On Tuesday July 20 at 11pm EDT/PT, MTV will premiere a new weekly series called “If You Really Knew Me” based on the Challenge Day program. Each episode will be shown on MTV multiple times during the week and streamed on MTV’s website.
“‘If You Really Knew Me’ is an incredibly authentic and compelling docu-series that takes us on a 24 hour journey through a high school’s social transformation. It shows us what happens when kids from various cliques decide to break down the walls that divide them and commit to change,” said Tony DiSanto, President of Programming from MTV. “It’s an intense and dramatic experience, but ultimately uplifting and universally relatable for all of us who have gone through high school or are about to.”
Each episode takes place at a different high school with its own set of issues and its own unique set of cliques. In the series premiere, viewers go inside a Northern California school divided by race and cliques, a symptom of a newly-diverse student body that has grown from 500 to 2,400 students in just 10 years. As the season progresses; the show profiles a variety of schools struggling with everything from cyberbullying to small town rumor mills.
Discussion Guides (sponsored by Herff Jones) can be downloaded from the Challenge Day website at: http://www.challengeday.org/mtv/.
What’s this got to do with yearbooks?
We all know that yearbook sales are directly related to school spirit. If your school is not participating in Challenge Day, maybe Yearbook could sponsor it! Visit the Challenge Day website for more info: http://www.challengeday.org/how-challenge-day-works.php
Teambuilding is key to an efficient yearbook staff. Try watching the episodes together as a group, and downloading the discussion guides. Download the discussion guides here: http://www.challengeday.org/mtv/
If your school is already participating, don’t forget to cover it in your yearbook! Make sure to interview the participants for their point-of-view!
Angela’s side note: I participated in a Challenge Day as a high school student (A LONG TIME AGO), and it was definitely worth it. Let’s just say a lot of tears and hugging were involved. I highly recommend it!
Yearbooks.biZ (that’s “biZ” not “com)is where you can find new ideas to keep your creative juices flowing. Just because this is our final card, doesn’t mean we don’t have more to share. At Yearbooks.biz you’ll find sample covers, endsheets, themes, spreads, divider pages, sales tips, writing lessons, and much more. Go ahead–take a look. Just tell everyone you’re doing “research.”
*This entry is part of “The Yearbook Ladies’ A to Zs of Yearbook”
project. If you’d like to download the “Z” 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…
You know ESPN hosts both Summer and Winter games of Extreme Sports with events like skateboarding, BMX biking, street luge, snowboarding and snowmobiling. Well, what about the Yearbook X-games? Once the book is done, have an X-Game Celebration after school. Have staffers sign up ahead of time for events like these:
Big Wheel Slalom
Skateboard Paddling
3-legged Cross Country Skipping
Nerf Skeet (Frizbee) Shooting
It’s a great way to burn off all that built up stress, and it’s a great prelude to a nice Yearbook banquet where winners receive their medals along with the other staff awards. Or, be really X-treme, and ask ASB if you can host the Yearbook X-Games for the whole school over a couple of lunch periods and have students pay a dollar or two to participate. Instead of gold medals, give away golden tickets to your yearbook signing party!
*This entry is part of “The Yearbook Ladies’ A to Zs of Yearbook”
project. If you’d like to download the “X” 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…
Granted, we trust you are all responsible and thoughtful students, but sometimes yearbook programs do things that just make you say, “What were they thinking?” Things like allowing student to put grisly hunting pictures in their senior ad or use a quote from Hitler for their personal statement. Some schools have even landed in the news for seemingly insignificant things, like the female senior in Florida who wanted to wear a tux for her senior portrait and the superintendent said no. All this leads to one point: have policies for your book to avoid controversy. A few suggestions:
Dress code for senior portraits?
How would the yearbook handle a student’s death in the middle of the year?
What kinds of pictures can be used in a baby ad?
How does the yearbook select the person for a dedication?
The more you have in writing, the less likely you’ll need to scramble for an answer when the situation arises.
Yes, we know, YERDS and Advisers are very under appreciated, but there are other individuals on campus who deserve some appreciation, too — whether it’s a note, a gift card, or a nice acknowledgement at a staff meeting.
The custodian (who cleans up the classroom after the pizza parties on your late work nights)
The secretary (who answers a million and two questions about yearbook)
The counseling department (who runs off all the class lists and always knows what class someone is in)
The IT person (who answers all your panicked phone calls when the computers are whacky)
The bank clerk (who collects all the money from book sales, ad sales, parent ad sales, and fundraisers AND pays your bills on time!)
*This entry is part of “The Yearbook Ladies’ A to Zs of Yearbook”
project. If you’d like to download the “U” 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…
How do you make this year’s yearbook unique from all the books of previous years? Use the following 5 brainstorming questions when developing your theme:
What will be different about the year? (i.e. construction, new clothing requirements, new administration, etc.)
