Alexander High School Catamount€¦ · • photography • photo-editing • time management • cooperative learning Staff member responsibilities include the areas of Advertising

Page 1 Catamount Course Syllabus

Alexander High School

Catamount Yearbook

Mrs. Debbie Rager, Adviser

770-651-6062

Email: [email protected]

Grade Scale: Categories: A – 90-100 Summative (Deadlines, Major Assignments, Ad Sale): 50%

B – 80-89 Formative (Quizzes, Daily Work): 30%

C – 71-79 Midterm / Final: 20%

D – 70

F– 69>

Class Rules

1. Follow directions the first time they are given.

2. Be in the class and begin to work when the bell rings.

3. Bring your materials to class each day.

3. Turn in all assignments on deadline; only turn in your original work.

4. No cell phones out unless I have given you express permission. Class time is for working

on the yearbook.

5. When you leave the room, you must put on your yearbook pass. Do your yearbook-

related errand. You may NOT abuse your yearbook press pass. Sign out each time you

leave the room. If a pattern develops, the privilege will be revoked.

6. You may have food/drink in the classroom, but not around the computers. Always clean up

after yourself. There are three (3) trashcans in the classroom. Find one and discard your trash.

7. Computers are primarily for working on yearbook tasks. Ask permission, not forgiveness.

8. What happens in yearbook class remains in yearbook class. Privacy and discretion is

mandatory. Never discuss the book (theme, stories, pages, errors, omissions, etc.) with

any person other than those on the yearbook staff. You are held to the highest

accountability of privacy protection. Do NOT abuse this privilege.

9. Be respectful to others. The yearbook is not the place to air personal grievances. You

are responsible for recording an objective account of significant historical events. You

do so with strict discipline and adherence to detail.

10. Always conduct yourself using the highest standard of professionalism when

representing the AHS Catamount yearbook.

CONSEQUENCES

1. Verbal warning / Teacher conference

2. Time out of some type / stripping of position / Probation

3. Phone call to parent or guardian

4. Write-up to administrator

5. Removal from staff

REWARDS

1. The yearbook is a historical artifact that thousands of people see every year. By creating a

quality book, you have helped to chronicle history for your friends and family.

2. Doing a great job is a reward that remains long after high school. Enjoy the ride!

3. You can add any work you produce to your portfolio. Once the book is published, admire your

work.


Course Overview There are many aspects to being a member of the yearbook staff. Each aspect requires total commitment

and a positive attitude. If at any time this school year you are unwilling or unable to provide either of these to

your work, you are urged to drop this course.

Yearbook is a year-long course and a year-long commitment. It is my hope that underclassmen will take

the course more than one year. The veteran staff and I invest time and energy in training new staff members; we

expect a return on that investment. Likewise, you will benefit from your investment in many ways.

As a member of the yearbook staff you will learn many skills that will help you in your high school

career and later in life, including the following:

• interviewing

• writing

• editing

• peer tutoring, peer evaluation

• marketing

• budgeting

• advertising

• public relations

• keyboarding

• computer graphics

• graphic design

• photography

• photo-editing

• time management

• cooperative learning

Staff member responsibilities include the areas of Advertising Sales (Business Ads, Sr Ads),

Photography (Photos at school functions, photos during school), Copy Writing, Digital Photography and

Editing, Copy Editing, and Public Relations. Fundraising is also a part of yearbook, which is why each member

is responsible for selling a $75 business ad by the end of the first nine weeks of the course. All five aspects

work together to complete our yearbook. Your efforts have a direct effect on the quality of our high school‘s

yearbook.

Yearbooks have several purposes. They document history -- of the school, of the sports and activities, of

the students, of the community. Yearbooks stop time. They remind people of what things were like in high

school, and they also work in a way many may not consider: They are a living record of all people who attend

public high school at AHS. Yearbooks make people feel important when they see pictures of them or their

names (spelled correctly, of course) by a quote they said. Yearbooks also promote school spirit.

In order for our yearbook to serve all of these purposes, your dedication, cooperation and time are

essential. Although much of the work for the 2015 Catamount yearbook will be done in class, you will be

required to spend time outside of class as well. All tasks must be completed and all deadlines must be met,

regardless of inclement weather/school closings, sickness, or the end of the world.

As your yearbook adviser, my job is to train you and provide you with the tools you need to create an

exciting, memorable and ACCURATE yearbook for the students of Alexander High School to appreciate

forever. You have my commitment that I will teach you to the best of my abilities and that I will do everything

in my power to give you the tools you need to make our yearbook the best edition ever. You have my

commitment.

Do I have yours?


Policies and Procedures

1. Bring digital resources to class. Our yearbook is created and submitted electronically. Bring a laptop. Bring

your jump drive. If you have a digital camera, you are ahead of the game. While camera ownership is not

mandatory for this course, it will be helpful. The staff has a Nikon, and we have plans to purchase an additional

camera, SD card, and card reader. You will learn how to take quality photographs with a DSLR (single-lens

reflex camera) camera.

2. You may not leave the classroom at any time without a specific purpose and without specific verbal

permission from Mrs. Rager. If you do not have YOUR press pass, you may not leave the classroom for any

reason. If I discover you have left the room without speaking to me first and/or signing the book, you will

receive detention. When a substitute is present, no one may leave the room unless arrangements were made

previously with Mrs. Rager.

3. You must keep all work in progress: interview notes, stories, photographs, should be saved to the yearbook

drive. I (Mrs. Rager) will have access to any files you leave on this drive. In the event you are unable to

complete a DPS for deadline, we will need the resources you‘ve been collecting in order to finish the page to

meet deadline. You‘ll be credited on a page for the work you complete or for work that appears on the page that

you did.

