The new school year is about to begin, and organizing yourself is the key to a great start! To keep you in control and maximize productivity, we have the following tips to make workflow fluid and less stressful. Student staff will benefit and learn life skills as they plan and implement these tips while creating the yearbook.
Technology
It seems simple, but software is often overlooked, causing increased stress and despair. Consider which software you will use, download, and check that it is operable on the students' laptops, tablets, and desktop computers. Think and plan the protocols for student use, check-out system, site protections, and safety. Additionally, all yearbook staff must have access to all photography. You must arrange enough storage for Yearbook student contributors and parents, teachers, coaches, and perhaps local news media. Plan the use of this space. Logins, passwords, space allotments, folders, retrieval, and placement of photos--all require thoughtful structure. As the Adviser, your major priority is the technological implementation and application.
Calendar
A calendar is beneficial if you have the yearbook designated as a co-curricular activity. If the yearbook is a class, the schedule is already built in. Prepare the schedule during the first few days so select students are out and about snapping back-to-school snapshots and quotes from students and faculty. Students will make most decisions, and you will keep the momentum going. Offer the "ladder" format to organize the work, page-by-page, deadline by deadline.
Administration
A successful yearbook can only be produced with the assistance of the administration. It is essential to have open and clear communication and delineate expectations for the Yearbook. Before school begins, make an appointment for the Administrator to meet with you and determine who will be the contact person for all things related to the yearbook. Also, ask the administrator to be part of the editing team for the section on Senior Quotes.
Colleagues
Faculty and staff meetings are foundational to your plans for the yearbook. The meetings allow you to invite your colleagues to support yearbook students and their work. Ask permission for students to pop into classes to take pictures, set up interviews, and take candid pictures in the hallways, during lunch, and after school activities. Give them access to the Digital Photo Storage as they may be taking pictures for you at competitions and co-curricular activities.
Let these tips keep you organized and help you feel prepared for the upcoming year. United Yearbook offers blogs on a wide range of topics. In addition, there are resources such as curriculum, and year-round workshops on this and other areas. Make sure to subscribe to our blog and our newsletter, and visit our website at www.unitedyearbook.net & our resource store to learn more! United Yearbook is available to assist you throughout the school year including summer break.
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Editor: Donna Ladner obtained a B.A. in Education and a minor in English from California Baptist University, and a M.S. in ESL from USC, Los Angeles. After she married Daniel, their family moved to Indonesia with a non-profit organization and lived cross-culturally for 15 years before returning to the U.S in 2012. Donna has been working as an editor and proofreader for TSE Worldwide Press and its subsidiary, United Yearbook since 2015.
Contributor: Lucy McHugh comes to United Yearbook Printing from a 39-year career in public and private school education. She was a former visual art teacher and yearbook adviser. She received a Bachelors of Science in Art from Columbia College in Columbia, SC, a Masters in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Nebraska in 2000, and in 2014 earned a Certificate in Catholic School Leadership from Loyola Marymount University. Lucy enjoys her family, making art and gardening.
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