Timeout Newsletter

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 July edition:

Wellbeing events and news
Monash Sport news and offers
Discounts for staff

Wellbeing events & news

Monash unites for Men’s Health

Members of the Monash University community across Victoria joined in the GLOBAL walk/run to support men’s health week. Held on Wednesday 13 June  more than 600 participants from Parkville, Gippsland, Berwick, Peninsula, Caulfield and Clayton campuses as well as at the Alfred Hospital and Bendigo Regional Clinical School.

On the day participants made more than $700 in gold coin donations to Andrology Australia, which will be used to continue the program’s men’s health education initiatives.

At the Clayton campus, the day also featured a group fitness warm up for participants led by former Olympic Swimmer and BUPA health ambassador Matt Welsh, who re-enforced the message of Andrology Australia to ‘get active and talk about men’s health’.

10,000 Steps Challenge is coming!

The 10,000 Steps Challenge is coming to your office in October! Registrations open from mid September, keep an eye out for more details!.

Start getting your steps up today, take the stairs instea of the lift, download campus walking maps or schedule a walking meeting today.

Join the Monash Health Revolution and make a change

Staff are invited to join the health revolution and commit to making a healthy lifestyle change.

The Health Revolution campaign launched by Wellbeing at Monash-OHS and Monash Sport asks staff and students to commit to making a change in one of four key areas:

1. physical activity
2. mental health
3. nutrition/food
4. general health

Staff who register before Friday 6 July will go in the draw to win a $20 Myer voucher.

The Health Revolution campaign further supports the University’s commitment to providing a healthy workplace and study environment for all staff and students.

For further information and to make your commitment visit the Health Revolution.

How does your health rate?

The Wellbeing at Monash online portal Wellness Record assesses your current health in order to develop plans and gives you a score out of 100 for your current health.  You can return as often as you like to update your information and review your score. It’s great motivation to see just how much you can improve your health!

Register for the online program and complete your wellness record.

You will also be invited to complete a risk assessment survey on: Lung Health Risk, Type 2 Diabetes Risk, Back Care Checklist or Heart Health

Interactive preventative health programs for the whole family on the portal include:

• Fitness Express
• Back Care
• Healthy Ageing
• Vegetarian Weight Loss
• Weight Loss
• Building Resilience
• Diabetes Health
• Heart Health
• Smoking cessation
• Interactive Meal Planner
• Healthy recipes and nutrition tips

Look for the HealthSmart / EarthSmart at Monash

You can now make a healthy and environmentally sustainable choice when purchasing food from outlets on campus.

The HealthSmart logo on a food item means the item is a healthier food choice, mainly consisting of fresh ingredients and no added salt or sugar and higher nutritional quality.

The EarthSmart logo on a menu means the item is an environmentally sustainable food choice, as well as being good for you.

Look for the HealthSmart or EarthSmart logo at your campus food outlet today!

No more excuses, get active in your Monash office!

Now is a great time for your colleagues to get active and energise their bodies using the Staff Wellbeing and Activity Program (SWAP).

SWAP has been designed to bring on campus activity to your office!

With 30, 45 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!

Upcoming planning day? Have your considered incorporating a SWAP program into your staff planning day? Try a 30minute SWAP class or an introduction to mindfulness seminar.

Staff participation in a SWAP program will contribute to the University Wellbeing KPI aiming for 30% participation in wellbeing events and programs.

Download the new SWAP brochure for all pricing and program information.

Ready to make a change? Join the 6 week Get Well Challenge

If you are you ready to make a change to your health and wellbeing, now is the time to join the Get Well challenge!

Suitable for beginners and those returning to exercise, the 6 week program will help you to increase your health and fitness by participating in two Get Active sessions per week at lunchtime.

Dates: Commences at Clayton the week of 23 July. 45minute Get Active sessions will be held twice a week (Tuesday and Friday, 12.15-1pm).
Cost: $10 per session ($120 payment for 6 week program)

Register your interest: Email wellbeing@monash.edu with Get Well in the subject line, you will then receive more information. Staff from other campuses may register interest for a campus program.