4. Snacks and drinks of any kind are NOT allowed at the computer stations. You may eat at your desk. Clean up

after yourself.

5. If you borrow a resource or supply, it is your responsibility to return it to its rightful space. This is common

courtesy. You must credit your source if it goes in print.

6. All photographs you take for publication in the yearbook are the property of Alexander High School. You

should not show any yearbook photographs to anyone who is not on staff (exception: using non-staffers to

identify people in the photo). You should not make copies of our photos for yourself or anyone else without

Mrs. Rager‘s express permission. You may not photoshop any photo as a means to be funny, to inflict hurt, or to

criticize and/or humiliate another person. Doing so is a huge violation of trust. Photos must be uploaded and

appropriately tagged in eDesign within 48 hours of taking the photo.

7. The yearbook is the project of all staff members and deadlines are not met until all staff members have

finished their work. If you have finished your pages early for a specific deadline, it is your responsibility to help

those staff members who have not yet met their deadlines. Yearbooks are produced by teamwork. Staff

members who miss major deadlines for any reason will receive a 69 in the gradebook and will have their

name dropped from the page. We do not miss deadlines. Missed deadlines cost money. We will not miss

deadlines. Never. Ever. Ask for help. Get the pages done.


8. Every staff member will have many other assignments to complete in addition to working on assigned

yearbook pages. We will discuss weekly assignments, and Mrs. Rager will post these to the class blog in

addition to sending out a Remind text to everyone.

9. Staff members must attend sporting events / club events / activities and other events and take quality photos.

There is a grade attached to this activity. We will create a schedule, and you will be responsible for taking

photos. I will keep track of your submissions by looking at your uploading / tagging / usage in eDesign.

Additionally, there will be a photo log in the gradebook that you must fill out for every photo you submit.

Credit will not be given for an incomplete photo log.

10. Every staff member will sell the equivalent to one business card-sized ad ($75) during the first 9-weeks.

(No extra credit for selling a larger ad.) This is a pass / fail assignment. Two students may work together to sell

a ¼-page ad, and each will receive credit for the 1/8-page. Both must agree to this. Only one pair per ¼- page.

11. It is expected that you will be productively engaged in yearbook work during EVERY class period.

Squandered time wastes away your grade and the quality of our yearbook. When independent work on

pages begins, you will be asked to complete a DAILY LOG explaining how you spend each class period; these

will be assessed. All work must be submitted by the deadline regardless of your attendance record. The

responsibility of finishing a page that you are assigned is ultimately yours and yours alone. If you fail to finish

your work by deadline (or close enough to it to cause concern), another staffer will be assigned to your page to

finish the work. You will receive credit for the work you submit (accuracy checks / editing must be final draft).

12. It is generally not possible to complete all necessary work without spending some time outside of the class

period. This outside class work is considered the same as homework. Failure to attend an activity or event to

take photographs is, in essence, forgetting to complete homework.

13. The classroom is available mornings beginning at 7:45 am and many afternoons after school until 4:45.

14. ALL YEARBOOK WORK MUST BE STORED in eDESIGN and/or on the YEARBOOK DRIVE.

15. It is expected that after your initial training is complete, you will take responsibility to complete assigned

tasks in a timely fashion without being told each day what tasks you should do. When working with a partner on

a page or project, you are expected to share EQUALLY in the workload. I WILL cut your grade and your name

from a page if I see that you are not doing your share.

16. Failure to follow rules will result in the following: first violation, brief informal teacher conference; second

violation, before/after school work detail; third, parent contact; fourth, removal from class. We have too much

to do. We will not tolerate staff members not completing their assigned work or fair share of the work load.


17. Accuracy and attention to detail is key. The adviser shouldn‘t have to complete pages. The adviser‘s job is

final scan before submitting it to the publisher (Herff Jones). Creating pages that are accurate, error, free,

and quality is the job of every staff member. There is a process for getting this. Follow it.

18. If you have to attend an event to take photos for your page, you may use your yearbook pass (free

admission). Only 1 yearbook pass can be used per home game (only 1 person on staff is allowed entrance).

Let Mrs. Rager know which event you plan to attend (even if it‘s an away event), for I have to make

arrangements with Mr. Small (the athletic director).

19. For sports pages, you must attend and take photographs of at least one (1) home and one (1) away game in

order to provide full coverage. For other events, you should make plans to attend the event that you are

responsible for covering in the yearbook. If you are in charge of the spring concert page, attend the spring

concert. When the event is too far to travel to, you must make arrangements to have photographs taken by a

student who will be in attendance (i.e., Cheerleading Competitions are often held at schools far away. Find

a competition cheerleader or a parent to take photos of the event—and supply them with a list of ideal shots

in order to get the coverage that you need for your page).

20. All pages submitted for publication have a few mandatory items: Headline, body copy, photos and captions,

and secondary coverage (known as a MOD). Photographs used should not come from sources like

Instagram, but rather, good journalists go above and beyond to get the coverage needed. Make sure all

pages use the appropriate fonts, colors, and layouts to ensure the book‘s unity and cohesion. Always keep

the book‘s theme front and center on every page.

Duties of Leadership Positions

Yearbook Adviser: Coordinate student efforts, initially teach all skills needed to produce a quality yearbook,

including the self-discipline needed to work independently, encourage students, listen to and aid in problem-

solving, provide students with the tools they need to succeed if they provide the effort and time. Act as

customer service manager in the event a parent or student requests to speak with me. Yearbook staff members

should be the frontline of problem solving. The adviser provides a final editing check before submitting the

page to the publisher. Once a page is submitted to the publisher, it cannot be retracted.

All Staff: Responsible for content and completion of the yearbook. Staff is to be responsible for all duties listed

in this handbook and any not listed but deemed necessary by the adviser.

