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DKG Practice/Program

Staying Connected Through the Pandemic

By Karen Kinney

When the executive committee of Alpha Zeta Chapter of Indiana State
Organization met in June 2020 to plan for the coming year, they adopted the theme
“Staying Connected Through the Pandemic.” They identified two areas of focus
and, for the safety of members, decided to hold all meetings virtually via Zoom.
The first goal was to learn more about members and offer them encouragement.
Our established telephone tree and discussions at meetings of books written by Mo
Willems were identified as methods to reach this goal. The second focus stressed
supporting teachers who were in the classroom. One method to accomplish this
was to develop a virtual library of videos of members reading books for students.
The plan was to share the library with schools in our chapter’s four-county region.
Staying Connected Through the Telephone Tree

To learn more about our members, 10 women were asked
to be designated callers. After a “catching up” conversation,
the caller asked this light-hearted question: “Did you ever
get in trouble in school?” The question was designed so
childhood memories could be shared. The answers appeared
in a “Staying Connected Edition” of our chapter newsletter.
A total of 45 responses were received. Nine declared they
had NEVER been in trouble. Thirteen confessed that talking
too much got them into difficulties. Four courageous members
gave permission to share their amusing stories: Karen tried to
convert a bracelet into a crown while she was in grade school.
When it got stuck in her hair, the teacher made her stand
Symbol for our year with her nose in a circle on the chalkboard. Ann transferred
schools in the middle of Grade 5—with a note in her permanent record that said
she “laughed too loud.” In high school, Sue and her boyfriend built a still and took
the alcohol-making device to class. She got in trouble with the principal but earned
extra credit from her teacher for creating a historical item. Kathaleen was scolded
as a first-year teacher for keeping her students so long after class that they were late
to the next class. She was reminded that “we do teach other things besides band.”
And now…the rest of the story. Sue, Ann, and Karen are currently chapter
officers, and Kathaleen has served DKG for more than 63 years. Encouragement
came from realizing that even those who “got in trouble” in school can develop
into excellent leaders!

Staying Connected Through Mo Willems Books
The purpose of reading Mo Willems’ Elephant and Piggie books at our
meetings (see Kinney, 2019) was to provide encouragement and foster the feeling
that “we are all in this pandemic together.” At the end of each of five featured
books, a “moral of the story” applied to our chapter.
• Piggie is determined to fly in Today I Will Fly (Willems, 2007). She discovers

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