TOWAMENCIN – Walking through the hallways of school and looking for a lightbulb with your name on it may sound bizarre. For students and staff at North Penn High School, however, it’s a tradition that happens the same time every year. 

A week or two before winter break, lightbulbs are hung in the hallways around the building, with each one ‘assigned’ to a specific staff member or student in the school. This is a tradition that has been going on at North Penn for many years. For some staff, it’s been around since the time they were at the high school. 

“It’s one of the oldest traditions in the school, and I remember looking for my lightbulb when I was a student here in the 1990s,” Director of Student Activities Kyle Berger said. “I also love watching the joy on students’ faces when they find their light bulb.”

For students, a trip around the hallways may be a time to simply pop in an air-pod and scroll through their social media pages. Now, they can take their eyes off the screens and try to interact with the people around them. For some, this turns into a friendly competition of who can find their lightbulb first.

“I think it’s fun to race your friends to find your lightbulb before they find theirs,” senior Ryan Blake said. “I think it’s a good way to incorporate everybody in the school into one thing.”

With around 3,000 students in the building, it’s very difficult to find something that brings the school community together. This event causes students to interact with some people they may have not ever met before, and strengthens the relationships amongst everyone within the school.

“It is truly inclusive. Everyone who is in this building has a lightbulb with their name on it,” Berger explained. “In a building this size, the only thing we do together is a fire drill, so it’s nice to be able to do something that everyone is a part of.”

Looking ahead to the coming years, this tradition is one that members of the high school believe should remain. Having the impact that it does on the students creates a more positive interaction amongst the students and a happier environment in the holiday season.

“The lightbulb tradition is one I believe that should stick around,” senior Jordan Long said. “It’s fun to see names you haven’t seen in a long time and the stories that may come with them, or to walk with random people talking about your lightbulb search. I definitely think it’s an event that brings North Penn together.”

The bulbs will be taken down by the students and staff on Friday, December 23, the day before break officially begins. While this will mark the end of this year’s hanging of the bulbs, it adds to the list of another successful year of them lighting up the spirits of the students.