Spread staff sunshine with these quick, easy, and FREE ideas! Read for 5+ ideas to show appreciation for your school staff.

Does your school have a Sunshine Committee? Or another way to help spread happiness to your staff throughout the year? I have always loved the Sunshine Committee at my school and have always appreciated and enjoyed the little ways they try to boost morale in our school. I did not exactly volunteer to be in charge of the committee this year, but I was somehow made co-chair. It's a big job and so I was a little scared at first, but then I realized how much fun this would be and I've enjoyed helping to lead this committee so far. Some of you might be wondering what a Sunshine Committee really is so I thought I'd explain it a little bit. We all know about "Teacher Burnout" and we all know how hard it can sometimes be to make it through the entire school year. I usually start out the year with a lot of passion and enthusiasm in August, then after Christmas break, usually January to March, I start feeling worn-out and over-worked. Know the feeling? Well, the Sunshine Committee is just a little way to help teachers stay happy and positive throughout the year. We plan socials, organize treat days, and give little appreciation gifts throughout the school year. Over the years, this committee has definitely helped me feel appreciated and loved throughout the year. Here's a list of ideas of fun things you could do. We don't use all of these ideas; I just wanted to provide you with a list of possible ideas for the entire school year. This printable is available in my Sunshine Committee Ideas pack for FREE! Download it from my TPT Store: HERE! Here's how it works at my school: At the beginning of the year, teachers are asked to give a $35 "donation" to the committee. This donation gives us the budget that we need to do kind deeds throughout the year. We buy gifts for all bridal showers, baby showers, and when people experience the death of a close loved one. We do meals for the staff twice a year. We usually provide the main dish and paper products for the Christmas Party (the side dishes are usually potluck style) and we always do a full catered meal at the end of year banquet. We usually organize some sort of Thanksgiving meal too. I think last year we did potluck soups and our committee provided the paper products. We usually try to find little times throughout the year to put treats in the faculty room. It could be doughnuts the day after parent teacher conferences or themed treats for a holiday. I think this year I want to do a soda party with a variety of flavored syrups just for fun on a Friday afternoon when everyone could use a little pick-me-up. As a way to say thank you to everyone for paying their Sunshine dues, I made these little bags of sunshine. We did Worthers (although any gold/yellow item would work), and included a coupon for an extra 30 min of prep. All teachers have to do is take the coupon to the office and schedule a time when an administrator can take the class for 30 minutes. That gives our principal and vice principal an opportunity to go into the classrooms and work directly with a group of students. They'll just take their favorite read aloud story with them and read, which means that the teachers won't have to provide sub plans. Want a copy of all my Sunshine Committee printables?! Grab them for FREE from my TPT Store: HERE! This week, our committee is putting on a Pumpkin Party. (I got this idea from one of our Facebook followers who commented on my Facebook post a few weeks back.) Just to celebrate fall, we've asked everyone to bring (if they want) some kind of food item that has pumpkin as an ingredient. It could also be anything that looks like a pumpkin or really anything that is orange. I'm excited to see what everyone will come up with. I will purchase pumpkin plates and we'll decorate the teacher's lounge orange and black and leave the decorations up until after Halloween. In the past our school's Sunshine Committee has done some sort of Biggest Loser Competition for anyone who wants to participate. We usually ask people to donate $5 to a pot, then we commit to certain goals, and have daily points for exercising, drinking water, avoiding soda, etc. At the end of the competition the money goes to people who met their goal. I'm not sure how the competition will look this year, but we'll probably start something up in January to encourage teachers to be healthy for the new year. I think I'll end this post here and maybe continue with some more ideas another day. As you can see, having a Sunshine Committee could be a huge benefit to any school. Teaching is a wonderful and rewarding job, but sometimes it's the little things can help us have more fun in the workplace. I would LOVE to hear any other great ideas that you have! Please leave a comment and let me know if your school has a Sunshine Committee and what you do to help boost morale at your school. For those of you who don't already have something like this, would you consider starting one at your school?

Ever hear of a Sunshine Committee? Here are five ways you can showcase Teacher Day appreciation every day in your school.

A sunshine committee is composed of staff members who focus on improving the culture, morale, and well being of teachers. Sunshine reminds us of happiness and in turn this committee creates events and opportunities to make teachers smile and feel happy. As a result, relationships are built among staff members leading to a more fulfilling…

Does your school have a Sunshine Committee? Or another way to help spread happiness to your staff throughout the year? I have always loved the Sunshine Committee at my school and have always appreciated and enjoyed the little ways they try to boost morale in our school. I did not exactly volunteer to be in charge of the committee this year, but I was somehow made co-chair. It's a big job and so I was a little scared at first, but then I realized how much fun this would be and I've enjoyed helping to lead this committee so far. Some of you might be wondering what a Sunshine Committee really is so I thought I'd explain it a little bit. We all know about "Teacher Burnout" and we all know how hard it can sometimes be to make it through the entire school year. I usually start out the year with a lot of passion and enthusiasm in August, then after Christmas break, usually January to March, I start feeling worn-out and over-worked. Know the feeling? Well, the Sunshine Committee is just a little way to help teachers stay happy and positive throughout the year. We plan socials, organize treat days, and give little appreciation gifts throughout the school year. Over the years, this committee has definitely helped me feel appreciated and loved throughout the year. Here's a list of ideas of fun things you could do. We don't use all of these ideas; I just wanted to provide you with a list of possible ideas for the entire school year. This printable is available in my Sunshine Committee Ideas pack for FREE! Download it from my TPT Store: HERE! Here's how it works at my school: At the beginning of the year, teachers are asked to give a $35 "donation" to the committee. This donation gives us the budget that we need to do kind deeds throughout the year. We buy gifts for all bridal showers, baby showers, and when people experience the death of a close loved one. We do meals for the staff twice a year. We usually provide the main dish and paper products for the Christmas Party (the side dishes are usually potluck style) and we always do a full catered meal at the end of year banquet. We usually organize some sort of Thanksgiving meal too. I think last year we did potluck soups and our committee provided the paper products. We usually try to find little times throughout the year to put treats in the faculty room. It could be doughnuts the day after parent teacher conferences or themed treats for a holiday. I think this year I want to do a soda party with a variety of flavored syrups just for fun on a Friday afternoon when everyone could use a little pick-me-up. As a way to say thank you to everyone for paying their Sunshine dues, I made these little bags of sunshine. We did Worthers (although any gold/yellow item would work), and included a coupon for an extra 30 min of prep. All teachers have to do is take the coupon to the office and schedule a time when an administrator can take the class for 30 minutes. That gives our principal and vice principal an opportunity to go into the classrooms and work directly with a group of students. They'll just take their favorite read aloud story with them and read, which means that the teachers won't have to provide sub plans. Want a copy of all my Sunshine Committee printables?! Grab them for FREE from my TPT Store: HERE! This week, our committee is putting on a Pumpkin Party. (I got this idea from one of our Facebook followers who commented on my Facebook post a few weeks back.) Just to celebrate fall, we've asked everyone to bring (if they want) some kind of food item that has pumpkin as an ingredient. It could also be anything that looks like a pumpkin or really anything that is orange. I'm excited to see what everyone will come up with. I will purchase pumpkin plates and we'll decorate the teacher's lounge orange and black and leave the decorations up until after Halloween. In the past our school's Sunshine Committee has done some sort of Biggest Loser Competition for anyone who wants to participate. We usually ask people to donate $5 to a pot, then we commit to certain goals, and have daily points for exercising, drinking water, avoiding soda, etc. At the end of the competition the money goes to people who met their goal. I'm not sure how the competition will look this year, but we'll probably start something up in January to encourage teachers to be healthy for the new year. I think I'll end this post here and maybe continue with some more ideas another day. As you can see, having a Sunshine Committee could be a huge benefit to any school. Teaching is a wonderful and rewarding job, but sometimes it's the little things can help us have more fun in the workplace. I would LOVE to hear any other great ideas that you have! Please leave a comment and let me know if your school has a Sunshine Committee and what you do to help boost morale at your school. For those of you who don't already have something like this, would you consider starting one at your school?

