A Timeline & To Do List
These range from general suggestions to things that must be done - I'm sure you'll figure out which is which.
Summer before School Starts
- meet with new Yearbook Editors to decide on theme, orientation (portrait or landscape), brainstorm layout ideas, plan weekly meetings, discuss Yearbook distribution and briefly discuss content
- there are some blank Yearbook ladders in the front of the Yearbook binder which can be used to start planning out the book, it would be helpful to start pencilling in plans during this meeting
- if plans have been set in place for general layouts and such, it would be good to have templates made for certain sections of the book (ie. events pages, theme pages) before hand, so that layout can start at the very beginning
- keep track of the schedules and student numbers of all the Editors; this is important for yourself and for Ms. More, if any signing out needs to be done
September
- this is the time where you'll likely meet with Elaine and/or Victor to officially let them know your plans for the book, including number of pages and deadlines, so be ready for this beforehand
start committee sign-ups
- layout committee can start up as soon as a template has been made and events have started happening
- photo and copy members can be sent to beginning of the year events
- keep a list of members signed up
- get ready for Yearbook distribution in October; get a list from SAC of students who purchased Yearbooks during last year's registration - this will act as your master list come distribution time; make sure Ms. More receives a copy as well as you
- keep in mind distribution at Commencement in October
- at some point during September you should be receiving your Yearbook Kit from Jostens - take a good look at the entire kit, read over all of the manuals, and it'll really help with the entire year (especially the YearTech manual)
distribute materials to various Editors (ie. agendas, USB keys - one to Layout, one to Photo)- the Yearbook agenda has a whole lot of good tips on the creation of the book, so use it as a resource
- install YearTech onto the four computers (if Computer2 installation doesn't work, speak to Elaine) as well as your own
- when you install YearTech, it will ask you about the trim size - we are trim size 7 (7 ¾ x 10 ½)
- if you haven't already, plan out your ladder
- figure out the two signatures (16 page spreads) of events, using the SAC events calendar to identify which events need to be where (although you may choose to do something different, in the past, we've done two multiples, out of the four, in process colour, so you'll have to place events accordingly)
- make concrete decisions about the number of pages for each section
get an alpha list from the office so you have numbers to work with regarding the number of students for each grade, and the number of pages required - you'll need the alpha list again later so keep it handy- get a list of clubs, teams and music ensembles (as well as coach and teacher advisor information) to plan the appropriate pages
- plan out cover design details as well as section titles for each section (either have someone do them - and have them done before December, or use the templates offered by Jostens)
- decide on fonts to go with layouts (the font poster is sent with the Yearbook Kit)
- figure out Folio, art and text, to be used in the whole book
- if you're still planning on doing them, the Sales team should prepare for Student Surveys, to be distributed in October
- make a general timeline for yourself when everything should be done approximately (ie. Yearbook sales the week after distribution, again later in the year; Personalised Page sales before March Break, again after March Break, the date for Clubs and Teams photos, grad blurbs and baby pictures in before March Break, ads in by May, etc.)
October
- Yearbook distribution must be organised (though the shipping date of the books is supposed to be in September, we generally don't get them until October)
- set up a schedule, making sure at least one or two Editors are distributing at all times
- there are usually posters in the Yearbook Kit to help you advertise for Yearbook distribution
- make sure that you ask for student ID cards to match to your list of books sold, so we don't have any issues with people taking books that aren't theirs
- use Yearbook receipts (in the filing cabinet) to keep track of any new sales, as well as new orders (use two different receipt books)
- books are $10 more expensive than registration price, when not pre-purchased at registration (ie. $30 at registration, $35 during the year, $40 during distribution)
- make sure students know that these books were paid for last year, and Gr. 9s will not be receiving these books
- start gathering photos and blurbs from various events
- in addition to the alpha list of students, get a list of teachers, administration, secretaries, caretaking and cafeteria staff, you'll need them when it comes time to do staff pages
- have the Grad Editors plan out the Grad section layout in the next month or so (keep in mind number of pages allotted to graduates, number of graduates, and approximate number of people who will write blurbs, length of blurbs etc.)
