Every day, a group of students create the school’s morning announcements, which are posted as a YouTube video that takes about five minutes to watch. They include information about upcoming events, club meetings, sports games, fundraisers, schedule changes and other important school news. Their purpose is to keep students informed and connected to what is happening around the school. However, students are not receiving that information because the announcements are often not shown during the first period.
The school extended the first period by five minutes specifically to allow time for the announcements to be shown at the end of class. While this sounds like a simple solution, it has not solved the problem. Teachers may consistently show the announcements, but many do not. As a result, whether students see the announcements often depends on which first-period class they have. “I feel like at the beginning of the year they reminded teachers to show the announcements but now I hardly remember that we have them,” junior Noa Lucas said.
Teachers have a lot of responsibilities and are often focused on finishing lessons, answering questions or helping students complete their work. It is understandable that playing the announcements occasionally slips their minds. The announcements also have not been posted consistently. If teachers check for the announcements and do not find them multiple times, they stop looking altogether or assume there is no video for that day.
While these reasons make sense, the impact on students is significant. Students miss important information because they never see the announcements. They may not hear about a club meeting until after it has happened, forget about an upcoming event, or miss opportunities to get involved in school activities. “I never know what’s going on anymore and have to look at emails or search it up online,” Lucas said.
Announcements are much more than a five-minute video. They are the result of a class period dedicated to producing them. Students spend time researching information, writing scripts, filming segments, editing videos and making sure everything is ready to be shown each day. Creating the announcements requires teamwork, communication, creativity and responsibility.
When the announcements are not shown, the work of those students reaches only a small portion of the student body. Imagine spending an entire class period creating something intended for the whole school, only to find out that students never saw it. The effort put into producing the announcements deserves to be recognized by making sure they are actually viewed.
Morning announcements help create a stronger school community. They allow students to stay informed, celebrate achievements and learn about opportunities they might not otherwise hear about. Teachers have demands on their time, and forgetting to show the announcements is understandable. However, with five extra minutes already built into the schedule, making a consistent effort to show them would benefit everyone.
If the school has set aside time for announcements, that time should be used. The announcements are an important source of information, a showcase of student work and a way to bring the school together. By showing them consistently, we can ensure that students stay informed and that the hard work of the students who create them each day reaches the audience it was intended for.
