ASL teacher Lindsey Graney uses cooking and board games to improve her mental health on a regular basis.
“I find that it’s a massive stress reliever after working for the day,” Graney said. “To go home and cook a meal – it’s fun to play around with different recipes and then also get to enjoy the meal with your family afterwards.”
Graney and French teacher Kathryn Streets will be presenting sessions on board games and recipes at the district’s Wellness Day for all staff during Friday’s in-service day.
“I think it’s beneficial for your bodies because it’s good to cook healthy foods,” Graney said. “Board games are just a good time for us to engage with our colleagues. It’s not very often that we have some downtime that we can spend and chat with each other.”
Wellness Day will be an opportunity for staff members to wind down from the stress of work. Deputy Supt. Dr. Rachel Sprouse believes the first-time event will help Baldwin-Whitehall employees keep a healthy mind and body.
“As a school, we spend time caring for the students’ needs, and often the needs of the employees are treated as an afterthought. The idea of employees taking time to care for themselves is an effort we are working to cultivate throughout the district,” Sprouse said.
Matching funding from the Allegheny County Schools Health Insurance Consortium helped make the day possible.
Wellness Day will start with a grab-and-go breakfast and a welcome session. Then staff will go to the four 45-minute sessions that they have selected. Sessions include such topics as yoga, financial planning, weightlifting, intermittent fasting, crafting, crockpot meals, and pilates and barre. The event wraps up with a keynote speaker.
About 400 employees throughout the entire district will participate, including teachers, custodians, bus drivers and attendants, noontime aides, paraprofessionals and more. Some staff members, like Graney and Streets, will lead their own sessions.
“We have been working on what’s called ‘The Baldwin Social Club,’ which is for the teachers,” Graney said. “We’re trying to do some stuff outside of work time to promote social interactions and just do some fun things for the teachers. A part of that was a board game day and a recipe swap, so we were like ‘Hey, we’re kind of doing these already – could we expand a bit’ ” and lead sessions on each topic on Wellness Day.
Athletic Director Anthony Cherico will lead a session on golf, which he believes will be a great addition to Wellness Day because it will provide time with colleagues away from the work atmosphere.
“To be able to do something fun and step away from the grind of work, to get to do something you don’t get to all the time is enjoyable for the teachers and staff members who are participating,” he said.
When Wellness Day was first announced, Cherico said he offered to run a golf session because he felt it would include many staff members and teachers.
“Golf is kind of a universal sport,” Cherico said. “Boys and girls can play, old people and young people, so I thought it would be fun to have a bunch of people playing golf for the day.”
Sprouse said the district hopes to have additional Wellness Day events in future years.
“We hope that the day will be a relaxing, rejuvenating time for all employees,” she said.
