The Mason High School yearbook staff, and yearbook staffs across the country, have had to adapt to a new way of creating a book of memories amid being in a pandemic. With many school events and clubs being cancelled, it has been a challenge to chronicle this remote school year.
Eric Haynie is the yearbook teacher at Mason High School. As a teacher, he has had to help his students find creative ways to create the yearbook. He also has had to work with not only the students who have chosen to be in-person, but also those who have decided to be virtual. He has 14 students on staff. Challenges have come in many forms.
“Just getting content and all the different things that we have had to try to do as far as getting a hold of people and getting the stuff into us. Even though you have email blasts to a whole class, out of 100 kids you’ll have 8 or 10 that will reply …” said Haynie.
He said there are also financial difficulties. The students were not able to sell ads this year due to COVID, which in years past was an important part of funds.
A major part of any yearbook is the student portraits. School pictures have been rescheduled three times, which has made it hard to get portraits in the book.
Senior Karsyn Delbridge, one editor for the yearbook, said “We are using this new program with Shutterfly and LifeTouch. It allows students to take photos at home and send them to us, and then we put a background on the photo that matches the rest of ours.”
Even though many clubs have been cancelled, most sporting events are still happening. Senior Isabel Reemsnyder, another yearbook editor, said yearbook students are able to go to these events if they email the athletic director to be put on the list to attend the game. Two students are usually paired to get the coverage.
To make up for the coverage lost to canceled events, the staff has been asking students to send in pictures via social media. They also have been getting more coverage of students in the classroom, as well as more teacher coverage and community events, such as National Honor Society community service projects.
Although there have been challenges, there also have been learning opportunities because of the obstacles.
“Just leveraging technology, becoming better communicators, I think is something that has come out of it. You know, just coming up with new ways of getting the word out has come around,” said Haynie.
Reemsnyder said some positives have come from this situation.
It “Probably increased my adaptability, like how easily I can change and stuff like that, and also my creativity – having to figure out new things to cover, and ways to make stuff that is usually boring and no one wants to read about, interesting,” she said.