Winter is Coming…Do you know about Seasonal Affective Disorder?

November 28, 2023 by Leave a Comment

Winter is Coming…Do you know about Seasonal Affective Disorder?

Greetings from the Accessibility Advisory Committee! As we all have probably noticed, it’s getting much darker. And for many, many people, this means that the symptoms of Fall Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) are becoming activated. SAD, a form of depression, is real; that’s a fact. This can make our work and personal lives significantly more difficult, but there are ways to combat it.

What is Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)?

According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, “Seasonal affective disorder, or SAD, is type of depression. It happens during certain seasons of the year—most often fall or winter. It is thought that shorter days and less daylight may trigger a chemical change in the brain leading to symptoms of depression.” There is also a variation of SAD that occurs in the Spring. Technically, SAD is not a “diagnosis” in the DSM-5-TR (the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders). The DSM describes this area as Depression with a “seasonal pattern” that begins in the fall or winter or spring. Less commonly, says the DSM, seasonal pattern may occur in the summer. Note that this is a part of Major Depressive Disorder as mentioned above. 

This is a graphic about seasonal depression

What causes SAD?

The Mayo Clinic explains that SAD can typically be caused by a variety of factors. These might include:

  • Your biological clock (circadian rhythm). The reduced level of sunlight in fall and winter may cause winter-onset SAD. This decrease in sunlight may disrupt your body’s internal clock and lead to feelings of depression.
  • Serotonin levels. A drop in serotonin, a brain chemical (neurotransmitter) that affects mood, might play a role in SAD. Reduced sunlight can cause a drop in serotonin that may trigger depression.
  • Melatonin levels.

How can we help our mental health in the winter?

A few useful measures individuals may take while feeling the stress of SAD are the following:

  • A SAD lamp (a bright, LED “happy light”).
  • Therapy
  • Medications
  • Exercise in the fresh air
  • Surrounding oneself with greenery

It’s okay to want to curl up at home during the cold season; but those with depression should seek medical assistance if they are having thoughts of self-harm or suicide or contact the Crisis Line at 866-427-4747.866-427-474

Resources

How are we doing?

Please submit feedback about the information that the Accessibility Advisory Committee shares to Miranda Levy via email at mlevy@shoreline.edu so that the committee can review together and serve the campus community better.

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Facilities Update: Stairwell Work in 2900 Building this Week

November 28, 2023 by Leave a Comment

Hello Campus Community,

Facilities will have a contractor onsite next week to pressure wash and recoat the north and south stairwells at the 2900 building.  They will have signage posted around the stairwells and keep one open at all times during work.  The schedule is as follows.

11/28 – pressure wash one stairwell at a time. 

11/30 – prep and paint one stairwell.

12/1 – prep and paint one stairwell.

Feel free to email Kim Clark (kclark@shoreline.edu) if you have any questions.

Thanks

Facilities

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Campus Updates 11/22/23

November 22, 2023 by Leave a Comment

Hey there folks! I hope all are well. It’s a short week with Thanksgiving around the corner but here are a few updates for you.  

Unfortunately, I missed a LOT of International Education Week which is a bummer as IE does such a great job with it. I was able to go over for Trivia Day with our new ASG president Lena (after our meeting) and it was really fun. I tried to guess the top 10 countries we are representing here (and did *OK*) and managed to win a few prizes and see some photos of IE staff as babies, which was a fun bonus! 

At the end of last week, I attended the Association for College Trustees meeting in Seattle with Board members Chan, Wells and Ringer. We attended some good sessions and spent some time with local colleagues as well. 

On Saturday, some faculty and staff attended a Gimjang event (which is focused on Kimchi making) at the United Seattle & Bellevue Korean School. There were 450 K-12 kids, 80 parents, volunteers & community leaders in attendance including Seo Eunji, the Korean Consul General of Seattle. We are meeting with school representatives from there in a week or so to discuss possible partnerships. More soon! 

These are two images showing the event at the Korean School this weekend.

