Weekly Wellness Blog Wednesday August 11th, 2020

Article of the Week.

Video of the Week - The Power of a Teacher | Adam Saenz | TEDxYale

Highlights From WNT ( Wellbeing Network Team)

Cooking with Amy

This Saturday we will make a Mix-in-the-pan chocolate cake. As usual, we meet on Zoom at 9am.

Join Zoom Meeting

https://zoom.us/j/96213378455?pwd=OFFKWFdGMm1wSU12K2YvWmdyNmM2QT09

Meeting ID: 962 1337 8455

Passcode: bake

You will need:

1 1/4 cup flour 8 inch square glass baking pan

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa measuring cups (dry and liquid)

1 cup sugar measuring spoons

1/2 t. salt fork and spoon for mixing

3/4 t. baking soda rubber spatula

1 cup water damp paper towel

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 t. vanilla

1 t. vinegar

Missing your office chair?

Please email mryan@aischennai.org if you would like your office chair to be delivered home before this Friday the 14th of August. He will revert back to you on the process involved with the delivery of the chairs.

AISC's Recipe Book 

Have a penchant for cooking? Please consider sharing a favorite recipe (that you're able to find the ingredients locally) so that we can all have a little more variety.  Just add a slide and input your recipe's details. Click Here

Reminders & Upcoming Event Suggestions

ART Workshops

Click Here

Click Here

Click Here

Click Here

Click Here

Click Here

MUSIC

Click Here

Click Here

RECYCLE and REUSE

 Click Here

Click Here

Fitness

Local Businesses, Restaurants and Take Away

Please feel free to send me contact details of people you may know who may benefit from this platform. You may email me at vpriya@aischennai.org

Here are my suggestions for local businesses you may want to explore and give a chance to invest in.  These suggestions are to kickstart this initiative. 

Tailor

TGIHomemade

Check us out on Facebook @TGIHomemade or Instagram @thankgoditishomemade 

Call Barkha- 99404 73768 for a custom menu.

Shiraz Cafe

Sugar Momma

Sinful Temptations

Contact 8939254425

Cardy's Catering

For Pet Lovers

The Farm 

OUR FARM SHOP IS OPEN.

WE ARE WORKING ON A PRE-ORDER & PICK-UP BASIS ONLY.

PLEASE CONTACT US ON 9384677571 OR 9176050562 TO RECEIVE OUR SHOP PRODUCT LIST. WE WILL NOT BE ABLE TO ENTERTAIN WALK-INS & OTHER VISITORS DUE TO SAFETY PROTOCOL.

SHOP WORKING HOURS FOR JULY 2020: WEDNESDAY TO SATURDAY

Wellness Academy

We are fully aware that social connections and virtual community activities are needed to support our wellbeing in this time of uncertainty.  If you are interested in supporting us in this fill out this Google Form to apply to lead a course within the Wellness Academy for the Fall and/or Spring semester- (stipend included).

*If you have any questions about these processes, you can email me at vpriya@aischennai.org 

We hope to hear from you and would love any support you can provide as we strive to support our staff and faculty wellbeing in these times of uncertainty. Please email me if you are interested in joining the Faculty Wellness Committee (led by Priya). 

The latest addition to animated Disney movies is set to be a spy comedy. Will Smith plays super-spy Lance Sterling in this comedy, whereas Tom Holland of Spider-Man fame plays scientist Walter Beckett. Both of them are complete opposites of one another. Lance is smooth, suave, and debonair, while Walter… well, none of the above. But, this unlikely duo must pair up for a mission to save the world against an experiment, which has incidentally turned Lance into a… wait for it… pigeon!

Release Date – August 8, 2020

Cooking Video of the Week

Mushroom, Leek and Tarragon Pasta - Gordon Ramsay

A simple dish of pasta with a creamy mushroom sauce and fresh garlic bruschetta. Leeks are a fantastic ingredient - cheap and easy to work with and they give a subtle savory flavor.

