It’s the last day of 2020, and while most of us are ready to kick this year to the curb, one of the positive things that happened this past year is the increased following and engagement on schools’ and school districts’ social media platforms.
Welcoming the new year is a great opportunity to look back and reflect on the highlights of 2020, and also look ahead. Here are five easy ways to use your social media platforms to ring in 2021, and close out a most challenging year in a positive way:
Student Reflections
We see so many stories in the news about what is going wrong with the pandemic–yet, studies show that expressing gratitude is healthy and is strongly and consistently associated with greater happiness. What better way to share and express gratitude than through student’s reflections? Use these reflections as a series of posts that feature a quote about what students enjoyed or learned from 2020, and use a creative hashtag to group them.
Highlights Reel
Whether you put together a collection of photos in one post, or decide to kick off a “Top 10” collection of posts over the next few days, a highlight reel helps shine a light on the ways that your staff and students achieved, persevered and did their best despite the circumstances. Some ideas include highlighting the achievements of each of the high school classes (including 2020), people who made a difference, and pictures of significant moments (virtual proms and/or graduations for example).
New Word or Phrase of the Year
With all of the changes that came from the pandemic, many districts began adopting motivational phrases like, “Stronger Together”, “We’re in This Together” and “Safe and Healthy Together”. You could kick off 2021 with a new word or phrase–or a few. You could also create an easy crossword puzzle in Canva and ask people to find the word or words, and reply with the word(s) that they see.
Special Announcement
Do you have a new principal, teachers or staff members joining your school/district in January? Did any of your staff members welcome a new child or pet over the holidays? Welcome them in a new year post!
Behind the Scenes
With so many schools doing distance learning or in person learning with masks on, students and families would love to see what their teachers and other staff members are doing outside of Zoom or from beyond their masks. What are your staff members up to during the break? Ask them to send pictures and highlight the fun activities they’re doing with their families in a Happy New Year post or collection of posts.
Milestones
Are any of your schools or programs celebrating an important milestone in 2021? This is a great time to begin promoting and organizing the special celebrations (drive by, virtual, drive in…whatever is the safest for your community!) to commemorate it.
Motivating and Heartfelt Message
After a year of constant change and losses, a motivating and heartfelt message is a welcome respite from the information and news posts that have dominated your social media platforms. A new year is about new beginnings and the opportunities ahead, and that, while 2020 may have tested your school’s or district’s resilience, that the community is heading into 2021 stronger than ever before.
School Updates and Improvements
Have some school updates and improvements that will greet students and staff in 2021? Maybe a new mural was painted, a new garden was planted, or some bond measure projects were recently completed. Or, perhaps you’re breaking ground on a new project in January. Kick off and share the progress and updates of these projects with your families on your social media!
What are some other ways you are using your district’s/school’s social media to ring in the new year? Leave a reply below to share more ideas with our community!
About Heather McGowan
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