NES seeks alumni for announcements

Eric Worcester, principal of Nokesville Elementary School, and Myndi Masters, principal’s advisory council chairperson, are hoping to have alumni come to the school to do the announcements during the last three years the building will be used to house the school community.

Worcester thought the idea would help give former students of the school another chance to be in the building and share their experiences with the students attending the school.
Masters portrays the Nokesville Elementary community as a tight-knit community. Many Nokesville residents have remained in the community and have generations of their families who have attended the school.

This should give the organizers of the alumni program a pool of announcers.

Worcester said having alumni complete the announcements will be inspirational to students currently attending school. Knowing what accomplishments former students have made may help current students aspire to great things.

The task will not take much time. Worcester estimated announcers will have to arrive at the school at 8 a.m. to complete the announcements that will begin at 8:10 a.m.

Announcers will be given scripts to read; they will also be asked to share a favorite memory about their time at the school. Worcester said the announcements are typically complete around 8:15 a.m. He described the task as “low pressure.” Announcements take just a little time and no preparation, he continued.

However, they have big shoes to fill. Worcester currently makes the announcements. Office staff members insist he is as good as any disc jockey. They laugh as he announces the lunch menu, which always includes a “dinner roll.” When Worcester says that, he enjoys punching and drawing out as if he were announcing the latest hit single.

Masters said she hopes to take the project a step further, having announcers write on a square that will be placed in a quilt that may take a place in the planned new Nokesville Elementary. Masters will also be creating an album, which will be taken to the new building to document the original, historic home of the original school.

Nokesville Elementary, at 12625 Fitzwater Dr. in Nokesville, first opened its doors in 1928. The students and faculty will be relocated in 2013 to a new building near Brentsville District High School and will house kindergarteners through eighth-graders.

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