August Birthdays

Rebecca Thomas	August 1
Jennifer Cypra	August 2
Pepper McFarland	August 3
Jodie Sovak	August 7
Michele Ness	August 10
Serge Nicolai	August 15
Mohan Kumar	August 16
Angeline Mohan	August 17
Prasanth Baskaran	August 22
Esther Dharmaraj	August 23
John Sandman	August 31

Weekly Wellness Blog Wednesday August 5th, 2020

Wishing you all a happy first day of school tomorrow. After almost 20 years in education, I still have difficulty sleeping the night before opening day. I've barely slept this summer truth be told in anticipation of the new year. I am sure most of you would share the exact same sentiment. The first day of school, for me as an educator, has always been symbolic of the continual renewal that is teaching, living, and working in schools. We too, teachers, administrators, and staff share with our families the excitement that comes from the expectation of a new year, a new opportunity, and a new journey. This year is like no year before as we open virtually. I wish you all the very best you embark on yet another adventure with your students this academic year.

Inspirational Article \ Video Of The Week

Article of the Week - 

Teacher wellbeing in a changing environment

Video of the Week 

In this inspirational video, Steve Jobs shares the pivotal moments that shaped his life and career. He explains how seemingly meaningless moments, can have a profound impact on future events – such as when he sat in on calligraphy classes at college.“None of this had even a hope of any practical application in my life. But years later, when we were designing the first Macintosh computer, it all came back to me.”
Jobs ends his speech with the immortal words, “Stay hungry. Stay foolish.”

Highlights From WNT ( Wellbeing Network Team)

Sound Bowl Session by Nora Lim

This Friday evening at 5:00 PM Nora Lim will be offering an evening of Sound Bowl Session. It will be a combination of Yin Yoga (very gentle and passive restorative postures held for a longer period of time, suitable for all) with Sound Chakra bowls. She encourages participants to have 4 bath towels handy for props. It will be an hour-long session. 
Here is the Zoom link for access to the class.

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/6545108074

Meeting ID: 654 510 8074 
Do join in this once in a lifetime opportunity. You may also link to the class schedule page to access the class through the Zoom link there. https://www.thinkoffthemat.com/practice-doesnt-have-to-make-perfect

Baking with Amy

Saturday Baking new link:

Join Zoom Meeting https://zoom.us/j/96213378455?pwd=OFFKWFdGMm1wSU12K2YvWmdyNmM2QT09 Meeting ID: 962 1337 8455 Passcode: bake

This week we will test a new salty/sweet recipe for potato chips shortbreads. You will need:

113 grams (1/2 cup) butter, softened

½ cup sugar (plus a little more rolling the cookies in)

1 cup flour, plus more for dusting

1 1/2 cup potato chips, crushed

1 teaspoon salt

bowl, plastic wrap, cookie sheet

Heartfulness Practice with Bindu

Click Here - Heartfulness Practices

Losing sleep over the coronavirus pandemic? - Sleep Poster

Not been sleeping well lately? There’s a consensus that most people need 7-8 hours of sleep under normal circumstances. But taking into account the current worldwide issue of COVID-19, it’s bound to create a lot of anxiety and stresses related to several unknowns that we encounter daily. The current situation also raises the emotional bar, leaving us all with many unanswered questions: What’s going to happen next? What are we going to do? How are we going to deal with it? How’s it going to affect our lives in the short and long term?

The pandemic has created so much uncertainty in our lives, it’s leading to many disruptions and is taking a toll on our sleep hygiene. Good, quality sleep is essential for a balanced and healthy immune system, but when you have so much fear and apprehension, your sleep is going to be disrupted, thus affecting your overall immune system. Unfortunately, these stressors don’t stop with just the health aspects. It also affects us all socially, financially, professionally, etc. So, it’s not unexpected to see our sleep patterns being altered.

Here is a poster designed for AISC high school students using data from the Challenge/Success survey that high school students took last February. Please click on this link to get a better view. This may assist you with how to deal with the issue of lack of sleep.

Missing your office chair?

Please email mryan@aischennai.org if you would like your office chair to be delivered home. He will revert back to you on the process involved with the delivery of the chairs.

