Reminder: Join Us for the Next Round of Listening Circles: Achieving a Functional Work-Life Balance

Our Heartland AEA SEBMH group has designed and scheduled another round of Listening Circles. In this round, we will revisit our topic from Round 2 and consider how to create and maintain a functional work-life balance. We will be drawing upon the ideas in this article from Edutopia. We encourage you to read the article prior to participating; however, it is not required. 

As a reminder, the goal of Listening Circles is to create a brave space for staff to be heard, free of judgment, and with no fear of consequences for speaking their truth. It is believed that this practice will be helpful for building and maintaining a healthy community in which ALL staff feels connected and respected. 

Here is what some of our colleagues have said about participating in the Listening Circles: 

• "The listening circle is a place where you can feel connected to others in our Heartland AEA family and share in a reflective, thoughtful, caring way. It was a meaningful experience." 
• "I thought I might be walking into group therapy and wasn't too eager to do that! But Listening Circles aren't like that. They are led by our incredibly bright and caring staff in a structured way so we can hear from our colleagues, learn from each other, gain understanding and build connections. It's time well spent!" 
• "This was a very non-threatening process. We always had the option to pass and that was totally okay." 

We encourage you to participate in an upcoming Listening Circle with your fellow Heartland AEA colleagues! 

How to Participate 

Listening Circles have been scheduled over the next three weeks at various times throughout the day to accommodate as many schedules as possible. Registration for each circle will be capped at eight participants to allow for meaningful sharing from all participants. If you are interested in participating as a group, feel free to have your group members sign up for the same time or contact your SEBMH regional lead to see about setting up a separate time for your group to engage in a circle. Listening Circles with fewer than 3 participants will be canceled and those participants will be encouraged to register for another circle time. Registration for all sections will be open soon! 

Facilitators 

The first and second facilitators for each of the sessions (as they stand today) are listed below. 

Oct. 25 (M) 12:30-1:00 p.m. -- Lauren Vanderhorst & Rebecca Carver 

Oct. 25 (M) 2:00-3:30 p.m. -- Andrea Matheson & Jen Funk 

Oct. 26 (T) 1:00-2:30 p.m. -- Stacey Warren & Rebecca Carver 

Oct. 28 (Th) 1:30-3:00 p.m. --  Aimee Schuppe & Brianna Sayre Geiser 

Oct. 29 (F) 8:30-10:00 a.m. -- Rebecca Carver & Aimee Schuppe 

Nov. 1 (M) 10:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m. -- Jadie Boens & Rebecca Carver 

Nov. 4 (Th) 2:00-3:30 p.m. -- Jean Boger & Andrea Matheson 

Nov. 5 (F) 1:30-3:00 p.m. -- Brenda Gerdes & Jean Boger 

Nov. 8 (M) 2:00-3:30 p.m. -- Lauren Vanderhorst & Aimee Schuppe 

Nov. 9 (T) 9:30-11:00 a.m. -- Stacey Warren & Aimee Schuppe 

Nov. 9 (T) 12:30-2:00 p.m. -- Rebecca Carver & Lauren Vanderhorst 

Nov. 10 (W) 12:00-1:30 p.m. -- Brianna Sayre Geiser & Andrea Matheson 

Nov. 11 (Th) 1:00-2:30 p.m. -- Jean Boger & Rebecca Carver

Registration

Registration for all sections will be open soon! 

Course #: 190735 HL - Heartland AEA Listening Circles