Editor in Chief: Serve as a leader for the staff; attend all staff meetings; with the help of the staff leaders,

assign pages in an equitable manner; design layouts; update the ladder; with the help of the adviser, establish

deadlines and mini-deadlines; post all deadlines and communicate them with staff; maintain the BLACKLIST

book; edit all copy and all proof sheets; coordinate specifications with staff leaders to maintain consistency


throughout the book; maintain copies of all correspondence; encourage and motivate staff; recognize staff for

outstanding effort; teach and help staffers prepare for events (picture day, distribution, etc.); teach other students

when appropriate.

Business Manager: Work to maintain a budget and ensure the yearbook can be financed; assist with the

planning and directing of ad sales campaigns; work with the assistant editor to boost book sales; work with the

senior ads editor to maintain a record of all ads; keep an account of all income and all expenses; collect all

money from staff members; bill advertisers; write receipts; write thank you letters to all who advertise with us;

collect all money from book sales; keep records of number of books received when they arrive in the fall;

maintain a list of students who have purchased yearbooks and assign staffers to contact those who have not

purchased a book; maintain personalization list, verifying spellings; assist editor with layout and design for ads.

Coordinate the sale and promotion of business ads; work to include quality photos and artwork in ads; keep an

up-to-date database of all advertisers; scan photos; present a solid unit across the double page spread to create

strong visual appeals; make staff assignments as needed to reach advertising goals; plan layout of advertising

section; keep files of graphics and photos for all advertising; is ultimately responsible for all advertising that

goes into our yearbook.

Assistant Editor: Edit copy, including headlines, stories, and captions; run spell check on every block of text;

double-check all student name spellings; encourage and motivate staff; work with editor to ensure that every

student in the school either has an additional photo or quote other than the traditional mug shot; help maintain

Blacklist book; work with editor and business manager to keep accurate records and documentation; teach other

students when appropriate; edit layouts on eDesign before submitted to editor (then adviser for final

submission); oversee senior ads; create mailers to advertise senior ads.

Photo Editor: Make photo assignments so that every game, meeting, and event has a staffer there taking

detailed notes and pictures; log film and photos; organize digital photos; work with senior and underclassmen

coordinators to assign staffers to track down and remind those who have not had their portrait taken by the

official school photographer (portrait photos not taken by Hal Wagner will not appear in the yearbook);

schedule group picture day with Hal Wagner Studios and assign a staffer to take pictures each hour as well;

keep a detailed list of every student in the school and log each time that student appears on a finished yearbook

page in order to avoid duplication and include every student in school in the book; if time is available, send note

cards to each student pictured.

Student Life Coordinator: Work to ensure coverage of students and their lives--at school and in other day-to-

day routines they follow; set up a calendar of events and assign staffers to cover events, workplaces, etc.; work

to liven up coverage of routine events such as homecoming; use strong action photos that create a sense of

being at the event and include detailed notes of each photo taken; work to show the ―inside story‖ of each

activity, event, or issue; is ultimately responsible for the completion of the student life section of the yearbook.


Senior Editor: Work to ensure that the ―senior experience‖ is captured in the section; arrange portraits as solid

rectangular panels with names placed in the outside margin for easy identification; provide at least one feature

or presentation focusing on a student, activity, event, or issue relevant to seniors in each double page spread

(not every single page); work with photo editor and underclassmen coordinators to assign staffers to track down

and remind those who have not had their portrait taken by the official school photographer (portrait photos not

taken by Cady Studios will not appear in the yearbook); work with assistant editor to keep a detailed list of

every student in the school and log each time that student appears on a finished yearbook page (not including

mug shots) in order to avoid duplication and include every student in school in the book, then send note cards to

each senior who has not been photographed (do this by the end of August); is ultimately responsible for the

completion of the senior section of the yearbook.

Underclassmen Coordinators: Work to ensure that the students‘ experiences at Alexander High School are

captured in the section, as well as the experiences of the faculty; arrange ―mugs‖ so they flow with names

correctly spelled and placed near the photo for easy identification; provide at least one feature or presentation

focusing on a student, activity, event, or issue relevant to underclassmen in each double page spread (including

but not limited Section pages); work with photo editor and senior editor to assign staffers to track down and

remind those who have not had their portrait taken by the official school photographer (portrait photos not taken

by Cady Studio will not appear in the yearbook); work with assistant editor to keep a detailed list of every

student in the school and log each time that student appears on a finished yearbook page (not including mug

shots) in order to avoid duplication and include every student in school in the book, then send note cards to each

student pictured if time is available; are ultimately responsible for the completion of the underclassmen and

faculty sections of the yearbook.

Club Editor: Work to provide interesting coverage of the activities, events and issues facing all organizations;

picture all individual group members; work to develop coverage from the actual activities, events and issues

rather than from a mere club-by-club posed approach; keep posed photos less prominent than action/event

photos; investigate the activities and events that affect organization members and the impact that they make on

the school and community; work so that the copy and the photos are unique to this year‘s groups; feature as

many members of the group as possible in photos, quotes, and the main story; consult with photo editor to

schedule group picture day with Cady Studios if needed and assign a staffer to take pictures each hour as well;

send staffers to group meetings to take notes and photos; should not list officers, but focus on memorable

events; is ultimately responsible for the completion of the organizations section of the yearbook.

Sports Editor: Work to provide complete coverage of all sports and all levels of the sports; work so that verbal

and visual content will appeal to the players, coaches, and support groups such as fans, as well as the rest of the

audience; provide a season record, with coach‘s permission, in a readable, accurate, and attractive scoreboard;

attend as many sports events as possible, taking as many notes and photos as possible to get the complete story

of the event; make photo and note assignments for other staff members so that every athletic event is covered

throughout the school year; keep records of teams, players, coaches, and a calendar of sports events, including


the jersey numbers and names of opposing teams so we have them for photos later; remember that girls‘ softball

ends early (approx. in October); is ultimately responsible for the completion of the sports section of the

yearbook.