What outside influences have affected the school? (economics, new boundaries, changing demographics, etc.)
Describe your school using one adjective.
Describe the people who attend your school in one word.
What is the first thing you notice when coming on to campus?
*This entry is part of “The Yearbook Ladies’ A to Zs of Yearbook”
project. If you’d like to download the “U” 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…
OK, we know today’s students were born with a computer mouse in their hands, but when it comes to school technology, you’re pretty limited due to necessary restrictions from the school district. That’s why establishing a positive relationship with your school and/or district IT person can make a HUGE difference in the success of your year. As soon as possible each August, contact the school or district IT person and discuss the following:
Any newly installed firewalls
Installation of all software necessary for page production (including fonts, Adobe Flash, and any supplementary program software)
Permissions
Yearbook server locations, accessibility and size
Then, remember to nurture this relationship throughout the year with a birthday card, a thank you note, or an offer to buy lunch. It’ll go a long way in keeping your computers glitch-free!
*This entry is part of “The Yearbook Ladies’ A to Zs of Yearbook”
project. If you’d like to download the “T” 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…
Producing a yearbook is a lot of fun, but it also carries a great responsibility. A yearbook lasts forever and cannot be reproduced once the year is over. Because of this, every picture, every caption, every quote in every story, and even every graphic has to be true and accurate. Here are a couple of things to keep in mind as you record the year’s memories for your school community:
Check and double check names. No one wants their name misspelled forever.
Captions and Senior Superlatives are a part of the coverage. They are not a place for inside jokes.
It’s our place to record history, not make it up. Make sure your scores, quotes and sources are verified.
*This entry is part of “The Yearbook Ladies’ A to Zs of Yearbook”
project. If you’d like to download the “R” 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…
Although organization can be boring, it can save a lot of drama come deadline day. Here are some resources you can use/create to make Yearbook a little more organized.
Create staff Mailboxes. This is a great way for staff members to communicate with each other and keep materials in a central location.
Use your ladder and post it on the wall. It really can make things easier in the yearbook world. This helps prevent pages or topics falling through the cracks.
Create a proof binder that has a print out of all the pages you submit. It is a great way to keep track of what you have done and still need to do.
Create a yearbook finance binder that is separated in 3 parts - business ads, parent ads, and book sales. This way all of your yearbook money information is in 1 spot.
*This entry is part of “The Yearbook Ladies’ A to Zs of Yearbook”
project. If you’d like to download the “O” 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…
The opening of your yearbook is like a good pick-up line. It should grab their attention and make them want more. Below is a quick list of what your opening should or could have:
Opening Copy - This should explain the theme and why you chose it for this year. It should be compelling and set the tone or voice of your copy for the WHOLE book.
Design Elements - Design elements from the cover that you plan to use throughout the book need to appear on your opening pages.
Photography - The pictures should reflect your theme through their content.
Table of Contents - If you can’t do this on your endsheets, then the opening is the place to do it. (Try to avoid putting it on your title page!)
For ideas on how to design your Opening Spread, go to Yearbooks.biz and click on “Showcase.”
*This entry is part of “The Yearbook Ladies’ A to Zs of Yearbook”
project. If you’d like to download the “O” 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…
What can we say? If you misspell a name in the yearbook people get upset. If you give them an entirely new name, they aren’t happy about that either. But hey, at least they’re in the book right? Well, maybe there are some things we should keep in mind when it comes to names.
Obviously we need to make sure names are spelled right - use a list from the office to compare against so you can double check the spelling.
Correctly ID the grade level (i.e. Joan Smith (12)) and be consistent with it through the whole book.
All captions have names, so identify people by their first and last names. Yes, we do need both!
*This entry is part of “The Yearbook Ladies’ A to Zs of Yearbook”
project. If you’d like to download the “N” 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…
Yearbook is all about numbers: How many people have been photographed?, How many pages are in my next deadline?, How many yearbooks have been ordered?, How many ads have been sold?…Well, you get the idea. Here some strategies to help you keep track:
3 - The number of students who should be quoted on each spread.
2 - Make sure you are designing in 2-page spreads, even if you have separate subjects on either page.
1 - Get students in the book at least 1 more time then their portrait picture.
*This entry is part of “The Yearbook Ladies’ A to Zs of Yearbook”
project. If you’d like to download the “N” 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…
Deadline just around the corner? Feeling a bit overwhelmed? Here are some tips to help you keep it simple:
Need a layout in under 10 seconds? Use a template. Really. It’s okay. That’s what they’re there for!
