The Yearbook Blog

Congratulations to the following school for being NSPA Pacemaker Finalists! All schools on the lists will be recognized at the Spring National High School Journalism Convention in Portland, April 15-18, and the announcement of the Pacemaker-winning books will be made at the Saturday afternoon awards ceremony there.

Eye, Evergreen Valley HS, San Jose, Calif. -- Binh Ngo, Nhat Vo, editors -- Jan Gliozzo, adviser

A very special round of applause to Evergreen Valley H.S. in San Jose, CA (one of The Yearbook Ladies’ own)!!!!!! WooHoo!!!

(Psssst! We couldn’t help but notice that 28 of these books are printed by Herff Jones. For those of you counting, that’s twice as many as any other yearbook company, and even any other two yearbook companies combined!)

**These schools are also on the CSPA Crown List. Wow!!!

HIGH SCHOOL YEARBOOKS

Hornet, Bryant HS, Bryant, Ark.

**Titanium, Antelope HS, Antelope, Calif.

Ceralbus, Burbank HS, Burbank, Calif.

The Valkyrie, Pleasant Valley HS, Chico, Calif.

Hoofprint, San Dieguito Academy, Encinitas, Calif.

Decamhian, Del Campo HS, Fair Oaks, Calif.

Wingspan, James C. Enochs HS, Modesto, Calif.

Shield, Thomas Downey HS, Modesto, Calif.

**Rampages, Casa Roble HS, Orangevale, Calif.

Wings, Arrowhead Christian Academy, Redlands, Calif.

**Pilot, Redondo Union HS, Redondo Beach, Calif.

Tonitrus, Rocklin HS, Rocklin, Calif.

Details, Whitney HS, Rocklin, Calif.

Ash a Wut, Gabrielino HS, San Gabriel, Calif.

Eye, Evergreen Valley HS, San Jose, Calif.

Cayuse, Walnut HS, Walnut, Calif.

Carpe Diem, North Forsyth HS, Cumming, Ga.

Log, Columbus North HS, Columbus, Ind.

Magician, Muncie Central HS, Muncie, Ind.

Logue, NorthWood HS, Nappanee, Ind.

Indian, Shawnee Mission North HS, Overland Park, Kan.

Saga, Shawnee Mission West HS, Overland Park, Kan.

Hauberk, Shawnee Mission East HS, Prairie Village, Kan.

The JAG, Mill Valley HS, Shawnee, Kan.

Lair, Shawnee Mission Northwest HS, Shawnee, Kan.

Crimson, duPont Manual HS, Louisville, Ky.

Fentonian, Fenton HS, Fenton, Mich.

Ebb Tide, Carlson HS, Gibraltar, Mich.

Roundup, Great Falls HS, Great Falls, Mont.

Skjold, Corning Painted Post West HS, Painted Post, N.Y.

**Westwind, West Henderson HS, Hendersonville, N.C.

Governor, John B. Connally HS, Austin, Texas

El Paisano, Westlake HS, Austin, Texas

Marksmen, St. Mark’s School of Texas, Dallas, Texas

Pride, Franklin HS, El Paso, Texas

Triune, Trinity HS, Euless, Texas

Bobcat, Hallsville HS, Hallsville, Texas

Leopard, Lovejoy HS, Lucas, Texas

The Arena, Legacy HS, Mansfield, Texas

The Bronco, McKinney Boyd HS, McKinney, Texas

The Lion, McKinney HS, McKinney, Texas

Reflections, McKinney North HS, McKinney, Texas

SHS Yearbook, Saginaw HS, Saginaw, Texas

**The Hawk, Pleasant Grove HS, Texarkana, Texas

**Crag, Turner Ashby HS, Bridgewater, Va.

Odyssey, Chantilly HS, Chantilly, Va.

Eyrie, Osbourn HS, Manassas, Va.

**The Clan, McLean HS, McLean, Va.

Saga, Loudoun Valley HS, Purcellville, Va.

North Star, Northside HS, Roanoke, Va.

**Laconian, Salem HS, Salem, Va.

The Edge, Glacier Peak HS, Snohomish, Wash.

JUNIOR HIGH/MIDDLE SCHOOL FINALISTS

Surfer, Coronado MS, Coronado, Calif.

LFMS Life & Style, Las Flores MS, Las Flores, Calif.

**The Patriot, Harvest Park MS, Pleasanton, Calif.

Prowler, Pioneer MS, Tustin, Calif.

The Prowl, Powell MS, Littleton, Colo.

**Sentry, Robinson MS, Fairfax, Va.

JUNIOR HIGH MIDDLE SCHOOL SPECIAL RECOGNITION

Eagle Eye View, Sierra MS, Parker, Colo.

