Blog Post 2

The question still stands: how do I make a yearbook in the summertime before school even starts? Well, I’ve been brainstorming and planning, and flipping through old yearbooks looking for inspiration. I still am looking forward to working on a yearbook that isn’t…mine (for lack of better term.) So on the brainstorming front, here’s a list of potential themes I came across: Just had to be there, Or something like that, Nothing ordinary about us, One size does not fit all, and Live it up. I haven’t officially picked a theme yet, and none of these particularly stand out to me as a theme I’d like to use.
I’m hoping to have a yearbook that isn’t as conventional as most. Yes, I’ll still have the standard content in it, but I’d like to include an innovative way of presenting the year. I don’t want it to be ordinary, since Rutland is not. I’d like to capture the different attitude Rutland has, and what sets it apart from other schools. As far as pictures go, I’d like them to be different too. Hopefully, they’ll be more candid than posed. I want to have some fun shots in there, like snapping a photo of the high school dancing crazy at prom, or a flash of the home crowd as they rise to their feet when a basket’s scored. The play cast goofing off as they are known to do, or the cheerleaders doing a stunt at a pep rally; the elementary students playing at recess, or crazy outfits at homecoming. Those are just some of the ideas for pictures floating around in my head.
The writing in the yearbook will cover normal topics, like sports and plays and homecoming and the like. I was thinking about the old Rambler Register the other day and I remembered the surveys being one of the first things the students flipped to when the papers were handed out. I’d like to continue the surveys this year if I can, even if they aren’t used in the newsletter. I think it’d be interesting to try and incorporate quotes from student surveys throughout the annual, to get a good feel of what life in Rutland is really like.
Another thing I ran across in old yearbooks were the pages dedicated to the senior class. One year, the class all made hilarious predictions on where they thought their fellow classmates would be in 10 years. Usually a few letters from the parents of the graduating class are included. That wouldn’t be a bad idea either. I had another random idea of having the graduating class write down in the last week of school what is going through theProxy-Connection: keep-alive
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minds, see if there’s anything yearbook worthy in that. I think doing one of those ideas would help liven up the annual.
That’s all I’ve got for now. Here’s hoping more ideas are on the way!

Blog Post 1

6/27/10

My senior project is to create the 2010-2011 Rutland Yearbook. As far as projects go, I definitely feel this is the best choice for me, and I’m excited to get started. It will give me a good background in the field of journalism and help me develop my writing skills. Another benefit of this project will be the cost: there basically isn’t one. Most of my work can be completed in my free time and at the school, or at school related events. It won’t take up a lot of space, either. The only current problem I’m facing with it right now is that all I can do is plan for it, not actually execute the work entailed. How exactly could I make a yearbook about a school year that hasn’t occurred yet?
Over the summer I’m hoping to get a good idea of what my yearbook theme will be and what criteria should be in it. I’ll need to find a staff soon, too. So far I’ve heard that Ashley will be on board for writing articles, Shelby will be taking pictures, and Christina might also be helping out. Hopefully it’s not just Ashley and me doing all the article writing! Speaking of staff, if anyone wants to join just say the word and you’re in! I’d like all the help I can get; see you at fourth hour journalism class (I’ll be there on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.)
I haven’t heard an exact date yet, but the journalism crew will be working on the 2009-2010 yearbook soon. Last I heard, we will be meeting in July. That’s an important step for my project. I helped work on the 2009 yearbook, but I saw it only in it’s finished stages. My job was to proof-read it and look for spelling and grammatical errors. I didn’t actually see how it was made, or learn the ropes on using the InDesign program. I’m hoping all that gets cleared up and I can get an understanding of how to go about making my senior project. Does the time spent on the upcoming yearbook count as hours logged on my project? Need to find out on that so I can record it…