Posing with their “Featured Yearbook” banner, signifying that the 2022-2023 yearbook is used as an example for other yearbook classes, the yearbook team smiles at the camera. Yearbooks have been on sale for $80 all school year, with 90 left in stock. “I’m really happy with this book,” content editor and senior James Sanderson said. “I think other people are going to be happy with it; all our pages look really cute. Issues are a thing, but we have them every single year and we don’t let them get in the way. We work on a very, very tight schedule and there’s no pushing deadlines back. It’s a lot of fun, though. It is such an amazing staff and a very engaging team. It’s very fulfilling work.” Photo courtesy of Paige Hert

He rings the classroom doorbell as he stands outside its door, the muffled sounds of a bustling yearbook room seeping through the door’s window. The door is opened by someone rushing by and he enters, phone in hand with the recording of the final quote needed for his page opened and ready. Maneuvering around rolling chairs of chatting staffers, focused typers and printed yearbook proofs, senior Content Editor James Sanderson takes a seat in his own chair, moves aside the Monster cans on the table and presses play on the recording.

The 2023-2024 Tracks Yearbook will be delivered to the school in early May for distribution to the student body by the yearbook staff. The staff is now working on a 16-page supplement that will cover the school events that happen after the yearbook deadline on March 22 and will be inserted into yearbooks once they arrive. This year, the theme of the yearbook is “TBD,” the abbreviation for “to be determined.”

“We chose the theme ‘TBD’ because last year was the school’s 25th year and we did a big school spirit book,” journalism teacher Paige Hert said. “After that, you’re kind of like, ‘what’s next?’ So we played off the idea that, like, we don’t know what’s next. A lot of the book plays off of abbreviations, too. I think it’s got a really cool design and we have a lot of great content and photography in it. I’m excited for the students to see it.”

Some of the designs of the yearbook include cornerless boxes, which represent student stories and plans that are yet to come, or TBD. As one of two content editors, Sanderson edited written content in the yearbook to make sure it fit journalistic standards of writing. He helped write many of the stories and captions in the book.

“I’m really happy with this book,” Sanderson said. “I think other people are going to be happy with it; all our pages look really cute. Issues are a thing, but we have them every single year and we don’t let them get in the way. We work on a very, very tight schedule and there’s no pushing deadlines back. It’s a lot of fun, though. It is such an amazing staff and a very engaging team. It’s very fulfilling work.”

Yearbook staffers use Adobe InDesign to create their yearbook spreads, which are sets of yearbook pages they are assigned. Sophomore and first year staffer Addie LoSurdo had a soccer spread and a library showstopper this year. A showstopper is a spread that features unique content to the year, but may not be an every year edition, according to Hert. The library spread looks like a calendar and features the many clubs and activities that the library hosts. LoSurdo said her job on the yearbook staff is to take pictures at events, help out where she can and finish her spreads.

“We use our theme to position the spread elements and be creative with how we place our pictures, put our captions, put our quotes and everything using the theme designs,” LoSurdo said. “Every spread is different.”

According to Hert, who is also the newspaper adviser and UIL Journalism coach, this year the staff was a majority of first-year yearbook members.

“It was a bit of a learning curve because we had a really large new staff population, so that was tough at first,” Hert said. “We had some issues with missed deadlines early on in the year, but everybody was able to work together to meet those deadlines with help from other people in the class. That is how the yearbook staff always is—there’s always help from each other to get things done.”

Interviews for students wanting to join the yearbook staff next year will take place in the next few weeks. Those interested in yearbook that have not signed up for the yearbook class can reach out to Hert or Sanderson for more information.

“We need kids that are willing to work hard, that know how to meet a deadline, or at least are willing to put the effort into meeting a deadline and kids that are not scared to talk to people,” Hert said. “This class is a lot of work, but it’s also a huge reward at the end of the year because you have a physical product that people keep on their shelves for years and years. This is one of the only classes in the entire school that will ever have anything like that. It’s definitely an experience. Sometimes stressful, but mostly fun.”

LoSurdo said she is going to try out for an editor position next year and hopes to be chosen to lead the staff.

“I love yearbook,” LoSurdo said. “It’s one of my favorite classes ever and I was really surprised I liked it. I was a little scared I was not going to like the people, but I literally bonded with everyone on the staff. People who normally I wouldn’t be friends with, I’ve become great friends with them. And I love the closeness of it, just getting to hang out and share everything with everybody. This year, we were super successful and did amazing. I’m proud of the yearbook, and I’m proud of everybody.”

Yearbooks have been on sale all school year at www.jostens.com. They are $80 and will sell until they are sold out, which happened last year. Yearbook anticipates distributing them the week of May 13-17, but will have more details about that in early May. To date, there are 90 yearbooks left for sale.