Need to fill some copy? Do an ESPN-style Q & A, and let their answers be your copy. Can’t find the time to meet? Do it over email. This allows the interviewee more time to think of answers. You also don’t risk the chance of misquoting someone.
Need photos? Ask friends, teachers, coaches, and parents to send you what they’ve got. They all took photos at the game/dance/fundraiser…
Need captions? Follow the easy caption formula. (See the “C” card for more info)
Need a sidebar? Do a quick “What’s in your backpack/locker/binder/trunk/etc… poll”.
*This entry is part of “The Yearbook Ladies’ A to Zs of Yearbook”
project. If you’d like to download the “K” 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…
Ladder (rhymes with ladder) is your organizational road map. Make sure yours is complete, accurate, and where everyone can see it.
Don’t just use the same ladder year to year. Recreate it every fall with a new staff and fresh ideas
Ask yourself if your particular theme needs a different approach to organization (e.g. chronological approach? Three sections instead of five?)
Include all pertinent information on the ladder: topic, due date, student(s) assigned, etc.
Cool tip: laminate a fresh wall ladder and use overhead projector pens to write on it. It is much easier to make changes/corrections that way
*This entry is part of “The Yearbook Ladies’ A to Zs of Yearbook”
project. If you’d like to download the “L” 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…
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…
In the words of G. I. Joe, “Knowledge is Power”. This includes the knowledge of what NOT to do as well. We’re filling these cards up with yearbooks do’s, here are 7 yearbook don’ts:
Don’t put faces or text across the gutter.
Don’t use too many fonts. Choose just a few (or one font family) that match your visual theme.
Don’t trap your captions (putting them between two photos).
Don’t have unplanned white space.
Don’t have a theme that’s too complicated for your school to understand.
Don’t fill your book with images/photos that are unrelated to your school.
When selling, don’t ever beg someone to buy a book.
*This entry is part of “The Yearbook Ladies’ A to Zs of Yearbook”
project. If you’d like to download the “K” 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…
Let’s face it: the yearbook classroom isn’t just another set of four walls with cutsie kitten posters inside. Find ways to make it your “Home Sweet Home”:
Make sure you have a place for communication, using stacking plastic holders, envelopes, or actual mailboxes for each staff member (or team)
Add a room mascot and name it. Of course we’ve seen the standard stuffed animal, but also a growing ball of stickers, a store-bought piñata, and fish on a stick (made from construction paper, of course)
Make room for a “rant wall” where staff members can write funny sayings, quote other staffers during the year, and doodle.
*This entry is part of “The Yearbook Ladies’ A to Zs of Yearbook”
project. If you’d like to download the “H” 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…
Good coverage is hard to achieve when staff members sit in the room and hope that the stories will come to them. Sure, you can try to light some incense and pray to the gods of feature writing, but with your luck, you’ll probably just set off the smoke alarms.
Well if your school has a homeroom or advisory class, how about assigning each staff member to a teacher. That way the staffers “adopt” a particular homeroom class. It is the goal of each staff member to get “THEIR” advisory students into the book at least two times.
To accomplish this, your staff members should get to know their adopted class. Start with a school-wide survey to find out about the students there and then send the staffers in to dig a little deeper to find the hidden gems. Once they get to know their group, class conferences should be full of people suggestions. For example:
Editor: We’re doing a story on sports that students play outside of school. Who do we know out there?
Staffer #1: A kid in my homeroom is a competitive gymnast.
Staffer #2: Yeah, one in my homeroom has a black belt in Judo.
Staffer #3: I’ve got an Irish dancer in my homeroom.
(etc.)
Hyde Middle School has been doing this since the beginning of the school year. They have three giant binders full of surveys and the students look through them for ideas. Recently I challenged them to a contest: find THE MOST UNUSUAL story or person in your advisory class. Three winners would be selected to win In-And-Out gift cards. Imagine their excitement when they found a student who . . .
–has collected over 400 Tech Decks (little skateboards)
–is a competitive rock climber
–volunteers at the Red Cross and an animal shelter 15 hours a week
–can walk on stilts
–has collected Legos since he was 6 years old
–collects sand from around the world
–is a synchronized swimmer
–competes in Brazilian martial arts
So find those stories and people hiding on your campus. Your readers will LOVE the book and learning about their fellow students.
Sure, vellum with a laser cut, foil emboss will turn a few heads, but endsheets don’t have to cost an arm and a leg to look spectacular. We have several great company-designed choices that will save you some time and money. Or, if you want to create your own, here are a few suggestions:
Use this space for the Table of Contents as well, saving a valuable inside page for more content
Make sure the design ties in with the theme and cover
Consider using a spot color in varying opacity to give the illusion that there are more colors present
*This entry is part of “The Yearbook Ladies’ A to Zs of Yearbook”
project. If you’d like to download the “E” 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…
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