Wellbeing at Monash newsletter- February 2012
Read about the latest Wellbeing and Monash Sport events, services and activities. Monash aims to assist staff in achieving a healthy work/life balance using a holistic approach – mind, body, spirit and the community.
Contact us at wellbeing@monash.edu
In the February edition:
Wellbeing events & news
Begin the new year journey to good health! In office pilates, boxing, zumba and yoga classes
Get out of the office in the new year and energise your body using the Staff Wellbeing and Activity Program (SWAP).
EResearch, HR, Facilities & Services, Education, ITS, OHS, the Alfred, Engineering and Medicine all participated in a SWAP Program during 2011.
SWAP has been designed to bring on campus activity to your office! With 30 or 60 minute yoga, zumba, boxing and pilates classes from just $8 per person, get your colleagues together and organise a class at a time that suits you!
Download the new SWAP brochure for all pricing and program information.
Free WorkHealth checks for staff
All staff are invited to register for a free 15 minute WorkHealth check.
Participate in a WorkHealth check and receive immediate, confidential results and advice on blood pressure, blood glucose, cholesterol, waist circumference and more.
Delivered by an accredited WorkHealth provider, your results will remain private and your employer will not receive any personal information about your health.
Dates: March – April
How to book: Register for an appointment online at your preferred campus
Get Well 8 week challenge
Are you ready to make a change in the new year? Wellbeing at Monash is taking registrations for a new 8 week challenge. The challenge will include:
Get healthy – online interactive daily meal planner, healthy recipes, information about diet, disease and essential elements to a balanced diet
Get happy – mindfulness and resilience strategies and techniques to help build your ability to reduce stress and improve focus, concentration and relaxation
Get active– lunchtime outdoor 45 minute class, twice a week.
Monitor and track your progress using an interactive wellness tracker.
Program location and dates: All campuses, commencing 5 March (with a break over easter)
Register your interest: Email wellbeing@monash.edu with Get Well in the subject line and your campus. You will then receive more information, including pricing.
Participation is key to good health at Monash
As part of the University’s commitment to creating a culture of productive, engaged and healthy employees, an organisational Wellbeing Key Performance Indicator has been introduced. 
With an increasing focus by the government on strategies to support Australians to lead a healthy and active lifestyle, staff participation in wellbeing events will be assessed at Faculty and Department level.
Staff are encouraged to participate in the great range of wellbeing programs available, aiming to achieve 30% staff participation. The percentage of participation will be reported on OHS Scorecards.
Programs include: Staff Wellbeing & Activity Program, Mental Health First Aid, TeamMONASH events, 10,000 Steps Challenge, Mental Health Week seminars, GLOBAL walk/run and campus specific activities.
New workshop: Mindfulness for wellbeing, resilience and performance
Register to take part in a new 3 hour Mindfulness Workshop through SDU, HR. The workshop will explore:
- the science, principles and practice of mindfulness
- its applications in areas including wellbeing, mental health, and resilience
- its role in leadership development
- the capacity of mindfuless to enhance information processing, decision making and performance.
Workshops are available in February, May and September. Register online. Workshops for supervisors are also available.
Begin the new year helping others – Mental Health First Aid short course
This two day program for Monash staff covers helping people in mental health crisis situations and/or in the early stages of mental health problems.
Crisis situations covered are suicidal behaviours, acute stress reaction, panic attacks and acute psychotic behaviour. Other mental health problems covered are depression, anxiety disorders, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.
Participants will learn the signs and symptoms of these mental health problems, where and how to get help and what sort of help has been shown by research to be effective.
Interested? Two-day courses commence in March and run each month until November. View course information and dates
MHFA is proudly presented by Health and Wellbeing
Mental Health First Aider lunchtime refresher seminar
All Mental Health First Aid trained staff are invited to a special presentation by Dr Craig Blandy from the Health Service.
Dr Blandy will speak about the Better Access Health Scheme and Access to Allied Psychological Services (ATAPS) including how does the referral system work in relation to mental health issues. A representative from the Inner East Medicare Local team will talk about the Mental Health Nurse Incentive Program and the services provided by Mental Health Nurses.
