This year, the yearbook staff will take on the challenge of reformatting the annual yearbook. The yearbook’s usual format consists of several sections, including sports, clubs, etc., but this year, the yearbook will contain more coverage of notable events such as school dances and exciting news regarding the students and faculty. Put simply by yearbook contributor, Grant Uy ’14, “We’re moving toward what’s called a chronological yearbook, almost like a timeline.”
The new format will include a loose week-by-week narrative, although weeks with more importance will have more detailed coverage. Although the staff doesn’t have a set number of pages for each week, they anticipate giving each week a fairly equal amount of space.
This more free-flowing format will allow students and teachers to remember the story of the year instead of seeing it as a collection of separate, unconnected organizations and events. Events like the “snow-pocalypse” of 2011 and the tornado scare earlier this year will have more coverage than in previous years. “The predetermined categories of the yearbook did not allow for unforeseen incidents to get coverage,” Uy added.
The new style will not, however, change very much about the photography portion of the yearbook. “As far as pictures go, it’s basically the same as in the past, but we will have more pictures of the unexpected stories that the yearbook will address,” photographer and Editor of the Yearbook, Jack White ’13, explained.
On the other hand, the new format will push the yearbook staff to work on a more weekly-based schedule.
“We will avoid frantically putting together the yearbook in its entirety during the two weeks after school lets out, which is what we normally would do. With this we will compile information and create this year’s edition little by little” said White.
Although putting the yearbook together in small pieces will add to the day-to-day responsibilities of the yearbook staff, it will make the two weeks following the end of school much less hectic. Last year’s Sports Editor, Tim Nguyen ’12, explained, “that would have definitely helped last year, because those first two weeks of summer were really crazy trying to get final approvals.”
The new format will also include articles from The Roundup that correspond with the covered events, which will create a unique opportunity for The Roundup and Yearbook staff to work more closely with one another. “There’s no reason to write articles for stories that have already been covered by the paper,” Uy commented. This new collaboration has some Roundup staff members excited, like News Editor Philip Young ’13. Young enthusiastically put it, “having these guys in here will definitely be beneficial for both groups, and when you get down to it, the paper and yearbook are not that different.” One can only wait to see the masterpiece that the always entertaining yearbook staff will create for this year.
