Even amid a pandemic, the Kedron Elementary School community found a way to gather virtually for a fun time by hosting a virtual bingo night.
The school has been looking for ways to create a sense of togetherness in a time where the usual after-school community events can’t be held, and Kedron’s Family and Community Outreach action team has stepped up. Earlier events hosted by the team included a virtual variety show, the virtual Heart 2 Heart run, and virtual bingo night was another exciting brainchild from the group.
“As a team, they were looking for ways to reach all of our families this year in a safe manner. Bingo night was a great way to do this, and I was surprised with how many students had never played before,” said Kedron Elementary Principal Jamie Voorhies. “It was a great way to connect with our families, and it brought back memories of my childhood playing bingo with my grandmother.”
The kids really got into the spirit of the game.
“It was a huge success, and the kids LOVED it. They were happy and bouncing around on Zoom,” said Voorhies. “They did a great job keeping their microphone off until they had a bingo, but would energetically mouth what number they wanted me to call, and some of them were holding up their fingers with how many spaces they had filled up.”
It won’t be quite as often as the kids would like, but they do hope to bring bingo back next year.
“Even though not everyone won a prize, all the students had fun and in fact one asked me today if we could host bingo every week,” said Voorhies. “We probably will not do this again this year as it took a little planning to get it all up and running. However, we will make this an annual event here at Kedron. We are hoping to hold this in person next year, but, as successful as it was, we are going to have it virtual if it cannot be in person.
