As many of the students and staff at OHS may know, the bell system for announcements is currently not working properly. It usually takes about two to three times for faculty to get the announcement to go through correctly. Junior Liv Larson said, “It’s annoying because I know that we’re gonna have to sit there for a couple minutes waiting for it to work.” Since the system is old, it does not  work with the other newer systems. Technicians have updated the phone system that is implemented at Willow Creek to try and fix it. Administration is thinking the problem occurs with the new phone system connecting to the intercom. For announcements, the speaker talks into a phone receiver. Getting an announcement system that connects directly to a microphone has been suggested. This will come in handy in case the phones are not working.

Announcements are important for the safety measures at OHS. Principal Mark Randall said, ”The primary importance of the announcements system is safety. If there’s something going on in the building, we need to get the messages out to students and staff. We have other ways and backup plans if we need to be able to do that, but that’s the most efficient and effective way.” Every classroom in OHS can hear the announcements and when the bell rings. The bell system needs to be programmed correctly in order to work. All the bell schedules are programmed in, so the custodians just need to go in and click which schedule is needed each day. They are still in the progress of trying to fix the intercom and phone system, but as of now it looks like the issue is here to stay.