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Hays HealthWise ©
Carolyn’s Message
Top Stories
Volume 5, Issue 4
Healthy Hays Walk-Off Challenge Results
Whitney Self, District Wellness TOSA
Best Team Name: Keep Calm and
Walk On (Special Education
Department)
Prizes: Healthy Hays T-shirt, Healthy
Hays Recipe Book, One Class Pass to
Elite Body Works
Best Team Picture: Pink Ladies
(Negley ES)
Prizes: Healthy Hays T-shirt, Healthy
Hays Recipe Book, One Class Pass to
Elite Body Works
Employee Services
2012 – 2013 School Year
HR Connection highlights events
and news important to the
employees of Hays Consolidated
Independent School District. It is
published five times annually under
the direction of:
Carolyn Hitt
Asst. Superintendent
Human Resources
Tom Green Elementary School Team
Campus With The Most Teams: Tom Green
ES and Lehman HS, both with 7 teams
Prizes: Healthy Hays T-shirt and One Class Pass to Elite Body Works
Campus With The Most Steps: Tom Green ES with 17,497,279 steps (about 8300 miles,
1/3 around the Earth)
Prizes: Healthy Hays T-shirt and One Class Pass to Elite Body Works AND the coveted
Golden Shoe Trophy!
Team With The Most Steps: Beauties and the Beast (Carpenter Hill ES) with 4,135,639
steps (about 2000 miles)
Prizes: 10 sessions of choice at Viper CrossFit
Healthy Grocery Tour, 1 month group training, 5 nutrition classes with Elite Body Works,
Healthy Hays T-shirt, Recipe Book, Stability Disc AND the Coveted Golden Shoe Trophy!
Michelle Barrera
Executive Director
Human Resources
This newsletter is designed to be
viewed as a PDF and requires
Adobe Acrobat Reader, a free
program you can download if you
don’t have it on your computer.
If you have problems viewing the
newsletter or using the interactive
features, or if you would like to
provide feedback including story
ideas, please email:
[email protected]
TRS Retirement Benefits Presentation Schedule
Frank Joy, Director for Employee Services
On February 13, 2013, from 5:30 to 8:30pm, at the Performing Arts Center, Ms. Joanne Holshouser, TRS Coordinator of
Member Relations, will provide an information seminar for TRS members. Whether you are a new employee or a seasoned
veteran, this is an excellent opportunity to learn more about your retirement system, and find answers to your questions. This
year we have invited several neighboring districts to join us, including Comal, Northeast, Lockhart, Luling, Prairie Lea, New
Braunfels, San Marcos, Dripping Springs, Wimberley, and Del Valle. Please come out and join us!
Return to Beginning of Newsletter
Headlines
Transfers, Resignations and Retirement
Michelle Barrera, Executive Director for Human Resources
Staff members wishing to transfer should send an email message of interest and a resume to the “campus resumes mailbox”
that has the opening. This process if for all employees, professional, paraprofessional and auxiliary. There are no requests for
reassignment forms. When you create your email message, address it to the campus resumes mailbox, which is the campus
initials and the word “resumes” (Example: BES Resumes) If the principal is interested in interviewing you, s/he can check first
with human resources regarding the individual and then with your current principal. If you are interested in a possible transfer,
you must be considered “in good standing” on your current campus. You must also hold a current certificate for the position(s)
for which you want to be considered.
The transfer request period opens on Monday, February 18, 2013, and closes on July 18, 2013. If a principal or department
leader is interested in a transfer employee, they will submit D10–A - Recommendation for Reassignment.
The last day principals or department leaders may send in a Recommendation for Reassignment form (to accept the transfer
of an employee from another campus) is July 24, 2013. Human resources will not accept recommendations after close of
business on this date.
Employees should submit their resignations/retirements as soon as they have knowledge they are leaving Hays CISD.
Employees must submit D14-A – Resignation Form.
Please direct questions to Natalie Breyfogle, in HR, at extension # 6008.
Open Enrollment
Rita, Kibbie, Benefits Coordinator
Open enrollment dates for 2013-2014 will be based on TRS ActiveCare enrollment schedule. We are waiting on the dates
from TRS ActiveCare. Enrollment will be done before the end of the school year.
Hays CISD’s contract with Bay Bridge Administrators (Bay Bridge), our current third party administrator (TPA), will expire on
August 8, 2013. Bay Bridge administers our supplemental benefits. We are pleased to announce that the Hays CISD Board
of Trustees has awarded the contract to Financial Benefits Services (FBS). We are working with FBS on this transition and
negotiating the 2013-2014 benefit products. Current benefits through Bay Bridge will remain unchanged and be in effect
through August 31, 2013.
