Finding Balance: Wellness After the Return to the Classroom

Written by: Leith Monaghan

The Return

When the cold crisp air begins to infiltrate the dog days of summer, the educator’s senses begin to tingle, signalling it is almost time for the  “return” – the seasonal fall migration from a teacher’s summer locale to their winter working grounds in the classroom.  

The “return” can be a jolt to the system.  After a summer of self-care and relaxation, the flurry of fall activity is intense, going from 0 to 100. Over the summer months, maybe you made a promise to yourself that this would be the year of work-life balance, of self-care.  Any routines or thoughts you had for maintaining wellness could have flown right out that classroom window within the first few weeks of school.  

In some parts of the country, teachers are facing down a secondary “return”.  If you are one of 51,000 educators who went on strike on October 6 in Alberta, your classroom and personal routines were disrupted as you walked out of the classroom without a return date. Strikes can conjure up a mix of emotions, including a sense of purpose and solidarity, but also significant stress, anxiety, and financial hardship. As this conflict draws on, what will the “return” to school look like?  How do we recover and move past what was said? Will the community still support teachers?  Will teachers get the working conditions that are needed to do their job sustainably, or is it back to the status quo? Ultimately, the underlying issues of this strike are how the system can change to better support teacher and student wellness as one of the key pillars to learning and growth. As an individual, you can only control so much during these times.  Here are some thoughts to consider about personal well-being when returning to the classroom.  

 

Building Your Team

After the initial rush has subsided, take time to connect with your team – whether it’s you and your EA, your Grade team, or your collective staff.  These will be “your people” for the year, your “ride or die team”.  Through the rush of the “return”, the step of simply forming and norming with the adults around you often is overlooked.  Find time to connect over a beverage, a game of disc golf, or use a more formal way to understand each other’s strengths.  Use the VIA Character test or find a kid-friendly version for free.  Are you a Lion, Beaver or Golden Retriever is always a fun one! By understanding the needs and work habits of your coworkers, more time can be spent on building a cohesive team that contributes to wellness for all.    

 

Resources for Wellness

To help you through these transitional times, whether you are settling into your yearly teacher routine or you are thinking about what your routine will look like when the job action has been settled, Ever Active has some suggested wellness listening. Below are episodes from The Podclass: Conversations on School Health to help you consider what your year of wellness looks like both inside and outside of the classroom.  

Finding Time to Fill Your Bucket

After the initial shock of the “return”, remember life will even out, providing time to discover what will refill your bucket this school year. There is no magic, one size fits all for wellness, and this can change with yearly expectations and workload.  Maybe you scored the dream class, giving you the time and energy to address your wellness needs.  Or you were assigned the overflowing class of complex needs, and survival self-care is all you can manage.  Whatever your 2025-2026 school year reality is, find those tiny rituals at the beginning or end of your day to make you whole again.