The end of the school year is filled with many special events. For students at Catasauqua Middle School, one of these events is the annual talent show.

Kimmie Miller, art teacher, and Vicki MacLaughlin, sixth-grade teacher, run Student Forum, which organizes the talent show.

According to Miller and MacLaughlin, they normally hold tryouts in April and have two rehearsals before the show. The show generally runs two days for the fifth- and sixth-grade students and then two days for the seventh- and eighth-grade students.

Due to COVID-19, the end of the 2019-20 school year was unlike anything students and teachers have seen before. The switch-over to online learning and school closures put a damper on many of the end-of-year events.

Miller and MacLaughlin knew the students looked forward to the talent show and wanted to continue the tradition.

“We felt the need during these difficult times to give the students something exciting and fun to do,” the teachers said.

This year, a PowerSchool announcement went out to all CMS families, asking students to submit a one-minute video showcasing their talents. They received videos of karate demonstrations, dancing, gymnastics, playing musical instruments, singing, pet care, a makeup demonstration and more. Doing the show in a virtual format allowed for a greater variety of acts.

Miller and MacLaughlin noted they generally have approximately 30 acts. This year, the virtual show has just under 20 acts and lasts for approximately 18 minutes. All the videos are put together in iMovie.

During a normal year, the students are separated by grade when performing. The virtual talent show was put together in no particular order, according to Miller and MacLaughlin.

The video was released for the public the week of June 8. It was posted on the school’s website, cattysd.org/Domain/276.

“The talent show has been a year-end tradition in Catasauqua Middle School for decades,” Miller and MacLaughlin said. “Although the talent show has taken on a different form this year, we felt the need to keep the tradition alive.”

As a special treat, there is also a staff virtual talent show with just under 15 acts posted on the website. Staff acts include dancing, golf, quilting, the cookie challenge, drawing Disney characters, frosting cupcakes and more.