Stingray Tales, New Smyrna Beach MS, New Smyrna Beach, Fla.

Panther Pride, Lawton Chiles MS, Oviedo, Fla.

Eagle, Maize South MS, Wichita, Kan.

Did you know that Herff Jones has more award-winning yearbooks every year than any other printer? Obviously, we’re quite proud of that fact because we feel we have something to do with the highest quality printing. But an often-over looked factor is the leadership of the adviser running the program. Long hours, giving up summer for camps, and taking critiques to heart are just a few of the things that award winning advisers do to bring fame and glory to their yearbook programs.

Each year, JEA awards the “Yearbook Adviser of the Year” to one amazing teacher and special recognition to seven others. This year SIX Herff Jones advisers will be recognized in April at the JEA/NSPA Portland convention at the Saturday adviser luncheon.

DISTINGUISHED ADVISERS
Carrie Faust, MJE, Smoky Hill High School, Aurora, Colo…
Tim Morley, Inland Lake High School, Indian River, Mich
Nancy Y. Smith, MJE, Lafayette High School, Wildwood, Mo

SPECIAL RECOGNITION ADVISERS
Charla Harris, Pleasant Grove High School, Texarkana, Texas
Pat Hinman, Robinson Middle School, Fairfax, Va
Chad Rummel, CJE, Oakton High School, Vienna, Va

Meanwhile, congratulations go out to our Northern California Herff Jones books who were named as CSPA Crown finalists. Over 1,500 publications were sent in for judging and only 56 yearbooks were selected as finalists. The gold and silver crowns will be awarded at the CSPA convention in New York this March. We are so proud of:

Lion’s Den, Hyde Middle School, Cupertino

The Patriot, Harvest Park Middle School, Pleasanton

Rampages, Casa Roble High School, Orangevale

Titanium, Antelope Valley High School, Antelope

Here's Julie getting her $100 American Express Gift Card for coming in 2nd Place in the Ultimate Sales Challenge. (*Excuse our dress. We were sorting yearbooks for distribution!)

When it comes to fundraising and book sales, Julie Fox–yearbook adviser at Central Middle School in San Carlos, CA–is a true guru. In 2009, as a first-year yearbook adviser, she won 2nd place in the Herff Jones Northern California Ultimate Yearbook Sales Challenge.

In 2009, the yearbook staff at Central Middle school not only wanted to increase sales, but they wanted students to buy early. So they motivated them by offering complimentary name stamps to all students who ordered books within the first 6 weeks of school. The price covered the cost of the name stamps and more. Each Monday during the sales campaign, teachers received a list of students who had not purchased. Homeroom teachers encouraged students who had not purchased books and new orders came in every Tuesday. The week the free name stamping disappeared, parents were notified of a last chance offer with order forms and personalized money envelopes in weekly mail folders. Increase in sales: 10%, and for the first time ever, the school was able to prepay, making them eligible for the prepayment discount.

How does she top it for 2010?

For her  2nd year as an adviser, Ms. Fox noticed that Central’s yearbook did not have a name, so she asked the school to help. At a school-wide assembly, the yearbook staff announced their Yearbook Naming Contest. They explained the importance of a yearbook name and shared examples of other schools’ yearbook names. They then opened it up to the entire student population to submit their ideas. The names started flooding in. With Principal Lynette Hovland’s help, the staff narrowed it down to 2 choices: Hoofprints or The Round-Up. (Their mascot is the Mustangs.) Instead of just having students vote on one of the final two names, the staff decided to turn it into a fundraiser. They placed two jars in the school office, one labeled “Hoofprints” and one labeled “Round-up.” They then asked students to vote for their favorite name by placing spare change in the jar.

Three weeks later, not only did Central Middle School’s yearbook have a new name, but the entire school was excited about the yearbook and being a part of creating a tradition that will stay with the school forever. Talk about great publicity! And if that wasn’t enough, the yearbook staff raised an extra $170 by simply placing 2 jars in the office.

What’s the secret to her success?

“The yearbook belongs to the students, not the yearbook advisor.  My role is to help the students create the book that showcases the entire student body,” shares Ms. Fox. “If I help them do a good job, then the students and staff will buy the book.  It’s all about talking the talk beforehand (through advertising) and following through with a great product.”

While your first set of judges will be the student body, there’s another set out there waiting to critique your book and bestow awards. Send in your book as soon as you receive and you should get the critique back in time to put the ideas to use:

• Columbia Scholastic Press Association (CSPA) sponsors the Gold and Silver Crown awards
• National Scholastic Press Association (NSPA) sponsors the Pacemaker award (older than the heart version)
• American Scholastic Press Association (ASPA) sponsors their own ASPA awards

*This entry is part of “The Yearbook Ladies’ A to Zs of Yearbook”
project. If you’d like to download the “J” card, go to the “Adviser
Resources” section of www.theyearbookladies.com

We’d love to hear from you! Share your questions, comments, and ideas below…

Columbia Scholastic Press Association (CSPA) wants to crown you!

