Mindfulness Newsletter
April 2018--#mindfulAISD
In This Month's Newsletter...
- 1st Annual AISD Mindfulness Retreat
- Test Anxiety Tips from SEL
- Mindful AISD at SXSWedu
- Innovation Grant--Deadline April 6th
- AISD Employee Well-Being Class on Mindfulness
- Mindfulness in BLEND
- HCP Spring Mindfulness Courses
- Mindful Happenings in AISD
Reminder: For more regular mindfulness updates, please follow me on Twitter, @mrbutler629. I post regularly, providing tips and highlighting mindfulness happening across the district. Also, feel free to use #mindfulAISD when posting about mindfulness.
1st Annual AISD Mindfulness Retreat!
- Community members, businesses & organizations are coming together to provide FREE mindfulness related classes for AISD staff (yoga, meditation, music, dance, etc.). Special shout out to Amala Foundation who has helped with the planning & will be leading some classes.
- Please bring a water bottle, towel & mat if you'd like to practice yoga. Amala Foundation will bring some mats to use for those who don't have one.
- We'll have a welcome at 9am in the cafeteria if you choose to arrive at the start.
- Snacks will be provided.
- The retreat will be broken down into four 45-minute classes (9:15, 10:15, 11:15 & 12:15). You choose which classes and how many to attend. All attendees will receive a program when they arrive.
- Unfortunately, this year we're not able to provide child care. That's a goal for next year.
- This is for AISD staff ONLY. We have thoughts for a similar event in the future for families & students.
- Please register on HCP (Section #86961)
- Feel free to print & post the retreat flyer in your school to let your colleagues know about this morning to "treat yo'self."
We chose to host this at Baker, in part, as a way to pay homage to a historic building that has served the AISD community for so long. We'll have a new location next year.
Test Anxiety Tips from SEL
Shout to SEL Specialist Aleza Sitarz for compiling this great resource of tips to deal with test anxiety.
Mindful AISD at SXSWedu!
We even had a couple blogs/articles that wrote about or mentioned our panel! Here's the EdSurge article about the panel and Education Dive talked about the panel in one of their recaps.
Below is a photo and videos that we used during our presentation. Feel free to share the videos with students/staff. They're all uploaded to the YouTube Playlist as well: bit.ly/mindfulaisdvideos
Innovation Grant from Austin Ed Fund--Deadline April 6th
INNOVATION GRANTS AVAILABLE - Please Consider Applying!
It's Innovation Grants Season! Austin Ed Fund's Innovation Grant is now accepting applications online until April 6th, at 5 PM.
Innovation Grants are designed to encourage, facilitate, recognize and reward innovative and creative instructional approaches to the accomplishment of learning objectives. Spread the word and apply!
Over the past few years, schools have been awarded funds for different projects that varied from multisensory reading for dyslexic students at Oak Hill Elementary to creating a project-based learning builderspace at Austin High School.
MORE ABOUT THIS GRANT:
Award Categories
•IDEA GRANTS: Up to $2,000 for a classroom
•INCUBATOR GRANTS: Up to $10,000 for a campus/ department team
Focus areas: Whole Child (includes SEL), STEM, Literacy
ONLINE APPLICATION DEADLINE: Friday, April 6 @ 5 pm
AISD Employee Well-Being Class on Mindfulness
From Melody Carlton, AISD's Employee Assistance & Wellness Coordinator
These classes are non-fitness related & instead focus on your social, emotional and mental wellbeing with tips to help you work self-care into your daily routines. Employees wishing to attend a class must RSVP as spaces are limited. Employees who RSVP and then no-show to a class will not be able to rsvp for future classes. RSVP online at www.austinisd.org/wellness/events or by phone at (512) 414-2282.
*The photos below are screenshots, so the links won't work. Use the link above to RSVP.
Mindfulness in BLEND
The last round of Intro to Mindfulness will be on Tuesday, April 17th at Baker for the spring semester. The Elementary course (#86677) is from 8-11am and the Secondary course (#86678) is from 1-4pm. Sign up on HCP. If a course is full, add your name to the waitlist. We've been able to accept most people on the waitlist this year. Remember, SEL will pay for teacher subs.
Mindfulness in Austin ISD
Lanier Mindful Athlete in the Statesman
Mindful PALS
Mindful Librarians
Mindfulness & Literacy Integration
Mindful Counselors
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Mindful Classrooms: The Educator Guide
#mindfulAISD archives
March 2018 Newsletter (SEL overview of mindfulness)
February 2018 Newsletter (Inner Explorer Grant, Tips for Sustained Mindfulness in Class)
January 2018 Newsletter (Videos, Mindfulness Room Starter Kit, Types of Awareness)
December 2017 Newsletter (Videos, Research Supporting Mindfulness, Picture Books)
November 2017 Newsletter (Free Retreats, Class Dojo, Teens, Mindful AISD in the News)
October 2017 Newsletter (Videos, Meditation Bar Gift, Mindfulness Challenge)
September 2017 Newsletter (Mindfulness Videos)
August 2017 Newsletter (Starting mindfulness from Day 1)
2016-2017 Newsletters (One link to access all newsletters from last school year.)
Letter to Families
Here's a letter about mindfulness you can share with families. It provides a brief description of mindfulness and a message from Dr. Cruz supporting mindfulness in schools.
The letter is available in English, Spanish, Arabic, Farsi/Dari & Burmese.
Elementary Videos Explaining Mindfulness
Secondary Videos Explaining Mindfulness
#mindfulAISD YouTube Playlist
Calm--FREE for educators!
FREE Calm.com Lifetime Subscription for Teachers (PreK-12)
Multilingual Mindfulness
Want mindfulness activities in Spanish, Arabic, Farsi/Dari, Burmese, Swahili & Kinyarwanda? We've got them for you!
Zen Den YouTube Playlist
The "Zen Den" YouTube playlist offers 18 videos, ranging from 4-8 minutes in length.
Mind Yeti: Connecting Mindfulness w/ Explicit SEL Lessons
Mindyeti.com is a great resource that connects mindfulness with Second Step lessons, and it's FREE!
GoNoodle
GoNoodle is for the body and the mind.
Here is a link to a document that lists all the GoNoodle Mindfulness videos sorted by channel and with the length of each video.
De-Escalation Strategies Poster
This poster can be an addition to your classroom, Peace Area, hallways, Mindfulness Room, etc.
Mindful Life Project
Guided Mindfulness Activities in English & Spanish--Great for Secondary.
They also have a free app titled "Mindful Life Project."