Because of the transition from Bay Bridge to FBS, every employee eligible for benefits will be required to attend one of the
open enrollment sessions to ensure your benefits are carried over to the new TPA. Beginning the 2014-2015 enrollment
period, employees will be allowed to enroll and make changes online.
Information will be sent through district-wide email as details are finalized.
Benefit Changes during the Plan Year
Rita, Kibbie, Benefits Coordinator
Any “pre-tax” elections will remain in effect and cannot be revoked or changed during the Plan Year unless you have one of
the following changes in family status:
1) marriage,
2) divorce,
3) births,
4) adoptions,
5) death of a dependent child or spouse,
6) termination or change in your spouse’s employment,
7) change in eligibility status of a dependent.
Loss or gain of individual coverage is not a qualifying event. You must contact the Hays CISD benefits coordinator within 30
days of this event and you must provide documentation of the event. Any change in benefit election must be consistent with
the qualifying event.
In-Network VS. Out-of-Network
Rita, Kibbie, Benefits Coordinator
We have found out from employees that there have been problems of balance billing from providers. Providers may take your
plan; however, they may be taking and reimbursing benefits on an out-of-network level, which results in balance billing to the
insured. Please consult your doctor’s office to determine if they are in-network. You can also contact the benefits coordinator
for assistance.
Return to Beginning of Newsletter
Hays HealthWise
©
The Superintendent’s Challenge begins!
Frank Joy, Director of Employee Services
Wellness Stories
Frank Joy, Director for Employee Services
Principal Competes in HEB Slim Down Show Down
H-E-B has named 25 competitors from across Texas for the 2013 Slim Down
Showdown, presented by Dole. From a wide field of potential competitors, our
own Regina Butcher, principal at Fuentes Elementary School, was selected as
one of the 25 finalists.
The 12-week challenge is designed to provide contestants with the education
and tools they need to live a healthier lifestyle and the chance to win a $10,000 grand prize, a $5,000 “fan favorite” prize or a
$3,000 “health hero” prize.
Earlier this year, H-E-B invited Texans to apply online at heb.com. Contestants were selected based on their willingness and
desire to embrace the program, and to publicly share their journey and the resulting lifestyle changes with the public through
blogs and vlogs. Dole is the presenting sponsor for the 2013 Slim Down Showdown; additional sponsors include Metropolitan
Methodist Hospital, Gold’s Gym, Avocados from Mexico, watermelon.org, Hilton Hill Country Hotel & Spa, Brita, Fleet Feet and
Uncle Sam.
From Jan. 13-18, all contestants went to San Antonio to participate in an intensive wellness program with experts from H-E-B,
Methodist Healthcare and the Cooper Aerobics Center. H-E-B manages the contest, including overall nutritional and fitness
education. Methodist Healthcare provides medical oversight and testing for the program and Cooper provides expert speakers for
Fit Camp. Once they return home, contestants will receive weekly coaching and support in addition to the meal plans and fitness
goals established during the wellness program. They also receive a 1-year gym membership, courtesy of Gold’s Gym, to help
them with their fitness routine. Overall winners will be announced on April 6 at a ceremony at the Henry B Gonzales Convention
Center in conjunction with the Healthy at H-E-B Family Expo.
Each week throughout the contest, the contestants will be blogging and vlogging about their experience and community members
can follow their journey at heb.com/slimdown. Ms. Butcher’s bog can be found at http://sdsd.heb.com/author/reginasdsd/.
H-E-B launched its first-ever Slim Down Showdown for community members in 2012 and crowned Alison Spangler, a teacher
from San Antonio, as the $10,000 grand prize winner. “At H-E-B, we are passionate about health and believe we have a
responsibility to help our fellow Texans become their best selves,” said Kate Rogers, vice president for corporate communication
and engagement. “We hope Healthy at H-E-B and the Slim Down Showdown will help catalyze a movement toward healthy living,
but if we can help one person make a lasting change that will improve their life, it is worth the effort.” Ms. Butcher’s goal is to win
the grand prize of $10,000. She plans to donate any winnings to Fuentes Elementary School to be applied to the construction of
an athletic track health nurse from Victoria, won a $3,000 “Healthy Hero” award for his stunning 85-pound weight loss.
Together, the 2012 contestants dropped 956 pounds and 804 total cholesterol points. They also posted 1,344 blogs, which
attracted 267,335 page views, 63,205 comments, 75,421 social shares and 11,003 likes.
