The Yearbook Index
A School Annual Blog
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Superlatives are not just for Seniors! Add some personality to your yearbook class pages with interesting fun facts about your students and teachers. Keep it light-hearted and encouraging so students will enjoy referring to them for years to come. Here are some ideas...
Ideas To Help Your Yearbook Sell
You’ve worked hard to create a great yearbook…now how do you encourage the school community to buy it? It can seem like a big task but here are a few ideas to help boost your yearbook sales. Plan marketing activities that result in dynamic coverage for the yearbook....
Team Yearbook!
The students in your yearbook club or class are working hard to make sure their fellow classmates have an amazing book. Help them show off their yearbook pride (as well as spread the word about the yearbook) with a fun club or class shirt. It doesn't have to be fancy...
Early Yearbook Promotion
With summer winding down there is no better time than now to start planning your yearbook promotion strategy. Promoting early is key to raising yearbook awareness and excitement. Deploying multiple strategies early on will help make sure you reach everyone in your...
Summer Yearbooking
Summer has arrived! Time for hot sun, cold drinks…and yearbook planning. Although you may be feeling like you just finished thinking yearbook, right now is truly the best time to plan ahead for next year while this year is still fresh in your mind. It doesn’t even...
It’s All About Me!
A fun addition to any yearbook is a page dedicated to the yearbook’s owner. Something they can fill out with their info, favorites, and thoughts on the future. We call these “All About Me” pages, but of course you can title them however you like. It’s easy to create...
What’s Your Yearbook Made Of?
You've worked hard at creating an amazing yearbook for the kids this year. But you have one page or space you just don't know what to do with. That little nook in your book that needs 'Something'. What's a yearbook adviser to do? Show the students just how much went...
Yearbook Photo Scavenger Hunt
Having a good amount of quality photos to choose from for the yearbook is important, but sometimes it can be hard to keep students on your yearbook committee motivated. Try a photo scavenger hunt! It will help students think of photography in a new way and encourage...
10 Tips for Great Portrait Pages
The class portrait pages are some of the most important pages in the yearbook. Every student has their space to shine with their name & photo. Below are 10 tips to help make your class pages the best they can be when using School Annuals Online page builder...
Your School Has History!
Whether your school formed 80 years or 8 months ago it’s important to remember & celebrate how far it's come. Creating a School History page in your yearbook is a great way to help new students & staff feel connected to the school as well as reminding...
What’s in a yearbook theme?
Your yearbook theme is a big deal. It unifies the story of the year and gives it a unique personality. A theme can be a design idea, concept or story that is carried from cover to cover. There is a variety of ways a theme can be applied throughout the book. LogoTry to...
Fill Your Book With Photographic Memories
What’s a yearbook without photos? Not much of a yearbook that’s for sure! The stories are great, but photos really bring it all to life. Your school is a hopping place with new stories unfolding all the time so here are some key points to keep in mind when planning...
Considerations For A Socially Distance Or Hybrid Yearbook Distribution
Whether your school is in person or virtual, yearbook distribution can still happen with a bit of planning. The tips below will help you plan an efficient and celebratory event that everyone will love, from administration to students. SPACEChoose a location that...
10 Tips For First Year Advisers
Congratulations being named yearbook adviser! You might be wondering where to start on this big but important job and cherished tradition. To get you started, here are ten tips as you embark on this great adventure. 1. PARTNER UP Find a partner with skills or...
10 Yearbook Content Ideas for 2021
We have heard from countless advisers looking to provide the tradition of a yearbook. However, distance learning has restricted many components that go into it. So what content goes in a yearbook where students are in and out of the classroom, activities are canceled...
How to Include More Students in the Yearbook
It's no secret that yearbooks have had a tradition of representing the most popular students. Due to social status and those who participate in a lot of activities, this often happens unintentionally. For example, classic categories like most likely to succeed, best...
Fun and Engaging Ways to Keep Your Yearbook Team Motivated
Have you ever noticed a lull with your yearbook team–one that they just can't shake? Typically, this time of the school year moves in slow motion as students anxiously await spring. Yearbook editors are always looking for ways to combat these downtimes, or prevent...
The Perfect Yearbook Playlist to Stay Motivated
It’s yearbook crunch time! Yearbook advisors across the country are now busy trying to squeeze every possible school event, photo and milestone into their book before deadlines hit. If this includes you, you might be searching for a little extra motivation and...