Academic Editor: Work to capture (in photos and copy) the action and interaction of students and teachers in a

variety of academic activities; seek a unique approach to coverage, not just classroom experiences, but all

aspects of the educational process such as homework, report cards, tests, etc.; will not allow more than one

boring photo of a student just sitting in a desk in the section; promote the section to students and teachers to find

out what is going on in school that we can document and photograph; is ultimately responsible for the

completion of the academic section of the yearbook.

Morale Coordinator: Organizes one fun class period per completed deadline where no work will be allowed

and the object is to have fun; organize one outside school event for staffers to attend (bowling, dinner, karaoke,

etc.) each semester; plan food for deadline celebrations; obtain approval of adviser for any and all plans; keep

track of major holidays and birthdays and makes sure the staff is aware of these day (in whatever method

deemed appropriate); decorate the yearbook room as necessary.

Publication Policy The faculty, staff, and administration of Alexander High School want to maintain the highest standards and

good judgment regarding what should and should not be printed in our high school yearbook. It is our policy

that we will not print any copy which violates the following:

• the rights of others

• obscenity standards

• copyright laws

• libel laws

• personal privacy

We will strive to adhere to the following standards:

• We will never print anything that is untrue.

• We will never print anything that will injure someone‘s reputation or make that person appear foolish.

• We will make every effort to make sure that all information is correct.

• We will avoid insinuations, innuendo, editorial comments, and private jokes.

• We will make sure all copy is original or that permission to reprint has been granted.

• We will make every effort to ensure that all quotations are accurate.

• We will not use ―gag‖ or ―joke‖ captions.

• We will report what we are told and let the reader draw his/her own conclusions.

• We will avoid language that is vulgar, hackneyed, profane, or obscene.

• We will avoid photographs that are vulgar, profane, or obscene. (This includes nude baby photos.)


• We will not promote or portray in a glorifying manner the following serious teen issues: alcohol use or abuse,

drug use or abuse, sex, pregnancy, or any act that violates school policy, and local, state, and federal laws.

If the use of certain copy or photographs is questionable or does not keep within the purpose or goals of the

yearbook publication, the final decision to print will be made by the editor.

Theme and Layouts Theme is usually decided on during late May or summer. The cover design can occur at YBK EXPO in July or

during the first month of school. Once the theme and cover have been developed, it‘s time to begin work on

page layouts. Layouts include fonts, design elements (shapes, colors), body copy, and photographs/captions;

layouts create the page. Layouts will be created and adhered to by staff. All created layouts must be approved

by the editor in chief before being used on a page. Don‘t invest time in a layout that you have not had approved.

Copy Yearbook copy is usually one of three types: headlines, captions or body copy; three types of body copy are a

news story, feature story, or special copy.

Writing Body Copy

Step One: Research

Locate and photocopy the pages/story from the previous year. Use the year before that if last year‘s yearbook is

unavailable. Read the story and note from what angle the story was written. No one wants to read boring

copy. No one wants to read the same captions or information year after year. Find out the history of the

event / club / sport at our school. Gather any paper that has to do with your topic: football programs, copies of

stats, newspaper clippings, etc. Write a list of possible students and coaching staff that you could interview to

find out more about your topic. Keep in mind who was interviewed last year and don‘t repeat it. Try to

interview students who are not involved in multiple activities to give coverage to a greater number of students.

Just gather the facts. There is no room for your opinion in your writing, especially if it is a negative one. No

editorial opinions are allowed in journalism (yellow journalism is not allowed). Both paper facts and people

facts are what you need to gather. Keep all of your research and subsequent notes on the yearbook drive (or

upload photographs to eDesign) in your designated folder. Categorize your items by page numbers (create

folders named the page numbers they‘ll go on). Make a copy or take a photograph of interview notes and upload

to the yearbook drive.

Step Two: Interviewing

The most important part of quality copy writing is getting the most important and most interesting information

when you interview. Face-to-face or phone interviews are the best. Never write a list of questions and hand

them to a student to answer in writing; this robs you of the opportunity for follow-up questions, and follow-up


questions get the most interesting information out of people. Don‘t ask yes/no questions, but questions that

encourage the person to talk and feel comfortable with you. Some small talk before you get to the actual

interview questions may help. If the person you are interviewing doesn‘t feel comfortable with you, he/she is

not going to say much. Prepare a list of questions before the interview, but be prepared to think of more on the

spot as the person talks to you. Take something to write with, one of our clipboards, and your interview sheet of

prepared questions to the interview. If you are going to a sporting event and will be taking pictures as well, be

sure you wear a yearbook staff identification nametag.

The FIRST question you should always ask is for the person to spell his/her name for you. Even if the

name sounds simple, it may not be spelled how it sounds. Remember to ask people what they have to do

specifically with the topic. For example, if you are interviewing someone on the soccer team, ask her what

position she plays, how long she has been playing soccer, and how long she has played for HHS. (For other

sample sports questions, see the back of your handout entitled ―Sample Interview Questions.‖)

When someone is responding to one of your questions, write quickly and abbreviate whenever possible.

Always ask why or how. For example, if you ask someone what her favorite game was and she just names the

game against De Soto, ask her why. Readers will want to know the details; that‘s where the real story is.

Don‘t be afraid to read the answers / quotes back to the person, ask him/her to slow down, or ask

him/her to repeat something. ACCURACY IS VERY IMPORTANT.