Start a Sunshine Committee at your school to boost staff and teacher morale. Ideas for administrators and staff show teacher appreciation.

Are you on the Sunshine Committee this year? Some schools call it Social Committee. Whatever the name, it serves the same purpose. Usually there is a little arm twisting at the beginning of the year to get staff members to pay their dues. If your school normally doesn't allow the staff to wear jeans, you might ask your administrator if your committee could give people who pay dues a "Jean Day Coupon" that allows teachers to wear jeans on one day of their choosing. It's like a "get out of jail" card. Through the years, there has been some grumbling at some of my schools about our committee. I think this happens when there are not clear cut guidelines. There needs to be guidelines in writing and transparency with the finances. Here are a few topics to discuss when you are ready to write some guidelines: Leadership: officers and their duties I highly recommend the treasurer giving a report at the faculty meetings at least quarterly. Boss Day in October: Will the committee purchase the gift? If so, what is the budget? Appreciation Day/Week: Which staff members do you recognize? How and what is the budget? Morale booster activities: when and budget Staff parties: When, where, budget Showers: baby/wedding - Does the committee provide anything for the shower, if so what is the budget. Is it for the first baby and first wedding or other? Death: Does the committee send something from the faculty? If so, what and what is the budget? What relationship to the staff member should it be when you do this? I.E. Immediate family member Holidays: Does the committee purchase holiday gifts for any staff members? If so, who and what is the budget? I typed up a few things that I have done at some of my schools that you might like, too. These are fun activities that boost morale. Do you have a staff member that is your PTA representative? If the PTA ask you for suggestions, you might suggest that they organize food during your conferences. I helped organize this at my daughter's middle school. Her school had a week of Parent-Teacher Conferences. Students had school for half a day and then teachers met with parents the other half. Our PTA organized food the first three days for the teachers. We knew that the teachers had conferences at different times and wouldn't eat at the same time so the food had to stay fresh for a long time. We organized a salad bar one day, a nacho bar another day, and heavy appetizers the final day. This was the most popular thing that our committee organized. Click HERE to download this freebie. Looking for more tips? Check out my Beginning of the Year Pinterest board. Click on the picture below. Fern has a few tips to share with you, too. Be sure to hop over to her blog! Each week, Fern and I will share a teacher tip. We love to read teacher blogs and the latest teacher idea books and hope you do, too! Stop by Fern's blog and my blog each week for our latest tips. We hope you will share your ideas, too. Each week we will choose one person who shared a tip on our blog who will get a $10 shopping trip. We will announce the winner on the following Tuesday's post. Click HERE to read Melinda's tip. Do you have a staff morale booster tip to share? Be sure to include your email so I can contact you if you're the winner of the $10 shopping trip. You must leave your email address in order to win. Looking for more ideas? Click on the pictures below. An InLinkz Link-up Sources to make my blog post graphics can be found HERE. Click HERE to read my blog's disclosure statement.

Start a Sunshine Committee at your school to boost staff and teacher morale. Ideas for administrators and staff show teacher appreciation.

Does your school have a social committee? Sometimes it is called a sunshine committee. This is the committee that sends flowers when someone is in the hospital or has a death in the family. I thought it would be fun if we share activities our committees have organized. Luncheons If you are planning a luncheon, remember the teachers with the last lunch period. Many times it is "slim pickings" for those poor people. We tried two different things to solve this problem. We asked for at least 3 different foods of each category (if you have 3 lunch periods). We numbered the bowls/containers #1, #2, #3 with post-it notes. Those bowls were taken out of the frig during those lunch periods. We also held the luncheons on our early release days. Everyone could eat at the same time which was a nice bonus. Another problem we had with luncheons was people who came to the luncheon but didn't bring any food to share. We found a compromise. People had a choice of donating $5 or bringing a side dish or dessert. The money was used to purchase paper goods, drinks, or the main course. We ordered food like pizza or 3 inch sandwiches from Subway for the main course. Sometimes we had themes for the luncheons. We had a baked potato bar for St. Patrick's Day. This is one of the easiest luncheon to plan and cheapest, too! Read more about it HERE. Activities We organized activities such as: ***Secret Santa ***"You've Been Booed" ***Christmas cookie exchange Expressions of Support How does your school show support when a faculty member falls on hard times? Have you heard the story The Bundle of Sticks? Read about it here: click You can show support different ways. We organized meals on a schedule when a faculty or staff member (or their family member) was in the hospital. Example: Kindergarten team provided the meal on Monday, First grade provided the meal on Tuesday, and so on and so forth. Sometimes teams collected money and gave the family a gift card to a restaurant that delivered instead of home cooked meals. I asked the teachers on my facebook page if they had suggestions for this post. Here are a few suggestions: Tabitha Opio: *Breakfast with a theme each month *Cookie exchange at Christmas *During testing season they brainstorm different ways they can stump the students. *Teachers get birthday bags, too. Denise Dormer Dauphin: *Teams take turns to host a payday breakfast. HoJo's Teaching Adventures: *Tree of thanks - each teacher filled out a leaf when they wanted to recognize another staff member. *She had a principal who gave everyone apples on their birthday. Another principal gave everyone enough money to buy a pop/juice/water with a little note of thanks. Kris Weimer Cruzen: *Faculty and staff members are divided into 8 groups. Each group is responsible for organizing activities for one quarter. So, each group is responsible for 9 weeks every 2 years. *Pot luck breakfast *Happy hour *Chili cookoff *Dinner prior to conference *Christmas party *Secret Santa *Bowling after school *Trip to winery after school ****Usually has 2-3 activities each quarter

Ever hear of a Sunshine Committee? Here are five ways you can showcase Teacher Day appreciation every day in your school.

