Good afternoon Team Carlsbad,
It’s almost the spookiest time of year, and while celebrations look different this year, we aren’t going to let that stop us from having some Halloween fun! Whether you’re in the office or working from home, we want to see and share all of your creative Halloween costumes. And who doesn’t love some friendly competition?
Get your costumes ready for a virtual Halloween contest
Here’s how our first virtual Halloween costume contest will work. We’ll have four costume contest categories:
· Best team costume
· Best individual costume
· Kids of Team Carlsbad costumes
· Pets of Team Carlsbad costumes
Costume guidelines:
· Snap a photo of you, your individual team members, family or four-legged friend in costume
· Team photos should be taken via Zoom/Microsoft Teams (consider adding some themed virtual backgrounds!)
· Costumes must be work appropriate
Email your photos to communications@carlsbadca.gov by end of day on Friday, Oct. 30. Check the Intranet on Monday, Nov. 1 to vote for your favorites. Winners will receive some Team Carlsbad swag and the best prize of all – bragging rights!
Halloween safety guidelines
Thankfully, we have had no additional employees test positive for COVID-19, so our total to date remains at 11. Celebrating Halloween safely this weekend is another opportunity to do your part to stay safe.
The county has released guidance for celebrating Halloween during COVID-19 with recommended activities including:
· Online parties/contests, drive-through events and car parades
· Decorating your house and yard
· Movie nights with your own household or at drive-in theaters
Please review the guidance in full for other safer alternatives. Even if you’re gathering outside, the county advises to keep in-person events to no more than three households.
Thank you in advance for your diligence in practicing all the public health guidelines and prioritizing your health and safety.
Festival of Lanterns: A Night of Light & Reflection In honor of National Gratitude Month, Carlsbad employees are welcome to participate in the Festival of Lanterns: A Night of Light & Reflection, the city’s inaugural floating lantern event at Alga Norte Aquatic Center.
You can purchase a lantern for $5 by Oct. 28 to take home, decorate and write a message of hope, reflection and gratitude. Once you have decorated your lantern, return it back to Aquatic Center by Oct. 30 or by interoffice mail by emailing rachael.shay@carlsbadca.gov.
Park and Recreation staff will then add battery-lit candles and float all the newly decorated lanterns with hopeful messages in the pool to be part of a video event which will also include live singers, musicians and poetry readings. The video will be streamed on the city's Facebook page on Nov. 14.
Honoring Veterans
Coming up on Nov. 11 is Veterans Day, a day that honors all of those who have served the country in war or peace. I know many of our city employees and their families have served our great nation, and I’d love to recognize their service.
Last year, we created this online gallery of employees and their families who have served our country. I’d love to add to it! If you or someone in your family has a history of military service, please share a photo that we can add to this page. It’s my hope that this tribute will help us keep our veterans in our thoughts all year long. We will also turn the photos into a video slide show to play at a November City Council meeting.
Please send your photos with the name of the veterans and relationship to you, along with the military branch to communications@carlsbadca.gov by Friday, Nov. 6.
Team Carlsbad opportunities
We are so pleased that we have been able to not only retain our workforce during the COVID-19 pandemic, but provide opportunities to continue employee career development. HR now has a feature on its job listing site where you can sign up to be notified about specific types of jobs that interest you. We also have a page with job listings only available to city employees.
If you’re looking for information about resources available to city employees, including wellness programs, online training opportunities and benefits, please check this staff page for updates.
Reminder to take employee survey
Have you taken our employee survey yet? Please let us know how you’re doing and how we can support you during this time.
Miss my last update? Read it here.
Have a great week Team Carlsbad! Keep up the great work and don’t forget to send in your team success stories. I want to hear about them. Submit your story and any pictures to communications@carlsbadca.gov.