When the interview has concluded, thank the person for taking the time to talk with you. Mean it when

you say it. A handshake, a smile, and other positive body language can go a long way. Interview a minimum

of six people for each story you write or topic you cover. Take mug shot (during the interview) or action

photos of the people; action are preferred.

MUG SHOTS ARE BORING!

Here are a few interview techniques from Taylor Talk Magazine (Issue 1, 90-91)

Sports

Tell me a story about ...

• being on the bottom of the football pileup.

• the closest score your team overcame.

• losing an important game.

• riding on the bus to an away game.

• running in bad weather.

• crossing the finish line second.

• overcoming a physical challenge.

• the worst competition you have in the county.

• your best friend on the team.

• how the coach motivates you on the field.


Student Life

Tell me a story about ...

• a recent shopping trip.

• driving to school.

• riding in a car pool.

• the first date you had this year.

• choosing/buying your prom

dress (or renting your tuxedo).

• getting to work on time after

school.

• cooking dinner for your

family.

• something fun you and your

sibling did together after school.

• going on your first job

interview.

• the worst movie you saw this

year.

• being seen with your parents

at the mall.

Academics

• acting out a play in class.

•getting a test back with a less-

than-great grade.

• studying with a group.

• preparing a group

presentation.

• giving a speech in class.

• reading literature and

understanding it.

• visiting a math tutor.

• going on a field trip.

• finishing a project the night

before it was due.

• renting the movie instead of

reading the book.

• a baffling chemistry

experiment.

• sitting in assigned seats.

Organizations

• getting wet at the annual car

wash.

• going on a field trip related to

your organization.

• any special guest speakers that

inspired you.

• getting organized for the

group picture.

• why you‘re in the

organization.

• the neatest thing you‘ve

learned in the organization.

• any funny thing that has

happened with the group.

• electing officers.

• decorating for a banquet/social

event.

• an especially frantic

fundraiser.

• going to competition.

Step Three: Writing a Rough Copy

THE FOLLOWING IS HOW TO WRITE TRADITIONAL COPY.

Read all of your interview notes and research again. Pick the most interesting part and start the story

with it.

Use different colored highlighters to group quotes and facts that are about the same idea. This will help

you organize your paragraphs when you begin writing.

If you are a decent typist, I suggest you type the rough copy of your story. It is much easier to edit and

move text on the computer than on paper. If no computers are available, then write it out. Remember, I will

most likely ask you to rewrite and rewrite again, so don‘t get too frustrated. It takes a while to get the hang of

writing in this style.


The beginning of a story is called a lead. The purpose of the lead is to grab the reader‘s attention and let

the reader know basically what the story is going to be about. There are many different types of leads, which we

will discuss in class. NEVER start your story with a boring sentence like ―The Varsity Volleyball team had a

great season.‖ Yuck!

Don‘t ramble in your story. Make sure your story has a pattern of some kind. If you have a difficult time

writing and making your sentences flow and using transitions, you may want to make a detailed outline before

you actually write. This will save you time and work.

You should have leftover information. You should not use every single fact or every single quote in your

story. Use only the ones that logically fit together to create the story.

Step Four: Revising your Rough Copy

Print out your rough copy. Read it aloud to another student and check to make sure the writing is clear

and accurate. This is a content check, not a grammar check. Make corrections and mark on your paper where

you need to make changes. Ask the person you read it to to sign the paper.

Give the paper to a different student to read for mechanics, usage, grammar and spelling mistakes

(MUGS). That proofer should circle all mistakes and you should correct them. Ask this proofer to sign the paper

as well.

Step Five: Prepare Another Rough Copy

Make all corrections in the computer that you had on paper. Print out another rough copy.

Staple both rough copies with the most recent one on top. Make an appointment to have Mrs. Rager or an

editor read and go over your work with you.

FOR THE PAST FEW YEARS WE HAVE BEEN WRITING NONTRADITIONAL COPY. THIS REQUIRES

MORE CREATIVITY.

For example, instead of writing a multi-paragraph story, we relate the information using charts and

graphs, long captions called story captions, extended headlines, and others. Look in current magazines to find

these types of treatments that are alternatives to the traditional story.

As the adviser I can become frustrated by the lack of effort and creativity in writing captions, headlines, and

infographics. Additionally, we don‘t place ―posed‖ pictures on pages. They don‘t tell the story. The

photographs should tell the story before the body copy is ever written. Work hard to get great shots.


Interviewing Assignment

For this assignment, you will interview someone (not on yearbook staff) about what they did over the summer.

You really need to interview someone you don‘t know very well.

After you have received the name of the person you will interview, take about ten minutes to prepare some

questions. You must have a minimum of 10 open-ended questions for the person. The questions you prepare

will be graded.

When conducting the interview, don‘t forget to check name spellings, grade, and all other basic facts, including

reading quotes back to ensure they are correct.

When you have collected your answers with your questions, type up this information in a short article (250

words). Make sure to get one photo from the person you interviewed. In your body copy, all direct quotes

should be in quotation marks.


Interviewing Assignment #2

For this assignment, you will interview a freshman in our school. You really need to interview someone you

don‘t know very well.

After you have received the name of the person you will interview, take about 10 minutes to prepare some

questions. You must have a minimum of 10 open-ended questions for the person. Focus on something unique or

interesting about the person as well as that person‘s ―Freshman Experience‖ so far. The questions you prepare

will be graded.

Never forget to use your MANNERS.

We avoid interrupting teachers who are lecturing.

Knock on the door of the classroom of the person you need to interview, politely ask the teacher if you are able

to conduct the interview now and if not when would be a better time. Thank the teacher for his or her time

regardless of the answer.

When you are conducting the interview, keep in mind all the techniques we have learned from the handouts.

