Every morning, before lunch, and after school, the intercoms come on with the sounds of joyous Royals reminding us to buy our tickets for an upcoming event or leading us in prayer. These Royals are a core part of our day, but how much do we really know about what goes on behind the scenes? I got the opportunity to get an inside look into the Rosary Announcements Team.

Our morning announcements are led by seniors Cadiz Salazar ’23, Tori Gomez ’23, Ella Sy ’23,  and junior Julia Watson ’24. Tori Gomez ’23 took me behind the scenes on being an executive officer on announcements:

Q: How do you get on announcements?

A: It is our duty as ASB Executive Officers to do morning announcements. The Communications Officers do the lunch announcements and the Campus Ministry officers do the end-of-the-day announcements. To be on announcements, you have to be on ASB. For the different announcement times, apply and get interviewed for the specific position you want.

Q: What’s the routine of being on announcements?

A: The greeting, prayer, pledge, and fun fact have already been divided amongst ourselves. As soon as we arrive at school, which is around 7:45 a.m. to 7:50 a.m., we make sure that every announcement we make runs smoothly so we quickly look over them to see if it sounds good. After we practice, we wait until the bell rings, and we are ready to get the show on the road.

By the time third block is ending, we are dying to hear these Royals come on the intercoms to send us to arguably the best time of day: lunch. This team is made up of senior Joanna Ciudad ’23 and juniors Sara Garcia ’24 and Nia Delacruz ’24. Nia shared her insight:

Q: How do you decide who says which announcements?

A: Back when one of the previous Communications Officers, Irene Fernandez ’22, was showing us how to do announcements, Sara Garcia said the announcements on the papers, Joanna Ciudad said the names, and I said the prayer and lunch greeting. Now, we just stick to that same thing, except the names and announcements are sometimes interchangeable or split between Jo and Sara, depending on how many names and announcements there are.

When only two of us show up, we usually just wing it and split it however we think is fair at the moment. And of course, in the sad event when only one of us shows up, we have to say everything. Alone.

Q: Are students allowed to send in announcements they want on the intercoms?

A: YES!! I feel like not enough students are aware that they are allowed to send in announcements that they would like to be read at lunch. However, for the announcement to be read, it must be approved! Students that send in announcements to Ms. La Bonte, must allow at least one day for approval. Of course, if anyone has any questions, they can go see Ms. La Bonte in the Activities Office.

And if there is anything better than finding out it’s lunch time, it’s finding out it’s the end of the day. Our campus ministry officers, Sophia Melendez ’23 and Sophia Long ’24, end our days with a prayer and remind us to check the emails we have been avoiding. Sophia gave me the inside scoop on the end-of-day announcements:

Q: Would you recommend trying out for announcements?

A: I would definitely recommend being on one of the announcement teams if you get a chance because it’s such a fun responsibility to have. Only about 10 girls out of the entire school get to be in the intercom room and share that same privilege. Although it is definitely nerve-racking at first, it is a great way to get better at public speaking without having a direct audience in front of you. I personally love the thrill of speaking for the entire school and not having the pressure of everyone sitting right in front of me.

Q: Are the announcements completely student-run, or do you work with the administration?

A: We usually work with the administration, but we do write some of the announcements ourselves. I know for the beginning and end of the day prayers, Mrs. Kearns writes them and places them in a folder in the office for us to read off of, but the announcement team comes up with the fun facts and the saint of the week. Everything we say has to be approved by the administration, but we do have some creative freedom.

We are so grateful to have such an amazing group of Royals leading us through our day! It is truly a great day to be a Royal with this amazing announcement team!