What a blast it was yesterday celebrating SOUPSGIVING!! Special thanks to Human Resources for this wonderful event. It was terrific. I also want to thank Nora Peters who always reminds us how important community events are. Thanks also to The Wanz for being our celebrity judge and to Lucas Rucks who won a glass dolphin (Don’t tell him we give these away all the time) with his “Chicken Tortilla Soup”.  The People’s Choice Award, winner of the Golden Ladle goes to Director of Student Learning, Jeffrey Janosik with the PNW Seafood Chowder. I am a vegetarian so I unfortunately couldn’t sample either of those soups, but I heard from everyone who tasted them that they were both delicious! 

These are images of faculty and staff from Soupsgiving on 112123

I hope you all have a wonderful week and time with your friends and family.  

Cheers, 

Jack 

Fall Quarter Updates 

Accreditation 

Countdown: 5 months until our Mid-Cycle Accreditation Visit on April 18-19, 2024. 

Campus Climate Survey 

  • The survey has been emailed to employees.  
  • It opened Wednesday, November 15th and closes Thursday November 30th.  
  • Survey feedback will help improve our practices to create a warm and inclusive environment for everyone. 
  • Please respond to the survey honestly and candidly.  
  • Survey results will be shared on the college Survey’s page. 

ctcLink 

ctcLink will be down for maintenance on Saturday, December 9, 2023, 8:00 am – 10:30 am. Students will be notified. Canvas will not be impacted. 

Facilities 

The Cedar (HSAMCC) Phase 2 Project Demolition of Buildings 2400, 2600, 2700, 2800 will begin on Wednesday, November 29th and continue through Thursday, December 21st. You may feel vibrations and hear demolition noises during this time. 

TSS 

A new version of MS Teams coming January 2024: You may have noticed a message banner on your Microsoft Teams application stating a new Teams version will be coming in the beginning of January 2024. TSS is currently preparing our computers for this update from Microsoft. The new version is very similar to the current version with minimal visual differences; however, the new version is stated to have faster and more reliable performance.  More information will come soon on this update. 

Enrollment 

Daily enrollment reporting for winter 2024 is now available here. 

Human Resources 

Do you know someone who wants to join our team? Visit: Job Opportunities at Shoreline Community College. 

Foundation and Advancement 

  • Winter 2024 scholarship application closes December 4. Awards will be made the week of December 18. 
  • Volunteers are needed to review the applications December 5 – 14. Email Michelle Cimaroli to sign up. 
  • Open office hours for the Foundation: 
  • Monday 2:00 – 4:00pm 
  • Tuesday 9:00 – 11:00am 
  • Thursday 2:00 – 3:30pm 
  • Friday 9:00 – 11:00am 

Events and Updates 

Follow Shoreline Community College on social media! 

Shoreline Community College MISSION – Our Purpose 

We serve the educational, workforce, and cultural needs of our diverse students and communities. 

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Strategic Plan Update Nov 2023 

November 21, 2023 by Leave a Comment

Strategic Plan Update Nov 2023 

 

Tuesday 11/21/23 

 

Dear Colleagues, 

I hope you are having a good week and are looking forward to some time off over the Thanksgiving holiday.  Before you head out for the break, I wanted to take a moment to update you on the progress we have made with our strategic plan- where we are now, and where we are headed.  

As a reminder, we are working with a consulting company called MIG to help guide us through the strategic plan project. As a result of this work, we also have: 

    • a Task Force made up of approximately 20 people representing multiple areas of the College, and the Shoreline community. 

    • six work groups who have been tasked to discuss specific areas of the project, and then report back to the overall Task Force (separate from the Task Force mentioned above).  

    • Sarah Swanberg (former chair of Strategic Planning Budget Council and member of the DEI strategic Plan Task Force) & I are working together to move us forward. Sarah has been participating in this project since the beginning and has been instrumental in its progress. 

     

Summer 2023 

The task force elected to not meet in the summer (while faculty were off contract). However, a lot of progress was made, and I apologize that we didn’t share a lot of this information during that time.   

