SPS Wellness Goals

SPS Monthly Wellness Tips: Three Goals for 2023-2024
We are still over here in our wellness era; are you? March is a perfect time to keep your focus on those three goals we have been harping on all year: Movement, connections, and work-life balance. 

• Movement: In February, The Payne County Health Department offered their first free exercise class to SPS employees that focuses on Tai Chi, Flexibility, and Strength. Although this first session is for elementary folks and staff that get off earlier in the day, the new session will begin later in the day! Mark your calendar for March 28 at 4:30. A new FREE session of Tai Chi will begin for SPS staff. Thursday sessions will be held at the Payne County Health Department in their Education Room. We will meet weekly until the week after school gets out! 

• Connections:  Springtime in Stillwater offers lots of opportunities to connect with friends and the larger community. There are bike races, arts festivals, and sporting events - these are a few of the ways that people can come together in the coming weeks. Sometimes life can be so busy in the spring, it can be hard to keep up with it all!  Making sure that you focus on intentional connections is a way to  make sure that you do not become overwhelmed with all that life throws at us.

• Work-Life Balance: Spring Break beckons with promises of relaxation and adventure, offering a much-needed respite from the day to day.  For students and staff, spring break offers a chance to recharge outside the classroom, fostering personal growth and creativity. Integrating moments of relaxation into daily routines is key to sustaining balance year-round and spring break is the perfect time to start habits that will sustain us through the rest of the school year.

Monthly Wellness Challenges 

By participating in the monthly challenges, SPS Staff have the opportunity to win various “Wellness Kits.” Each kit focuses on different dimensions of wellness. Each month you have the opportunity to win one of the following prizes: 

• Self-Care Kit (coffee/tea gift cards, wellness books and activities, massage)

• Nature Kit (terrarium, plants, gardening tools, etc)

• Fitness Kit (gym towels, weights, gym bag, insulated water bottle, massage balls) 

• Movement Kit (Fitbit, weights, water bottle, etc)

• Hiking Kit (Lake McMurtry annual pass, hiking equipment, hammock, and more)

In addition to these Wellness Kits, there are also smaller prizes such as weights, hammocks, insulated water bottles and much more! 

This is open to ALL SPS staff. To participate in this month's challenge, simply fill out this form. 

Staff Connections + Movement for the Win!

Stillwater Public Schools has some amazing folks going above and beyond to find ways to connect with our colleagues and get moving. Here are some highlights.

SPS Staff Volleyball League: Suzanne Tackett started the SPS Staff Volleyball League which had some great involvement from several schools. There have been several matches, and there were teams at Westwood, SMS, and Sangre. Sarah Ehrlich had this to say about SPS Staff Volleyball:

“The staff volleyball league was amazing! It was so fun to see the talent across the district as well as spend time in friendly but competitive game play with both my colleagues at my school and from other sites! The laughs we shared were so great for the soul! We have some amazingly talented volleyball players in our district! I encourage every school to get involved the next time we have a volleyball league or another game or sport!  It was just the best time! Kudos to Suzanne for putting this together!”

To learn more about SPS Volleyball, and to help out or be involved in the future, please email [email protected].  

SPS Staff Tai Chi: We also have been enjoying a free Tai Chi class offered at no cost by the Payne County Health Department. As of now, there is one session that meets on Tuesdays at Highland Park Elementary at 3:30, and beginning in March there will also be a class on Thursdays at 4:30. This class will be held at the Payne County Health Department in their Education Room. The class consists of 30 minutes of tai chi, flexibility, and strength training. This is what the PCHD Health Educator has to say about this class: "School staff work so hard every day and our goal is to help support and take care of them in their physical and mental health." We will send an update about the March Tai-Chi and registration link soon! 

Will Rogers Yoga Day: On one of our recent PD Days, Will Rogers had a local yoga teacher and parent come do yoga with their staff. The yoga teacher guided staff through basic forms of yoga, as well as guided meditation, breathing exercises, and stretching. According to Dane Sallaska Will Rogers principal Dane Sallaska: “IT WAS AMAZING.”