While at a meeting this summer my principal mentioned a "fun" committee. Apparently their areother schools in our corporation who have similar committees!!! Who new?!?! A committee focused on one thing... FUN! She asked if anyone wold be interested in starting one of these so called fun committees!?!?! "UH-YEAH! SIGN ME UP!" And that folks is where our fun committee started! So I sent out this email... (Principal name, colleague name, and school name have been changed for privacy reasons. We don't want anyone to know that we have fun at work! HAHA! JK!) Rock Star suggested that Amazing, Rockin' Elementary has a "fun" committee. There are other schools in the corporation who have similar committees and the entire focus is fun! I naturally jumped on board along with a fellow rock star, Rockin' Rita. Who doesn't like fun!?!?! Don't worry no one is going to force you to have fun at work . This is entirely voluntary. If you would like to be part of this committee just let Rockin' Rita or myself know. Throughout the year we are hoping to bring fun to the staff at Amazing, Rockin' Elementary. (You don't have to be on the committee to join in on the fun.) You also don't have to participate in the activities but if something seems like fun feel free to participate. So for August I was thinking of a way to bring a smile to the staff at Amazing, Rockin' Elementary and I thought of getting "Schooled". Keep an eye out on your door. You never know when you will get "Schooled." If you get "Schooled" pick a teacher or a staff member (or a few), copy the I've been schooled sign, and secretly place it on their door with a little surprise. (Something small - candy, a soda, coffee, anything to bring a little back to school joy!) As we come up with new ideas we will share them with you! Feel free to share your ideas too! So what exactly is a fun committee?!?!? It is anything you want it to be as long as it is fun. I also think it is important for it to be strictly voluntary. I am one of those people who LOVE team building activities. (Okay, you can groan at the thought of team building if you need to.) I love team building activities, games, putting myself out there, and being silly. But for some people the thought of team building activities makes them shudder. With that being said when people are forced to "have fun" the fun is taken away. Apparently one of the other schools had a staff nerf battle in the gym. Although some people would be all in because nerf battles are fun, others might think other wise. So make sure your fun committee has a variety of fun ideas. So you can touch on everyone's idea of fun. Here is the "You've Been Schooled" page. https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Youve-Been-Schooled-1997361 Feel free to copy it and use it if you would like. As the Amazing, Rockin' Elementary School fun committee comes up with new ideas I will share them with you. If you have a fun committee I would LOVE to hear your ideas!

Start a Sunshine Committee at your school to boost staff and teacher morale. Ideas for administrators and staff show teacher appreciation.

Use these 10 ideas to create a teachers lounge that promotes collaboration, celebration, and humor! Make your staffroom a place you love!

Does your school have a Sunshine Committee? Or another way to help spread happiness to your staff throughout the year? I have always loved the Sunshine Committee at my school and have always appreciated and enjoyed the little ways they try to boost morale in our school. I did not exactly volunteer to be in charge of the committee this year, but I was somehow made co-chair. It's a big job and so I was a little scared at first, but then I realized how much fun this would be and I've enjoyed helping to lead this committee so far. Some of you might be wondering what a Sunshine Committee really is so I thought I'd explain it a little bit. We all know about "Teacher Burnout" and we all know how hard it can sometimes be to make it through the entire school year. I usually start out the year with a lot of passion and enthusiasm in August, then after Christmas break, usually January to March, I start feeling worn-out and over-worked. Know the feeling? Well, the Sunshine Committee is just a little way to help teachers stay happy and positive throughout the year. We plan socials, organize treat days, and give little appreciation gifts throughout the school year. Over the years, this committee has definitely helped me feel appreciated and loved throughout the year. Here's a list of ideas of fun things you could do. We don't use all of these ideas; I just wanted to provide you with a list of possible ideas for the entire school year. This printable is available in my Sunshine Committee Ideas pack for FREE! Download it from my TPT Store: HERE! Here's how it works at my school: At the beginning of the year, teachers are asked to give a $35 "donation" to the committee. This donation gives us the budget that we need to do kind deeds throughout the year. We buy gifts for all bridal showers, baby showers, and when people experience the death of a close loved one. We do meals for the staff twice a year. We usually provide the main dish and paper products for the Christmas Party (the side dishes are usually potluck style) and we always do a full catered meal at the end of year banquet. We usually organize some sort of Thanksgiving meal too. I think last year we did potluck soups and our committee provided the paper products. We usually try to find little times throughout the year to put treats in the faculty room. It could be doughnuts the day after parent teacher conferences or themed treats for a holiday. I think this year I want to do a soda party with a variety of flavored syrups just for fun on a Friday afternoon when everyone could use a little pick-me-up. As a way to say thank you to everyone for paying their Sunshine dues, I made these little bags of sunshine. We did Worthers (although any gold/yellow item would work), and included a coupon for an extra 30 min of prep. All teachers have to do is take the coupon to the office and schedule a time when an administrator can take the class for 30 minutes. That gives our principal and vice principal an opportunity to go into the classrooms and work directly with a group of students. They'll just take their favorite read aloud story with them and read, which means that the teachers won't have to provide sub plans. Want a copy of all my Sunshine Committee printables?! Grab them for FREE from my TPT Store: HERE! This week, our committee is putting on a Pumpkin Party. (I got this idea from one of our Facebook followers who commented on my Facebook post a few weeks back.) Just to celebrate fall, we've asked everyone to bring (if they want) some kind of food item that has pumpkin as an ingredient. It could also be anything that looks like a pumpkin or really anything that is orange. I'm excited to see what everyone will come up with. I will purchase pumpkin plates and we'll decorate the teacher's lounge orange and black and leave the decorations up until after Halloween. In the past our school's Sunshine Committee has done some sort of Biggest Loser Competition for anyone who wants to participate. We usually ask people to donate $5 to a pot, then we commit to certain goals, and have daily points for exercising, drinking water, avoiding soda, etc. At the end of the competition the money goes to people who met their goal. I'm not sure how the competition will look this year, but we'll probably start something up in January to encourage teachers to be healthy for the new year. I think I'll end this post here and maybe continue with some more ideas another day. As you can see, having a Sunshine Committee could be a huge benefit to any school. Teaching is a wonderful and rewarding job, but sometimes it's the little things can help us have more fun in the workplace. I would LOVE to hear any other great ideas that you have! Please leave a comment and let me know if your school has a Sunshine Committee and what you do to help boost morale at your school. For those of you who don't already have something like this, would you consider starting one at your school?

Boost morale with your students and/or staff with this adorable kit to make a SUNSHINE CART.Just print on astrobright paper, laminate, and cut!

When I was first asked to lead our school's sunshine committee (the people who plan the parties, send cards and flowers, and generally try to improve the happiness), I was like....uh. Me? I had some good ideas, but I definitely didn't see myself leading the charge. I decided to go for it after some convincing from co-workers, and it's been so much fun! I really believe that there is magic in kindness... and spreading it makes everyone better.

