It’s almost everyone’s favorite day of the school year…yearbook distribution day. The day that everyone excitedly trades yearbooks with all their friends. Colorful pens and markers litter the desks and stain hands as everyone eagerly signs “HAGS” on the pages. Groans and gasps of surprise are voiced as everyone turns to their dreaded school picture, or a page that they had no idea they were on. During all of this, the yearbook staff gets to sit back and watch all of their hard work that they’ve been stressing about all school year finally be appreciated. 

After working on the yearbook for most of the school year, the book was finished in mid-March. Because of the structure of the book, and because the yearbook lab has to be packed up for construction by the end of the school year, there will not be a supplement inserted in the back of the book, which is different from the past two years. 

“Normally we have to add an extra little book like the supplement to include spring events and more about sports like baseball and softball because of how early our deadline is,” senior editor-in-chief Alyssa Fox said. “It’s really nice to just be done with the book completely and not have to worry about that at all. Now we can focus on next year and helping next year’s staff rather than still trying to finish part of the yearbook going into late April and early May.”

Throughout the previous years, the yearbook has been organized by seasons, with dividers that cover all of the events that happen throughout that season, and the staff working on different pages that cover the different sports and groups. This year, the yearbook is organized on a weekly basis, with each page covering all of the events that happen throughout the week.

“It was something new that we’ve never done before,” junior assistant editor Addison LoSurdo said. “I think we really delivered on how we did it and worked together to create each spread. The amount of new content, clubs and people that we were able to show on these spreads was a lot more than last year, so I think we should just be really proud of ourselves.” 

In order to cover all of the things that happened within the week, the staff was divided into different teams that were led by a team lead and editor. According to Fox, the teams made it a lot easier for her to edit the book.

“It was easier because there was less micromanaging and rushing to get the book done,” Fox said. “Last year, for example, someone would have an entire baseball spread and it would be up to them to do it. But this year with teams, everyone was just in charge of a portion of a spread.”

In addition to having a new structure of the book, the staff received a lot of new freshmen this year, which was something that didn’t usually happen in the previous years. For freshman Ava King, the teams were something that helped her adjust to the structure of the yearbook.

“Joining as a freshman seemed intimidating at first,” King said. “But with all the help that I got from the returning staff, the transition was way easier. Being on a team helped me learn how to communicate efficiently so that we could make sure our spread got done before the deadline.”

The 2024 yearbook received a Crown award, meaning that it’s part of the top yearbooks in the nation. According to Fox, this year’s yearbook needed to match that level of success, so one thing they decided to do to make the book stand out was to do weekly pages.  

“We wanted to change it up and do something different because last year’s [book] was so good,” Fox said. “When you make something that well, it’s hard to top it. As a senior, this will be my last book, and we just thought it would be a fun change.” 

Joining the yearbook as a freshman can be an adjustment for some, since the class requires the staff to go to multiple overtime events to take pictures. According to King, one of her biggest challenges was adjusting to the commitment of the class.

“I always felt so busy,” King said. “I had so much work in my other classes, that I’d stress about that instead of working on my spreads. Not knowing how to manage my time was a challenge.”

Every year, the yearbook is based on a central theme that guides the content and vocabulary of each book. Now that the yearbook is done, it’s time for the returning staff members to start thinking about the theme of next year’s book.

“We start thinking about the theme of the book during the last six weeks,” LoSurdo said. “I’m trying to see if we can just really figure out our theme and stick to it. Right now we’re working on preparing those logistical things, and also what the dynamic and leadership team is going to be like.” 

Returning staff members are excited to come back next year and create a new book. For King, she feels like the experience that she got this year will help her out a lot next year.  

“I’m really excited to work on next year’s book,” King said. “I feel much more confident in my skills now that I’ve gone through the process of creating a high school yearbook. Seeing what the theme next year will be is also something I’m looking forward to.”

In addition to some of the senior editors leaving next year, the yearbook teacher, Paige Hert, will also be leaving the school next year. For LoSurdo, one of her main concerns about next year is the fact that there will be a new teacher to adjust to.

“I think we have what it takes to just handle and overcome the challenges that are going to come next year,” LoAurdo said. “I think I’m just nervous about figuring out who our teacher is and how I’m going to be working with them. Even though we created the book, Mrs. Hert was like our rock and someone that we could talk to and figure out what to do, so it’s just going to be different.”

With LoSurdo being the assistant editor this year, it’s likely that she’s going to be taking over the role of editor-in-chief next year. She said she is feeling excited about leading the yearbook staff.

“I was originally nervous,” LoSurdo said. “But this year, I was shadowing Alyssa, and I realized how much I could handle the work. I really started growing confidence in my design and writing skills and leading other people. I think next year will be a challenge, but I think I can handle it.”

The yearbooks will be distributed in mid May. As of right now, there are about 150 yearbooks that can be purchased on the Jostens website. More updates will be available about distribution day soon on @CPHSNews Instagram and “Class of” google classrooms.