AISC's Recipe Book - Click Here

Have a penchant for cooking? Please consider sharing a favorite recipe (that you're able to find the ingredients locally) so that we can all have a little more variety.  Just add a slide and input your recipe's details. 

Reminders & Upcoming Event Suggestions

Fitness

Click Here

Click Here

Art Workshops

Beginners Zentangle Workshop - Click Here

FLORAL Doodles workshop - Click Here

Art and Culture

Mindfulness

Click Here

Local Businesses, Restaurants and Take Away

Please feel free to send me contact details of people you may know who may benefit from this platform. You may email me at vpriya@aischennai.org

Here are my suggestions for local businesses you may want to explore and give a chance to invest in.  These suggestions are to kickstart this initiative. 

Shiraz Cafe

TGIHomemade

Check us out on Facebook @TGIHomemade or Instagram @thankgoditishomemade 

Call Barkha- 99404 73768 for a custom menu.

Sugar Momma

Sinful Temptations

Contact 8939254425

Cardy's Catering

For Pet Lovers

The Farm 

OUR FARM SHOP IS OPEN.

WE ARE WORKING ON A PRE-ORDER & PICK-UP BASIS ONLY.

PLEASE CONTACT US ON 9384677571 OR 9176050562 TO RECEIVE OUR SHOP PRODUCT LIST. WE WILL NOT BE ABLE TO ENTERTAIN WALK-INS & OTHER VISITORS DUE TO SAFETY PROTOCOL.

SHOP WORKING HOURS FOR JULY 2020: WEDNESDAY TO SATURDAY

Wellness Academy

We are fully aware that social connections and virtual community activities are needed to support our wellbeing in this time of uncertainty.  If you are interested in supporting us in this fill out this Google Form to apply to lead a course within the Wellness Academy for the Fall and/or Spring semester- (stipend included).

*If you have any questions about these processes, you can email me at vpriya@aischennai.org 

We hope to hear from you and would love any support you can provide as we strive to support our staff and faculty wellbeing in these times of uncertainty. Please email me if you are interested in joining the Faculty Wellness Committee (led by Priya). 

 FIRST MAN – NETFLIX

SUBSCRIBE TO  YouTube

Ryan Gosling will create magic on your screens come August 7, 2020, as he plays Neil Armstrong, the first man ever to step on the moon’s surface. This biopic chronicles the real events that took place in the life of the NASA astronaut and his Apollo Program team when it was announced that they would be the first passengers to travel to the moon. Among all the movies on Netflix, this one is not to be missed.

Release Date: August 7, 2020

Cooking Video of the Week

I will be posting a cooking video every week for you to watch and follow. Did you know that one of our very own AISC parent Hema Subramanian is a well-known chef? Her videos are all over Youtube. What makes it interesting is that the ingredients are all easily available and her recipes are super easy to follow. If you have a favorite cooking video you would like to share with your colleagues please send them my way. 

This week's video is Coconut Chicken Curry.

Birthdays and Celebrations

August Birthdays

Rebecca Thomas	August 1
Jennifer Cypra	August 2
Pepper McFarland	August 3
Jodie Sovak	August 7
Michele Ness	August 10
Serge Nicolai	August 15
Mohan Kumar	August 16
Angeline Mohan	August 17
Prasanth Baskaran	August 22
Esther Dharmaraj	August 23
John Sandman	August 31

Your Awwww Moment For the Week

Weekly Wellness Blog Wednesday July 29, 2020

Namaste everyone. It was lovely to see you all this morning. This morning was a strange morning for me as I virtually welcomed you all to the new academic school year of 2020- 2021. Here is a link to the welcome speech if you want to watch it again.  It is my hope and wishes for each and every one of you that we are all able to be back on campus as soon as possible.

Inspirational Article \ Video Of The Week

Article of the Week - Tips for teacher wellbeing

Video of the Week - Life without Teachers

Highlights From WNT ( Wellbeing Network Team)

Welcome to AISC - Introduce Yourself 

We at WNT came up with a new initiative to introduces ourselves to the New Faculty Class of the AISC community (Faculty and Staff). Please open this link and add a short introduction about yourself. It could be a fun fact about yourself that no one knows, a talent you have, etc. Looking forward to seeing you all there. It won't take long. Please do participate.

