Jordan District's Annual Wellness Day is for Employees AND Students
Wellness Day is an instructional day and wellness content is provided by the District for students and families to use.
Wellness Day is intended to offer employees time and space to meet their unique wellness needs
Easy steps for engaging your school community in Wellness Day
- Send a message to your community using one of these pre-made tools:
- Skylert Template
- Social Media Advertising (Instagram, Facebook, etc.)
- School-wide morning/afternoon announcement script
- Send a flyer home to parents
- Involve students, parents, and employees; let them spread the message with you!
- Hang up one of these posters where people will see it, or create your own with your school's branding
- Incentivize participation for students AND employees
- Host your own Wellness Challenge for students with small prizes
- Offer time for students to make a plan and see the content
- Complete the Employee Challenge as a school
- Host a DIY Wellness Day activity for Employees (it is not expected that you will plan activities for students to attend)
- Come up with a fun way for people at your school to share what they did on wellness day: picture wall, class competitions,
- (Extra Credit) Enjoy the benefits of a school community that prioritizes wellness!
Your cheat sheet! FAQ for students and families
What is the point of Wellness Day?
Jordan School District has converted Friday, Feb. 9, into a Wellness Day for employees, students, and families. Our District is providing time for students, families, and employees to learn information and participate in activities that help us focus on our own wellness.
Wellness Day is a virtual learning day, meaning schools will be closed to students, including busing, food services, and access to teachers/offices. Student and family resources are available on the JSD Wellness website so you can make choices about what would be most helpful and appropriate for members of your family. We encourage you to make a plan suited for your unique wellness needs, using the available resources or ideas that work best for your family.
Will students be graded on their Wellness Day activities? What will happen if students do not participate in any way on Wellness Day?
Students do not need to submit their work from Wellness Day. Though we believe in the power of taking intentional time to address and plan for well-being, there are no repercussions for students who are unable or choose to not participate on Wellness Day.
All the activities seem to be built around an acronym S.E.L.F.I.E. What is that and why does it matter?
Herriman High School’s psychologist Casey Pehrson developed The S.E.L.F.I.E. Method, which is an acronym for self-care and a powerful arsenal against depression. Feeling down and wanting to feel good? Or do you feel pretty good and want to feel even better? Take a S.E.L.F.I.E. No matter where you are on the well-being “scale,” this six-item toolkit will help you and your clients kick your energy, health, and happiness up a notch (or several).
The activities developed for students to use on Wellness Day were designed to build these skills. We believe that when we get enough sleep, move our bodies, safely spend time in the sun, prioritize fun, interact with friends and family, and fuel our bodies with a balanced diet will lead to increased well-being. The activities are developed for Wellness Day, but live on our website full time so students and their families can utilize them all year long.
How do we access the activities on Wellness Day?
The student activities are built around a wellbeing acronym developed by a Jordan District employee named Casey Pehrson, a school psychologist. The acronym “S.E.L.F.I.E.” stands for sleep, exercise, light, fun, interaction, and eating right. Below are all of the activities by grade level that were developed to build these wellness skills. For more information on S.E.L.F.I.E., listen to our Superintendent Godfrey discuss it with Casey Pehrson on the JSD Wellness website. To access the S.E.L.F.I.E. activities, follow the steps below:
- Go to wellness.jordandistrict.org/resources
- Scroll to the bottom of the page, where you will see different colored hearts and links by grade level.
- Click the appropriate grade level and a new page will open.
- All activities will be listed on multiple pages, which can be overwhelming to some. Consider having students plan their day in school the day or week before February 9th in case families don’t have strong wi-fi or if they have printing needs. It can also be broken down with the help of a teacher.
- The top option when the link is clicked offers all of the activities, developed for the specific grade in English. If you continue to scroll you will find a Spanish translation and a modified version for different learners. Please discreetly ensure that the students who may benefit from those offerings know how to find it.
Your Cheat Sheet! Wellness Day FAQ for Employees
What is the point of Wellness Day?
Jordan School District has converted Friday, Feb. 9, into a Health & Wellness Day for employees, students, and families. Our District is providing time for students, families, and employees to learn information and participate in activities that help us focus on our own health and wellness.
What is the difference between employee Wellness Day and Wellness Day for students and families?
Wellness Day is a virtual learning day, meaning the school will be closed to students, including busing, food services, access to teachers/offices. Student and family resources are available on the JSD Wellness website so you can make choices about what would be most helpful and appropriate for members of your family. We encourage you to make a plan suited for your unique wellness needs, using the available resources or ideas that work best for your family.
Employees are encouraged to spend the day in their schools or within the district to enhance wellness skills with our JSD community. School-based activity information can be accessed through their administration and/or Wellness Representative. District-based activity information is available on the District Health and Wellness website. Employees are also welcome to take the day off, without a need for a substitute or lesson plan. As much as we would love to offer the day to be “Work From Home” or a day off entirely, the JSD school board has approved Health and Wellness Day under the circumstances listed on our website.
What is the teacher’s responsibility to students on Wellness Day?
Teachers do not have any obligations to their students on Wellness Day and are instructed to treat their students the same way they would any time after contract hours. Before Wellness Day, we encourage you to inform students about Wellness Day, support them in their planning efforts, and communicate the need for both students and teachers to use the day to address wellness needs on their own.
Why don’t we just get the day off?
Wellness Day was approved as a paid opportunity to focus inward on wellness needs and explore options for meeting them in the workplace and with their community of co-workers, while students address their needs through a virtual learning day with their families. Employees may choose to take annual leave or vacation, rather than attend wellness activities.
We encourage participation because the JSD Health and Wellness Department believes that community is a vital part to wellbeing. Our intention with this day is to build a deeper sense of community between the adults in the building through science backed, evidence based wellness practices for free. We have developed age appropriate, accommodated, differentiated, and evidence-based skill building activities for students, rather than asking teachers to provide curriculum.
That said, we understand the roadblocks that stand in the way for our employees with children, especially those who live in the district. We are working with PTAs to provide daycare and to consistently improve our annual Wellness Day so it is something we can all look forward to and enjoy as a community.