Are you on the Sunshine Committee this year? Some schools call it Social Committee. Whatever the name, it serves the same purpose. Usually there is a little arm twisting at the beginning of the year to get staff members to pay their dues. If your school normally doesn't allow the staff to wear jeans, you might ask your administrator if your committee could give people who pay dues a "Jean Day Coupon" that allows teachers to wear jeans on one day of their choosing. It's like a "get out of jail" card. Through the years, there has been some grumbling at some of my schools about our committee. I think this happens when there are not clear cut guidelines. There needs to be guidelines in writing and transparency with the finances. Here are a few topics to discuss when you are ready to write some guidelines: Leadership: officers and their duties I highly recommend the treasurer giving a report at the faculty meetings at least quarterly. Boss Day in October: Will the committee purchase the gift? If so, what is the budget? Appreciation Day/Week: Which staff members do you recognize? How and what is the budget? Morale booster activities: when and budget Staff parties: When, where, budget Showers: baby/wedding - Does the committee provide anything for the shower, if so what is the budget. Is it for the first baby and first wedding or other? Death: Does the committee send something from the faculty? If so, what and what is the budget? What relationship to the staff member should it be when you do this? I.E. Immediate family member Holidays: Does the committee purchase holiday gifts for any staff members? If so, who and what is the budget? I typed up a few things that I have done at some of my schools that you might like, too. These are fun activities that boost morale. Do you have a staff member that is your PTA representative? If the PTA ask you for suggestions, you might suggest that they organize food during your conferences. I helped organize this at my daughter's middle school. Her school had a week of Parent-Teacher Conferences. Students had school for half a day and then teachers met with parents the other half. Our PTA organized food the first three days for the teachers. We knew that the teachers had conferences at different times and wouldn't eat at the same time so the food had to stay fresh for a long time. We organized a salad bar one day, a nacho bar another day, and heavy appetizers the final day. This was the most popular thing that our committee organized. Click HERE to download this freebie. Looking for more tips? Check out my Beginning of the Year Pinterest board. Click on the picture below. Fern has a few tips to share with you, too. Be sure to hop over to her blog! Each week, Fern and I will share a teacher tip. We love to read teacher blogs and the latest teacher idea books and hope you do, too! Stop by Fern's blog and my blog each week for our latest tips. We hope you will share your ideas, too. Each week we will choose one person who shared a tip on our blog who will get a $10 shopping trip. We will announce the winner on the following Tuesday's post. Click HERE to read Melinda's tip. Do you have a staff morale booster tip to share? Be sure to include your email so I can contact you if you're the winner of the $10 shopping trip. You must leave your email address in order to win. Looking for more ideas? Click on the pictures below. An InLinkz Link-up Sources to make my blog post graphics can be found HERE. Click HERE to read my blog's disclosure statement.

A Little Sunshine to Brighten Your Day ~ Free Printable Sunshine Gift Tags to help you spread some cheer and encouragement to those around you

Start a Sunshine Committee at your school to boost staff and teacher morale. Ideas for administrators and staff show teacher appreciation.

Send a box of sunshine to a friend that needs a boost. Here are all the printables you need to send these goodies in the mail.

If you work as a school administrator, a parent volunteer, or a member of a school sunshine committee, you probably already know just how important staff morale is. Keeping staff morale high is crucial to creating a warm and welcoming school environment. Teachers and other school staff members work hard! Let's help them feel appreciated and boost staff morale this fall with some fun and fresh ideas! Fall is a Great Time for a Staff Morale Boost Fall is a fun time in any school environment. Depending on when your school started for the year, the fall months of September, October, and November mean that students and staff have settled into a new routine. Once the hectic air of back-to-school season has left the building, fall feels like a warm and cozy hug for most of us! As a long-time chairperson of my school's sunshine committee, fall was one of my favorite months to embrace special activities and events to boost staff morale. There are so many great themes to play on in the fall, plus it's a good idea to build those staff relationships before the holiday season rolls around! Today I'm sharing some ideas that are great for any time of year, but they're especially suited to fall! So if you're looking for new ways to recognize staff in your school, here are 5 fun ideas to inspire you. 1. Apple Buffet Nothing screams fall like all things apple in the Midwest! When I came up with the idea for an apple buffet, I was inspired by the local apple orchard just up the street from where I lived. If you've ever visited an apple orchard, you know there's a certain kind of "fall magic" that you can just feel in the air. The humble apple is a most prized fruit and is used to make all kinds of wonderful fall treats. Make the most of apple season in your area with an apple buffet for staff members! I did this by purchasing a variety of apples, and putting them out with all kinds of toppings. Some fun toppings include caramel sauce, chocolate sauce, crushed cookies, chopped nuts, and coconut. On the day of, simply set up a buffet table with paper plates, napkins, apple slicers, apples, and toppings. As staff pass the table, they can choose an apple, slice it, and dress it up! This resource includes announcement signs, decorative posters, sign-up sheets, ingredient labels, and reminder tags to make setup and planning a breeze. You can also decide if you'd like to run this as a potluck-style event or provide all of the ingredients yourself. Either way, this is a fun idea to celebrate autumn, and boost staff morale! 2. Jeans Day Certificates As a teacher who worked in a school with a strict dress code, nothing was better than having a "Jeans Day"! And once fall rolls around, it's even better to be able to wear your coziest pair of jeans to school! Since I loved wearing jeans so much, and I knew my colleagues did too, using certificates for "Choose Your Own Jeans Day" was a total no-brainer. When I ran the sunshine committee, we used these certificates as a prize for staff meetings, to celebrate holidays, and more. School administrators loved handing these out when they observed great lessons being taught during observations as well! Everyone loved getting the option to wear jeans on any day of their choice, and it's a great inexpensive option to add to your list of ways to thank staff for their hard work. 3. Soup Potluck Does your school have potlucks from time to time? We had them often, and while they were usually holiday-themed, my favorite was our annual Soup Potluck in the fall. Everyone loved not having to bring their lunch to school that day! Plus, what is more cozy and comforting than soup? To host a soup potluck, I put out sign-up sheets well in advance to make sure we had a nice variety available. On the day of, I set up enough tables to hold everything and provided power strips for everyone to plug in their slow cookers. In the morning, staff would come in and set up their pot along with little tags that said what kind they brought. When lunchtime rolled around, everyone was so excited to taste test different soups and enjoy them with bread or crackers. I love the sense of community that comes with potlucks! It's always fun to host this on a Friday, or the day after a big local football game was held. This resource helps make planning and executing a soup potluck fun and simple. Included, are announcements, sign-up sheets, a timeline for a successful soup day, reminders, room décor, and more! 4. Staff Appreciation Post-It Notes Over the years, I have discovered that one of the BEST ways to boost staff morale is through small tokens of appreciation. That's why I love these Post-it notes so much! They're simple and easy to use, and always leave a big impact. This resource comes with 18 different messages that will brighten any staff member's day. Simply choose your template, affix your post-its to it, and load them into the printer. Add a personal touch after printing and you're good to go! Then, pop these on your colleagues' desks, on a car window, on a wall, or in another spot you know they'll find it. These are a fun and easy way to show that you're thinking of them and that their hard work is appreciated! These are also nice to hand out (unfilled) to staff members so that they can recognize each other throughout the year. 5. October Staff Boo This last idea is perfect for the month of October, and SO much fun! This activity begins slowly and picks up speed as other staff members get involved. Start it at the beginning of the month for the most fun! To implement it, you will begin the chain by making 2 copies of the BOO sign included in this resource. You'll choose colleagues to BOO and pick up a special treat for them at a drive-through, or grocery store. Finally, you'll leave the signs and treats at their desk and place another sign on the door. When the staff member finds their sign and treat, they continue the chain by doing the same. The pace picks up as more and more staff are BOOed throughout the building! This is always a staff favorite and such a wonderful way to boost staff morale. This resource comes in handy when used alongside the Staff Favorites Book as well. That way everyone will have plenty of treat ideas to get for their colleagues! Have Fun Boosting Staff Morale this Fall Which of these staff morale-boosting activities was your favorite? It's hard to choose, and the good news is that you don't have to! In fact, I have found that including lots of activities like these throughout the year is the best way to help ensure that staff know they're appreciated and keep morale high. Plus, activities like these make any school more fun to work at, which was always reason enough for me! Have fun planning your own staff morale events and activities this fall! If you'd like to take a closer look at these resources, along with lots of others, you can check them out in my TPT shop!

