DCS Montessori sixth graders publish school yearbook
DCS Montessori sixth graders Erin Z. (left) and Kira S. (right) are up to the challenge of creating the school’s yearbook.
by Tracy Dudley
Dedication is the word. When DCS Montessori decided to publish its school yearbook in-house this year, 22 sixth graders stepped up to the plate. Once the students had the photos and software from Lifetouch, the planning ensued.
“There was a lot of planning that took place before we even started,” said Erin Zellers, a sixth grade student. We had to plan and order the classrooms, then decide which specials and events went on each page. We had to do our best to include everyone. That was the most difficult challenge,” she said.
After conquering the formalities of planning and ensuring equal coverage to all classes and students, the yearbook team started having a ball with the basics of layout, design and photography. In addition, the kids learned to use an online design interface and ventured into their first experiences with desktop publishing.
“Once the planning was done, then the fun really began,” said technology instructor and yearbook advisor, Maria Hannigan. “Students were broken down into teams and each team was assigned individual pages.”
The whole process was an amazing challenge for the students, who met twice weekly to work on the yearbook. In addition, some students came into the technology lab during recess; while others stayed late after school to make sure they met their deadline for completion of the sixty full-color page yearbook.
“If we miss our deadline, that means we don’t have our yearbooks by the end of the school year. We don’t want that,” said Kira Steinke, a sixth grade student at the school.
“I am very proud of the work and dedication the sixth graders have shown over the past several months,” said Hannigan. “It was a lot of work for all of us, and I know the relevant life experience will help all of them in their future endeavors.”
The 2009 to 2010 school yearbook is scheduled to arrive from the production factory by the end of April. For more information about DCS Montessori, visit www.dcsmontessori.org.
