“Good morning Warriors!” Each morning, North Atlanta classrooms are filled with the cheerful voices of our peers, informing us about all the going-ons of the week and bringing out the school pride that’s buried deep within our groggy morning brains.

With a student body of over 2,300 students, morning announcements are a vital means of communication in the 11 stories. The job is directed solely by a team of students and overseen by our Athletic Director Andre Regan. Last year the majority of student announcers were seniors, meaning this year the team was thrown together from scratch- excluding a few returning members- and new recruits have been taking the reins. One voice you may recognize comes from junior James Pope. Pope has lots of experience speaking to his peers, coming all the way from his middle school announcement days. “We’ve put together a good group for this year,” he said. “There are lots of different jobs but everyone really just works together to pull it off.”

The most important part of the job is organizing the day’s announcements into a readable script. Our Warriors may have talent, but calling from memory every announcement of every teacher and student is a bit outside the job description of our announcers. Luckily, the group receives all announcements by email from Coach Regan, and each morning has a script set before them by their team. “My role is generally to get everyone organized and give them their parts,” said sophomore Vicky Carlucci. “But when someone is out for the day, I’m always ready to take over myself!”

Although the members of this team of students joined from various backgrounds and for various reasons, the opportunity to be on the air in front of thousands of people each morning presents a unique opportunity to develop skills that are often overlooked by students. Public speaking is a very important skill in a vast amount of occupations in the real world, a skill nobody can ever have too much practice with – no matter what their future career may be. The opportunity to be heard throughout a building of our size is the perfect no-pressure opportunity to become comfortable and confident speaking. And to possibly brighten some days along the way! “The past few years I’ve learned all about how these things work and are set up,” said Pope. “It’s really cool information and a great experience to have.”

In a generation of speakers, activists, and go-getters, our Warriors love using their voices. What better way to do so than by keeping our peers aware and enthusiastic about each day of learning?