The theme of the yearbook this year was Legacy which correlates to leaving your mark and positive impact on the school throughout the year.Everyone loves receiving their yearbook at the end of the year and reflecting on all the good memories and stages they went through during the school year. Busily, students exchange books, sign in different colors, and write messages to their friends. The whole idea of a yearbook is that it captures the essence of the school year and allows everyone to see themselves as a part of something, but only very few people know about the work and time that is put into creating the book.
As someone who participated in a yearbook last year, I know firsthand how much hard work everyone in the class puts into making a book that truly reflects the school year. Yearbook Editor Allie Harakuni (12) says “working on the yearbook was difficult at times but I loved getting to be a part of helping students reflect on their memories.” She is certainly right about the challenge that goes into making the yearbook but she is also right about the high reward that comes along with the finished project.
One of the most interesting concepts of creating the yearbook is objectively the process of getting student coverage. Student coverage is the percentage of students featured in the yearbook. Through the Jostens website, which is what Yorba Linda High School uses to create their yearbook, the yearbook class can see the percentage of coverage they have. Each yearbook member personally goes through the pages they worked on and tags each person in the page’s featured photos, quotes, or names. This is how you are able to see what pages you are in on the back pages of the yearbook and how the yearbook class can ensure that a variety of groups and students are represented in the yearbook.
Another huge contribution to creating the yearbook is photography. The Yorba Linda High School yearbook class is full of talented photographers who take time outside of class to go to different sports events, art shows, or theater productions. It is very important for all these different groups and events to be captured in the yearbook because the yearbook is something that everyone should be able to feel seen in.
Although photos are the main focus of many busy students, what keeps them interested in a page is the writing. From enticing captions to full descriptions of the event or season, the yearbook makes sure to use their written talents as well. A lot of time is spent making captions that invoke interest and do not just depict what is happening in the photo. These types of captions help student audiences understand what is going on in the photo without being bored. Also, on most pages is the copy, which is a blurb about said sport or event that the page is featuring. These large blocks of writing might seem boring at first glance, but when read, they tell a beautiful story about the events of the year.
The yearbook has such a wonderful impact on the student body, from featuring all different groups and making everyone feel seen to bringing together to sign yearbooks at the end of the year.