Date: Wednesday, 15 February – 12.30 – 1.30pm, Clayton campus
How to book: Register online
Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month
Every year approximately 1200 Australian women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer, most of them with an advanced stage of the disease.
On average 3 Australian women are diagnosed every day. This means one in 90 women have a chance of developing ovarian cancer in their lifetime, nine out of 10 cases occur in women over the age of 40. Ovarian cancer is the fourth most common cancer affecting women.
See more information and download the Symptom diary Also see Ovarian Cancer Australia
Weight Watchers at Work Program
Staff the opportunity to enrol in a new Weight Watchers Program. With the convenience of weekly meetings on
campus*, you’ll get the guidance that you need to succeed and stay on track to achieve your weight loss and lifestyle goals.
About the program: The program consists of one weekly lunchtime meeting for 13 weeks
Cost: $246 for 13 week program (payment must be made upfront by cash or card at the first meeting). Some private health insurance providers provide a partial refund.
How to register: Send your interest to join a program to wellbeing@monash.edu with WW and your campus in the subject line. 12 participants are required for the program to proceed.
Gippsland walking group
Get out and about at lunchtime and join the Gippsland Walking Group.
When: Monday and Thursday 12.30 – 1pm
Meet: At the Knuckle – 1st floor, outside of E Solutions.
Leaders: Shane Paynter, Audra Glavas and Vonnie Boreham
Dietary Study for Irritable Bowel
Volunteers are being sought to help develop a bread that may be well tolerated by individuals diagnosed with IBS. This study requires you to consume food provided over three days with a one week break before repeating the three day diet again. On day two of each test phase you will be required to collect hourly breath samples.
If you may be interested in participating this study or would like to know more about this research please contact Katherine on 0412 171 277 or katherine.kelly@monash.edu
Just how much exercise is required to burn off that bar of chocolate?
Its gone in a few bites but do you ever wonder how much exercise it will take to burn off the bar of chocolate or packet of chips?
Using the Wellbeing at Monash Online Energy Balancer have a try, your kids might enjoy it too!
Wellbeing At Monash Online offers a great range of online programs for the whole family including:
Free Get Active classes – Parkville
Following the results of the Parkville health checks, Monash Sport are now offering free weekly classes. This is a great opportunity for Parkville staff to get out of the office and get active!
Boxing: Mondays 5pm, Cossar Hall
Boot Camp: Wednesdays 7.30-8.30am, meet at the Flagpole
Mindfulness meditation: Wednesdays 12-12.30pm, pharmaceutics meeting room
Pilates: Thursdays 5pm, Cossar Hall.
Enquiries: Contact Michael Jones, Monash Sport x51073
Eat Out & Stay Healthy
Eating out isn’t what it used to be. Once it meant sitting down and dining at a restaurant to celebrate special occasions. Now eating out encompasses all meals for all reasons.
Just about all of us eat out – be it a sandwich from the corner store, a franchise burger, a take away dinner or three courses of fine dining. For an increasing number of people, no eating out would mean no eating at all.
Read the full article at Wellbeing at Monash Online
Competition winners and your chance to win
For your chance to win a Village Cinemas movie ticket tell us what you think of the new layout of the newsletter or provide a suggestion for Wellbeing at Monash or Monash Sport (or any wellbeing service you would like to see) Provide feedback via email wellbeing@monash.edu
Monash Sport news and offers
Fit Camp – Caulfield and Clayton
Fit Camp is a six week fun, social, challenging and rewarding way of training.The twice weekly, 1 hour session with a qualified fitness instructor is a sure fire way to get you fit and active over Summer.
For those about to embark on their first fitness program or looking for a new challenge, Fit Camp is for you!
Upcoming Fit Camps include:
Caulfield: Tuesday 7 February – Thursday 15 March
Evening sessions: Tuesday & Thursday 5.30pm – 6.30pm (2 sessions per week).
