This year, SGO 11th grade president, Noelani Getfield, has implemented morning music.

Every morning, at the beginning of first period, Noelani makes special announcements and plays a song to start the day off with a tune!

We got a chance to speak to her about this new feature at Pace. Here is what she said:

Ciara: Hello, Noelani. Firstly, how are the morning music songs selected everyday?

Noelani: There’s actually a school wide Google form. On the Google form, students submit their music suggestions and from there I do a random pick. I make sure the songs are appropriate and clean. I basically screen all music before recording it. On days where I don’t have a good selection of songs, I go on my personal playlist and choose a song from there or I would ask for recommendations from teachers. But yeah, that’s usually how I pick the music.

Ciara: Oh, I see. Is there a schedule for the songs or do you decide what you’re going to play the morning of?

Noelani: I actually choose the music the morning of. You really have to feel the vibe of the day. Like you can’t play “I Got Sunshine” on a cloudy day. You really have to play the music based off of the vibe. That’s why I usually wait until the day of to choose music. So I really try my best to pick a song that goes with the vibe of the day.

Ciara: That makes sense. Next question: what do you think are the benefits of morning music? What does it bring to the Pace community?

Noelani: I have heard from students and teachers that it puts them in a positive mindset in the morning. People have said it has encouraged them to do work and it brings them a lot of joy and it woke them up. It’s a great way to wake people up in the morning. It spreads positivity and I think that different music and culture needs to be spread. And I think morning music is a great way to expose the students to different music genres.

Ciara: While we are on the subject of diversity, if there is a holiday, is there a theme you follow when it comes to the songs being played?

Noelani: For Black History Month, which was a very special occasion, I chose songs from the mid 1900s all the way to today. I chose spirituals, classics, hip hop, r&b, soul music, and reggae. I took all of that body of work from those Black artists and I incorporated them in the morning music. I also mentioned facts and I gave an overall idea of what Black history is. For Women’s History Month, I’m doing a lot of songs from female artists like Arethia Franklin and other old-school artists.

Ciara: Oh, okay, nice! What made you want to implement this in the first place?

Noelani: As 11th grade president, I was trying to find ways to give the 11th grade a voice while also making it expandable to the rest of the school and doing something enjoyable. I think that motivated me the most. I was always trying to find something to do or to work with my presidency. Along with that, with school starting at 8:20 this year, I try to find a way to make the morning more pleasant. I guess morning music was my way of doing that.

Ciara: What is it like going on the PA system every morning? Is it nerve wracking?

Noelani: It is terrifying! Every single morning, I kid you not, I’m shaking when I’m holding the microphone. I’m worrying if something is going wrong, but thankfully I haven’t been having technical difficulties. I realize that sometimes when I go on the loudspeaker, my voice starts to shake. And when I finish I take a big deep breath, and then I open the room and exhale the air so you guys can’t hear it. [laughter] It’s just terrifying, but you eventually get used to it as you go. I’ve learned to enjoy it. While I’m in the room, I start dancing around the office. I’m having fun! I try to make it more fun than making it like an assignment. So yeah, that’s what I do.

Ciara: I know we already touched on this subject, but what else is included in the morning music?

Noelani: In morning announcements, the music goes at the end. I tell everyone the date, any announcements of the week. Like if there’s a game going on after school, if clubs are meeting and I also talk about school events. Then, I also do some birthday shout-outs
(when students fill out the Google form, they can choose to have their birthday shouted out on the PA system) and teacher shout-outs.

Ciara: Do you plan on implementing morning music for the rest of your time at Pace?

Noelani: Yes! I plan on doing this every single morning as long as I am here!