The Yearbook World of Scott Geesey
from Jostens Yearbooks of central/northern Pennsylvania
ARCHIVE - DECEMBER 27, 2020
IDEAS FOR THE NEW YEAR: Some Things to Handle as School Resumes
Hello!I hope you and yours had a very Merry Christmas, as merry as you could make it this bizarre year. And as I write this, a wish for a Happy New Year - and find ways to make it happy!!
For most schools, classes resume on January 4 or 5. Depending on where you live it could be back in your building or all remote again. Judging from the numbers and the news headlines, it looks like most will be all remote again.
But even if you're back in the building, this situation is still wearing on most people. Distancing, mask wearing, hand washing, more - what can we do to lighten tnat load and make school meaningful?
What are some things yearbook staffs should do at the restart?
It's always a bit of a challenge to get work rolling again after a two weeks holiday break. Let's run down some suggestions...
WHAT ABOUT PORTRAITS?: For those schools who are still waiting for your portrait images because of postponements, immediately contact your photographer and ask or confirm the new scheduled date. Don't assume, find out for sure.
And if your school situation just isn't working for taking images in the building, immediately ask your photographer for alternatives. They should have some because they've had months to consider this - use an alternative as soon as you can to get those images as soon as you can.
What if they don't? Jostens has some emergency backup plans to get head shots - just contact your Jostens representative for details. And then consider our JostensPIX portrait service for next year - more details from your rep and from www.jostens.com/jostenspix. Great timely service, less cost for the folks, only purchase what you wish, shipment straight home, images go straight to Yearbook Avenue.
RESET THE PLAN: It's interesting how much can be forgotten in just a two week holiday span. A LOT. So it's time to reset the table...
Get the staff together on Day One Back and make sure everyone knows their responsibilities. What pages are due? What needs to be covered this week or soon? What are some new ideas to cover for events that may be cancelled?
And advisers, let your editors lead this effort. This is a great leadership opportunity - let them lead.
THEN PLAN AHEAD:No one knows what January will bring. Cancelled winter sports? ANY normal activities like a winter dance?
My suggestion is to be proactive instead of reactive. Assume the worst and plan for it. Come up with new ideas for spreads based on topics instead of events. EVERYONE can be covered via topics - choose some popular or interesting ones and then reach out to get reactions or opinions from different students.
For Jostens schools using Layout Pro, don't forget our cool Yearbook Express page templates. Many of those are topic based, stylish and easy to use - just get the information from your own audience and plug that into the template.
TRY OUT THE NEW YEARBOOK+: And I'll repeat this one because this is something that EVERY Jostens school should use. It's the greatest innovation in yearbook in the last 10 years or more, making the effort truly interactive.
I urge every Jostens staff out there to try the new Yearbook+ digital feature. The hardest part? Taking about 10 minutes to set up your site: basic information, final deadline, etc. Then after that it's simply promotion to encourage every student to tell their OWN story with their OWN pictures and all tied to your yearbook.
How to do that? Every way you can - social media, texting, email, even handouts if you're in school. Scanning a special QR code just for your school is all that's needed to start the magic. I'm looking to January after the break as the month to really launch Plus. And it's going to be FUN!
BE READY FOR MORE UPHEAVAL: This year it seems almost inevitable. Bur rather than wait for the next shoe to drop, instead embrace the situation.
Encourage your staff to stay ahead of their work, not fall behind. And that is ANY school work, not just yearbook. The challenge of this year is dealing with adversity - this could be one of the greatest learning experiences of a lifetime. We have always talked about adversity - here's we're LIVING it and it's ALL of us.
Encourage your student editors to always be encouraging their fellow staff members. Yes, some will do better than others as I'm sure you've already seen. But we need ALL of them contributing.
BE READY FOR A WILD AND BETTER 2021: Again, who knows? But we know a new President will take office soon - what will that bring? All those social justice efforts that began in 2020 - they'll continue and perhaps on your campus. And folks will get the COVID vaccine and we WILL slowly emerge from this insane situation.
How can some of those be covered in your yearbook? Remember that your book is the record of the year to be remembered forever. Why not cover some of the main hot topics of today with student opinions and ideas?
START A STUDENT PHOTO CONTEST: No, seriously. So many schools are disconnected right now with students remote learning or dealing with hybrid scheduling. And most yearbook staffs could really use more images. A fun photo contest could help with both problems.
Perhaps do a separate contest every two weeks with some small prize for each winner. Use either Yearbook+ or your Jostens photo submission website to get entries. Then just choose the best, most creative entry that helps to tell a story as your winner.
Yearbooking this year should be about a LOT more than just pages in a book. It should be about your entire school, and keeping your entire school together this most challenging year.