Each year during the month of May, FWSU takes the opportunity to celebrate the work and learning of our new teachers and their mentors.
The year’s focus was on “Wellness Strategies to Promote Joy” in our classrooms and in the profession. In our last Professional Practice forum, new teachers worked on a personal legacy statement. During our final celebration, new educators shared those “legacies” with their mentors in a one-word summary.
In addition to delicious food, friendly conversation, and legacy sharing, we ended the year as we began in August, working with Dr. Joelle Van Lent, PsyD.
This time, her message centered on maintaining compassion satisfaction as resilient teachers. She urged new teachers and mentors to be mindful of creating balance between satisfaction and fatigue to support a healthy professional quality of life. She provided participants with useful suggestions to support that balance.
This year’s cohort also received a copy of Self-Care for Teachers, a helpful resource to extend their learning.
As the year winds to a close, we are grateful to our new Teachers and their mentors for their perseverance and commitment, and we thank them for their many positive contributions to our schools. We wish all of our educators a restful, rejuvenating, and JOYFUL summer break!
Linda Keating is the Director of Curriculum at FWSU. She is a regular contributor to the FWSU Blog. You can follow her on Twitter @Educate4ward
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