Walking through the halls, most would not expect to be serenaded. But at Leo Hayes High school, walking by the balcony between classes is a musical experience unlike any other. Mr. Browne, a music and art teacher of 20 years, can be seen bringing positivity to the school day by playing his mandolin outside his classroom. As a lover of the arts, his school day is filled with sharing this love with his students.
Mr. Browne studied art at university and later found his way to teaching music after being an instructor for extracurricular guitar classes. “[I] played on my own and later in some bands, and when I discovered my love for working with young people it seemed like a natural fit.” After this, he started teaching both music and art here at Leo Hayes.
Along with teaching his regular classes, Mr. Browne also works as the advisor for the school yearbook. This class brings unique challenges such as strict deadlines and managing the stress of creating the book. Mr. Browne says it can also be challenging when people disagree with the decisions he and the editors make. “When someone says they love the book, you listen, but when someone says that you messed something up, well unfortunately those are the comments that tend to stick with me.” But he says the yearbook process is also very rewarding. The best part is “the day the books arrive and stepping back to let the editors open the first box!”
The Covid-19 pandemic has affected every aspect of our lives and the yearbook is no exception. Mr. Browne’s attitude toward creating a yearbook during a pandemic year has changed since 2020, “At first I thought that it was kind of funny, all these pictures of people in masks… But now with all the activities that are affected, restricted, or just outright cancelled, all this affects us as editors. [There are] clubs and committees that aren’t running right now, students who don’t feel as connected to the school and who therefore don’t participate in activities.”
In years past Mr. Browne would be spending much of his free time planning Coffeehouse, an after-school event highlighting student musical talent. However, the pandemic has forced this event to be postponed until further notice. Mr. Browne spoke about his hope for future Coffeehouse events by saying, “I really miss them. It also means that I’m out of touch with all those musical students. I do have faith that we will get back to having them.”
Mr. Browne has become a wonderful part of our school community here at Leo Hayes, which is exactly what he encourages his students to do. “Find ways to participate in life at Leo, to make your time here special and memorable.” Still, he wants to remind students that, “life really does begin after high school, and it might take a long time for you to become the truly awesome person you are meant to be.”