Micah McClarty
FHC's yearbook staff, who finally get their moment in front of the camera.
A common question asked at the myriad of FHC events, whether that be the Homecoming football game or a Science Olympiad tournament, is, “Why in the world are there so many cameras?” From Forest Exposure (FX) to The Central Trend to FHC Sports Report to what seems like countless other photography and videography-involved classes, students have many opportunities to document some of the best moments in their lives to review in later years.
However, before any of these relatively young amenities came to FHC, whether an online newsletter or student-run announcement programs, there existed a 236-page book full of pictures, memories, and signatures: the yearbook. A yearbook is one of the most cherished high school relics of any graduate’s glorious keepsake bin, providing opportunities for alumni to look back at the plethora of memories that somehow fit into just four years. The class’s teacher and advisor, Jonathan Fisher, knows this more than anything, as he has been teaching the class for nearly seven years.
“It’s crammed full of pictures and memories and information that can’t be replaced,” Fisher said. “[The yearbook] is something that you can look at for the rest of your life, and it’ll instantly transport you back to those times and those people and those cool memories in high school.”
Yearbook is an elective class that students can take in any year. The course does not have prerequisites, although Fisher does recommend a photography class or Writing for Publication as an optional preliminary course.
Yearbook class also serves as a senior English credit, similar to how Personal Finance can be a senior’s math credit. Given the informality of the yearbook class compared to many other senior English courses, it is useful for the many victims of “Senioritis.” Senior Ava McDonald, one of two staff editors-in-chief, is in her second year of yearbook. Although the yearbook is not in place of her senior English credit, she still appreciates the relaxed nature of the yearbook environment.
“It’s relaxed; it’s fun, and it’s creative,” Ava said. “You can just do what you want with your spreads, and it’s fun to go out to different events and take photos.”
Each yearbook staff member is assigned a two-page spread to complete in two to three weeks. This spread encompasses a specific club, sport, or class, involving photos and interviews combined in a visually appealing graphic.
As editor-in-chief, there is quite a difference in responsibility compared to a normal staff member. Senior Junie Zetocha, although only entering her first year on the yearbook staff, decided to apply for editorship at the beginning of the school year. She was able to become the second editor-in-chief and has been a productive and encouraging leader in just one semester of the course.
“The editors-in-chief do a lot of behind-the-scenes work,” Junie said. “We still do a spread every month like every other staff member, but we also look over spreads, see what maybe needs to be changed, and meet with people in the class to talk about changing their spreads.”
On top of the three to five spreads each staff member makes in a year is the long process of taking photos, figuring out who is in each picture, and interviewing students about each spread. Oftentimes, yearbook students will execute interviews for other students’ spreads, which is a long process that needs to be done with care.
Not only do staff members gain experience in the writing and interviewing aspect of the class, but they are also exposed to the business venture facet of the course. Each student is assigned to sell $300 worth of advertisements around Ada, which accounts for a significant portion of their grade.
“Yearbook is an interesting class because it’s because it’s not a traditional ‘class’ that you would take—it’s a business,” Fisher said. “We have to create a product, piece-by-piece, that is good enough that students will want to pay for it so we can break even.”
At the beginning of the school year, Fisher signs a contract with Walsworth Yearbooks, a software company designed to assist in the creation of yearbooks. This contract grants the class a right to this software, with the promise that Fisher will buy a certain number of yearbooks at the end of the year. Throughout the year, each student works on the three to five spreads they are assigned and must turn them in by the deadline, or else they get fined by the company. In that sense, the class provides a preview of a real-world job, testing the students on their ability to work under pressure.
However stressful this impending due date may be, students can take their sixth hour to relax or work on other homework as long as they complete their spreads and advertisements. While it may present a scary preview of their futures, the class is overall very casual, being the perfect class to end the day.
“I like making the spreads, and [Yearbook class] is especially fun because all my friends are in it, so we talk and hang out while we work on the spreads and take photos,” Ava said.
Still, the class is not as easy of an “A” as one might think. The class requires considerable effort to succeed and achieve the student’s desired grade. However, that effort is accompanied by a productive and welcoming teacher as well as a productive and welcoming community.
“There’s work to do, and a lot of work to do, because we’re producing something for a lot of the student body,” Junie said. “But the class itself has a really fun community. You get close with everyone in there because, well, you have to, because you have to contact each other and communicate.”