Do you need a little help boosting morale at your school? Let's be real, teachers all need a little sunshine from time to time and I've got the perfect thing to help brighten up your school for the month of SEPTEMBER with this Back To School Survival Kit resource!! This is a SPECTACULAR way to get to know your staff and give them a little extra support to start the year! You can use this resource as a great shopping list for all the things your staff may need to "survive" the beginning on the year! Make their survival kits for them or let them make and take their own! So many ways to make this resource memorable and fun for your staff! WHATS INCLUDED? A complete plan for how to BOOST your staff moral during September. A Survival Items List Table Signs & Bag Tags Editable PPT Option GET THE BUNDLE! Staff Morale | Sunshine Committee | BUNDLE! GRAB THIS FREEBIE FOR YOUR SUNSHINE COMMITTEE NEEDS! Sunshine Committee Binder Cover | Staff Morale | FREEBIE WHAT TYPE OF FILE IS THIS? This is a ZIP file with a PDF & editable PPT file included. ★ LET'S BE FRIENDS! Follow me on Instagram! @teachingwithapoint ★ ✩ Any questions? E-mail me! ✩ [email protected] ✩★ CHECK-OUT MY OTHER BACK TO SCHOOL RESOURCES ★✩ Back to School Night Activity Back To School: Getting To Know You Math Activities Farmhouse Back to School Essentials | BUNDLE Meet the Teacher Template - EDITABLE | MUTED NEUTRAL BOHO Coloring Pages | Back to School Parent Teacher Conference Notes | Happy Mail Back to School Pictionary | Morning Meeting Game | Activity

Spread staff sunshine with these quick, easy, and FREE ideas! Read for 5+ ideas to show appreciation for your school staff.

Are you on the Sunshine Committee this year? Some schools call it Social Committee. Whatever the name, it serves the same purpose. Usually there is a little arm twisting at the beginning of the year to get staff members to pay their dues. If your school normally doesn't allow the staff to wear jeans, you might ask your administrator if your committee could give people who pay dues a "Jean Day Coupon" that allows teachers to wear jeans on one day of their choosing. It's like a "get out of jail" card. Through the years, there has been some grumbling at some of my schools about our committee. I think this happens when there are not clear cut guidelines. There needs to be guidelines in writing and transparency with the finances. Here are a few topics to discuss when you are ready to write some guidelines: Leadership: officers and their duties I highly recommend the treasurer giving a report at the faculty meetings at least quarterly. Boss Day in October: Will the committee purchase the gift? If so, what is the budget? Appreciation Day/Week: Which staff members do you recognize? How and what is the budget? Morale booster activities: when and budget Staff parties: When, where, budget Showers: baby/wedding - Does the committee provide anything for the shower, if so what is the budget. Is it for the first baby and first wedding or other? Death: Does the committee send something from the faculty? If so, what and what is the budget? What relationship to the staff member should it be when you do this? I.E. Immediate family member Holidays: Does the committee purchase holiday gifts for any staff members? If so, who and what is the budget? I typed up a few things that I have done at some of my schools that you might like, too. These are fun activities that boost morale. Do you have a staff member that is your PTA representative? If the PTA ask you for suggestions, you might suggest that they organize food during your conferences. I helped organize this at my daughter's middle school. Her school had a week of Parent-Teacher Conferences. Students had school for half a day and then teachers met with parents the other half. Our PTA organized food the first three days for the teachers. We knew that the teachers had conferences at different times and wouldn't eat at the same time so the food had to stay fresh for a long time. We organized a salad bar one day, a nacho bar another day, and heavy appetizers the final day. This was the most popular thing that our committee organized. Click HERE to download this freebie. Looking for more tips? Check out my Beginning of the Year Pinterest board. Click on the picture below. Fern has a few tips to share with you, too. Be sure to hop over to her blog! Each week, Fern and I will share a teacher tip. We love to read teacher blogs and the latest teacher idea books and hope you do, too! Stop by Fern's blog and my blog each week for our latest tips. We hope you will share your ideas, too. Each week we will choose one person who shared a tip on our blog who will get a $10 shopping trip. We will announce the winner on the following Tuesday's post. Click HERE to read Melinda's tip. Do you have a staff morale booster tip to share? Be sure to include your email so I can contact you if you're the winner of the $10 shopping trip. You must leave your email address in order to win. Looking for more ideas? Click on the pictures below. An InLinkz Link-up Sources to make my blog post graphics can be found HERE. Click HERE to read my blog's disclosure statement.

Make an easy sunshine gift basket or box of sunshine with these fun (and yellow!) ideas. Plus, a free printable sunshine gift tag and greeting card!

Here are some tips for hosting a fun teacher awards ceremony. This is a great way to celebrate the end of the year with your fellow staff.

When I was first asked to lead our school's sunshine committee (the people who plan the parties, send cards and flowers, and generally try to improve the happiness), I was like....uh. Me? I had some good ideas, but I definitely didn't see myself leading the charge. I decided to go for it after some convincing from co-workers, and it's been so much fun! I really believe that there is magic in kindness... and spreading it makes everyone better.

Make an easy sunshine gift basket or box of sunshine with these fun (and yellow!) ideas. Plus, a free printable sunshine gift tag and greeting card!

