Despite the pandemic, La Canada High School’s yearbook staff is working hard to write stories, gather images, and design spreads. As of March 11th, there were approximately 2,000 photos from various events and activities that students have sent or the staff has taken.
From September 2020 to February of this year, students sent in their yearbook portrait photos and uploaded their images through EZPix, a platform that would enable them to submit their photos easily. Only freshmen, sophomores, and juniors were to take their own portraits, as seniors would have their professional portraits taken by Bronson Photography, the company that worked with La Canada High School this year to provide student portraits. In the yearbook, the portrait section has taken up over five signatures, or, in other words, approximately forty-one spreads or eighty-two pages. Those who have not sent in their pictures will still be recognized in the yearbook through name mentions in these sections.
At the beginning of the school year, Yearbook did not receive as many sales as in previous years, due to the registration being drive-thru. Usually, Yearbook would set up a booth at registration and students would purchase the product in person. However, the staff has taken additional measures to promote the yearbook, such as creating promotional videos, emailing students and parents, and hosting an informational meeting for the school. Since then, yearbook sales have increased significantly, and there are only a few copies left for students interested in this year’s edition.
Yearbook has effectively utilized social media platforms to cover stories and communicate what they need from students and parents, in order to create a successful yearbook. Facebook and Instagram are the most popular social media applications that have been utilized. Using Instagram, the Yearbook staff created surveys for students to answer and allowed them to write free-responses to several questions. In addition, Instagram direct messages have helped the staff contact students about specific information, such as conducting interviews or asking for permission to use certain photos. These applications are the best way to reach people because many students visit Instagram on a daily basis.
Currently, the yearbook staff is designing this yearbook to be the best it can possibly be. The only way an award-winning yearbook can be created is through the engagement of students in the school. After all, it’s about the school as a whole, and without student communication, there would be no great yearbook.