To register your interest or for further information, please contact: 9903 2358 or Fitness.Caulfield@sport.monash.edu.au
Clayton: Monday 20 February – Thursday 29 March
Morning Sessions: Monday & Thursday 6.45am – 7.45am (2 sessions per week).
Lunchtime Sessions: Monday & Thursday 12pm – 12:45pm (2 sessions per week).
To register your interest or for further information, please contact: 9905 4103 or Clayton.Fitness@sport.monash.edu.au
New Year, New Facilities
To help you accomplish your new health and fitness goals in a more comfortable and confident environment, Monash Sport has drastically improved facilities at Caulfield and Clayton, and our Peninsula campus receiving a brand new building set for completion in February.
The Caulfield Gymnasium has doubled in size with new equipment including cardio machines, leg exercise machines, Smith machine and squat rack. A functional TRX area will also be installed.
The Clayton Gymnasium has transformed its layout providing a more user friendly and welcoming environment for members, including a new group cycle studio.
The main pool will complete its retiling in late February 2012, and all the indoor sports courts have undergone resurfacing. A further 4 new badminton courts have been added to the Recreation hall.
The new Monash Peninsula Activity and Recreation Centre (MPARC) is set to be launched in late February. MPARC will feature a new gymnasium space, a group fitness room, and a group cycle studio.
The new cardio equipments includes new treadmills, bikes and elliptical cross trainers plus the unique Adaptive Motion Trainer (AMT).
MPARC will also feature a twin court, multipurpose stadium with dual upstairs viewing platforms that are suitable for basketball, badminton, netball, futsal plus much more.
Sport at Monash Calendar
There will be no more excuses with the Sport at Monash calendar exclusive to Monash staff.
Conveniently feeding times, dates, locations and web links to everything ‘sport at Monash’ directly into your Google calendar, the Sport at Monash calendar is perfect for fitting in a planned and spontaneous sport and activities into even the busiest schedule!
To access the Sport at Monash calendar, click this link and login into the my.monash portal. From here select the Sport at Monash tick box and update your subscription, its as easy as that! The Sport at Monash calendar will now appear overlaid on your personal Google calendar.
Fitness Connect
Fitness Connect is a service which allows users to find and workout with someone of a similar fitness level and ability in exercise and/or sport.
Exercising with a friend makes working out more enjoyable with many studies indicating the benefits regarding motivation, support and exercise longevity.
The service can be found through my.monash.portal
Semester 1 Group Fitness new timetable
Group Fitness is a fantastic way to meet new people or rekindle old friendships whilst exercising and achieving your fitness goals. There will be new timetables out for semester 1, commencing on Monday 20 February, featuring more classes such as Zumba, BodyPump and Cycle!
You can find the timetables for Caulfield, Clayton and Peninsula campuses by clicking here!
Discovery Day
Discovery Day is O-week’s playful little brother; it’s his first year of uni and he’s looking to take a fun, interactive approach to Uni life. Discovery Day will introduce students to Monash’s Clubs and Societies in a “hands on” environment.
Discovery Day is a showcase of Monash’s support services, clubs and societies. Hosted by Monash Sport, the day will show students how university life can be enjoyed outside of your normal office hours.
Discovery Day will be on at Caulfield and Clayton, details below:
- Caulfield – from 9am on Saturday 25 February at Monash Sport (building S).
- Clayton – from 2pm on Sunday 26 February at Monash Sport (building 1) with a free outdoor screening of a movie on Oval 1 at 6pm. Experience an outdoor cinema for free!
Discounts for staff
Discounted health insurance with BUPA and on site consultations
BUPA (HBA) corporate offer: Monash staff who sign up as a new member with BUPA on the Monash University Corporate Health Plan receive access to a specially designed corporate suite of Health Insurance products. These products contain built-in savings that are not available to the general public.
Corporate benefits include:
- 2 and 6 month waiting period waiver on extras
- Award Winning Corporate Products – not available to the public
- Year 3 Loyalty Maximums apply
- Join as a new member before 29th February and receive 1 month free
- BUPA consultant visits to your workplace
More info: Visit a BUPA Retail Centre or call 1800 649 406 and quote the Monash University corporate group number – 122265. *Payment must be made by payroll deduction.
