The time that we all wait for has finally come around… the yearbooks are here! We can finally flip through and see where our pictures are and see all of the memories we have made this year. The fresh new smell of opening it and the aesthetic theme are just some of the exciting elements of getting a brand new yearbook in your hand. 

The theme this year is ALL IN. Emma Hyder explains that this theme was decided because, “we wanted to include everybody… and really highlight everyone.” Theme templates also played a role in the decision and according to Mary Ramos, “it fit this year and applied to where we were at.” The theme is seen throughout the book and Ramos says, “the theme is represented on every page, but I would say the divider pages truly show what it means to be ALL IN.” Ramos made the divider pages and she “tried really hard to highlight the importance of being all in this together and really uniting the school.” 

The DHS Toltec or yearbook is a student produced publication. Making a yearbook is a hard job and the process has bumps along the way.  Ramos explains, “making one fluid book with 22 other people is not easy… teamwork is vital in the making of the yearbook, and our class had a hard time getting there” and that there are “many guidelines that we have to follow so that the yearbook actually looks connected and professional… it can be difficult to get everyone to follow them.” Even though they ran into problems, they got it in just on time. Emma Hyder and some other students that joined at the beginning of the second semester had some individual difficulties during the making of the yearbook. Hyder joined yearbook at the beginning of the second semester along with a few others and they had to “learn the whole program” and had “issues with trying to figure everything out before the book was due.” 

It is nearly impossible to make a yearbook perfect and void of mistakes, such as having a name misspelled or a picture not in it. If you find your name misspelled, Hyder suggests to “give the yearbook staff a bit of grace.” If you encounter a problem such as this just remember that, as Ramos puts it, “understand how much time and effort is put into the yearbook… 20 plus students work on pages of the yearbook, and it is very easy to make an accidental mistake.” Ramos says that it is “unlikely” for your picture to not be in the yearbook, but if this does happen to “contact anyone [you] know in the class” or to contact Mrs. Kraska as soon as possible. 

Many new students join yearbook each year to put together a book which highlights and celebrates the year. Matilyn Vickers is a yearbook editor this year, and she says that those who join yearbook should  be a “hard worker, a team player, and understand teamwork and communication because they are important when you’re on a team.” Vickers also states that, “yearbook is not an easy class… you actually have to do work in this class… it’s hard and a lot of people think it’s going to be an easy class, but it’s not” and that, “all that hard work is going to pay off because it’s going to feel good knowing you made something that’s going to impact people and their memories in 30-50 years.” 

On Friday, May 19, yearbooks will be given to seniors, which is their checkout day. The rest of the yearbooks will be given out the following week during lunch from the student store and Ramos informs us that, “Maddie, Reynna, Makaylti, and Cierra volunteered to distribute the books during lunch time the last week of school.” So stop by during lunch in the commons to get your yearbook if you purchased one and get excited to see the memories you have made this year!