During remote learning, a lot of things have changed and the production of the student yearbook is no different. Yearbook teacher Julia Berg is here to provide updates on how yearbook works this year, the challenges they’ve faced, and much much more. 

Berg explains that the creation of the yearbook is split up into parts, and a lot of things have changed since students can no longer walk into a classroom and walk around the school to take photos and perform interviews.  Yearbook students have to ask in an email if Central students or teachers are able to send a picture or do an interview. Not everyone gets back to them, so there is that chance that yearbook may not get a photo that they need. Berg said, “You can’t walk into a room where a club meeting is happening and take some pictures, you have to email kids in the club and say, ‘Hey, can you send me a selfie of like, you doing Student Council work? Or can you take a screenshot of your Zoom meeting of the debate team?’.” 

Berg compares the steps the yearbook takes similarly to journalism’s process. The students have deadlines to meet, and they also have to get pictures and captions, and quotes to accompany their writing. In addition to setting up interviews, Berg said, “So I’ll assign kids a spread, and it’s similar to journalism in that like we work in cycles, right, you’ll get your spread, and then you’ll have a big deadline in a few weeks, and then you’ll have some deadlines to hit along the way.”

The yearbook class can’t cover the same topics they normally do because the year looks so different right now. For example, there was no homecoming this year, so the yearbook students had to get creative. Covering topics like Mask Fashion and a COVID-19 timeline. Yearbook is trying to make their copy this year most true to the year we are all experiencing this year.  The size of the yearbook will remain the same being between 180 and 200 pages.

Another important aspect are the surveys that can affect how the yearbook comes out. If they’re not getting responses, it makes creating the yearbook difficult, so get to Schoology and start taking some surveys! Also, please check your school emails for interview requests. The yearbook wants to feature you! Overall, the yearbook has run into some difficulties and has many changes being remote, but in the end, they are getting a yearbook created for the students of GCHS.