Make Your End-Of-Year Virtual Celebration Special

Just like everything else we've done this year, we're going to have to think outside the box. We can still celebrate all our students have accomplished – and we should, given the year they've had! There are dozens of tools out there that will help us make it memorable, we just need to get creative – and isn’t that what we’re known for?

Zoom Party
While connecting with classmates and loved ones over Zoom is something most of us have already been doing, it’s probably the best platform for large group gatherings. Design your Zoom virtual celebration with your occasion in mind and make it special using these tips.
 

Create your invitations using ZmURL. You can customize the invitation’s URL with your class pet’s name, your school mascot, anything that’s memorable! Use your own image for the invitation to make it more personalized and ask invitees to RSVP – that way you can give out the join code privately and avoid Zoombombers.  

Want to make this classroom meeting feel different?

• Ask your students to dress up as their favorite book character for the party. Or as their favorite animal. Princess. Animal Crossing character? The more creative the better!
• Additionally, students (and parents) can decorate the background of their Zoom area to reflect a party, the sport or club they’re celebrating, summer, or any theme you decide on.
• Another idea is to create and send out personalized background images using Adobe Spark – or choose one from one of the many online offerings that are popping up for parents to upload before the Zoom begins. Students will be surprised to see what you chose for them, and the novelty will make the event more special.

The Entertainment

Hiring a magician or princess or superhero may not be in the budget, but anyone can play the part! Find someone who dabbles in magic or acting and ask them to put together a half-hour program for your students. Give them a theme (maybe surrounding a unit you completed during the year or a science concept you studied) and ask the performer to work key words or ideas into their show.

Play a round of The Masked Singer on Zoom using Flipgrid! (Read this story about a New York school’s faculty playing this game – and see examples!) Students interested in performing (perhaps a Flocabulary song?) can use Flipgrid to submit a 90-second video of their performance with an emoji covering their face. Then on party day, the teacher can use this customizable template to run the game via Zoom. No singers in the group? How about a masked reader?

The Food 

The best part of hosting your end-of-the-year party over Zoom is that you don’t need to prepare any snacks or drinks! But you’ll want to end with a toast to the hard work you did – so ask students to come prepared with a drink (anything from lemonade to sparkling water) and a simple snack. At the end of your party, take a moment to remind your students that even though the classroom environment changed, the community didn’t. They deserve cheers!

AMY RAEMONT

Copywriter

Amy Raemont spent 12 years in the classroom as a high school English and journalism teacher, and five years as an instructional technology coach. She’s a Google Certified Educator and Google Certified Trainer. Her love of technology started in eighth grade when she received her first computer, a Radio Shack TRS-80.