WorkLife Events Archive

Spring 2009

Pre-Orientation Breakfast Get-together- January 9th, 2009
Staff enjoyed breakfast while preparing Orientation folders for incoming students.

Easter egg hunt- April 4th, 2009
This was our sixth annual Easter egg hunt. Children of all ages participated in this event. Following the hunt, we had a pot-luck lunch. Egg decorating took place in the afternoon in the annex kitchen.

Bring Your Child to Work Day- April 14th, 2009
Syracuse University in Florence held its fourth annual BYCTWD for children of staff and faculty aged 3 to 15. The day included supervised events until 2:30 pm. For the rest of the day, children were able observe his/her parent in the work place. Lunch was served for the children and their parent/guardian in the Villa Rossa garden.

Program

9:00-9:15            Registration
9:15-9:30            Barbara’s intro, Rm. 13
9:30-10:15          Storytelling/snack, Rm. 13
10:30-11:30        Painting class, Donatello 21
11:30-12:00        Playtime in the garden
12:00-1:30          Picnic lunch in the garden with parents
1:30-2:30            Theater workshop in garden or loggia

Movie, Pizza & Farewell Get-Together- May 11th, 2009
Staff said farewell to co-workers Suzanne Moore and Anne Skiold during a lunch of pizza. Later, the movie “In name of the Rose” was shown.

Fall 2008

Staff Development Workshop “On Being a Professional”- August 28, 2009
This year's annual staff development workshop topics included professional behavior, attitudes, ethics, values, relationships and most importantly, being and feeling professional inside yourself, regardless of any external factors. A few communication techniques used in entrepreneur training seminars were explored, such as NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming; in Italian: PNL). NLP is currently THE hot topic in coaching and management consulting (just ask Simone Anselmi- he is a certified trainer in it!). 

Pre-Orientation Breakfast Get-together- August 29, 2008
Staff were offered breakfast in exchange for help in stuffing orientation folders for students.

Synagogue Tour- October 29, 2008
A guided tour of the local synagogue was given to the staff during fall break. After learning about Florentine Jewish history, the staff ate lunch at Ruth’s Restaurant which specialized in Hebrew and Kosher foods.

Staff Holiday Lunch- December 19, 2008
A holiday lunch consisting of typical Italian fare was served to staff. Room 14 was decorated for the holidays and Roberta Mugelli won the lottery for a free plane ticket to be used anywhere in Europe.

Summer 2008

Summer Jazz Cocktail Party- June 12, 2008
The staff and faculty were invited to join the Patrons of Syracuse University in Florence for an informal Summer Jazz Cocktail Party in the Villa Rossa Garden. They listened to jazz, conversed with colleagues and toasted the beginning of summer.

Spring 2008

Pizza & Cinema- March 13, 2008
Staff enjoyed pizza and a movie during spring break.

Easter egg hunt- March 15, 2008
This was our fifth annual Easter egg hunt for staff, faculty and their families.

Bring Your Child to Work Day- March 25, 2008
Syracuse University in Florence had its third annual Bring Your Child to Work Day for children aged 3 to 15. The morning included supervised events (please see schedule below) and in the afternoon, children observed their parents in their workplace. Lunch was served for the children and their parent/guardian in the Villa Rossa garden.

Program:

9:00-9:15            Meet in room 13
9:15-9:30            Barbara’s opening speech
9:30-10:30          Story Telling with SUF student volunteers
10:30-11:15        Snack in garden
11:30-12:30        Sketching workshop with Prof. McLean
12:45-1:45          lunch with parents in garden

Children spend afternoons watching parents work (optional)

Fall 2007

Staff Development Workshop “Change: Individual Motivation and Organizational Readiness”- August 29, 2007
SUF’s Acculturation Counselor, Amy Kleine presented her annual workshop on how different people react to change and had the staff do fun activities, some brainstorming and group work. Human beings are creatures of habit: we get comfortable with what we know and do well, and resist that which threatens to take away this comfort level. Change, however, is inevitable, and it is happening all the time, whether we resist it or not. Given this constant in life, wouldn’t it be simpler and more effective to embrace change, to be ready for change, to control the change when possible, rather than resist it, and then have to grudgingly react to it? Finally, not all change is bad-often our ways of doing things become outdated, no longer work as effectively as once upon a time: a new innovated approach can often make life easier!(Just think back to when we used typewriters and corrector cartridges!)