Socialization Things to Considerations:  Food for Thought #2

As socially minded, caring adults here are some ideas, food for thought for you to help you manage expectations around the developing COVID-19 new normal. Click here to read about Food for Thought #2  to have your queries answered.

If you missed out on the previous episode here it is:  Food for Thought Episode #1

Reminders & Upcoming Event Suggestions

ART

Click Here

Click Here

Click here

Dance and Music

Talk Shows

Click Here

Click Here

Gardening

Local Businesses, Restaurants and Take Away

I would like this space to be a platform where we can support local businesses. I am looking for any home chefs, bakers, Salad makers, etc you may know who is catering within the city. If you are wondering why I'm doing this? The number one perk to consider, for obvious reasons, is that supporting local means that we care about the community that we live in. You’ll be able to put money back into your community and the other people who call it home, too. It’ll give your local economy a chance to thrive, too. Local business owners don’t have the funds to go big or go home, so when you buy local you are going to be respecting that they are getting out there every day and trying their best to make an honest living even against all of the competition out there. There is a lot to be said for that. Shopping with a local business — regular shopping, that is — shows them the respect that you have for them and their attempts at doing things the right way.  Please feel free to send me contact details of people you may know who may benefit from this platform. You may email me at vpriya@aischennai.org

Here are my suggestions for local businesses you may want to explore and give a chance to invest in.  These suggestions are to kickstart this initiative. 

Shiraz Cafe

TGIHomemade

Check us out on Facebook @TGIHomemade or Instagram @thankgoditishomemade 

Call Barkha- 99404 73768 for a custom menu.

Sugar Momma

Sinful Temptations

Cardy's Catering

For Pet Lovers

Wellness Academy

We are fully aware that social connections and virtual community activities are needed to support our wellbeing in this time of uncertainty.  If you are interested in supporting us in this fill out this Google Form to apply to lead a course within the Wellness Academy for the Fall and/or Spring semester- (stipend included).

*If you have any questions about these processes, you can email me at vpriya@aischennai.org 

We hope to hear from you and would love any support you can provide as we strive to support our staff and faculty wellbeing in these times of uncertainty. Please email me if you are interested in joining the Faculty Wellness Committee (led by Priya). 

Movies/Shows to Watch

Everyone is home binge-watching movies and shows during this period. Here is a form for you to fill and give us your suggestions. I will highlight one of these every week. This week's recommendation

My Beautiful Broken Brain (2016) -  Watch the Trailer 

In 2011, Lotje Sodderland suffered a hemorrhagic stroke in her sleep and woke up not knowing who she was or how to communicate. Within days, though, she began to document her situation and her recovery, recording selfie videos that are now a devastatingly personal part of My Beautiful Broken Brain, one of the best documentaries of the year. The film, which also involves David Lynch, puts us in Sodderland's mind to the best of nonfiction cinema's capabilities. In addition to candidly sharing the struggles and insights of its subject, Brain also represents her newly enhanced sensory perception through augmented POV shots, using visual effects that could have been cheesy in a lesser work.

Birthdays and Celebrations

Ilangovan S	July 2nd
Jennifer Baker	July 2nd
Vijayalakshmi S	July 3rd
Jane Fijman	July 5th
Neeraja Devarapalli	July 7th
Ashwini Govindan	July 7th
Joelle Basnight	July 10th
Rebekah Lopata	July 15th
Vinithasri M	July 16th
Sunita R	July 17th
Sudha Meeran	July 19th
Jessica Hesprich	July 22nd
Zahida Begum	July 23rd
Rachel McCallum	July 23rd
Alankrit Arora	July 28th
Benjamin Fouchard	July 28th
Ramaswamy Solaiappan	July 29th
Rebecca Thomas	August 1st
Jennifer Cypra	August 2nd
Pepper McFarland	August 3rd