By Sofia Rudus ’26
Each year at Derby High School a group of seniors start advisory period with a slew of morning announcements on the intercom. This year there are two groups of four students, Cassie Silkoff ‘25, Emma Hyder ‘25, Lynette Martinez ‘25, and Zomora Moya ‘25 in one group and Vincent Trinh ‘25, Quinlan Gray ‘25, Vanessa Nguyen ‘25, and Gianna Akter ‘25 in the other group, who switch each week to use their best voices and say their parts.
When speaking with the announcers, an overall excitement about being on WRBR shines through. Two of the announcers, Gray and Hyder, talked about their eagerness for this year and how a student from a past year inspired them to want to do the announcements themselves. Gray says, “When I was a freshman the group that was doing it was very enthusiastic and energetic and I like to hear it in the mornings, so I try to do it to recreate the same thing for the rest of the school so they have the same experience.” Similarly Hyder remarks, “My freshman year Rylee Netto ‘21 was very enthusiastic and she inspired me to want to bring the same hype and emotion and school spirit to the announcements.” WRBR inspires people and future classes, and it is something that students can look forward to in years to come.
WRBR, which stands for We Are Big Red, is the school’s broadcasting program that provides students with helpful information on upcoming events, sports results, and important reminders. WRBR producers create engaging videos each week and morning announcements daily with the help of the students and staff. Assistant Principal Ray Coplin and video production and arts teacher, Thomas Hogan, both assist the producers with any logistical matters. The staff is there to help and provides tools for the producers, giving them the freedom to learn how to do it themselves. Hogan remarks, “Ideally I want every student to look at this as like how to learn how to produce content, regardless of what type of content that may be and walk away with some skills that they can actually use in the real world that are pertinent or useful in their lives.” The producers agree with this, as an overlap of opinions during the interviews had a general consensus that a goal for students was to become more comfortable with speaking and creating content on their own.
WRBR can also be stressful however. Coplin and the announcers have to write on a document each day, and make sure all the information is included there, before 9:45 a.m. when the announcements happen. Time can sometimes not be in their favor and feel crunched. The announcements are constantly changing due to the awesome events happening at DHS.
To join WRBR, either as a morning announcer or in video production, keep a lookout for emails in your mailbox during junior year or take video production class! Who knows who you may inspire or the impact you can have by participating in WRBR.
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