A teacher, who prefers to remain anonymous, started a new staff bonding activity called ‘You’ve been Gobbled’ The activity began on Nov. 2 when journalism teacher Erin Horn was the first person ‘gobbled’.  A goody bag was placed in her mailbox with instructions.  Horn was to post the photo of the turkey in her window indicating she had already been ‘gobbled’ and pay it forward to two other staff members. The goal of the activity is to spread joy and positivity for the staff throughout the rest of the month.

“Getting little treats in your mailbox is always an exciting thing. Sometimes being a teacher is sometimes an underappreciated profession to be in. Sometimes getting little goodies like notes or candy. Someone acknowledging their appreciation for you definitely changes your outlook and puts a smile on your face,” said Horn. 

The teacher who started the activity got the idea from a variety of sources. Ranging from games they played as a child to websites. 

“I got the idea from when I was younger in my neighborhood. We played this game called ‘you’ve been booed’ and we did it around Halloween and October. You would put the gift and the message on someone’s doorstep and it would be anonymous, then they would have to ‘boo’ someone else.[I thought] How can I do that with Thanksgiving and this month? This month is often looked over since everyone is excited about Christmas. So, I looked online for some ideas and I think it’s a really good way to kind of get everyone excited playing a game,” said the teacher. 

Although the activity started with only one teacher, each teacher will give it to two others and it will continue to spread out through the school. 

“Hopefully, [it grows] exponentially and every person I’ve given a bag to, gives a bag to two people and we can spread some joy and lighthearted fun throughout the staff,” said Horn.

The originator of the game’s overall goal is to get the staff members excited and to feel appreciated for everything that they do. 

“[I’m] hoping that it brings a little joy to everyone. It’s been a really tough semester so far and we’re starting all of our new classes this week [so] just remembering that there are still things to be thankful for in this profession as hard as it is,” said Horn.

The goal is to have every staff member ‘gobbled’ by Thanksgiving week.