OHS Student council, along with many other OHS clubs, has looked a lot different this year due to the pandemic. Typically during the holidays, Owatonna High School has had two special events: HoHo Bing and Cash Drive. These events help to bring life to OHS and the community and they won’t be stopped by COVID-19. 

In regular years while learning in-person, OHS played rounds of bingo as a student body. After winning a bingo, the student would run down the halls shouting “HO HO HO” until they reached their prize in the office. Unfortunately, OHS is not capable of hosting this event while students are virtual learning. 

Fortunately, Student Council brainstormed ideas together to come up with a virtual HoHo Bingo activity. Tentatively, the bingo cards are planned to be emailed to students after using a website to randomly generate them. To ensure the safety of everyone, the event will be live-streamed and prizes will be dropped off after the event. Student council member, Sarah Kingland said, “Everyone should participate in HoHo Bingo because it will bring normalcy to this year. Most of us have played before and if you’re able to win a prize, there’s a great chance you’ll benefit from it.” The Student Council has been working even harder this year to make the OHS events as similar as they can to previous years. 

Cash Drive is an event hosted by the OHS to raise money for a selected cause; this year being Rachel’s Light and the hospitality house. Usually, the Cash Drive is an annual, week-long event filled with lunch activities, evening activities, a pep fest, and competitions between classes for the most money raised.

 This year, however, there will be a few changes due to being all virtual. With an uncertain date for the Cash Drive to occur, the student council has been examining different ways to get the student body of OHS involved. Possibly ideas are: snowman building contest, night on skates at Morehouse Park and virtual management. This event supports two local charities in need during the winter months and, on top of that, a pandemic. Event leader and student council member, Lauren Phelps said, “Cash Drive is a very rewarding experience because you know that you are helping others while simultaneously having fun.” Cash Drive will have more updates coming soon. Stay posted and reach out to the Student Council with ideas in making this year’s cash drive more successful. 

The OHS Student Council is responsible for making many events run smoothly. This year it has been a bit of a challenge, but they are confident that HoHo Bingo and the Cash Drive will not be canceled. Adviser, Ms. Beth Fink said, “We continue to hold council meetings on google meet and are continuing to brainstorm ideas on how to make this school year a great one even with COVID-19 restrictions.” These events are important to the OHS because they radiate spirits and benefit locally. Dates and confirmation of these events are yet to be determined, so stay posted for updates. Updates can be found on Instagram handles ohsstudco or ohsmagnet.