A common misconception is that a school yearbook only includes pictures. However, it is much more complex than that. Students take and edit pictures, interview the peers and teachers, write captions, and design layouts. If you walk into the yearbook room at any given time, there are dozens of projects simultaneously being completed.

While some students are working on editing photos, others are designing the drawings around images on a certain page. This year in the yearbook class, 17 students roster are constantly on the move under the leadership of one teacher who is new to the experience.

“The yearbook is essentially a small business,” Yearbook advisor and NASH English teacher Mrs. Sara Tallerico commented. “Students learn how to collaborate with their peers, and they learn how to be genuine team players.” 

In order to complete these tasks, students are usually assigned certain components of making the yearbook, with some fluidity, as well as deadlines. Some tasks, especially early on in the yearbook making process, are vital for the rest of the process to run smoothly. Seemingly simple tasks such as the coloring scheme of the book and the overall theme of the book are of utmost importance.

“I tell them every day that no one is ever truly ‘done’ with what they are working on,” Tallerico noted. “Sure, you may be done with your particular assignment, but that means now it is time to move on and help someone else that might be struggling. The book requires all hands on deck at all times.”

Much like Tallerico herself, a majority of her students are first-timers for the yearbook-making process. In fact, only five of the 17 members have worked on past yearbooks. Many of these students plan to go into a field that will require skills that can be sharpened with yearbook designing, the process acting as a class for them in a way.

A project of this size requires passion. Therefore, most of the students working on the yearbook have been, or currently are in art, design, photography, or similar programs. Ms. Tallerico also has had some experience under her belt, as she holds a Bachelor’s degree in Advertising, which is useful in regard to editing and design. 

For Tallerico, yearbook has been a new challenge, especially in regard to keeping tabs on what exactly needs to be completed, what is finished, and what is currently being worked on. She has found that keeping a calendar of sorts, both for deadlines and for each and every sports game or event that occurs, is crucial so that she does not miss any memory that occurs in the school. With a school this big, it is a challenge, but nothing these students cannot handle.

“I have learned that I cannot control everything,” she said. “I remind myself often that this isn’t my book, it’s theirs. So ultimately, if they really want to do something, I should let them — as long as it’s appropriate, of course.”