Don‘t forget to check name spellings, grade, and all other basic facts, including reading quotes back to the

student to ensure they are correct.

When you have collected your answers with your questions, write a 250-word article. They must be readable

and all direct quotes should be in quotation marks. Don‘t forget to snap a picture to use with your story. Give

your story a headline, and caption the photograph.

Save your copy with photo to the yearbook sharedrive or you will not receive credit for having done the

assignment.


Photography While many people think taking pictures is pretty easy, photography does require hard work and

planning.

The event you are planning to shoot will dictate the type of camera you need to check out from the

library or from the classroom. For example, sporting events will require our best camera with its telephoto lens

to get close-up to the action from the sidelines. You may also need a tripod, especially for volleyball and

football games. Candids in the hallway can be taken with our regular 35 mm auto focus cameras.

We do have two quality digital cameras that should be used for most photos taken during the school day.

Always take a variety of vertical and horizontal shots. Always return the camera as soon as possible

after the event. That means you should bring it back before school the next class day.

Always mark on the photo log what camera you used. You must also include your name, the date, and

the event if you want credit for attending the event. Do not upload blurry photos. You will NOT receive credit

for blurry, over-exposed, or poor-quality photos. We should not be uploading bad photos into eDesign. This

wastes everyone‘s time.

Work to get good photos. Just because it looks good on the digital screen doesn‘t mean it‘s going to look

clear on the computer or on the page. Don‘t be afraid to take five or six different shots or poses to get a good

photograph. You want to have choices when you go to lay out your pages.

Establish a photo idea file. Develop different ways and locations to take these traditional photos. Decide

now, not the day the picture(s) needs to be taken.

NEVER UPLOAD PHOTOS TO eDESIGN WITHOUT TAGGING THEM. You will NOT receive

credit for the photo if it is poor quality OR if you fail to tag it appropriately in eDeisn. A PHOTO WITHOUT A

CAPTION IS AN UNUSABLE PHOTO.

Sports

Sports are difficult to shoot, but I have confidence in you. Here are a few tips.

Use the best camera we have and take the regular and telephoto lenses with you.

Wear your yearbook ID card so you look official. Don‘t be afraid to get in there in the action. If you

don’t get yelled at by the ref at least once this year, then you’re not getting close enough.

Pick a location on the court or playing field that sees a lot of action. Set up your stance, focus in on that

section of the court or field, and wait for the action to come to you. Patience is an important part of getting great

photos.

Do not, however, stay in the same location the entire game. If it turns out to be a poor location, or

poor lighting in the gym for example, your entire shoot will be poor quality.

Get full body shots and include the ball whenever possible. Never take a photo from just the waist up;

we can always crop it later if we just want just the facial expression, but for the most part, sports photos look


silly without the person‘s complete body. Facial expressions make the shot, so try to capture some type of

emotion with your photo.

Always pick up a copy of the program which lists jersey numbers and names of our team and the team

we‘re competing against. Each person in the photo, even those on opposing teams, should be identified.

All sports photos do not have to be taken at games. Team practices often provide great photo

opportunities to get closer to the action. Sometimes a posed photo from a different angle you couldn‘t otherwise

get during a game is great.

DO NOT TALK TO PLAYERS DURING A SPORTING EVENT UNLESS THE COACH GIVES YOU

PERMISSION.

Work with the coach. A little kindness goes a long way. Always introduce yourself and let the coach

know that you want to get some great photos of his/her team for the yearbook. (DO NOT ask the coach during a

busy time.) Stopping by to talk to the coach during the school day before a game or match is sometimes helpful.

The coach just might have some advice about whom you should photograph or what would make a great shot.

Academic

Don‘t take pictures of students sitting in desks or teachers lecturing. It‘s too routine. Everyone

remembers that school is sitting in desks. There must be some sort of action going on. Try to photograph other

academic events.

Talk to teachers, one on one, and ask when they will be doing any activities where students won‘t be

sitting in their desks. Ask permission to come in to take pictures. If you don‘t have that hour free, get another

staff member to take the photos for you. We all need to work together and help each other.

Put the word out with other students that you‘re looking for the chance to take pictures of students in

classrooms doing other things besides sitting in their desks.

Try to get as many students as possible in the photo, but don‘t overdo it. We need to be able to tell what

the context is in the photo (like if someone is dissecting a rabbit in biology class, we need to see part of the

rabbit and the biology tables in the photo). Close-ups of individual students working on a project tend to make

the best photos, although they don‘t necessarily help us get more students in the book. Again, facial expressions

make the shot.

Special Events

Events like Homecoming require some planning, too. Every year somebody takes that faraway picture of

the Homecoming court. Instead, try to use the telephoto lens to get the king and queen close up and get pictures

of each couple before coronation actually begins. Work with the group organizing the dance to have a few extra

minutes to get this done.

Don‘t forget to get photos of the work that goes into making the special event happen. Pictures of

seniors working on decorations for senior week would probably make a good action photo. Let the picture tell

the story! Consider getting pictures of when underclassmen throw the senior athletes their ―senior‖ party. These

are great memories


Five Steps to Better Pictures

by Jerry Cornelius from Taylor Talk Magazine

1. Closer Please

Most student photographers take pictures while standing some 10 to 15 feet away from the subject,

regardless of the situation. This creates a subtle ―sameness‖ about all the pictures in the book.

Change the distance. Move in closer, or back up. Generally it‘s better to move in closer on most

yearbook subjects. Changing the typical camera-to-subject distance will create subtle action in the reader‘s

mind as he/she views the pictures in your book.

2. Don’t Just Stand There

Naturally, most photographers shoot while standing. And the camera angle stays the same. Change the

angle by kneeling or lying down, by moving to the left or right, or by using a ladder to gain height. Sometimes

you can move the subjects to gain a different angle.