Pre-Orientation Breakfast Get-together- August 31, 2007
Some of the staff got together to celebrate the beginning of semester. They prepared over 300 Orientation folders and enjoyed an Italian breakfast of pastries, coffee and juice.

Farewell Cocktail- September 26, 2007
The staff and faculty said farewell to Anna Sebastiani and Karen Wardzala and celebrated their 51 years of dedication to SUF. Anna retired in Spring 2007 after teaching Italian for 41 years. Karen has worked in various positions at SUF for the past 10 years and has decided to return to the States to pursue a career in arts administration.

Summer 2007

Summer Jazz Cocktail Party- June 14, 2007
The staff and faculty were invited to join the Patrons of Syracuse University in Florence for an informal Summer Jazz Cocktail Party in the Villa Rossa Garden. They listened to jazz, conversed with colleagues and toasted the beginning of summer.

Spring 2007

Pre-Orientation Breakfast- January 12, 2007
Staff members enjoyed an Italian breakfast of pastries, coffee and juice while preparing over 300 Orientation folders for the students’ arrival.

“Desktop Pilates and Yoga Minute-long Workday Techniques to De-stress”- March 15, 2007
American certified Pilates/Yoga Instructor, Dennis Clark, showed staff members various relaxation exercises that they can do sitting at their desk. She gave everyone detailed hand-outs explaining the various techniques.

Easter egg hunt- March 31, 2007
SUF was proud to sponser our Fourth Annual Easter Egg Hunt in the Villa Rossa Garden. Parents were asked to bring a pot-luck dish for lunch, some eggs to hide and a basket or some kind of container for each child.

Bring Your Child to Work Day- April 10, 2007
This was our second annual ‘Bring Your Child to Work Day’. As the name applies, parents were invited to bring their children to work in the morning and decide whether or not they wanted them to stay half a day or the entire work day. There were scheduled events throughout the morning and a kid-friendly picnic lunch was offered to both parents and children in the Villa Rossa Garden. Parents had the possibility to bring their children to their office if desired for the rest of the afternoon. The morning events this year were:

9:00-9:15       Sign-up & t-shirts in rm. 10
9:15-9:30       Barbara’s opening speech
9:45-10:45     Painting class in Donatello 21 *
11:00-11:30   Snack in garden
11:30-12:00   Playtime in garden
12:00-12:40   A sneak peak at an Italian class in action in room 12
12:45-1:45     Lunch with parents in garden

Children spend afternoons watching parents work (optional)

Blackboard 201 Session (by Karen Wardzala)- April 20, 2007
Karen offered an informative session on the use of Blackboard Course Management system to both staff and faculty. She covered the following topics: Creating a Blackboard course, The Course Manager, Customizing the Course Layout, Adding Content to a Course, Some Advanced Features, The Course Gradebook, Archiving a Course and Transferring a Course from Semester to Semester.

Fall 2006

Group Process and Team Building Workshop – August 23, 2006
SUF’s Acculturation Counselor and Human Resource Liason Amy Kleine presented her annual workshop for staff on "Group Process and Team Building." Staff participants defined a group, learned about particular group dynamics, and were exposed to theories of group behavior, including Tuckman's 4-Stage Model (Tuckman, 1965). Staff had the opportunity, as participant-observers in a series of team building activities, to experience and observe this 4-Stage model in action, as well as learn how to set up "group rules" and effectively and harmoniously work towards the team's objective. Highlights included a viewing of "12 Angry Men" the prolific film used in many social psychology courses of group behavior, and in many professional training settings as the quintessential example of group dynamics in action. A staff luncheon was served.

Pre-Orientation Breakfast- September 4, 2006
Staff members enjoyed an Italian breakfast of pastries, coffee and juice while preparing over 300 Orientation folders for the students’ arrival.

