Before your team jumps into layouts and taking photos, it's a good idea to start thinking about your content. These early steps...like reaching out to staff, organizing school activities, and locking in your portrait plan...will help set the stage.

SEND A STAFF MEMO

Start the year off right by sending a quick email or memo to all teaching staff, letting them know (if you're new) that you're the Yearbook Advisor and that you're looking forward to showcasing their classes, teams, clubs and events in this year's book. Be sure to ask them to give you a heads-up about upcoming games, performances, or activities (ideally not the day of!). Remind them that they might be asked to identify students in photos or provide short write-ups about their event, and that timely responses will help keep everything on track.

MAKE A MASTER LIST OF ALL ACTIVITIES

As information starts rolling in, start building a master list of all school happenings...clubs, teams, events, you name it. This list will be your go-to for planning coverage and should eventually make its way into your Yearbook Planning Calendar (More on that HERE).

PLAN FOR PORTRAITS

Get to know your school photographer and find out when they will be on-site for picture day, retakes, and grad photos. Make the arrangements for how and when you will receive the digital portrait files, and schedule in time to build your portrait and grade pages. Be sure to ask your photographer to follow PSPA guidelines...your Print Consultant can help you with that, if needed!