 

Red Cross Blood Service – Clayton campus

The Blood Service will be visiting the Clayton campus in July

When: Bookings are available at the following times: Wednesday 25, Thursday 26 and Friday 27 July  October 9:30am – 3:30pm

 Where: Engineering Building – EH 4/60, Union Loop Road.

Register: To secure your appointment to donate please phone 13 14 95, or email dpallen@redcrossblood.org.au

 

Free Mindfulness Program for people with Parkinson’s

Live better with Parkinson’s! Monash University and Parkinson’s Victoria are seeking 60 Volunteers living with Parkinson’s disease.

Volunteers will participate in an ‘Essence’ mindfulness program, which is free to suitable participants! Essence stands for Education, Stress management, Spirituality (meaning), Exercise, Nutrition, Connectedness (social support) and Environment.

The program will introduce you to simple strategies that can help you live with Parkinson’s disease and be encouraged, but not pressured, to apply aspects of the Essence model that are most relevant to your own life.

Sessions will run for approx. 90 minutes each week over a 6-week period and will be held at multiple locations across eastern Melbourne. Both day and evening sessions will be available.

For more information visit the program website or contact Brooke Vandenberg 99024920, brooke.vandenberg@monash.edu

Tense Up…To Relax!

Want a tried and tested relaxation technique used by everyone from commandos to Olympic athletes? It’s time to try Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR).

PMR is a way of recognising tension in your muscles and consciously switching it off. As you release the tension, the pressure in your mind eases simultaneously. Read the full article on the Wellbeing at Monash online portal

Enhance your concentration, peace of mind and knowledge of mental health

Monash offers a range of programs and services for employees, including:

Programs and services available at Monash campuses

Parkville

Free Get Active classes including Boxing: Mondays 5pm at 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

Gippsland
Get out and about at lunchtime and join the Gippsland Walking Group. Monday’s 12.30 – 1pm, meet at the Knuckle – 1st floor, outside of eSolutions. Leaders: Shane Paynter, Audra Glavas, Vonnie Boreham

Box Hill
Krunchies Boot Camp, Nelson Rd, opposite Box Hill Hospital. Monday and Wednesday 6-7pm, 6 weeks $129, visit Krunchies for more information

Berwick
Free lunchtime meditation class, Tuesday’s 12.30-1.30pm, Building 930, Health and Wellbeing Hub

Peninsula
Have you visited the new Monash Peninsula Activity and Recreation Centre (MPARC)? Facilities include a weights gym and cardio zone, group fitness classes including Les Mills and Zumba, Sport competitions including basketball, Futsal and netball and Court hire including badminton, basketball, netball and volleyball.

Lunchtime Weight Watchers at Work Program – commencing at Clayton

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, commencing Wednesday 4 July 12-1pm

Cost: $18.90 per session 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 the Clayton program to wellbeing@monash.edu. Staff from other campuses are invited to register their interest in a campus program.

Research examining how we view physical appearance

CQU is conducting a study in how physical appearance is viewed in contemporary society and underlying factors that lead people to decide to start exercise programs.

The survey takes approximately 15-20minutes to complete online .  For further information contact christopher.siva@cqumail.com or the Research Supervisor, Dr Leeana Kent on 0407 130 772.

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

Monash Games Staff Challenge – Friday 20 July

The annual Monash Games Staff Challenge offers staff the opportunity to play sport and have fun with colleagues over a lunch break.  Sports offered include; netball (mixed & women’s), soccer, dodgeball, badminton, basketball and volleyball.

Hurry, registrations close Tuesday 10 July! For more information or to register contact clarissa.au@monash.edu stating your faculty/department and your preferred sport.

Customer Satisfaction Survey – win a $20 Rebel Sport voucher

Would you like a $20 Rebel Sport gift voucher or a free 1 month membership with Monash Sport? Simply take our short online survey about customer satisfaction for your chance to win! Complete the survey online

Exercising with a cold or flu

The majority of experts argue that because exercise helps to boost immune function, it’s usually safe to exercise with a cold. However, it is important to listen to your body. If you have asthma and a cold it is not advisable to exercise because it may cause shortness of breath. If your symptoms are from the neck up, meaning you have sniffles, a runny nose, headache and perhaps a very mild cough, it’s probably OK to perform a mild workout.