In the world of staff morale gifts and activities, you may have noticed a common theme... food! Treats, meals, and other food-related events are pretty typical when it comes to showing appreciation for staff. While I think we'd all agree that food is a fun way to celebrate, sometimes you want an alternative, right? If you're nodding your head in agreement - I've got just the solution for you! Let's talk about some of my favorite staff morale boosters that are not food! Why Staff Morale Counts First off, why does staff morale matter? If you're an administrator or member of the staff sunshine committee, you already know the importance of staff morale. School staff members work hard! In today's social climate, staff morale is even more important as staff and teachers navigate tricky situations at school. Keeping staff morale high is important in maintaining a healthy school atmosphere. In turn, this benefits everyone involved. When staff are happy and feel appreciated, you can expect the daily routines in your building to hum right along! And remember, staff morale is important for ALL staff members, not just teachers. I'm talking about admin, cafeteria, tech support, secretarial staff, janitorial, security, counselors, librarians, and more! Everyone who works in the school is an important piece of the system. Let's do our part to show appreciation for school staff members with these fun staff morale boosters! 1. Staff Morale BINGO We're kicking off this list with one of my best-selling staff morale boosters... BINGO! Everyone knows and loves BINGO, right? I've certainly found this to be true in my own school building after years of using it. This game is a bit of a twist on the traditional, with a giant, life-size BINGO board for everyone to use! There are 2 options included, one for teaching staff and one for ALL staff, so you can choose what works best for your building. To set this up, you'll choose your favorite 25 prompts. There are 90 different ones, so no matter what you're looking to recognize and promote- there's something here for you! Prompts include making positive calls home, leaving for the day with an organized desk, not working through lunch, and more! The great thing about this resource is that you can pick and choose what works best for your school. Think about what will motivate YOUR staff, and choose accordingly. If certain prompts don't align with what you're hoping to target- simply leave them out for ones better suited. Once you choose your BINGO cards, you'll print them out - I like colorful Astrobrights paper, and then hang them on the wall to make a giant BINGO board. It's a good idea to put this in a high-traffic area so that staff members are reminded to add to it regularly. To play, staff will add their name to each BINGO card as they complete one of the prompts. Once someone has a BINGO, they win a prize. You can continue this until the board is completely filled, or you reach a set time. Either way, this one will energize and motivate staff to fill up those cards! 2. Random Acts of Kindness Poster This next option is a fun way to get all staff members involved in spreading kindness! This resource includes 10 different full-color posters with tear-off prompts for random acts of kindness. The idea is to print them off and hang them in areas where staff congregate. They will look through the prompts and select one to "pay it forward" to a colleague. The prompts include things like: pass off a book to a great friend plan a walk with a colleague after work offer to cover someone's duty bring in fresh flowers to brighten up a common area share a bottle of soap or lotion for the staff lounge provide a listening ear and many more! I love this staff morale booster because it's a way to get staff members thinking about how they can spread a little kindness on their own. I don't know about you guys, but when things are busy and crazy in my life, it can be hard to remember to slow down and think of others. This natural human tendency can stir us into a frenzy! Using random acts of kindness is a great way to reconnect with those around us and remember we're all facing challenges on a daily basis. 3. Windshield Messages Looking for a simple, non-food related way to show staff members you care? Windshield wiper cards are the perfect way to do just that! The idea behind this staff morale booster is to choose a heartfelt message for staff and leave it tucked behind the windshield wipers on their car. When they leave for the day, they will find a fun message to motivate and inspire them! I have options to carry you through the entire school year. By choosing one that relates to the season, you'll end up with whimsical notes that are pretty punny! Some of the fall notes include messages like: I be-leaf in you! Your students are falling in love with learning! We are totally NUTS about you! The fall notes will come in handy from August through November. The winter notes are filled with messages that are perfect for adding to staff vehicles right before winter break. The spring windshield notes will carry you through the spring months leading to the end of the school year. The notes include cute clipart and seasonal designs as well, so all you need to do is print and add a personal touch if desired! Your staff will love going home for the day and finding these notes waiting for them. 4. Self-Care Challenge I already mentioned my love for BINGO games, and I have another to share! This Self-Care BINGO Challenge is the perfect way to steer your staff towards focusing on health, wellness, and stress relief. This game is designed to be used after hours to help create a better work-life balance and get the necessary rest to be their best self at work. To play, each staff member will get a BINGO board. You can distribute these in staff mailboxes with instructions, or pass them out at a staff meeting. Staff members will work on completing the board throughout the month until the next meeting. This challenge will work for ALL staff members, so make sure to include everyone in your building! The boxes are filled with prompts such as: light a candle cut or color your hair take a bath binge-watch a new show find some quiet and enjoy a good book get your car washed go to bed early and more! As staff complete an item, they will mark it off. You can decide if you want them to complete 5 in a row, or go for blackout! Collect some prizes and distribute them to the winners. These scratch-offs are great options for winners! We all know what it's like to work ourselves into overdrive and never take a moment to rest. This process is exhausting and results in burnout quickly. Encourage your staff to be mindful of their self-care routines with this fun challenge! 5. Staff Favorites Book This last staff morale booster is a tried and true favorite! Plus, it can be used all year long for many situations. Creating a Staff Favorites Binder will pay off all throughout the year. The idea behind this resource is to have your staff members fill out a page with all of their favorite things. They will include things like: sweet treat office supply flower store hot beverage pen and more! Once you have everyone's sheet back, you'll make a few copies and place them in 3-ring binders. I like to make multiple copies so that I can place a binder in various places such as the office and staff lounge. As I do this, I let staff know that they will be available for random acts of kindness. If they notice that a staff member is having a rough week, they can check out the binder and pick up their favorite flowers. Or maybe they want to thank a colleague for something, so they grab a pack of their favorite pens. The nice thing about this staff morale booster is that it can be used all year long! There are food options inside, but there are plenty of non-food items listed as well, so staff can choose what they'd like to give. Staff Morale Boosters for the Whole Year Which of these is your favorite? It's hard for me to choose, but I will say that the Staff Favorites and BINGO were always a huge hit in our building. No matter what you choose, remember that it doesn't have to be anything super fancy or flashy! A simple thank you note, some fresh flowers in the lounge, or a new set of flair pens was always enough to make me smile and feel appreciated. The idea is to spread sunshine and kindness in ways that are accessible to you. If you're looking for more Staff Morale boosters, be sure to check out these posts for more inspiration! 6 Tasty Staff Snack Bars Everyone Will Love! Creating a Staff Morale Hub to Spread a Little Sunshine 6 Ways to Boost Staff Morale in Your School This Year Save this Post Pin this post on Pinterest to keep track of these staff morale boosters!