Guitar Club at Lincoln Academy: Wellness isn’t just physical…it encompasses several different dimensions. Music and connections with others can be incredibly beneficial to our overall health. Lincoln students and staff recently were awarded a SPEF grant and they have used it to purchase guitars and start a guitar club. Former SPS parent and local musician Walter Kelley came to help them get started. Way to go Lincoln!

Pre-K Wellness at Highland Park: Tammy Moffat, a Pre-K teacher, is another wellness innovator. Mrs. Moffett and the others on the Pre-K team usually get their step goal in by about… oh, 9 am. (If you know, you know). Anyhow, she gave some great suggestions on how she incorporates movement into her day. 

• To get our day started as a class, we do breathing and stretching exercises. 

• When our students are at recess, I take advantage of the time to get some steps in by walking around the playground with classmates and doing standing heel/toe rises.

• In the classroom, we do lots of music and movement brain breaks by Danny Go!

Family Engagement Night

We had a great turnout at Stillwater Public Library for our first Family Engagement Night! Over 13 agencies were represented from the Stillwater community, and they had lots of fun giveaways. Great conversations with speakers from the community highlighted the importance of positive mental health, connections, and the awareness of drug use and abuse. We hope to build off of these important topics and have plans for events in the future.  

The Dietitians Dish: Contributed by SPS Nutrition Director Krista Neal, MS, RD/LD, SNS

It’s National Nutrition Month, so here are recipes to help you get more vegetables in your diet. It may not be soup weather, but I always like soup. All year. Even in the summer. Just like I like ice cream in summer and winter. Here are two recipes that are on repeat at our house

Instant Pot Lentil Soup from Rainbow Plant Life. I follow this recipe. I never follow the recipe, but I follow this one exactly as written. I suggest getting lentils at Himalaya Market, just because they’re nice people. It's a fun store, and it will give you an excuse to visit if you haven’t been in before. I like using rainbow potatoes because they’re fun. This is a great start if you are considering adding more vegetarian or vegan recipes to your life. 

I’ve never had a bad Pioneer Woman recipe, and this  Dumpling Soup is no exception. Of course, I add more vegetables, because that’s what I do. I like extra carrots and green onions. I add mushrooms and any other random half-bags of vegetables I have in the freezer. This is a good recipe to use up leftovers. The recipe calls for Miso Paste, which we get at CM Market. Again, use this as an excuse to visit. They’re also nice people and the store is fun. My family has dumpling opinions. We like  bibigo Korean Style Mini Wontons. Although, CM Market has so many great dumplings and wontons, that we haven’t tried them all. 

Upcoming Events

Upcoming Events:

• March 7: Stillwater Public Library Presents “Kids Leap and Parents Learn” 

  • 6-7:30; This is a great opportunity for adults to learn about child health and processed foods from Dr. Ashlea Braun! Kids between the grades of 3-5 are welcome to jump free.  Register and learn more here. 

• March 9: OSU Museum of Art Second Saturday 

  • 11-2; Experience FREE hands-on art activities designed to be inclusive of visitors of all ages and abilities. Learn more here. 

• March 14-17: Mid South Endurance Festival 

  • Even if you aren’t racing in Mid-South, there is still so much to do as a part of this festival! Check out the full schedule of events here. 

• March 23-24: Lake McMurtry Beginners Backpack Clinic 

  • 9-5, This beginners backpacking clinic will teach you all the basics you need to know for your next backpacking adventure! Hosted by Another Mile or So backpacking group, this clinic will take you through the trails of Lake McMurtry while you make friends and connections. Don't miss this amazing adventure!

• March 25: Yoga in the Plaza 

  • 5:30 pm; Certified Yoga Instructor Laurielle Prema will lead this Vinyasa-Style yoga class.  This event is free and open to the public. Go enjoy free yoga in the peaceful MCPA Outdoor Plaza and reset your mind!