Monash Sport offers an array of group fitness classes such as Body Balance which combines Yoga, Thai Chi and Pilates to offer you a mild work out that will help you feel centred and calm. For a group fitness timetable or more information, please visit our website.

If you’re symptoms are primarily neck down, that is you’ve got a deep chest cough or a fever of 38.5 or higher, you should make yourself scarce from exercise  altogether until you feel much better. The only way to fight infection is to let your immune system recover by resting and letting your body recuperate.

If you have a sore throat, this is the first sign that you might have a cold. However, if the severity of your sore throat is mild to moderate you can still exercise. Just remember, listen to your body, you are the person who knows yourself best!

Social Sport, commencing 6 August

Semester 2 social sport competitions start Monday 6 August. Hurry to get your team together as registration close on Wednesday 1 August. Social Sport competitions are an affordable way to have fun, keep fit and take a much deserved break! Sports on offer are indoor soccer, basketball, women’s and mixed netball and badminton. For more information, please visit our social sport hub.

Nutrition consultations now available at Caulfield!

Take charge of your health one bite at a time! Our new Nutrition service available at the Caulfield campus is a great simple way to kick start your path to a healthier lifestyle. Accredited Practicing Dietitian (APD) Rebecca Hall will help you achieve your nutrition goals by:

• Creating individualised meal plans
• Coaching you through weight loss
• Healthy eating education
• Management of chronic diseases

To introduce this new service, we are offering a discounted fee as per below. These 30 minute sessions will book out, so get in quick:

• Every Monday from 3:00pm to 6:00pm
• $20.00 for an individual consultation, or
• $10.00 for group bookings (minimum of 4 people)

Call now for an appointment – 9903 2358 or email: fitness.caulfield@monash.edu

London Bound!

In the lead up to the 2012 Olympics, Monash Sport is challenging our members to Olympic themed training activities such as 1500m run on the treadmill, 100m swim sprint, hiring out a squash, badminton or tennis court, just to name a few.

Members will go in the draw to win a new iPad for the gold prize, a $200 Rebel sport voucher for silver prize and a one month free membership extension for the bronze prize. For more information visit the London Bound Challenge

5 quick and easy tips to get active

With busy lifestyles, many people find it hard to find time to exercise, especially during winter. Here are 5 quick, easy and fun training tips:

1. Walk your dog: According to a new study from the University of California, owners who walk their dog once a day have less body fat, tend to be healthier and  their risk to many cardiovascular illnesses are reduced. So, if you have a dog and you aren’t walking it, …or if you don’t have a dog, just get out there for a quick walk after work every day!

2. Drive or ride your bike? Put a sticky note on your front door reminding you whether you really need to drive to go buy bread or milk at the local supermarket or drive 3km to a friend’s house when you can ride your bike.

3. Exercise can be fun. Create a sporting team with your friends and register in a social sport competition or join a sporting team. What better way to get fit and increase your endurance then participating in your favourite sport while bonding with friends or team members. It won’t feel like exercise and you’ll be keeping fit and healthy in the meantime. Monash Sport offers a Fitness Connect service, which is a great way to join a team or find someone with similar exercise goals.

4. Listen to music-create a good playlist. Statistics show music can increase your exercise endurance by 15 per cent!

5. Gently stretch while watching your favourite show, do push-ups, sit-ups or lift light weights during the commercial breaks. You will be surprised how many repetitions you can do in the span of just one episode.

Sport at Monash Calendar

Don’t know when key events are? There are 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 or spontaneous sport and activity into even the busiest schedule!

To access the Sport at Monash calendar, login into the my.monash portal, select the Sport at Monash tick box and update your subscription. 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 here.

Discounts for staff

New salary packaging option for staff at the Book & Merchandise Shops

From Monday 9 July Monash staff can now salary package items at the Book and Merchandise Shops.

