An entire school year comes together in the yearbook, 192 pages of memories in the lives of the Coal City High School student body.
Photo filled pages of soccer games and scholastic bowl meets, homecoming activities, dress up days, stage productions, Friday night football games and so much more. The face of every student printed on color pages that will live on for decades and one day become a reference of those who walked the halls of Coal City High School.
The yearbook is created by students for students and that is why advisor Amanda Malsky allows her students to have a large say in what goes into the book, as well as its design.
“I let them use their creativity and they are free to design the pages the way they want, it’s their yearbook,” said Mrs. Malsky, who has been advising the staff for 15 years.
One of the first decisions the student staff has to make is the theme and title and this year the book is a nod to the graduating class with its 24 Carat title. The book will feature a black cover, something that has only been done twice before during Mrs. Malsky’s tenure as advisor.
There are also a lot black backgrounds on pages and Mrs. Malsky said she really likes how it looks.
“I think it really brings out the colors in the pictures,” she said.
The staff working on the yearbook is comprised of students ranging from sophomores to seniors who register for the desktop publishing class. Enrollment is limited in the year-long course and there are always students waiting to take an open spot.
“I’ve had to turn people away because there are just not enough spots,” Mrs. Malsky said.
There is no limit to the number of years a student can enroll in the class, according to the instructor, who pointed out that senior Austin Davy has been in the course the last three years.
New to the yearbook staff is senior Wyatt Wickiser who signed on for a few different reasons.
“I was told it was fun and we would get to go around and sell ads, and Mrs. Malsky, she’s a good teacher,” Wyatt said. In his first year, Wyatt has taken on quite a few pages and said the one aspect of being a page designer is filling out the spaces on the page with just the right size photos.
Selecting the photos is what Addison Hodgen said is the most difficult part of putting a page together. She is always on the lookout for just the right images, and she aims to, “select ones that students will like the best.” Also in her first year, Hodgen has taken on several pages including band, color guard and softball.
Malsky provides students with the freedom to design pages that reflect their creativity and understanding of what their peers want to see in the yearbook. At the same time, she encourages them to get many people pictured in the yearbook so that it is a clear image of the entire school year and student body.
With the final days of the school year upon them, the yearbook staff is busy putting together the pages that document all the spring activities including prom, pages that are being designed by junior Kylee Kennell.
Senior Adaline Dowling has spent some time checking over her designs for the tennis and Madrigal pages, and fellow senior Ethan Scrogham just wrapped up his pages dedicated to the spring musical and the Drama Club trip to New York City.
The pages of the yearbook seek to provide students with an overview so it contains photo pages for each grade level, as well as sports and organization pages and special pages.
Scrogham, one of this year’s editors, recently entered his personal yearbook page in the Memory Makers Contest sponsored by yearbook publisher Treering. His design took first place and in addition to a $500 gift card he received additional custom yearbook pages.
“They loved his pages and were so impressed by how he chose to document his whole high school experience,” Malsky said, noting Ethan has done a phenomenal job this year.
Students in the course learn quite a bit about publishing, time management and meeting deadlines among them.
As Malsky notes every page needs to be finished by the last day of school. The last pages to be sent off to the publisher is the index that lists every individual pictured in the book and the pages their images appear on, a task that is completed by the advisor.
Once all of the pages have been submitted for printing, Malsky receives a proof book that she goes through and once that task has been completed the printing begins and the books arrive for distribution in August.
A large number of students purchase a book, the current cost for the hardcover book is under $60. Students who failed to order or need a replacement have the option to place an order at any time—a week after the books are delivered or five years later—through Treering.
The students are looking forward to seeing the finished product and sharing their work with their fellow students.