Welcome to the September 2022 edition of the "School Celebration Newsletter." September is a critical month to keep yourself reminded of goals you set this summer. Are you getting enough sleep? Are you eating healthy most of the time? Are you getting exercise and taking timeouts from electronics? It is so important for all educators to make time this month and do something to charge their batteries. I want to challenge you to make a music playlist for yourself to listen to on your drive home to help reset your mind from work to family time. What will be your go-to song?

In this month's edition, you will find so many fun and easy-to-implement ideas. Choose a couple and use them to bring some fun and joy to your school. I am an email away if there is anything I can do to support your work AND please send me a picture of your celebrations @sholtys. Take care and be well.

September Days of Celebration

September 1 | American Chess Day | So many great ideas for this one….bring games for staff to share throughout the day, encourage a family game night, purchase crowns for everyone to be royalty or ask staff to take a selfie using a filter that adds a crown to their head and then upload the pictures in a collage.

September 2 | National College Colors Day | What a great way to bring in some fun for your staff and celebrate higher education no matter the level of your school. Encourage staff to wear college, military, or trade school attire. Wear something from your Alma Mater (I will be wearing #wildcatforlife). If you are an AVID school make sure you take a staff picture to use in your spring report.

September 5 | Labor Day | Please take the day to rest-no work today!

September 6 | Read A Book Day | A great day to promote literacy with your students. Read in classrooms, at lunch, a Facebook live, create a staff-recommended section of books in your library or make a poster for staff to write in their current reads.

September 8 | National Actors Day | Another simple idea to incorporate with your staff. Make a chart in your staff room with post-its for staff to write their favorite character on. AND if you have a theater program/club/class CELEBRATE these amazing students today!

September 9 | National Teddy Bear Day | Everyone shares a picture of their favorite stuffed animal today. It is also International Sudoku Day Print up a couple puzzles at various levels (easy, medium, hard), and the first to solve gets a prize. The more complicated the puzzle the better the prize.

September 12 | National Day of Encouragement; National High 5 Day AND National Video Games Day | This is a ridiculous day of SO much goodness. High 5 your students every opportunity!! Provide note cards for staff and students to write words of encouragement for each other. AND if you have an e-sport team CELEBRATE these awesome kids and program today!!

September 13 | Fortune Cookie Day | Pass out fortune cookies to staff today.

September 14 | National Coloring Day | Have a coloring competition for staff and/or students. Did you know they have coloring books designed for teachers and those of us in education? (Heads up–Check the appropriateness ahead of time) There are also some great adult coloring books to help with emotional regulation. I placed several of those books in my staff room last year and the feedback was awesome. Don’t forget the good crayons though! You could easily create a slide show of the final products for social media.

September 15 | National Linguine Day | Help your staff answer the dreaded “what are we having for dinner tonight?”

September 15 is also National Online Learning Day | Have staff take a picture of their online workspace and then have the pictures posted in a location where staff can guess which picture belongs to whom.

September 16 | National Guacamole Day | What a great day to have a “Nacho Ordinary Friday” with a Nacho and Taco Potluck. Ask staff to bring something to help feed everyone and don’t forget the VIP guest—the Guacamole!

September 19 | Talk Like A Pirate Day | Need I say MORE???

September 22 | Hobbit Day | Use quotes from this classic story throughout the day and have your staff guess which character said it for door prizes.

September 22 | National Ice Cream Cone Day | Not a fan of the Hobbit? Well, it is also the day to eat an ice cream cone!! Purchase ice cream drumsticks and pass them out today.

September 23 | Love Note Day | This is a great day for you to write a love note to those that support and love you as we get going in this new school year.

September 26 | National Family Day | An awesome opportunity to encourage your staff to leave their laptops at school and focus on their family this evening. (PS Principals should participate in this also, just saying).

September 26 | National Pancake Day | I love days that I can meet and break bread with my staff. As staff to join you at a restaurant this morning to celebrate Pancakes. (Everyone pays their own way) OR ask your PTO or a Booster club to help sponsor a pancake feed before school.

September 27 | World Tourism Day | This could be a great entry activity or exit slip for your staff to share or simply utilize a question board in your staff room. Ask staff if they could travel anywhere on earth free of charge where would they go?

September 28 | National Good Neighbor Day | Have students do an act of kindness for their neighbor today or write a brief note of encouragement/appreciation to a local neighborhood business that supports their school or sports league.

September 28 | National Strawberry Cream Pie Day | No explanation needed on this one.

September 29 | National Coffee Day | Coffee bar in the staff room and bring all of the fall creamers you can find at your local grocery store.

September 30 | Chewing Gum Day | Be cautious on this one……. But my FAVORITE for Sept 30 is National Love People Day what a great reason to send messages to remind people you care or provide an opportunity for staff to share words of encouragement to others.