Staff benefit by receiving a reimbursement of GST paid and can reduce gross taxable income through salary packaging.

Items available for salary packaging include (but are not limited to) all books, stationary, general gifts, cosmetics, Kodak products, Monash apparel, Oxfam and Fair Trade products. Salary packaging does not apply to services including dry-cleaning and special items such as discount movie tickets and gift vouchers.

How can I save? For full and part-time Monash University staff earning within the $37,001-$80,000 per annum tax bracket:

1. Spend $1,000 at Monash Retail
2. GST Reimbursement – $90.91
3. Maximum income tax concession – $295
4. Maximum Saving – $386.36

For more information, and to collect your free salary packaging booklet and receipt holder, visit the  Monash Retail website.

 

 

BUPA (HBA) health insurance staff discount 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
• Your monthly premium is paid from your Monash pay so there’s no need for direct debit or credit card
• Award Winning Corporate Products – not available to the public
• BUPA will waive 1 excess for singles and 2 excesses for families for same day or overnight admissions into hospital.^
• Claim more back – members on corporate extras covers can increase the amount they can claim each year by a set amount for most services for the first six years. As part of Monash University corporate health plan you can start claiming at year 3 Loyalty maximums and will increase each year for the next 3 years.
• A range of discounts and deals from specially selected partners, so whether it’s fitness and sports you’re interested in or rest, relaxation and travel—you can choose what suits your needs.‡

More info: Visit a BUPA Retail Centre or call 1800 649 406 and quote the Monash University corporate group number – 122265. For detailed pricing information see health insurance discounts.

 

Save up to 54% at Peppers, Mantra and BreakFree Resorts

Ready to escape the cold Melbourne winter? Staff have access to the exclusive Departure Lounge with discounted rates at selected Peppers, Mantra and BreakFree properties throughout Australia and New Zealand. Rates are best when searching for 3 night stays.

July specials:
Save up to 54% off room rates book during July and travel 1st August to 31st September! Resorts include:  Magnetic Island, Broadbeach, Port Douglas, Moolooaba, Caloundra, Melbourne and Adelaide

Hervey Bay: Book during July and travel between August and October a nd enjoy whale season in Hervey Bay, at either Peppers Pier Resort, Mantra Hervey Bay or BreakFree Great Sandy Straits

To book: Visit Departure Lounge and enter the password: monashstaff

 

Doncaster MINI & BMW corporate program

Donaster BMW is delighted to offer Monash staff access to the exclusive corporate program. Benefits include:

• Complimentary scheduled servicing for 4 years or 60,000km
• Valet interior and exterior wash after servicing
• A dedicated Corporate Sales Team
• Exclusive overnight test drive of any MINI or BMW
• Program benefits extended to your spouse

Contact: Marior Giannattilio, Corporate Sales Manager, Doncaster BMQ, ph 88480000 or corporate@doncasterbmw.com.au

 

Feel back or neck pain? Free initial visit

Are you suffering from: back pain, neck pain, recurrent headaches or sports injuries? You may benefit from visiting a chiropractor. Azari Chiropractic, located in Mt Waverley (5mins from Clayton campus) is offering staff a free initial visit. Ph: 9802 1112 or visit Azari Chiropractics for further information.

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’.

 

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. Visit the website for the latest  July specials.

Visit the Dell website and enter the sales code: AUEPP and your organisation name. Use the featured coupon codes to redeem your discount at the checkout. Alternatively, call 1300 730 755.

 

 

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 is a healthy food delivery service. No more thinking of what to cook or where to get the ingredients from. It’s all in the bag. Convenient Kitchen offer a weekly menu of recipes with all their matching raw, market fresh ingredients so you can create healthy, delicious meals at home.

July special: No delivery Fees for orders

 

They deliver to your home or office a blend of fish or seafood, meat, poultry and vegetarian dishes. Monash staff receive 10% discount off the introductory price of your first bag using the coupon code MONASH. Visit Convenient Kitchen

 

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:
• Avis car rentals • Hot Air Ballooning Visit discounts for staff for more information

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