Lift your small school’s holiday spirits with these virtual ideas
The holidays are usually such an exciting part of the year, and COVID-19 will definitely impact this holiday season. With school communities trying to virtually engage away from each other, how are small schools supposed to foster a positive, optimistic culture for the holidays? If morale is low in your school community, don’t worry – you’re not alone in this.
Here is a list of ways to boost your school community’s morale through one of the strangest holiday seasons to date.
Create and market a virtual celebration
It’s no secret that students’ favorite part of the holiday season at school is the end of the semester festivities. Now that school is mostly online, things are going to look a little different; however, your celebrations don’t have to be canceled. Try organizing virtual school holiday events like class Zoom parties full of online events like holiday bingo, holiday ice breakers, holiday scavenger hunt, and holiday trivia. To boost excitement within your community for this makeshift celebration, market the event on your social media platforms beforehand.
Build a virtual school holiday campaign and hashtag specific to your school
An idea is to start a school appreciation social media campaign, where students and faculty are highlighted to show appreciation for supporting the school through the pandemic. A little bit of gratitude goes a long way, and posting how thankful you are for your school community online is a great way to showcase your school’s culture and personality.
This campaign can be amplified on social media through the use of a hashtag uniquely crafted for your school. Maybe you mention your school mascot, find a play-on-words phrase that relates to the holidays, there are plenty of ways to get creative with campaign hashtags.
Unique social media challenges
Encourage your staff, faculty, and students to participate in social media challenges to boost positive engagement online. There are many social media challenges circulating that your school can employ in your winter social media strategy. One idea is a holiday-themed school merchandise giveaway. The giveaway motivates members of your school community to interact with your accounts for a chance to win some school swag. It’s a win-win: your account will gain some followers, and your followers have an opportunity to engage with you.
Send virtual holiday postcards to your school families
Instead of sending your regular weekly school email to parents, send it in the format of a festive postcard for a more festive communication method. A traditional approach that schools have regularly taken is including a video message from the school principal tagged into the weekly or monthly newsletter. This is still the norm, and a great idea for families to hear from faculty.
If a video isn’t possible due to time constraints, a unique graphic or image related specifically to the holidays is another alternative that is effective in holiday newsletters or emails.
Contact us
Boosting positive spirits within your school community has never been so critical this time of year. Does your small school need assistance in prepping your website and marketing for the holidays? Contact us today for a free 10-minute consultation to help you prepare.