Too many photos are shot with the subject at eye level and straight ahead. Move to the side, move up,

move down, move all around to try something new. (Don‘t move while you‘re actually shooting, though. You

need to remain completely still when you actually take the shot.)

3. Steady Now

Blurry pictures can be caused by camera movement during exposure. On especially long exposure times

it‘s impossible to keep the camera from moving a little. Avoid lengthy exposure by using a flash or shooting

outdoors. If you can‘t avoid low light, use a tripod to steady the camera. If a tripod is unavailable, steady your

body against a wall, desk or other stable object. Cradle the camera and hold your elbows close to your body.

4. Clean Up Your Act

Cluttered backgrounds on photographs detract from the center of interest. The center of interest is the

reason you take the picture. Choose an angle that eliminates clutter surrounding the subject. This takes us back

to step one -- move closer.

Watch carefully for tree limbs, telephone poles or other background objects which can often look like

they‘re ―growing‖ out of the subject‘s head. Move the camera or the subject to eliminate these distractions.

5. Expose Your Intelligence

We see too many good pictures ruined because the picture was over or underexposed. Take the time to

check your exposure by using a light meter. If in doubt, make several exposures at different lens settings. This is

called bracketing.

With a point and shoot camera, take some with and some without the flash.


Photography Assignment #1

For this assignment, each student will need either a digital camera. Your assignment is to take photos of

students from our school at different times of day. Sound easy? There are a few more requirements.

You must use a photo tag for each photo you submit. Include the who, what, where, when, why and how.

Although many of you will take the photos while in school, points will be earned for any photos taken outside

of the normal school-day setting. Here‘s the catch: The photos for this assignment can‘t be of anyone in your

group of friends or in yearbook class. These photos may very well be used in the yearbook and we can get

pictures of your friends anytime. They like you so much, they would be flexible with us on a deadline, I‘m sure,

so we don‘t want their photos now.

Try to take pictures of people you don‘t think will be featured elsewhere in the yearbook. Remember, you must

submit photos that represent different times of the day (morning, mid-morning, lunch, afternoon, after school,

evening).

There are many types of photos, and these are the types you must take for this assignment:

1. Large group (up close of up to 10 people)

2. Small group (up to 4 people)

3. Overall shot (a stand-back shot of a

large group)

4. Close-up of an individual

5. Strong dominant element (must have something very powerful in it to

catch the attention on the page, an action/reaction shot or emotion-filled

shot works well for this one)

6. Bird‘s eye view (above the subject)

7. Worm‘s eye view (below the subject, shooting up)

8. Vertical shot

9. Horizontal shot

10. Candid emotion (the subject is not looking at the camera and is otherwise engaged in

another activity and shows an emotional reaction to it).

I suggest taking at least two of every type of shot. Then when you see the photos on the monitor, you can

decide which ones you want graded in which category and label them accordingly for your teacher. You will

print any digital photos as well.


Photography Assignment #2

Using the types of photos you were assigned in Photo Assignment #1, find pictures in magazines or newspapers

that are good examples of the following:

1. Large group (up close of up to 10 people)

2. Small group (up to 4 people)

3. Overall shot (a stand-back shot of a large group)

4. Close-up of an individual

5. Strong dominant element (must have something very powerful in it to catch the attention on the page, an

action/reaction shot works well for this one, as does capturing emotion)

6. Bird‘s eye view (above the subject)

7. Worm‘s eye view (below the subject, shooting up)

8. Vertical shot

9. Horizontal shot

10. Candid emotion (the subject is not looking at the camera and is otherwise engaged in another activity and

shows an emotional reaction to it)

You will receive points for each photo you submit; only one is required per category.

To turn in the photos, cut or neatly tear them from the magazines. Leave them in the context of the page--in

other words, do not cut the photo apart from the page, instead submit the entire page. If there is more than one

photo per page, label the photo with a marker so your teacher knows which photo you are submitting for which

category.

Use a glue stick to affix the photo to a sheet of typing paper or construction paper. Write your name, date, hour,

and what category the photo falls into on the back of the paper. Without this information, you will not receive

credit for turning in the photo.

Work on this activity while you are shooting and working on Photo Assignment #1 to give yourself some ideas.


Writing Headlines Writing a headline means decorating the copy for the double page spread with a phrase or two so

cleverly written and so good-looking that everyone will stop to read the headline and stay to read the whole

page.

Good headlines

• use a present tense verb

• use poetic techniques such as vivid verbs, metaphors, puns, alliteration and rhyme

• unify the photos, captions and other copy on the spread, both visually and emotionally

• make the page visually appealing

• suggest both the tone and the content of the copy and the photo

• hook the readers so that they will finish the story

• avoid unnecessary words such as ―a,‖ ―an,‖ ―the.‖ Conjunctions, connecting words like ―and,‖ ―nor,‖

and ―but,‖ are replaced with commas and semicolons.

• may or may not incorporate the theme

• generally should not use the school name, initials or mascot


Take notes on examples of the following:

Types of Headlines:

• Eyebrow or kicker--Eyebrow could be underlined and tied into primary headline graphically.

• Hammer--Reverse of the eyebrow headline. The primary head sits on top of the secondary headline.

• Tripod--The primary is on the right and the secondary headline is on the left. It can be reversed if the

arrangement of the words works. The tripod is often effective with quotes in the headline.

• Wicket--The secondary headline is three lines that reads right into the primary headline. Quotations

can be effectively used in the wicket style.


Headline Assignment #1

Find and label examples in magazines and newspapers of each of the four types of headlines listed above.

Neatly tear or cut out the entire page from the magazine; do not just cut out the headline.

