Morning Announcement Ideas

Whether you are a student council member in charge of assisting with morning announcements or the principal, vice principal or other administrator responsible for making the day's announcements to the school, you know it's tough to keep the attention of your junior high or high school. While the morning announcements are a time to pass on important information, you can keep things interesting with your own creative additions.

Keep students alert and on their toes by adding musical cues or sound effects to your morning announcements. Imitate morning radio disc jockeys by playing comical sound effects appropriate to each announcement, such as applause for honor society inductees or athletic team achievements. Select theme songs for teachers, students and other guests who come in and make announcements, and choose your favorite energetic morning song, either a classic oldie or a current pop hit, to start or end each morning's announcements.

Whether you are celebrating a healthy habits awareness week or just keeping the student body informed, adding a tip on healthy habits or personal safety can keep your morning announcements relevant and informative. Alternate each day between serious tips about proper diet, exercise or health hazards such as smoking and less serious risks such as the risk of injury from packing too many books in your locker or cheering too loudly at the pep rally. Bring in local safety experts to share tips about safe driving and other relevant safety tips for your area.

Include a trivia question or brain teaser during your morning announcement each morning. To heighten the challenge, offer a prize such as a free cookie from the school cafeteria or school bumper sticker to the first correct answer. On Fridays, choose a school-related trivia question or a more challenging math teaser and award a larger prize. Choose a popular item, such as a frozen yogurt gift card or a free pass to eat lunch off campus.

Use morning announcement time to help students get to know their teachers better. Highlight a different teacher, counselor or staff member each morning. You may choose to share a few quick facts about him, including his hobbies or background, or give clues each morning about one teacher or staff member and see if the students can guess her identity before the end of the week. This activity could work especially well during counselor or teacher appreciation week.