Surviving the First Week / Month

For both new advisers or seasoned veterans, the first day of school probably looks a little like this: meet new students, assign seats, review the syllabus, discuss classroom rules, check materials required for the class, share your expectations AND do an icebreaker to get to know everyone. Phew, we’re exhausted and the real work hasn’t even begun, yet. How will you ever survive the rest of the week, let alone a full year? Not to worry, we’ve got you covered.

TEAM BUILDING: Use a combination of short start-of-class activities with others that require more time to fully involve all staffers. Building group rapport at the start of the year will undoubtedly pay big dividends at stressful times later in the year.
DEVELOP THEME/CONCEPT: Either begin the process of brainstorming theme ideas or present and develop ideas started at summer workshops.
LADDER BUILDING: While putting the yearbook ladder together will most likely be the responsibility of editors, be sure to include all staffers in the brainstorming process to help expand coverage where needed, or curtail coverage that has been overextended in previous years.
BUDGET REVIEW: Money matters are an integral part of the yearbook experience for students and everyone on staff should have a clear understanding of how much it costs to run the yearbook program and how funds are generated.
BOOK SALES PROMOTION: Be sure students and parents know when they may buy the yearbook, along with where and how much. Whether book sales duties are led by the yearbook business manager and a small committee of staffers or the entire staff, be sure promotions are clear and frequent.
AD SALES CAMPAIGN: To help keep yearbook prices as low as possible to students and to help add enhancements to the publication, money from ad sales may be an essential part of the overall income. Thorough planning and early execution could mean that the editors and staff know how much they can spend on the book early in the year.
TRAINING SCHEDULE: Establish plans to train new staffers and refresh scholastic journalism concepts with returning staffers.
TECHNOLOGY CHECK-UP: Be sure all computers are in working order with required software and fonts installed. Schedule any required installations with school site or school district IT personnel. Also, be sure all cameras are in working order and ready for checking out to students for photo coverage of special events and day-to-day activities.
GATHER SCHOOL LISTS: Student enrollment names and schedules will be useful for name checking and also with locating students for interviews or other communication.
REFLECTIVE OF THE SCHOOL: Don’t forget to get activities calendars and sports schedules to help map out complete coverage for the year. School and district calendars can also help plan around school holidays and any special events.