Tell Unforgettable Stories with Your Yearbook Photos
Are your yearbook’s photos worth a thousand words? Yearbook photos should be inclusive and fun, but they should also tell a story. That’s really what yearbook is all about—telling our students’ stories. Photos are the perfect way to illustrate all of them. A perfectly...
Simple Tips for Grading Your Yearbook Class
Grading your yearbook students' performance isn't always easy! How do you create an effective grading system for individuals that are working towards the same end product? Your yearbookers are engaged and working hard to create your best yearbook yet. It's important...
Yearbook Shirts Your Staff Will Love
Your yearbook club or class is more than individual students. You're a team! Just like any other sports team or club, you need a uniform. You can probably skip the cleats and shoulder pads, but outfitting your staff in yearbook t-shirts is a great way to bring...
8 Ways to Involve Your Yearbook Class
Involving all your students in yearbook class can be a challenge. Often times, students are assigned to their own pages and focus primarily on finishing them. Engaging your yearbook students more gets work done faster and allows them to make valuable contributions....
The Secret to Organizing Your Yearbook Photos and Portraits
Yearbooks are our windows to the past and hold our favorite school memories. We also use yearbooks to look back and remember our fellow classmates, friends and past teachers. Because of this, class pages are important. We can look back at the young faces of our past...
5 Tips for Starting a Yearbook Club From Scratch
Congratulations, you're spearheading the yearbook club this year! You're probably wondering what to do next. Starting a yearbook club from scratch is no easy project, but the process is rewarding and exciting. Creating a yearbook is a team effort. So, what's the first...
3 Tips for Training New Yearbook Staff Members
Participating in a yearbook club can a great opportunity for all students to learn and professionally develop. Whether you're a first-year yearbook adviser or a seasoned veteran, you will likely work with students of many different skill and interest levels....
How to Choose a Yearbook Theme Your Students Love
Yearbook advisers want to make their yearbook unique and special to their school. After years of doing yearbook, how do you keep your design fresh? Do you choose what's trending? Do you collect advice from your students? As an Adviser, I've found a couple sure-fire...
How to Celebrate National Yearbook Week
Over 30 years ago, former President Ronald Reagan declared the first full week of October National Yearbook Week! This week celebrates decades of memories treasured in every yearbook, and the dedication and creativity put into creating them. For your yearbook team,...
6 Essentials to Make Your Yearbook Club Run Smoothly
Every yearbook adviser understands the challenges that come with running a club. Managing a team of busy students is no easy task! If you're starting to piece your yearbook club together, don't stress yet. Sticking to these six essentials will ensure your club runs...
5 Tips on Organizing a Yearbook Committee
You've probably heard the phrase "it takes a village to raise a child." The same holds true for organizing a yearbook! It is your school's pride and joy. The beginning of the school year is busy (or, crazy!), but it is the best time to assemble your team. It is a new...
Yearbook Themes to Steal for 2019-2020
Borrow and steal these four 2019-2020 yearbook themes. These yearbook themes are sure to make your students excited about getting the yearbook. With our pre-designed, ready-to-use themes, called Quick Creator, your school can use matching clip art, backgrounds and...
Creating a Yearbook Cover that Stands Out
The saying goes, don’t judge a book by it’s cover, but in most cases, we all do! The yearbook cover is no different. At my school, we have tried a few different types of covers and have always been happy with how it turns out. See some of my tips and tricks below. The...
The Ultimate Yearbook Dictionary
ADVISER | Although no two yearbook advisers handle the job in the exact same way, the adviser’s job is that of a teacher, leader, manager and coach. Effective advisers teach the staff the skills necessary to publish the yearbook and then empower the students to...
Planning Your Yearbook Signing Party
Yearbook signing parties can be both helpful and fun at the same time! A yearbook signing party is a great way to bring your school together and celebrate the end of the school year and get your yearbooks signed! Yearbook signing parties can make delivering yearbooks...
Create Unique Club and Event Pages For Your Yearbook
As the yearbook page designer, you may start to find yourself stuck in a rut and looking for different ways to showcase the clubs and events at your school. The first thing to consider is a special background for your club. School Annual has a variety of backgrounds...
Top 5 Factors To Consider When Choosing A Yearbook Company
If you are new to the world of yearbook shopping or are a veteran who is looking for a company that can meet your needs, this post is for you. The basic items to consider when shopping for a yearbook include: price, shipping costs, promotional materials, quality of...
Yearbook Proofreading Tips and Tricks
Are you getting ready to submit your yearbook pages for printing? You have worked tirelessly for the past few months to make sure it’s perfect with amazing pictures and graphics, but before you hit that SUBMIT button, STOP! Make sure you do a thorough proofreading of...