In addition to these types, find six more headlines that appeal to you, either because of the typestyle, word play,

poetic techniques, or a connection with the photo or spread. Label each for the characteristic you like about it

(use the list in the left column if you have a hard time pinpointing what appeals to you about the headline).

You will receive points for each headline you submit, as well as proper and thorough labeling of the headline.

Writing Captions Captions are very important. They identify the people and the content of the photo. They tell the before

and after of the photo. They add spice and flavor to the page. Writing great captions is one key to a quality

yearbook.

When you take a photo, it is vital that you write down important information about the setting of the

photo on the photo log. You should remember what setting is -- the time, place, and atmosphere of the photo.

Little details make the caption memorable.

For example, if you take a photo of a couple dancing at Prom, don‘t just note where and when Prom

was, but write down the song the couple was dancing to. Was it late in the evening or early? What was the

theme? What were the decorations like? You could even ask the couple what they thought about Prom and

include some quotes in the caption.

Don‘t wait until the photo is cold in the digital camera the next day or until the print comes back from

the lab to try to figure out who was in the picture. That is a HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE mistake to make because

even if you are the person who took the picture, the chances that you will remember all of the details are pretty

slim. Write it down when you take the photo. Your cutlines/captions will be noticeably better if you gather facts

and get the whole story.

No one will be allowed to photolog from the computers this year. All photo logs must be filled out at the

event. If you are by yourself at an event, take a photo, then stop to log it. Take a photo, then stop to log it. I

would rather have fewer photos and have them properly logged than have an entire roll of ―I don‘t knows.‖

Hints for writing quality captions:

1. Captions, also called cutlines, are always written in present tense.


2. Captions that talk to the photo or make insinuations or those that take liberties with the feelings of the person

in the photo are considered bad journalism. They are in poor taste and they could be libelous. ―Gag‖ or joke

captions will not be tolerated.

3. Captions should be an extension of the photo, not a repeat of it.

4. Captions should be written in sentence form. They can be mini-features or stories. They can have leads to

catch the reader‘s attention.

5. Captions should have descriptive language and vivid verbs. Avoid using ―am, is, are, was, were‖ verbs.

6. Captions should be handled in a variety of ways to avoid repetition. For example, don‘t always start out

listing the names or the activities of the person pictured.

NEVER use these words or phrases when you write captions:

―... is shown ...‖

―Among those shown...‖

―Pictured left, or above...‖

―From left to right...‖

―Seems to appear‖ or ―Appears to‖

―Takes time to pose for the camera,‖ or ―Smiles for the camera.‖

Trite expressions such as ―a lot of fun‖ or ―a lot of hard work.‖

Don‘t say an individual is ―looking on.‖ If they are not doing something, they should be cropped out of the

picture.

Guidelines for writing captions for group shots:

1. Rows should be identified as front row--not first row. Subsequent rows can be second row or third row;

finally back row or top row should be used in place of last row.

2. Row identifications should be set off somehow in parenthesis, italics, bold face, caps or bold caps to separate

from names so it‘s easier to read. We‘ll pick a style and maintain it throughout the book. Follow the example on

the template.

3. The best place for a caption is right next to or under the photo. When you go to place a caption near a

picture, always place it adjacent/next to the photo but nearest to an outside corner of the double page spread.

This is a design hint we‘ll talk more about later.


4. Captions that are very long or placed beneath very wide photos should be divided into two or three columns.

Page-wide captions and long single line captions are unattractive and difficult to read.

5. Every person in the photograph should be identified unless the background is a crowd.

6. Sports captions should identify players of both teams by jersey numbers and names.

Sample technique for writing captions:

The photo is of a girl being crowned by a boy in a football uniform.

The weak caption might read:

Suzy Jones is crowned by John Doe.

This caption lacks specific information, is incomplete, grammatically incorrect, too short, a fragment of

a sentence and really, really boring.

Follow this technique:

1. Who is in the picture?

Suzy Jones and her escort, John Doe.

2. What else do I know about them, or what else can I find out about them?

Suzy is a junior who hasn‘t missed a football game in four years. She plays volleyball, is on the

yearbook staff and speech team. John is a senior who went to Boys‘ State last year and is a varsity football

quarterback.

3. What is going on in the photo?

Suzy has just been crowned and been given flowers, a gold football necklace and a kiss.

4. When?

During the October 11 homecoming football game half time.

5. Where? In the home stadium.

6. How?

Football team chose candidates, student body elected queen; football team chose escorts.

7. What came before this action?


Twelve senior girls were introduced and football escorts walked them to a temporary platform in the

middle of the football field.

8. What was the outcome of the action?

Suzy reigned during the rest of the game and at the dance the following night; the home team won by

seven points.

9. Any little known facts?

Suzy is a third generation homecoming queen. Her mom was queen in ‗65 at Hillsboro and her

grandmother was queen in ‗46 at Festus.

10. Choose a lead which will hook your reader.

Third generation royalty--Like her mom in 1965 and her grandmother in 1946, Junior Suzy Jones takes

her place among homecoming royalty. A varsity volleyball player, Suzy is crowned by Senior quarterback John

Doe during traditional half time activities. The event added glamour to the excitement of a 7-0 victory over the

Festus Tigers.

Not all of this information is necessary or desirable, but collect it all anyway. Fold the paper on which

you‘ve recorded your name and the information. Attach this information to the photo log.

This kind of information could potentially be used for any number of photos you took that day; it

doesn‘t just apply to the one photo.

Make the caption longer than it needs to be and include extra information. We can always cut

information later if it‘s too much, but it is nearly impossible to reinvent the information once the event is over

and done with.

Documents

Alexander High School Catamount€¦ · • photography • photo-editing • time management • cooperative learning Staff member responsibilities include the areas of Advertising