Staff-2-Staff Lunch Break- November 21, 2006
Are college students in 2006 different than they were 5, 10, 20 years
ago? Are mental health issues in students more prevalent than they were
in the past? What is Attention Deficit Disorder, and does it really
exist? These, and several other common questions in regards to "college kids today" were discussed in a brown bag lecture presented by Assistant Director for Student Health and Wellness Amy Kleine on "The Five Most Prevalent Mental Health Concerns in College Students Today." Amy presented the most common concerns college counselors on campuses in the States are seeing in students, which in most cases mirror what Amy sees here at SU Florence. Along with a presentation of these issues, the lecture featured the appearance of a few surprise guests as well; "experts" on this generation of students.

Faculty Brown Bag Lunch Informational Session- November 30, 2006
Professor Francisco Sanin, coordinator of the School of Architecture, talked about his project in South Korea, the on-going development of The Haeinsa Monastery Temple.

Staff Holiday Brunch- December 15, 2006
As an alternative to the typical holiday fare, an American-style brunch was served to the staff. Each guest brought a ‘White Elephant’ gift to be exchanged randomly among the staff.
 
Staff/Faculty/Family Christmas Party- December 21, 2006
An aperitivo was served in rm. 13 with activities and a visit from Santa for the children.

Spring 2006

Staff Excellence Recognition- February 27, 2006
During our Staff Meeting, SUF recognized staff member, Karen Wardzala’s completion of her MBA from Syracuse University. She received a gift from SUF’s Worklife Ambassador, Jennifer Haag and a small reception was held in her honor.

SUF Easter egg hunt- April 8th, 2006
SUF’s Third Annual Hunt took place in the Villa Rossa’s newly renovated garden. Parents brought decorated and chocolate eggs and hid them in the garden. Approximately 20 children from the age of 2 years to 10 years old participated in the hunt. Afterwards, parents and children enjoyed a pot-luck lunch in the limonaia.

SUF Bring Your Child to Work Day- April 19th, 2006
Seven children participated in our first annual Bring Your Child to Work Day. The children came to work at 9 am and after a welcome speech by director Barbara Deimling, participated all morning in events such as a tour of the campus, a snack at our own Bar Elia and a mini theater-workshop with Prof. Eric Nicholson. A kid-friendly picnic lunch was offered to both parents and children in the Villa Rossa Garden as a pleasant way to end the morning activities. Parents had the possibility to bring their children to their office if desired for the rest of the afternoon. We look forward to continuing this tradition as an annual event and are convinced that the success of this year’s BYCTWD will help influence other children and parents to participate next year. 

Fall 2005

Staff Appreciation Lunch- November 25th, 2005
As a way of saying thank you for all their hard work, the staff enjoyed a catered lunch in the Villa Rossa kitchen.

Staff Holiday Brunch- December 16th, 2005
Every year the staff at Syracuse University in Florence celebrates the holiday season by enjoying a lunch with Director Barbara Deimling. This year instead of having our holiday lunch at a restaurant, we decided to try something new: a Staff Holiday Brunch at the Villa Rossa.  Architecture Assistant & WorkLife Ambassador Jennifer Haag, with the help of Front Desk Advisor Maibritt Handberg, decorated room 13 and prepared a typical American brunch complete with bagels, eggs, bacon, pancakes and waffles. The Staff were given a gift of homemade Florentine chocolates and Sylvia Hetzel was the lucky staff member to win the annual raffle of 2 plane tickets for anywhere in Europe. Approximately 25 staff members participated in this event.

SUF Holiday Celebration- December 19th, 2005  
As the holidays are traditionally spent with families, Syracuse University in Florence invited all staff, faculty and respective families to our First Annual Holiday Celebration. The evening involved not only food and music but also a visit from Santa Claus who was graciously portrayed by our own staff member Gelso Sassonia. Santa Claus secretly collected wrapped gifts that parents brought and then personally handed them out to each child. The children enjoyed holiday games such as “Pin the Nose on Rudolf” and “Pass the Candy Cane”. Prizes and holiday coloring books were given to each child. Approximately 50 adults and 12 children participated in this event.