What is a sense of community? The feeling of belonging and mattering to a group. Connection is something we all want. Feeling connected to people, to places, and to things feels important - but perhaps more important is feeling like you're personally part of a bigger picture. In the classroom, it's not just making friends, it's connecting the entire group together. In the school, it's not just connecting the grade levels together, but connecting the older kids with the younger kids, encouraging role models and leadership. When students feel connected to their class and their school, they feel a sense of safety and belonging when entering the building. When students are genuinely connected to their teachers, there is mutual trust and respect. In this bonus installment of our social-emotional learning unit series, we spark discussion among students about how we can all be more inclusive, and make everyone feel like they belong.

Finding teachers. Keeping teachers. Supporting teachers. Inspiring teachers. Helping teachers. When it comes to giving teachers the support they need to do their jobs effectively, we can all pitch in to make the job easier. For an administrator, providing an efficient, favorable work environment is of the utmost importance to maintain staff morale and promote creativity and student success. As teachers are stretched in many different directions navigating not only standard curriculum, but supporting the social-emotional growth of students while handling classroom and behavioral management, providing tools that can help do all of these things should be at the top of the priority list. How can you help save time, save money, and save sanity - to make your teachers' lives easier?

It's official: the fall 2022 school year has begun! In an effort to make the back-to-school transition more manageable, we've created an expansion pack for your VariQuest® Design Center Software to provide even more content available at your fingertips. The Engage Every Learner® Fall 2022 Expansion Pack includes brand new content for your Perfecta® STP Series Poster Design System, Motiva® 400 Specialty Printing System, and the Cutout Maker 1800 Digital Die-Cut System. This new content includes templates centered around fall sports, activities, and holidays. VariQuest customers can find this content expansion pack on the VariQuest Resource Center, under the “Downloadable Content” section of the Perfecta, Motiva and Cutout Maker tabs!

Planning, organizing, and having things to look forward to are concepts we all can appreciate. While surprises are sometimes lovely, clear expectations for what's ahead can bring a sense of calm - especially for students in the classroom. "Pop quiz" is a phrase almost no one wants to hear! For special education and primary students, this is especially true - and as we educators know, visuals can help bring a schedule to life. So in partnership with Cathy Henry, an educator and founder of The Curriculum Corner and Free Word Work, we've created this Visual Schedule Cards Lesson Plan activity to manage classroom anxiety, help with transitions, and encourage social-emotional wellbeing in the classroom. For both verbal and non-verbal students, this exercise will promote that sense of calm with clear expectations an organized schedule can bring for both teacher and student.

Now, don't panic yet...but ESSER I funding is expiring on September 30th, 2022. It's "use it or lose it" crunch time. ESSER II funding ends September 30th, 2023. ESSER III funding ends September 30th, 2024. According to a FutureEd analysis, most schools focused on spending their funding dollars on academic recovery, staffing, and school facilities and operations. Followed by technology, mental and physical health supports, and other miscellaneous financials, you, of course, have lots to consider as you determine how to finalize your spending of these precious funds.

At VariQuest, we are your trusted source for the tools and resources you need to make your classroom a more powerful learning experience for students. The learning tools for visual learners we offer can help teachers teach more effectively and with greater ease and also help your students excel in their ability to absorb, comprehend, and retain educational information.

Belonging. Community. Inclusive. Comfortable. These words describe the environment that educators work so hard to achieve in their classrooms and school buildings. Our students need our help and support now more than ever, as we all work through challenging and divisive times. When a student enters your classroom for the first time or the 100th time, you want them to feel like they belong, and that for the short time they're with you, they are in supportive surroundings where they can fully focus on learning and growing. Enter the morning welcome - a way to set the tone for every day. In partnership with Cathy Henry, an educator and founder of The Curriculum Corner and Free Word Work, we've created this Morning Welcome Activity lesson plan and download pack for Elementary teachers to help introduce students to their day in the classroom - the moment they step foot through the door. And it not only helps students settle in for their day, but it teaches them valuable social-emotional learning skills in the process.

When it comes to bulletin boards, the creativity that educators display knows no bounds. It's the timeless school décor that brings back the most familiar and fondest of memories for both young and old. As you plan for the upcoming school year, here are some fun bulletin board ideas to implement in your classroom or school building!

When it comes to professional growth as an educator, you have a lot of choices to expand your skillset to help your students and further your goals, but your time is precious. From continuing education on social-emotional development and neuroscience, to tactical strategies for learning in the classroom, we at VariQuest have put together a list of some of our best professional development webinar and video opportunities for educators to help you fill your teaching toolbox with valuable resources and future-forming assets.

Depending on your particular requirements and budget, you may want to use hot or cold lamination to laminate materials. Items that are subject to cold lamination are placed under pressure, while hot laminating may damage certain items due to applied heat. Each technique, however, uses a film to laminate the material, and the strength of the lamination and its durability depend on the thickness of the film used. Lamination also provides wipe-clean surfaces for your materials, making them easy to frequently disinfect. At VariQuest, we offer an energy-efficient, easy-to-use cold lamination machine, the Cold Laminator 2510, to help you preserve and protect banners, posters, and bulletin board cutouts for repeated yearly use.