Are you on the Sunshine Committee this year? Some schools call it Social Committee. Whatever the name, it serves the same purpose. Usually there is a little arm twisting at the beginning of the year to get staff members to pay their dues. If your school normally doesn't allow the staff to wear jeans, you might ask your administrator if your committee could give people who pay dues a "Jean Day Coupon" that allows teachers to wear jeans on one day of their choosing. It's like a "get out of jail" card. Through the years, there has been some grumbling at some of my schools about our committee. I think this happens when there are not clear cut guidelines. There needs to be guidelines in writing and transparency with the finances. Here are a few topics to discuss when you are ready to write some guidelines: Leadership: officers and their duties I highly recommend the treasurer giving a report at the faculty meetings at least quarterly. Boss Day in October: Will the committee purchase the gift? If so, what is the budget? Appreciation Day/Week: Which staff members do you recognize? How and what is the budget? Morale booster activities: when and budget Staff parties: When, where, budget Showers: baby/wedding - Does the committee provide anything for the shower, if so what is the budget. Is it for the first baby and first wedding or other? Death: Does the committee send something from the faculty? If so, what and what is the budget? What relationship to the staff member should it be when you do this? I.E. Immediate family member Holidays: Does the committee purchase holiday gifts for any staff members? If so, who and what is the budget? I typed up a few things that I have done at some of my schools that you might like, too. These are fun activities that boost morale. Do you have a staff member that is your PTA representative? If the PTA ask you for suggestions, you might suggest that they organize food during your conferences. I helped organize this at my daughter's middle school. Her school had a week of Parent-Teacher Conferences. Students had school for half a day and then teachers met with parents the other half. Our PTA organized food the first three days for the teachers. We knew that the teachers had conferences at different times and wouldn't eat at the same time so the food had to stay fresh for a long time. We organized a salad bar one day, a nacho bar another day, and heavy appetizers the final day. This was the most popular thing that our committee organized. Click HERE to download this freebie. Looking for more tips? Check out my Beginning of the Year Pinterest board. Click on the picture below. Fern has a few tips to share with you, too. Be sure to hop over to her blog! Each week, Fern and I will share a teacher tip. We love to read teacher blogs and the latest teacher idea books and hope you do, too! Stop by Fern's blog and my blog each week for our latest tips. We hope you will share your ideas, too. Each week we will choose one person who shared a tip on our blog who will get a $10 shopping trip. We will announce the winner on the following Tuesday's post. Click HERE to read Melinda's tip. Do you have a staff morale booster tip to share? Be sure to include your email so I can contact you if you're the winner of the $10 shopping trip. You must leave your email address in order to win. Looking for more ideas? Click on the pictures below. An InLinkz Link-up Sources to make my blog post graphics can be found HERE. Click HERE to read my blog's disclosure statement.

I love anyway to spread staff sunshine! This sunshine cart is easy and your staff will LOVE it! We grabbed some sodas, water sweeteners, chips, candy, and nuts from the store. We made sure to get enough for one drink and one snack per person. Our sunshine committee collects dues every year so we used […]

Happy teachers mean happy students. Here is a list of ways to build morale, support teacher wellbeing and have fun as a teaching team at school.

Why not let those who work on campus know all the great things they are doing? Inspire and motivate teachers each month. Let's stop just

Give this cheerful Little Bag of Sunshine as a thoughtful gift during life's tough times and watch as that frown turns upside-down!

Basket of Sunshine Printable - brighten someone's day with this cute gift idea!

Box of Sunshine - Create a cheery box of "sunshine" filled with all kinds of goodies to make someone special smile. Free printable included!

Figuring out how to motivate staff and increase staff morale can be tough. Here are 20 staff morale boosters to help school staff feel great!

Spread staff sunshine with these quick, easy, and FREE ideas! Read for 5+ ideas to show appreciation for your school staff.

Happy teachers mean happy students. Here is a list of ways to build morale, support teacher wellbeing and have fun as a teaching team at school.

Does your school have a social committee? Sometimes it is called a sunshine committee. This is the committee that sends flowers when someone is in the hospital or has a death in the family. I thought it would be fun if we share activities our committees have organized. Luncheons If you are planning a luncheon, remember the teachers with the last lunch period. Many times it is "slim pickings" for those poor people. We tried two different things to solve this problem. We asked for at least 3 different foods of each category (if you have 3 lunch periods). We numbered the bowls/containers #1, #2, #3 with post-it notes. Those bowls were taken out of the frig during those lunch periods. We also held the luncheons on our early release days. Everyone could eat at the same time which was a nice bonus. Another problem we had with luncheons was people who came to the luncheon but didn't bring any food to share. We found a compromise. People had a choice of donating $5 or bringing a side dish or dessert. The money was used to purchase paper goods, drinks, or the main course. We ordered food like pizza or 3 inch sandwiches from Subway for the main course. Sometimes we had themes for the luncheons. We had a baked potato bar for St. Patrick's Day. This is one of the easiest luncheon to plan and cheapest, too! Read more about it HERE. Activities We organized activities such as: ***Secret Santa ***"You've Been Booed" ***Christmas cookie exchange Expressions of Support How does your school show support when a faculty member falls on hard times? Have you heard the story The Bundle of Sticks? Read about it here: click You can show support different ways. We organized meals on a schedule when a faculty or staff member (or their family member) was in the hospital. Example: Kindergarten team provided the meal on Monday, First grade provided the meal on Tuesday, and so on and so forth. Sometimes teams collected money and gave the family a gift card to a restaurant that delivered instead of home cooked meals. I asked the teachers on my facebook page if they had suggestions for this post. Here are a few suggestions: Tabitha Opio: *Breakfast with a theme each month *Cookie exchange at Christmas *During testing season they brainstorm different ways they can stump the students. *Teachers get birthday bags, too. Denise Dormer Dauphin: *Teams take turns to host a payday breakfast. HoJo's Teaching Adventures: *Tree of thanks - each teacher filled out a leaf when they wanted to recognize another staff member. *She had a principal who gave everyone apples on their birthday. Another principal gave everyone enough money to buy a pop/juice/water with a little note of thanks. Kris Weimer Cruzen: *Faculty and staff members are divided into 8 groups. Each group is responsible for organizing activities for one quarter. So, each group is responsible for 9 weeks every 2 years. *Pot luck breakfast *Happy hour *Chili cookoff *Dinner prior to conference *Christmas party *Secret Santa *Bowling after school *Trip to winery after school ****Usually has 2-3 activities each quarter

