Every year during April, the Mountain Lion Maniacs are in charge of the egg hunt led by adviser Carolyn Kline. This year’s dates were April 14-17. Most teachers are given an egg to hide within their room
Students can partake in this event within their classrooms. There are 32 teachers participating this year.
“I usually don’t take part in the school-wide egg hunt because I prefer to organize my own outdoor cultural egg hunt with students before Easter break,” French teacher Veronica Skomra said. “However, this year I wasn’t able to host it due to scheduling conflicts with a field trip and a Juniata Language-in-Motion presentation just two days before break. Events like this give students something to look forward to during the day while also providing teachers with a fun and meaningful way to offer class-related incentives.”
Teachers are each given one egg to hide. The egg comes with certificates and rewards, or the teachers have the option to create their own rewards.
“ I was trying to think of some things to get teachers and students excited in the spring term, and with no major holidays since Christmas, it seemed like a great idea,
Kline said.
Teachers hide the egg throughout their classroom, give their students the time to find the egg, then put it in a new spot for the next class period.
Some teachers allow the students who find the egg to pick the spot for the students in the next period.
“I think letting the students hide the egg makes it extra fun for them in addition to getting the prize,” English teacher Alyssa Fasolo said. “They also get to pick the challenge for the next class.”
It is suggested that teachers give students at least three minutes to locate the egg in the classroom. In the event that a student finds the egg more than one day in a row, the teacher may allow that student to hide it once more for that class period and allow them to look again.
“It’s more fun that way. Different minds have different ideas of where things are hidden,” Physical education teacher Julia Buggey said. “My mind likes to put them in the lights and showers, but some students come up with some really fun ways of hiding them, so not only does it help them become more engaged in the Easter egg hunt all week long, but also gives us more hiding spots in the future for teachers.”
Kline believes the Easter egg hunt motivates students to do their school work.
“It’s fun to look for the egg, it doesn’t take much time away from the lesson, gets the students up and moving, and the gift certificates can be for an array of things, from extra credit points to a free essay on a test,” Klinesaid. “Free homework or classwork pass, or even dropping the lowest grade, so that should all be pretty good motivation for students”.