The Showdown is part of "Healthy at H-E-B," a comprehensive, long-term commitment to improve the health of Texans and to
provide them with fresh, healthy food that is affordable and easy to prepare. H-E-B aims to inspire millions of Texans to adopt
and stick to a healthy lifestyle through special offers on healthy food, fitness groups, events and competitions organized around
the three critical pillars of health— food, body and life.
This year, H-E-B introduced a nutrition labeling system to help customers better navigate store shelves and “Good News,” a
weekly, health-focused newsletter filled with healthy tips, recipes and coupons. While the “heavy lifting” is up to Gina, we can help
her achieve her goal. Among the judging criteria is community engagement, which includes comments on her blog entries. Each
comment is counted in her total point score. Please access her blog and add encouraging comments. Each comment will
contribute to her overall score. Again, her blog is located at http://sdsd.heb.com/author/reginasdsd/.
Go, Gina!!!
The Power of a Penny
From the HEB Slimdown Show Down blog of Regina Butcher
Posted on January 31, 2013 by Regina
Here’s a math problem for you. If a penny weighs .088 of an ounce, how many pounds does 100 dollars worth of pennies weigh?
The answer is, way more than I ever realized! My school is involved in a project called Pennies for Patients. Our school counselor
challenged me to carry 100 dollars and walk a mile as part of a school-wide challenge. Wednesday was the big day! I walked out
to the trail that we call a track with all 680 students and staff members cheering and clapping. My head custodian was waiting at
the starting line with a worried look on his face. Now, Jaime is a big man, tall and strong, so when he said, “Ms. Butcher are you
sure you want to do this?” I was really worried. Needless to say, I had not calculated the weight of 10,000 pennies with much
accuracy. I thought about the prophetic words of yesterday’s blog, “I jump in the deep end with reckless abandon.” Isn’t it ironic.
Be careful what you wish for! The backpack and pennies weighed in at 60 pounds!
I was terrified after only 1/8 of a mile. I guess my school nurse Michelle, was too since she walked with me checking my status
throughout the approximately 4300 steps. She is a marathon runner and supports healthy choices with our staff through her
program called Fuentes Fun, Fit, and Fine! Of course she was there to support the event.
But the kids were the BEST! Each step got easier as I realized the lesson I was learning on this January afternoon. It does indeed
take a village, not to raise a child, but to raise up each of us! The kids, teachers, librarian, office staff, instructional aides,
substitutes, custodians, cafeteria staff…everyone had a single purpose today. We had to finish the daunting task. We had to pull
together to realize success. I did the work but so did our village. They cheered, ran and walked with me, believed in me and
believed in the cause. I thought of my sweet teacher who’s sister succumbed to leukemia and those children to whom we
dedicated our fund raiser. I will always remember the celebration and all of the hugs and high fives upon the miles completion.
Living boldly in 2013
Rebecca Vera, HR specialist
I always knew I was overweight and out of shape. It was easy not to
look too hard at myself in the mirror or pretend not to notice that my
clothes were straining to do their job covering my body. For me, denial
of the obvious was so much easier than taking a true hard look at what
was happening to me physically.
I received my eye opener during the Thanksgiving holidays when my
beautiful 67 year ‘young’ Mother asked me to take over the holiday get
togethers from now on. With tears in her eyes she admitted that she
simply could not do it anymore as her body could not keep up with the
stresses of cooking, cleaning and other festivities of the season. My
heart broke for her as this was just one more thing she could no longer enjoy due to the fact that her body has aged so much
over the years. I have always been told to look to your parents and grandparents as to your future health. I was scared to death
that what I was seeing could possibly be my fate. There was no way in the world I wanted this for myself. I made a decision right
then and there to change my life. Over the next month, I thought long and hard about the health-wise journey I was to begin in
January. I listened to my friend’s stories of weight loss successes and failures. I spent hours researching the different diets and
spent even more time dissecting each one down to its fundamentals comparing it to my own beliefs about weight loss and how it
would apply to me, both mentally and physically.
st
On January 1 , I took my first step towards my new life. I had MY plan. Not my friend’s plan. Not one of the popular diet plans
on the market. Not some magic pill in a bottle, but one I created just for me. It involved diet, exercise and an entirely new way to
look at food. The most difficult part of this process was ending my long-time, love affair with food. For 42 years, food was there
in good times and in bad, when I was happy or sad. It never failed to show up or disappointed in the least. Breaking up was hard
to do, but I did it nonetheless. After accomplishing that, it was like a weight was lifted and I believed beyond a shadow of a doubt
that I was going to be successful.
