The yearbook this year will be different from years past. Yearbook sponsor Melanie Moomau said the submission process for images, usually taken in school, is now taking place on social media.

The yearbook provides a snapshot of the school year primarily through pictures. In a traditional year, it summarizes the academics, athletics, clubs and world events for the year. This is important for seniors as it is a lasting summary of their last year in high school.

Students take time to sign each other’s yearbooks, a tradition of a normal time. According to Moomau, the structure of the yearbook “won’t be changed in a drastic way. We are still trying to cover what’s happening in and out of our school building while also including portraits and clubs.”

The yearbook has been working on documenting this abnormal school year. According to Moomau, “We are currently building pages about things that happened between July-September of this year.”

Usually, there is a class students take to work on the yearbook during school. It counts as one of their seven periods and is where the yearbook is created. One would think there would be challenges to build the yearbook in a virtual setting but Moomau said, “Using social media to get in touch with people, and the building of our pages, is no different, since we’ve always used an online design system that all students can access from home.”

A potential problem with this system is the social media component. Not every student has social media to submit pictures. Moomau said, “We hope to soon expand how we are receiving photos so we can make sure to cover as many people as possible.”

One of the most enjoyable parts of the yearbook is seeing those “daily life” photos, the images in which nothing extraordinary is happening, but where a normal moment has been encapsulated. These are called candids. Right now, hallway photos are impossible during distance learning. One of the most difficult challenges of working on a yearbook virtually is this aspect of photographing. Moomau said, “It used to be very easy to spot people in the halls doing picture-worthy things. Now we have to hope a staffer is there or someone else was there to take a photo.”

An important part of the yearbook is capturing school spirit and in particular spirit week. “During standard years, I really enjoy going through the yearbook to see pictures of myself and my friends. I hope they can recreate that to some extent this year,” sophomore Ben Cohen said.

In regular times, one can count on seeing pictures of spirit week whether it is students in their pajamas, wearing jerseys, or simply their grade colors. Moomau said this aspect has been harder to capture because of the lack of participation when students are at home. She has expressed confidence about the work of her students on the yearbook staff. Despite the challenges that cloud this year, “I still have classes of wonderful, dedicated staffers who are building an awesome 50th anniversary yearbook,” Moomau said.

If you’re interested in purchasing a yearbook you can find one here: https://www.yearbookordercenter.com/product/yearbooks