtual professional development session on self-care and social-emotional support to give the staff extra tools to transition to online learning and to cope with life in quarantine.
“Our staff explored the mental health self-care process which encompasses focusing on balance between professional, emotional, psychological, personal and physical well-being,” said Principal Sandy Portillo-Sanchez said. “This is a time of change, a new way of learning for everyone and we must remember that self-care is important. Many of my staff members have school-age children at home and are shuffling many roles and wearing many hats and it's important to me that they know we are here to support them.”
Connie Loya, the Social & Emotional Learning coordinator in Student and Family Empowerment, explored with the staff the value and importance of self-care, the mental health self-care wheel and the professional component how to meet these needs while working from home.
“Teachers highlighted the importance of having a designated lunch break, structuring time for brain breaks throughout the day, and the importance of setting structures, systems, routines, and schedules to make each work day productive while balancing work and family within this new social family contract,” Loya said.
Overall, the sessions gave teachers insight into how to create a more well-balanced life in quarantine.
“We must invest time for self-care,” Loya said. “We are great caretakers but who will take care of us if we don't. In order for us to stay focused, healthy, and motivated, we must invest time in ourselves. The goal is to be physically, psychologically, and emotionally stable throughout this journey and be ready for what awaits us after we cross the finish line.”
The session ended with an activity on how to relax the mind.
“The response we received from our staff was amazing,” Sanchez-Portillo said. “They shared that this was a great reminder that it is ok to disconnect, recharge and take time for oneself.”