For detailed pricing information see health insurance discounts.
Questions about health insurance? Free on site health insurance consultation
A BUPA health insurance consultant will be onsite at Clayton campus on Tuesday 13 March for personal consultations and to answer all of your health insurance questions.
Appointments available between 9am and 4pm. Register now to book in for your consultation.
Book now for Easter and the April school holidays! Save up to 50% on holiday accommodation
Monash staff now have access to the exclusive Departure Lounge with discounted rates at selected Peppers, Mantra and BreakFree properties throughout Australia and New Zealand.
These rates are exclusive to Monash staff and can be booked up to 12 months in advance. Rates are best when searching for 3 night stays and at least one month in advance (there is limited availability within the next 28 days).
Peppers and Mantra discounted rate locations include:
Kingscliff, NSW
Palm Cove and Port Doulgas, Qld
Caloundra and Sunshine Coast, Qld
Gold Coast, Qld
Torquay and many more!
Download the February specials valid for stays 1 April to 30 August
Download the Queensland specials at Peppers Beach Club Palm Cove and Mantra Surfers Paradise
To book: Visit Departure Lounge and enter the password: monashstaff
Milk, bread, fruit and vegies delivered to your door
Monash staff, family and friends, receive $20 off your first order. Aussie Farmers is a 100% Australian owned fruit and vegetables, groceries and organic food, delivered to your door free! Visit the discounts for staff for full details.
Dell computer specials
Save up to 15% off a great range of products from Dell.
1) Visit the Dell website and enter the sales code: AUEPP and your organisation name.
2) Start shopping. Use the featured coupon codes to redeem your discount at the checkout.
3) Alternatively, call 1300 730 755.
Individual and group Dance lessons
Charisma Dance Centre is renowned for its fun and friendly atmosphere. Charisma specialises in Latin and ballroom dancing for beginners to advised social dancers (no partner required).
Monash staff introductory offer: Learn to dance for just $25 in Glen Iris or Berwick. The offer includes 6 one and a half hour group classes and one half hour personalised lesson. Valued at $130.
To book phone Charisma Dance Centre on 9889 2022 or 0419 284 919 or email charismadance@bigpond.com and mention this exclusive Monash staff offer. For more information visit Charisma Dance
Lite n’ Easy
Lite n’ Easy offer a $25 discount off their 7-day meal pack to new customers. Call 131512 and quote ‘Monash Uni discount offer’.
10% off magazine subscriptions
ACP magazines are offering Monash University staff members a 10% discount on the following magazines titles: APC, Australian PC User, Australian Geographic, Australian Women’s Weekly, Cleo, Cosmo, Empire, Good Health & Medicine, Madison, Money, Motor, Shop Til You Drop, Wheels To receive the 10% discount on subscriptions, visit Magshop or order by phone and quote discount code: P10MUNI
The Convenient Kitchen – We create, We shop, We deliver!
The Convenient Kitchen deliver to your door a grocery bag packed with 5 healthy yummy recipes and all their accompanying market fresh vegetables, meats, fish and poultry for your week’s home cooking. For 2, families of 2-4 or 4-6. All recipes are created by a qualified nutritionist/chef and are easy to cook. No more thinking “what will I cook tonight” no more rushing to the supermarket after work to quickly get what you need, it’s all in your pantry or fridge at home already!
Monash staff offer: 20% discount on all full priced grocery bags for 5 dinners*. Phone 98222877 and mention Monash or visit The Convenient Kitchen and add ” Monash” in the special requirements section. *Available to all new customers only.
Travelling soon? Discounted Airport Lounge access
Sign up for a discounted airport lounge membership and enjoy the benefits! Lounges include Priority Pass: access to 600+ lounges worldwide Virgin Blue The Lounge Qantas Club Lounge.
Visit Airport Lounge discounts for more information.
Other discounts available to Monash staff:
Visit discounts for staff for more information