I have good days where I live up to MY plan perfectly then there are days where I make a not-so-wise choice for myself. The
only thing is I don’t give up. I keep moving forward along my journey towards a new healthful me. As of today, I’ve lost over 20
pounds, gained a new mindset regarding food and a renewed love of self, and successfully participated in my first 5K event (I
actually made it to the finish line without assistance from the EMS!!!!!). Every day is an adventure as I choose to live boldly from
here on.
Return to Beginning of Newsletter
A Message from Assistant Superintendent Carolyn Hitt
Is your world spinning as fast as mine? I recently overheard some “senior ladies” talking and one said that she thought time
seemed to pass faster as she had gotten older. But the other lady said, “Well, even my young friends tell me that life passes
like a blur for them, too.”
Here in the school world, first semester is but a memory and it’s time to begin planning for 2013-14, believe it or not. Yes, the
Texas Legislature is in session and that raises lots of questions. Will there be budget cuts or maybe even pay increases?
What about state tests – will there be changes? Will there be new rules and regulations or will some be changed or even
eliminated? The answer to all the above: We don’t know. What we hear is fairly neutral – no big cuts, no significant
increases, no big new mandates, not much change is being predicted. The prevailing wisdom says, “Wait and see.” And so
we will.
Locally, we aren’t opening any new schools, and we’re not expecting any major enrollment shifts. However, our growth rate
has increased a bit and we expect to be hiring additional teachers – besides the ones we’ll hire to replace people who are
retiring or resigning to take a different position or for other personal reasons.
If you know that you will not be returning to Hays CISD for Fall Semester 2013, please complete a resignation form now, list
the effective date of your resignation, and give it to your principal. This form is D14-A, and it’s located on your FirstClass
desktop in the Administrative Procedures folder under Conferences. This form is very important because it gives us essential
information required to process your paperwork, and it provides us a way to reach you – which we often need to do, once
school is out. This also allows your principal or department head to post your position and have ample time to find the best
qualified person who is the right fit for the position. You also must schedule an exit interview with Mr. Frank Joy, director of
employee services, here in HR.
I am not asking you to do anything I haven’t done. Yes, I have decided to retire, effective June 30, 2013. I have filled out form,
D14-A and have asked for a spot on Mr. Frank Joy’s calendar. There is lots and lots of work to be done between now and the
end of June. I plan to work harder, faster, smarter and end my career, knowing I’ve given it my all. In the meantime, we have
posted the position so that the district has ample time to find the best qualified person who is the right fit for this position.
So back to the work at hand. Spring brings us that “double step time” where we teach the students we have and begin to plan
for next year. We’ll work with campuses and departments to continue to recruit and hire great teachers and staff. The school
board will work to hire a great superintendent. There are budgets to develop, schedules to create, and thousands of To Do’s to
keep us all busy. Let’s enjoy this life – even as it passes like a blur!
Sincerely,
Return to Beginning of Newsletter
Employee Services
Safety Reminders
Frank Joy, Director for Employee Services
As of February 8, 2013, district employees experienced 99 work-related injury events. The number at this time last year was
121. That represents the second year of improvement!
What were the causes involved? Here’s a comparison of this year to the past two years at the same point in each year.
“Contact with Student” includes athletic events, altercation interventions, tripping over small children, bites, and any other
contact. There are several other categories of cause, but this represents the big four causes of employee injury.
Loss Cause
Slip, Trip, or Fall
Sprain/Strain
Contact with Student
Struck By or Against
Incurred Costs to Date
2010-11
31
31
19
27
$287,220
2011-12
51
28
28
14
$292,729
2012-13
21
28
9
19
$197,739
As can be seen above, this year has shown a marked improvement in slip/trip/fall injuries, and injuries involving contact with
students. Great work everybody!
We have not been improving at getting ourselves out of the way of moving things or from bumping into things, and we seem to
have stalled at the same level for three years doing things that cause painful sprains and strains.
Another obvious improvement is the incurred cost to date. Compared to the previous year, we have incurred just about
$100,000 less in direct injury costs. Generally, we’re on the right path!
We’re all looking forward to spring break right around the corner. Let’s all work carefully and maximize our chances of
enjoying the break without the hindrance of an injury! While on break, please remember to play safely, too! We want
everybody back rested, recharged, and ready to make the sprint to the end of the year!
Return to Beginning of Newsletter