• Offers a yearly convention with workshops and lectures, held on the Columbia University campus
• Has a critique service for you to send in the yearbook and receive valuable feedback
• Sponsors the Gold Crown, one of the most prestigious awards in scholastic journalism
• Publishes some outstanding guidebooks to help you with instruction
• http://www.columbia.edu/cu/cspa/

*This entry is part of “The Yearbook Ladies’ A to Zs of Yearbook”
project. If you’d like to download the “C” card, go to the “Adviser
Resources” section of www.theyearbookladies.com

We’d love to hear from you! Share your questions, comments, and ideas below…

BizCard, an eco-friendly online printing company, has graciously teamed up with Business Cards Observer to run a contest to give away 3 prizes of 1,000 business cards. Here are the details:

The Prize
Total of 3000 free business cards to be given away, printed by bizcard.com. Winners we be able to upload their own design or can select one of the many in their catalog.

Raffle Entry
This will be a raffle style giveaway and earning tickets is simple. There are 5 ways to earn tickets.
1 ticket - Comment on this contest at http://cardobserver.com/free-business-card-giveaway
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5 tickets - Retweet this contest on twitter
10 tickets - Blog about this business card giveaway and link back to the site and contest page

Deadline:
August 31, 2009

For more information on how to enter go to:
http://cardobserver.com/free-business-card-giveaway

Good Luck!

TheYearbookBlog would like to congratulate the following schools for receiving the 2008 Pacemaker Award. Winners were announced at the JEA/NSPA National Spring Convention in Phoenix, AZ:

For more information about these schools/books, judges comments, and a list of finalists, please visit the official NSPA website or click here.

Congratulations to the 2009 Crown Award Recipients! The Columbia Scholastic Press Association honored the following schools at their annual convention this March:

GOLD CROWN WINNERS - MIDDLE SCHOOL, YEARBOOK:

Sentry, Robinson Middle School, Fairfax, VA;
The Lariat, Del Webb Middle School, Henderson, NV;
The Surfer, Coronado Middle School, Coronado, CA.

GOLD CROWN WINNERS - HIGH SHOOL, YEARBOOK:

Carillon, Bellaire High School, Bellaire, TX;
Fentonian, Fenton High School, Fenton, MI;
Hauberk, Shawnee Mission East High School, Prairie Village, KS;
Hoofbeats, Burges High School, El Paso, TX;
Marksmen, St. Mark’s School of Texas, Dallas, TX;
Nexus, Inland Lakes High School, Indian River, MI;
Pinnacle, Carmel High School, Carmel, IN;
The Belltower, St. Thomas Episcopal School, Houston, TX;
The Bronco, McKinney Boyd High School, McKinney, TX;
Wings, Arrowhead Christian Academy, Redlands, CA.

SILVER CROWN WINNERS - MIDDLE SCHOOL, YEARBOOK:

Eagle, Maize South Middle School, Wichita, KS;
Hartbeat, Thomas Hart Middle School, Pleasanton, CA;
The Viking Voyager, Butler Junior High School, Oak Brook, IL;
Verkana, Komachin Middle School, Lacey, WA.

SILVER CROWN WINNERS - HIGH SCHOOL, YEARBOOK:

Chestnut Burr, Middletown High School, Middletown, MD;
Chieftain, West High School, Torrance, CA;
Decamhian, Del Campo High School, Fair Oaks, CA;
Details, Whitney High School, Rocklin, CA;
Hawk, Pleasant Grove High School, Texarkana, TX;
Indian, Shawnee Mission North High School, Overland Park, KS;
Legend, William R. Boone High School, Orlando, FL;
Reflections, McKinney North High School, McKinney, TX;
Roundup, Great Falls High School, Great Falls, MT;
Summit, Smoky Hill High School, Aurora, CO;
Teresian, St. Teresa’s Academy, Kansas City, MO;
The Deer, Deer Park High School, Deer Park, TX;
The Eye, Evergreen Valley High School, San Jose, CA;
The Hornet, Bryant High School, Bryant, AR;
The Lion, McKinney High School, McKinney, TX;
The Pilot, Redondo Union High School, Redondo Beach, CA;
Tonitrus, Rocklin High School, Rocklin, CA;
Westwind, West Henderson High School, Hendersonville, NC.

Awards were also given in the categories of newspaper and magazines for both middle and high school. For more information on the Crown Awards, the Columbia Scholastic Press Association, or the annual convention at Columbia University, please visit the official CSPA website.