Notebook system keeps staff highly organized

Above all else, yearbook staffs know that keeping organized is a key factor in the success of their publication. That is why the Predator staff at Elkins High School, Elkins, W.V., has made organization paramount in its yearbook operation.

Adviser Deb Super said the implementation of a new notebook system of organization for each staff member has been extremely useful in keeping her yearbook students organized. She said staff members receive a three-ring binder equipped with a plastic zipper pouch and a computer disk at the beginning of each term.

“All handouts, rough drafts, final copies and so forth are kept in the binder,” Super said. “Photos needed for their assigned spreads are stored in the pouches to keep them clean. We put layouts for assigned spreads on each individual’s disk. This way, it is easy to tell at a glance if a caption or headline is missing or if copy is too short or too long.”

Staff members are not allowed to take their notebooks out of the staff room, Super added.

“That way, if an editor or the adviser needs to check something after hours, we know where to find it,” she said. “It’s great because everyone knows where everything is at all times. There’s no more searching through book bags and lockers for rough drafts or other items. It’s all right at their fingertips.”

Super said the notebook idea has been a lifesaver for her staff.

“It has saved a lot of headaches, especially when someone is absent or if the computer crashes,” she said.

The idea for the notebook system of organization was the direct result of situations where photos already reserved for one spread were being selected for another spread. Prior to the notebook system, Super said all photos were filed by section in a box and were picked over by everyone.

Tara Oaks students make yearbook elementary

At Tara Oaks Elementary School, Collierville, Tenn., the yearbook is not just a picture book and the faculty editor is not alone in its production. Unlike most elementary schools, Tara Oaks has a full-fledged yearbook staff that creates a desktop publication complete with a theme and a student-designed cover, title page and individual spreads.

Adviser Andre Crafford pioneered the yearbook’s change from a “one-person publication” to one produced by a student staff. The Tiger Tale is now in its second year with a full staff.

“I had the idea for students to not only have input into the look of the school’s yearbook, but to be able to design and create it as well,” Crafford said. “I asked our sixth-grade teachers to nominate two or three students from each of their homeroom classes who they thought would be ideal for a yearbook staff position. Academics, conduct and working well with others were determining factors in the selection process.”

She said her first yearbook staff consisted of 23 members, all of who obviously did not know what to expect.

“Of course, we were all learning at that point, so we began first by discussing what we liked and didn’t like about past yearbooks,” Crafford said. “We learned from our publishing company representative how to lay out each page and all about designs of individual pages. After six months of hard work, the yearbook was completed and distributed. It was a huge hit!”

This year’s 14-member staff realized extraordinary pre-sales, according to Crafford. She said this was based primarily on the success of the school’s first staff-produced yearbook.

“Pre-sales this year almost doubled and based on last year we knew to order extra copies,” Crafford said.

Tara Oak’s current yearbook is being produced as a detective manual with the theme, “The Mystery of the Most School Spirit.” Crafford said each page includes facts about the case with each teacher’s description and location, all in an attempt to help identify the person with the most school spirit.

“I am so excited about our yearbook,” she said. “It is simply wonderful. The students went wild with the theme and I was really pleased with the outcome of the book. I’m sure it will be another hit at Tara Oaks. It was a real joy to work with the kids again this year.”

Tara Oaks is only elementary school in the area surrounding Collierville to have a yearbook staff, according to Crafford. It is indeed unique, considering few elementary schools nationwide have yearbook staffs in place.