- design student mugs section layouts - these are the first pages to be submitted (December), so these are the most important to have done before hand
- plan to have the cover and section titles done for December
November
by now you should have received the proofs from photo day at registration; this is a print out of every photo taken, separated by grade
- look over it to make sure the students in the grade are in the proper year (there's a sheet detailing how to do all this)
- use the alpha list from the office to make a list of students who didn't get their photo taken; this list is placed at the end of each grade's student mugs
- check teacher photos as well, and do the same (remove photos of VP's and other non-teachers)
- keep a photocopy of all the proofs, just in case something happens with the book when it comes out, with mixed up photos and such, it can be proven where the fault lays
- make sure that the layout for student mugs has been complete, with the number of photo boxes equal or greater to the number of photos for that grade (generally, fill the last page with photo boxes even if it's too much)
- you can choose to fill any blank space with candids now, or wait until the plant returns proofs of the pages, asking for white space to be filled
- create the layout for teacher mugs (generally when we do them, very few teachers actually take photos with the photographer, so we end of taking our own photos of teachers we've missed, and filling the layout with our own pictures, leaving space for the plant to fill in the photos that were taken with the photographer)
- get photos of the principal and VPs, secretaries, caretaking and cafeteria staff
- speak to Mr. Pownall in advance about the orientation of the book (portrait vs. landscape) so that the ads are solicited appropriately (he'll probably ask you to speak to him again later anyways)
- once you have a list of all the clubs, teams and music ensembles, set up dates for Club & Team photo days (Feb. and April, usually), and have Ms. More contact Stan to book them (remember to book the gym)
- photo days have always been a problem with Teams, but I would suggest that two weeks in advance (for both photo days), have Ms. More post a tentative (make sure that's listed) schedule in the mail room, asking for any changes to be made by teachers
- a week later, post in the mailroom, and photocopy the finalised schedule and place one in each teacher's mailbox, asking for it to be posted in the classroom (memo); also post copies in the hall, and do daily announcements
- keep on track of events photos and blurbs, as well as photos for candids and for theme pages
- start collecting member lists for clubs, teams and music ensembles (this takes a very long time, so start early - you still won't get them all by the end of the year)
- start bothering Ms. McLeod about the Principal's Welcome (it'll take a while to get)
- have the Copy Editor start working on the Executive Welcome
December
- make sure the first deadline has been submitted, if you have extra pages to submit all the better (remember, only double page spreads count towards the deadline)
- submit the cover
- make sure Grad section is on track, plan a blitz to graduates (get a list of Gr. 12 homerooms from the office) for January, regarding baby photos and blurbs
- create a template for Clubs, Teams & Music Ensembles pages, keeping in mind the number of each group and the approximate size (this is where the member lists come in handy)
- keep on track of event photos and blurbs, candids, theme photos
- take a break!
January
- blitz like mad for Grad blurbs and baby pictures (set the deadline for everything to be February, it'll likely be extended to the first week of March, but everything must be in, definitely, before March Break)
- start Personalised Page sales ($50 before March Break, $60 after)
- make sure section titles are complete and submit the ones that have a fixed page number (ie. everything but the ads section title, and possibly prom, because those shift in position in the book depending on number of Personalised Pages, and ads)
- keep collecting member lists for Clubs etc.
- make layout for secretary, caretaking, cafeteria staff page
- make layout for Principal's page
- plan out schedule for Club Photo Day
February
- have a complete layout for the Graduate section (so that it can be filled as soon as the last blurb and baby picture comes in)
- set up a schedule to supervise Club Photo Day, make sure lists are collected regarding members in the photo
- start tracking down Clubs which didn't take a photo on Club Photo Day
- make up absent lists by cross-referencing lists from Photo Day with member lists previously collected
March
- have Graduate section done before the end of March (it'll need to be submitted for a deadline soon)
- return any hard copy baby pictures submitted by Graduates
- track down club, team and music ensemble lists and photos
- make sure: teacher mugs, secretary, caretaking, caf. staff, principal's pages are done
- keep working on event pages
- make sure layouts have been created for theme and ad pages
- schedule the Team Photo Day
- don't fall behind on your deadlines!
- keep selling Personalised Pages
April
- keep collecting candid photos, as well as theme photos (fashion and spirit are the hardest to get)
- do absent lists for Team Photo Day and track down coaches whose teams did not take photos
- keep selling Personalised Pages
- start seeing Mr. Pownall for ads
- scan the ads as you receive them and order them accordingly in the YEARBOOK PHOTOS folder; keep the hard copy versions in page envelopes for now
- keep an Excel file of all the ads so that they can be kept track of
- if an ad says "use last year's", all the previous years' ads are in the Yearbook box under the computers, alphabetized; last year's ads are also on the Backup CDs
May
- make sure the Principal's message and the Executive welcome are done
- start collecting Personalised Pages from those that have purchased them, scan, place and submit them as they come
- keep collecting and scanning ads
- start doing ads pages
- contractually, we are supposed to do ads at 13/16th; on every double page spread, there is room for 16 business card equivalents - each double page spread should have no more than 13 business card ad equivalents (a quarter page = two business cards, half page = 4 business cards, full page = 8 business cards); the rest of the space is for candids
- if not already done, finish the Principal's page
- complete the Club, Team and Music Ensemble pages
- when you get the Grad proofs, make sure to cross-reference which Graduates didn't take a picture or write a blurb, based on the alpha list and the proofs
- start thinking about the Yearbook Staff pages
June
- finish the Executive welcome and Table of Contents
- finish the theme pages
- fill any blank pages with candids
- finish the ads pages
- do the Yearbook Staff pages
- make sure the end page has been done
- submit the final deadline, return any photos that need to be returned
- back up the Submit Folder, YEARBOOK PHOTOS and misc. documents; clean up the Yearbook room, email Elaine to have proofs sent to your house
- relax - you're done!