Does your school have a Sunshine Committee? Or another way to help spread happiness to your staff throughout the year? I have always loved the Sunshine Committee at my school and have always appreciated and enjoyed the little ways they try to boost morale in our school. I did not exactly volunteer to be in charge of the committee this year, but I was somehow made co-chair. It's a big job and so I was a little scared at first, but then I realized how much fun this would be and I've enjoyed helping to lead this committee so far. Some of you might be wondering what a Sunshine Committee really is so I thought I'd explain it a little bit. We all know about "Teacher Burnout" and we all know how hard it can sometimes be to make it through the entire school year. I usually start out the year with a lot of passion and enthusiasm in August, then after Christmas break, usually January to March, I start feeling worn-out and over-worked. Know the feeling? Well, the Sunshine Committee is just a little way to help teachers stay happy and positive throughout the year. We plan socials, organize treat days, and give little appreciation gifts throughout the school year. Over the years, this committee has definitely helped me feel appreciated and loved throughout the year. Here's a list of ideas of fun things you could do. We don't use all of these ideas; I just wanted to provide you with a list of possible ideas for the entire school year. This printable is available in my Sunshine Committee Ideas pack for FREE! Download it from my TPT Store: HERE! Here's how it works at my school: At the beginning of the year, teachers are asked to give a $35 "donation" to the committee. This donation gives us the budget that we need to do kind deeds throughout the year. We buy gifts for all bridal showers, baby showers, and when people experience the death of a close loved one. We do meals for the staff twice a year. We usually provide the main dish and paper products for the Christmas Party (the side dishes are usually potluck style) and we always do a full catered meal at the end of year banquet. We usually organize some sort of Thanksgiving meal too. I think last year we did potluck soups and our committee provided the paper products. We usually try to find little times throughout the year to put treats in the faculty room. It could be doughnuts the day after parent teacher conferences or themed treats for a holiday. I think this year I want to do a soda party with a variety of flavored syrups just for fun on a Friday afternoon when everyone could use a little pick-me-up. As a way to say thank you to everyone for paying their Sunshine dues, I made these little bags of sunshine. We did Worthers (although any gold/yellow item would work), and included a coupon for an extra 30 min of prep. All teachers have to do is take the coupon to the office and schedule a time when an administrator can take the class for 30 minutes. That gives our principal and vice principal an opportunity to go into the classrooms and work directly with a group of students. They'll just take their favorite read aloud story with them and read, which means that the teachers won't have to provide sub plans. Want a copy of all my Sunshine Committee printables?! Grab them for FREE from my TPT Store: HERE! This week, our committee is putting on a Pumpkin Party. (I got this idea from one of our Facebook followers who commented on my Facebook post a few weeks back.) Just to celebrate fall, we've asked everyone to bring (if they want) some kind of food item that has pumpkin as an ingredient. It could also be anything that looks like a pumpkin or really anything that is orange. I'm excited to see what everyone will come up with. I will purchase pumpkin plates and we'll decorate the teacher's lounge orange and black and leave the decorations up until after Halloween. In the past our school's Sunshine Committee has done some sort of Biggest Loser Competition for anyone who wants to participate. We usually ask people to donate $5 to a pot, then we commit to certain goals, and have daily points for exercising, drinking water, avoiding soda, etc. At the end of the competition the money goes to people who met their goal. I'm not sure how the competition will look this year, but we'll probably start something up in January to encourage teachers to be healthy for the new year. I think I'll end this post here and maybe continue with some more ideas another day. As you can see, having a Sunshine Committee could be a huge benefit to any school. Teaching is a wonderful and rewarding job, but sometimes it's the little things can help us have more fun in the workplace. I would LOVE to hear any other great ideas that you have! Please leave a comment and let me know if your school has a Sunshine Committee and what you do to help boost morale at your school. For those of you who don't already have something like this, would you consider starting one at your school?

If you read forums for teachers, job satisfaction surveys, or listen to conversation in the teachers’ lounge you will often hear a common theme in the complaints of teachers. Teachers who are unhappy feel unappreciated and unrecognized for their hard work. Although a raise would put a smile on teachers everywhere, this may not be possible with the current state of economics. Have you read Malcom Gladwell’s book, The Tipping Point? One of the examples he gives in his book is the NYC subway system. George L. Kelling was hired as a consultant in 1985 to test his broken windows theory. The city cleaned the subway system of graffiti. Graffiti was quickly cleaned any time it appeared. The theory was that small crimes lead to bigger crimes. Purging the subway of graffiti was the tipping point to make the NYC subway system safer. Small crimes lead to bigger crimes. I think a few negative comments can spread quicker than 48-hour flu in a school. Soon it seems like the entire staff is infected with negativ-itis. It is possible to make teachers, staff members, and co-workers of your school feel appreciated and recognized for their hard work. The best thing is the school climate doesn't have to be the responsibility of one person in the school. Do you think your co-workers are feeling a little stressed? Do you hear more snips and snarks than comments of appreciation? Have there been changes on your campus . . . new team members, administrators, curriculum, or expectations? If this sounds familiar, you could be the change agent at your school. Sometimes it is the administrator, team leaders, or Sunshine Committee than plans school climate and community building events. But, one thing I have found through the years. Everyone loves a helping hand. If you step up to the plate, you will have their undying gratitude. After a few community building events, you will have a happier place to work. So, it is a win-win for everyone. For whatever reason, I have always enjoyed planning these type of things. I know it is crazy, right?!! I have been on a social committee for my neighborhood homeowner association, a school's Sunshine Committee, and planned monthly luncheons for my daughter's middle school. Through all of these experiences, I have picked up a few tips and tricks that make putting on a luncheon for a large group a little easier. Food brings people together, it bonds them, it is just that simple. If at all possible it is best to plan the date of your luncheon on a day when everyone can eat lunch at the same time. Do not forget to include everyone in your school family like the custodial staff and secretaries. If you do plan the luncheon on a day when you have multiple lunch periods, set out fresh food each lunch period. I just added a new School Climate packet that includes what you see above. Each luncheon has a PDF that is "PRINT & GO" prefilled for your luncheon. There is also a blank signup in the EDITABLE file so you can personalize it to fit your needs. The sign is EDITABLE, too so you can add the date, time, and place. There are also notes (6 per page) so you can write little notes of support, encouragement, thank you, and give treats. There is room that you can write a note or attach a treat. Who doesn't love to get a little note in your mailbox? Some of these are colorful and some are black & white. Look for the Positive is a system where staff members recognize other staff members. This system could also be used with students. Staff members fill out a nomination about another staff member who is: ALL HEART: A person who is kind and helpful to others. ALL STAR: A person who shines at his or her job and goes beyond what is required. ALL SMILES: A person who has a positive attitude and a joy to be around. OUR TREASURE: A person who is worth his or her weight in gold. Prizes can be whatever you want. I made these signs to hang outside classrooms to recognize teachers. I bought the supplies at Hobby Lobby. At one of my schools, the prize was a front row parking spot. That was a very popular prize! If a luncheon seems like a bigger job than you want to tackle this year, I included monthly events that are still fun, but on a smaller scale. The signs are editable so you can add the date and time. Click HERE find out more plus get a FREEBIE in the preview file. Click HERE to check out the preview file. Sources to make my blog post graphics can be found HERE. Click HERE to read my blog's disclosure statement.

Like a beautiful campfire, staff morale needs to be monitored and stoked to keep the happy fires burning. It's no secret that teachers are over worked and sometimes under appreciated. For most teachers, it's the