English teacher Lucia Kozlowsky has brought much needed energy and excitement this year into the daily afternoon dismissals through her vibrant personality and engaging announcements, which consist of trivia, quizzes and anecdotes.

“Mr. Keltos assigned [the afternoon dismissals] as a duty for me [and] at first, I was nervous about it.  [As time went on], I got really into it and I wanted my announcements to be a light and fun way to end the school day,” said Kozlowsky.

Kozlowsky has a wide range of sources of inspiration for her daily announcements. 

“I would come up with ideas as I got up in the morning and as I am driving, whether they would be trivia or current events or fun facts. Sometimes I’ll be talking to my colleagues and they will give me suggestions too,” said Kozlowsky.

The changes that she made to the after school announcements have been extremely well-received.

“The teachers love it, they treat me like I’m some kind of celebrity and many of them tell me that it’s the best part of their day,” said Kozlowsky.

However, the most significant reception that Kozlowksy has received are from the students,

“I really started to feel like I made it when [a] class made me this beautiful mask-chain that said ‘Mrs. Dismissal’ ”, said Kozlowsky, “when they gave me that, I was absolutely overjoyed.” 

While the status of dismissals is up in the air for the foreseeable future, Kozlowsky is open to returning as “Mrs. Dismissal.” 

“[My announcements] are more for a staggered dismissal so I don’t know what it’s going to be like next year”, said Kozlowsky, “I feel like they have been cheering people up, especially through such tough times, so I would definitely consider doing announcements next year.”🔳