In a year in which coming together as a community to celebrate or spend time together has been uniquely difficult, faculty and staff have been imagining new ways to engage each other. Among those working on bringing colleagues together is Spanish teacher Mrs. Murray.

Murray just finished organizing a faculty and staff easter egg hunt for her colleagues to do during the 17th and 26th of March. “Faculty and staff members hunt for eggs hidden all over the building, and if they find one marked as a winner, they simply write their name on it and turn it in to me in room 142 or in my mailbox. Each winner will receive a gift card,” Murray said.

The event is one of many organized this year to improve spirit and maintain a sense of community to supplant changes that limit interpersonal contact. “It’s helped to improve morale by providing our faculty and staff with a contest of sorts to win prizes, like the bingo we did in November. With social distancing, it’s been hard to get together in person and doing this hunt gets our [faculty and staff] out from their usual classroom or office space and they are more likely to interact with their colleagues. This interaction improves morale and so does the fun of looking for the Easter bunny’s eggs,” Murray said.

The egg hunt is the first attempt to boost the spirits of teachers and staff. “In addition to the hunt and the turkey bingo, there has also been a Get to Know You activity revolving around our new/newer fac/staff members, bonfires with smores and treats, a wellness challenge with prizes, lunches for fac/staff, breakfasts, donuts and coffee in the morning, and door decorating contests, to name a few things,” Murray said.

Faculty and staff have responded positively to ideas and competitions like the Easter egg hunt; it’s clear that they are looking for ways to connect. “So far, I have heard from quite a few fac/staff members who have found a winner. Mr. Groess started at 5am on the first date and found 68 on the first day during the first 3 hours, according to an email he sent me. I have also heard about some winners including a few teachers who have turned in a winning egg to me already. I know there are quite a few eggs hidden, with some being hidden quite well, so there is a potential that some are never found,” Murray said.

Murray has shown through her efforts the value of community involvement. “Engaging the community is particularly important this year as the social distancing and mitigation strategies to protect us from COVID-19 have created more isolation and more worry and anxiety. It’s crucial that we all support each other during this time and by doing something like this, we can bring some joy to our [faculty and staff] in the midst of a very difficult period,” Murray said.