By: Jacob Chiu
The JLS yearbook is created by a team of students in the Yearbook lunch club. The yearbook is almost entirely student-created, with students doing all the photography, writing, and interviews. The team is sorted by grade, and each grade is assigned a Team Leader who reports to the team Secretary to ensure that everyone gets their work done. The team advisor, Mrs. Lee, finalizes the page layouts, and the yearbook is finished around March. This past year, recruitment was open to all students at the beginning of the year, but due to team restructuring, team members will be recruited directly next year. Here is the current Yearbook secretary, Victor Peng, who tells us about what it’s like to be on this team.
“It is a big responsibility; it requires students to be self-motivated, and with more power comes more responsibility. Students will be able to use their phones to take pictures and document events across the school, so you must be responsible in order to get the privilege to do so.”
However, Yearbook requires evening meetings at the start in order to establish the book outline and design work, which may be daunting for some students.
“We have lunch meetings once a week and we have evening meetings that we start at the beginning to discuss how the Yearbook works, and then after the first semester or so, we’ll stop having those meetings for you to just work on your own, so you plan your own time. It is not stressful if you do your work and not hold stuff and procrastinate, and it’s a great chance for students to be able to practice life skills such as leadership.”
Victor says that yearbook students must have leadership skills, be responsible and respectful, and know-how to communicate. If you’re thinking it’s a big responsibility, you’re absolutely right.
“Just as any other class or team (we might call it the Yearbook club, but we’re actually a team) we must all respect each others’ time, etc., so yes, students can definitely be kicked out of Yearbook if they are not respectful or responsible with their privileges.”
Finally, to those wishing to join Yearbook, Victor says, “[If you want to be in Yearbook,] be a good kid, be respectful to everyone, be a part of the JLS community, and we will look for you. Yearbook is a chance to work on skills that might be beneficial to you in life, including your speaking skills, your communication skills, and leadership skills. Yearbook is also very fun, and it’s just one way you can get involved in more school activities. ”
Yearbook is a great chance for you to do things you ordinarily wouldn’t get to do in school. It helps you build life skills and allows you to find out more about peoples’ stories around the school. However, it is not for those who slack off and procrastinate or are rude, so remember this when joining this essential team for school life.