How to Hit Your Deadlines on the Head
You have just returned from your holiday break and lesson plans are on your mind. As you begin to prepare for your new semester, panic sets in. Not only do you have lessons plans to write but you have put your yearbook on the back burner and the clock is ticking! How...
Enhance Your Yearbook With Clip Art
How can you add a little “extra something” that will really make your yearbook POP? Look no further than Clip Art available through School Annual. There are so many clip art options to pick from, the possibilities are endless. Clip art can be used in a few different...
The Five Yearbook Social Media Tips You Need Implement
Most of us use social media for our personal lives, but it can also be used to promote and celebrate the yearbook. Whether you want to create a page for your yearbook program or piggy back off your school's page, implement the tips below to begin on your...
Graduating Class Yearbook Ideas
The last year in any school is a special one. The end of elementary is quite bittersweet as it's often the longest stretch of schooling in one school. There are ways to mark the last year as unique through some of the page topics or even an entire section...
Portraits on Pages in 1, 2, 3
Getting your portraits onto your yearbook pages doesn’t have to be intimidating! We make it super easy to take your school’s portraits and turn them into portrait page masterpieces. Don’t work with us for school portraits? No problem! We can take portraits from any...
What’s Inside – Yearbook Creation Kit
Check out what’s inside our 2018-2019 Yearbook Kit! Our School Annual Yearbook Creation Kit includes, four yearbook sales posters, two order forms, a teacher envelope, a portrait CD envelope, a yearbook cover art envelope, two take home postcards and a special...
Yearbook Photos: Collection and Organization
What’s a yearbook without pictures? Definitely not a yearbook! Getting pictures to use in your yearbook is the most important task you will have as a yearbook adviser, but can also be the most challenging. No need to worry, we’ve got you covered! Here are some tips to...
How to Write and Use Photo Captions
The yearbook is the best way to tell the story of the school year – but what happens when you run out of space to tell all the stories you want to? Elementary and middle school yearbooks often have space constraints that make it difficult to utilize “traditional”...
5 Yearbook Themes Everyone Will Love
DOODLE THEME The Doodle theme is perfect for schools who want a hand-drawn look. Doodle also goes well with notebook-themed yearbooks (think about doodles in a school notebook or on graph/lined paper). Pair it with a handwritten font and you're on your way! EMOJI...
Top Tips to Make Creating a Yearbook Easier
The beginning of the school year is upon us! That means it’s time for introductions, preparation and creativity. School Annual Online (SAO) makes creating, designing and executing an entire yearbook so easy! After creating yearbooks for multiple schools over the past...
Coverage Ideas for Elementary Schools
Pictures are what amazing yearbooks are made of! As yearbook adviser, making sure all the right pictures are captured is a main priority but can also be a bit of a stressor. With a student body of more than 900 students in 30 classrooms, I know I can’t be in all...
Top Yearbook Photo Tips & Framing Tricks
Photographs are the life blood of your yearbook. The better the photos are, the more likely students and parents will be to purchase your yearbook. PROFESSIONAL PHOTOS You’ll want to have your date selected for school photos and make sure the date coordinates...
Tips for Engaging Your Students with Yearbook
While you, the yearbook adviser, may not want club meetings to be exactly like school, they should still seek to find a balance. Students on a club staff still need to learn and practice specific skills. It can be tricky to retain members if the work becomes...
Color Palettes that Catch the Eye
Think about watching your favorite home renovation show. When they finally reveal the finished product, one of the most wow-worthy parts of the new space is often the color of the walls, floors, and kitchen cabinets. Have you ever wondered how those designers...
Plan And Run A Yearbook Cover Contest Like A Pro
Creating a cover for your yearbook is one of the most exciting steps in the whole yearbook process! The cover sets the tone of the book and will be the first thing everyone sees when they receive their much-anticipated yearbook at the end of the school year. A great...
Organization 101: How to Organize Your Yearbook World
One of your first projects will be organizing your upcoming yearbook. The toughest question is always where to start! Organization is the key to executing a great yearbook. If organization doesn’t come naturally to you, follow these tips and make sure to use your...
Ideas To Make Your Yearbook Theme Cool and Unique
Yearbooks are fun-filled reminders of the school year jam-packed with memories, treasured classmates, helpful teachers and staff. They should make you smile and look back on the fun times you had in school. Themes can elevate a yearbook to make it memorable and...