It’s the middle of winter and your students are working hard, but they may be slowing down a bit. Days of limited daylight and less time outdoors may be taking its toll. So, get your staff moving to keep the doldrums and stress at bay.
Brain teasers and small bursts of exercise will help them clear their brain and keep them inspired as they continue to work on their yearbook.
Every fall we return to school with an eagerness to start the new yearbook. As the days turn into weeks and the first deadline approaches, an adviser needs to provide guidance as the staff learns what is required of them as individuals of this team effort.
It is that time of year when one yearbook staff is wrapping up and another is beginning its work. An awards ceremony, with a fancy or casual banquet, is a great way to cap the year. Whether this is held at a small banquet room at a nearby hotel or at a park shelter, invite next year’s staff to give them something to look forward to.
If you have a summer or fall delivery book, you may have a staff that is still producing their book. Your staff for next year should have plans to sell ads this summer and go to workshop. Consider some of these ideas for relieving stress or bonding, depending on your staff’s needs.
A little music in the yearbook room can pick up the spirits during these busy days.
Some people work better to music and others do not. Poll your staff to see how they like to work.
In December, the sun only shines about nine and a half hours a day – less in Alaska. Your yearbook staff may be getting to school when it’s dark and leaving when it’s dark. And the upcoming holidays only bring stress, as you and your students work to meet deadlines and prepare for the festivities.
So, take your own break before your school break with one of these ideas for celebrating the season and having fun.
The yearbook staff at Claremont High School in Claremont, Calif., has been using the fun idea of staff socks up on the wall to spread cheer around the yearbook room.
As a team-building exercise, staff members slip encouraging and lighthearted notes and thoughts into other staffer’s sock.
You can inspire your yearbook staff to write and come up with stories using these ideas for November. The type of writing might be a little different than yearbook writing, but it may get your writers to thinking about different angles to annual topics.
For Family Stories Month, have your staff write short feature articles on interesting aspects of their family, like an etiquette-breaking tradition of throwing the foil from baked potatoes into the trash can from the dinner table to see who makes it. It may generate story ideas. Consider doing this project on Nov. 15, which is I Love to Write Day.
Staff bonding can facilitate the completion of your yearbook. Bonding is beneficial because it will enable staff members to work through conflicts, share the workload and improve attitudes. Work just goes more smoothly when people understand and even like each other.
Most schools open again in August or September. On the first day, or in the first few weeks, it might be fun to have a kick-off activity for your yearbook class or club, or do one or two fun activities to help the staff bond. Here are ideas for both months.
Isn’t it summer yet? I guess I assumed that it was, due to the blitz of Iron Man 2 media I’ve been seeing everywhere. After all, to me, blockbuster action movies mean summer.
For your yearbook staff, summer can be a time to relax, recharge and reflect to get ready for next year. Unfortunately, that’s not all, though. There is work to be done – theme and cover ideas, new staff getting to know each other. And a great place to accomplish a lot of these things is at a summer workshop.
The challenge for a middle school adviser trying to implement yearbook best practices is a balance of giving students an opportunity to explore a new, enriching possibility while enlisting responsible individuals to produce a high-quality product. This all begins with the selection process.
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