“Yeah, it’s always better when we’re together,” Jack Johnson sings as high-school students head through the freshman quad to their next class.
New speakers were installed under the awning by the Matthews Library by director of technology Tom Wroten on Sept. 15.
The speakers were added so that projecting music throughout the high school would be made easier, according to Wroten.
“There is always an outdoor event where people request music, and it’s just easier to have speakers,” Wroten said.
The speakers play music before and after school and during break and lunch.
Wroten said that having music throughout the school creates a better atmosphere.
“The idea is to make sure there’s a nice sound to go around the school,” Wroten said.
Wroten said he plans to install additional speakers in the middle and lower schools with the ability to connect to Sonos. Sonos is an app that allows the user to play music from their phone or stream music from other apps such as Pandora. The app can also connect multiple speakers so they are all playing the same music.
Currently, only Brooke Wells, head of high school, and Wroten have the Sonos app and, therefore, are the only people who can select the music. Patricia Jacobsen, dean of student life, said that she hopes to download the app soon so she can return to choosing the music again.
During breaks, Wells plays different Pandora stations through the Sonos app. To choose music, Wells said that he tries to go for something upbeat, like Jack Johnson Radio. He said that he would be happy to take requests from students, but so far no one has asked.
While freshman Monet Cook says she enjoys Wells’s taste in music and that it always puts her in a good mood, sophomore Bella Mathisen said she preferred when Jacobsen chose the music before the new speakers were installed.
“I miss (Jacobsen) playing music,” Mathisen said, “Now that it’s Mr. Wells, it’s good, but not (Jacobsen) quality.”
Mathisen said that Jacobsen usually asked the students in her math classes what music they wanted to hear, rather than choosing the music herself. She also made a spring high-school playlist which included songs that she and her children enjoy, such as Muse, Miley Cyrus, Nirvana and Justin Bieber.
—By Emma Boersma