MIG 

    • met with the me to refine the Strategic Plan goals and objectives (June/July) 

    • shared the Draft Goals & Objectives /Strategic Plan Framework with the Executive Team (August) 

    • produced a publication-level Environmental Scan document (which is a document with a lot of data about the region, Shoreline etc.) (August/September) 

    • continued to meet with me to ensure that comments from the Accreditation Report have been addressed and attention has been given to many of the DEIA challenges affecting all community colleges in the State. (September/October) 

    • met with VP of Business and Administrative Services and Associate VP for Planning, Institutional Effectiveness, and Project Management (PIE) to review the plan and offer feedback. Both roles are tied closely to planning and budget initiatives at the College. (October/November) 

  

November Strategic Plan Presentation and Discussion 

On November 14, two meetings were offered to the Strategic Task Force representatives and 24 members attended.  

During those meetings MIG:

    • went through goals and objectives of the plan and received some comments from the Tast Force reps on the draft. 

    • gave a broad overview of the environmental scan and asked the group to provide any additional feedback by December 1st. 

      

Mission/Values/Ethics/Equity Statement Development  

The final piece of the planning process is to revisit our mission/vision/values and equity (MVEE) statements to ensure alignment with the Strategic Plan, and to set the overall tone for our work moving forward. While MIG provides guidance, the drafting of these statements is the responsibility of the campus community. Here is where we are in the MVEE Statement drafting process. 

    • MIG facilitated a campus wide charette held April 24, 2023, where approximately 97 faculty, staff and administrators discussed the campus MVEE statements. The information gained from this session generated guiding principles to direct the efforts of the MVEE Statement workgroups. Ideally the MVEE statement development would have been shepherded by the VP of DEIA, but in that void, I have been working with the workgroup tasked to this item & ET to move this forward.  

    • The MVEE workgroup has met over the past few weeks, and draft statements are in development. Initial draft ideas will be shared at the November 28th ET meeting, the December 7th DEIA Advisory Group Meeting, and the December 12th College Council meeting, providing additional opportunities for representational input and refinement of these statements before final drafts are submitted to MIG on January 16th.  

    • The timeline below highlights the steps to finalize the Strategic Plan and present it to the Board for adoption. 

     

Timeline for Project Completion 

    • MIG to meet with PIE and the President’s Office to determine SMART GOAL needs (December) 

    • Mission/Vision/Values/Equity collaborate with work groups and ET (November–January) 

    • DEIA advisory meeting(s) for Feedback December 7, January 4 and as needed (to be arranged) 

    • Presentation of Goals/ Objectives DRAFT PLAN to College Council (December 12th) 

    • Mission/Vision/Values/Equity statements due to MIG (January 16th) 

    • Strategic Plan Task Force Meeting (January 23rd) 

    • Work Group meetings (to be arranged in January) 

    • Board of Trustees Progress Report (January 24) 

    • In-person update presentation made to campus (to be arranged in January) 

    • Online feedback to the whole community (Launch February 1st, Close February 15th ) 

    • Packet sent to Board (February 21st) 

    • Adoption of Plan (If Board Approves) (February 28th) 

     

There may be some changes to the timeline, or additional items added as we move forward, but we are very close to the finish line.  Thank you all SO MUCH for all of the work you have been putting into this.  It’s incredibly important and will be a great impact to the College as a whole. 

 

Cheers, 

Jack 

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Open Enrollment Ends November 30th- Sign up for Any Changes Today!

November 20, 2023 by Leave a Comment

Greetings Campus Community~

Just a friendly reminder that open enrollment ends next week.  Now is the time to make changes to your benefits if you so desire. You have until Thursday, November 30th to make changes.

The Washington State Health Care Authority website is full of information to help you understand your benefit choices and make changes if desired.  Please visit the link below to learn all about your options.

Open enrollment (PEBB) | Washington State Health Care Authority

If you have questions or need additional support, feel free to reach out to benefits@shoreline.edu and we would be happy to assist.

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