Flex is a daily occurrence here, and it seems that for now it is here to stay. However, within this short, 30 minute window of time we attempt to squeeze clubs, tutorials and announcements while students whiz around the halls trying to get flexed in class (or skip it). 

Announcements during this time adds to the frantic nature. This time has too much movement and too much noise for students and teachers alike. Few can interpret what is said, and teachers struggle to get students to quiet down. Rarely can the often important messages be heard. Paired with how Flex is intended to be a way to attend tutorials and clubs, often teachers and students must speak over announcements to be heard.

The solution to this dilemma is to have announcements occur in the first 10 minutes of school. This way we avoid announcements playing over loud, chaotic classrooms, allow tutorials and clubs to happen in peace and allow students to relay announcements information to students who arrive later. 

Currently, announcements often play at around 10:40, or if there is testing, 4:10. During flex, classes are usually loud and busy as the teacher has stopped giving instruction but the students have been left without a task to complete. The result is many students talking, catching up on missing work and helping each other with projects. To have the loudspeakers blare the announcements for future events is unproductive as no one can feasibly focus on them. The end of the day is not much better as teachers continue lessons and students anxiously await the bell to ring. 

The announcements occurring during flex also impedes on the purpose of student clubs and teacher instructed tutorials. For clubs, any specific information the club needs to provide as well as any announcements and activities are contested by the noise of the student council morning announcements. For tutorials, teachers are interrupted from helping the student, reducing the effectiveness of the tutorial time. The teacher is stuck either waiting for announcements to end or to talk over the loudspeakers, both options harmful in their own way. 

Now, the argument could be made, why not have announcements happen at the end of school? There are two large reasons: students are restless at the end of the day as well as morning announcements allow students to communicate with fellow students later in the day about the announcements. As it nears the bell to leave, students are energized by the thought of leaving. This is not an environment of focus. The solution is to start announcements in the first 10 minutes of class. Students that aren’t focused or aren’t present whether from arriving late or off-period can be told by students who were there in the morning and listening during lunch and other social times.

Overall, it is more productive to keep flex and announcements separate. By starting announcements during the morning. It will allow for attention during announcements, classes, and most importantly flex.