It’s no secret that we love yearbooks. Who doesn’t? They’re the perfect keepsake of a school year, something you can look back on even decades later for a good laugh or when you’re feeling nostalgic.

We believe these memories in and of themselves are an important gift that every student should have, but what if we told you that yearbooks can bring even more benefits to the students at your school?

When students are involved in building a yearbook, amazing things happen.

They become better students.

They’re better equipped for college and university, and eventually the workforce.

They’ll go on to find a cure for cancer and stop global warming!

Okay, we may be exaggerating a bit on that last one, but the rest holds up. Students who work on their school yearbook really do gain skills that can help set them up for a better future. Read on to find out how.

They improve their soft skills

Being part of yearbook production requires skills like organization, teamwork, communication, problem-solving, and collaboration. These skills are important as they continue their public school years and work on group projects in the classroom, but they become increasingly more important as students enter post-secondary schools or the “real world”. 

It’s a fun way to develop these skills, too! 

They gain hard skills

Students working on their yearbook will have to learn about things like photography, journalism, graphic design, and working with computers. 

In a world where many teenagers don’t know what kind of career they want, gaining firsthand experience in some potential careers can be vital for helping them decide what to do when they finish high school. It serves as a lower risk experimentation for them versus spending an entire semester doing a co-op, and it’s a ton of fun to boot.

That’s not to mention how great their yearbook experience will look on their college or university applications! Who knows, maybe they will end up curing cancer.

They start to build a portfolio 

Bring on the AP high school classes or journalism school applications; yearbook students are ready for it all.

Finishing in the spring with a tangible output is more than just a source of pride for those who worked on it. It’s proof that they worked hard on a year-long project and likely overcame obstacles to get it done. How many admissions advisors wouldn’t be impressed by that?

Are you a school administrator interested in starting a yearbook for your school? Email us at yearbook@edgeimaging.ca or call (905) 631-3114 ext. 270 to get started!

Are you a student or the parent of a student who wants to develop skills by working on a school yearbook? Send this post to the people at your school office!

You remember your school yearbooks, right? The signatures from people you spent virtually every day with for four years straight, the winners of the “most likely to…” section, the unfortunate hair, the hearts drawn around your crush’s photo…

No matter how your school years played out, it’s tough not to look back at them with a bit of nostalgia once you’ve grown up. We believe that every student should have some sort of keepsake book to remember their school days by.

When we talk to schools that don’t do yearbooks, we often hear that they want to offer yearbooks, but are worried that it will be too much work for school staff. Not to brag, but we are yearbook experts, and we’ve seen enough to know it’s totally possible to put together a successful yearbook without burdening office staff or teachers.

Read on to find out our top tips on how to start a stress-free yearbook!

Start early

Sure, if you start in April, it’s not too late to put together a yearbook before the end of June. But this is just like when students start a project the night before it’s due – and we all know that while it can work out, it won’t yield your best work.

Remember, the early bird gets the worm.

By starting your yearbook before the winter break, you’re giving your yearbook team enough time to get organized and get comfortable with the roles they’re in. The end product ends up turning out much better for it, too.

Involve students

Yearbook clubs or committees are a ton of fun for students to be in, and it’s one of the best extracurriculars for preparing students for further education or the workforce.

Working on a yearbook helps students improve their teamwork and organizational skills, and it even allows them to develop skills that will help them in a future career, like journalism, writing, graphic design, and more.

Besides the skillset payoff, students appreciate having the ability to make their yearbook their own, and by the end of the year, will surely feel proud knowing they helped to make it happen.

Choose a yearbook partner that provides support

Not all yearbook providers are created equally!

One of the first hurdles is organizing the individual student photos. This is a big job no matter the size of your school. At Edge, we create these pages for our school partners, meaning that nearly 50% of their book is already built before they even start working on it.

You’re bound to run into bumps somewhere along the road during your yearbook build. Maybe you can’t figure out the software, or you want feedback on the pages you’ve created. Be sure to choose a yearbook provider who has a dedicated support team.

Let software help you save time

Different yearbook providers offer different software for building your yearbook, and some are more user-friendly than others. Look for a provider with a software that offers a simple, drag-and-drop interface.

If you can automate any part of your book build, you’re well on your way to a stress-free yearbook. A facial recognition software helps to cut down on time spent organizing your candid photos and leaves more to perfect your yearbook writing and design.

Of course, you should choose your facial recognition software carefully. For the most security, we recommend choosing a desktop-based software, rather than a cloud-based one.

If you sign or renew a yearbook agreement with Edge Imaging in the 2019-2020 school year, we’ll give you a free one-year subscription to Tag That Photo, a secure photo recognition software that automates photo organization faster and more accurately than Facebook and Google.

Ready to get started on your Edge yearbook today? Send us an email at yearbook@edgeimaging.ca to get in touch!