Everyone could use some extra money. Some people, however, take on a part-time, summer or freelance job just because they are passionate about the work. These advisers found jobs that suited their interests and hobbies.
Yearbook
You are at a summer workshop rummaging through yearbooks when you find it – a yearbook with a cover that would fit perfectly with the theme your staff has just selected. The colors need to be changed, but you love the look and feel of the book.
But what is this cover made of? How do you find out, so you can convey the information to your publisher?
Our staff always joked that yearbook could easily be a successful reality TV show. Can’t you see the advertising teaser now? “Find out next week, will Katie lose her cool when the editors decide not to use her template, and how does Jake take it when Emily rewrites his copy?”
There is only so much a designer can say with a white page. True, the beauty and simplicity of a plain background can be stark and dramatic, calling readers’ attention to a stunning photograph, a dramatic headline, or an isolated story. But other times, less is not more, and, well, more is needed. Textured backgrounds have been a staple of magazine designers for years. They are not too distracting, but give the page a nice feel.
Sandy Masson has counted before, and the last time she checked, there were 37 languages represented among the students at her school – Grace King High School in Metairie, La.
As the yearbook adviser at Grace King, that puts Masson in an enviable position. Her school is a melting pot, and the yearbook staff is typically a reflection of that – a mixture of kids who are male, female, Caucasian, Asian, Hispanic, Indian and many other ethnicities. Masson’s diverse journalism room reflects well on the coverage in the school’s yearbook.
As a member of the newspaper and yearbook staff during high school, I would always remember the sense of joy and accomplishment when I would see my name in print. I knew journalism was the career for me.
Fifteen years later, the world of newspaper reporting is behind me. No longer am I sitting in my cubicle writing stories and designing pages at a Pittsburgh newspaper. Now I am standing in front of 50 yearbook students, proving to them how journalism can make an impact on their life and give them benefits that are unimaginable.
They stay up late on work nights, suffer the anguish of deadlines, and fill the need for food.
They are the parents of yearbook students.
These parents stay up late to pick up their child from school, spend time and money feeding the staff and suffer as they watch their children learn to balance their lives. But the benefits of yearbook outweigh all that, and they are passionate about the value of the experience to their children.
If yearbooks tell the story of the year, then some are published without an ending. A yearbook delivered to students in the spring may not include graduation, spring sports or prom. Having those events in the yearbook is just one reason many schools choose late summer or fall delivery.
One of my students’ favorite activities is a yearbook theme design contest. Instead of waiting until September to come up with a concept, we have a contest every spring. The winning theme is usually the yearbook theme for the next school year. Here are the rules and advantages.
Look closely – Walsworth is going to play a small part in High School Musical 2.
When the Disney Channel aired its made-for-TV movie High School Musical in January 2006, it turned into a blockbuster. Now they are making High School Musical 2, a sequel set for release later this year. Among the props needed for the new movie were yearbooks for East High School, the fictional school the characters attend. Walsworth is producing those books.
