Looking for a creative outlet to put your ideas onto glossy paper? Search no further. In Yearbook class, you can learn a variety of new skills, such as photography, marketing, graphic design, interviewing, layout, and writing. This class is taught by Livija Kelly, with the additional help of Sarah Frivold, the yearbook teacher seven years prior.
This class is unlike any other CTE or VPA class at M-A. Frivold said, “In Yearbook, students are creating a product for the school, they are creating the ‘Book of the Year,’ and people are paying for it. So I always tell students, ‘This is the only class where students are paying for your homework.’ We have to make a product that over 2,000 people will be happy with. It is a lot like a business class, as well as a curriculum and creative class. That’s what I think makes it really fascinating and fun for students.”
Kelly added, “The students come up with everything, like the theme, font, color scheme, what pages they want and where, they do the marketing and distributing, everything. We assign students to events, and so those pages become the students’ responsibility. They have to figure out who’s in charge and contact them.”
Since this class is essentially a year-long group project, every period revolves around deadlines and filling the pages, and every period is different. Frivold said, “A typical class period could be anything. At the beginning of the year, we’re working more on how to ask interview questions, community building, practicing skills and foundations, going over marketing and legal rights and publishing themes of graphic design, interviewing, and photography all in quarter one. Then that second quarter, we start to dive into the book, deciding the theme, color scheme, fonts, and then they start to go out and have a strong foundation.”
Additionally, this class has an extra layer of community building. With a small group of students working together on one project for the entire school year, you get to really know your peers. Kelly said, “I love working in this class because I feel at this point of the year we all understand each other. It’s a really tight-knit community; I know every student that’s part of this team really well. And that’s mainly because the yearbook requires so much communication. Here, we are constantly talking to each other, and working on the same product and critiquing each other and lifting each other up.”
“This class is overall my favorite of the year because it is fun having this community. I think it can be really fun to attend different events and take pictures, and it’s overall a whole different kind of experience. I think the class helps me become more social, helpful, and cooperative with other people. It helps me become more independent with being responsible for my work.” Senior David Villanueva explained.
Every person has a different set of skills, so what you learn in this class is different for everyone. Sophomore Sam Goldman explained, “There are a lot of skills you need for the book. Some people are really strong writers but need to work on their photography knowledge. Some people are the opposite. What you learn depends on what you need to improve on. There are so many skills that you have to learn, and then you’ll be able to apply them.”
Junior Kiely Tabaldo said, “I would tell anyone who wanted to join yearbook that they would not regret stepping into that class, and that it is a truly fulfilling feeling when the yearbook is concluded and people wait in line to buy what you’ve created.”
If you are interested in joining the Yearbook staff, stop by I-2 to see Kelly!
