Yearbook
Mr. Rodriguez
Course Objective: Our goal is to create a book that effectively captures a representation
of the 2008-2009 school year—while demonstrating excellence in
spelling, grammar, creativity, and visual presentation. This can only be
accomplished with hard work and the desire to create a better product than
the previous year. A successful yearbook requires a cohesive team, the
knowledge required to design an excellent book, the selling of business
and personal ads and the selling of the book. All of those elements will be
required of all students in the class.
Grading Elements: Major grades will be comprised of the layouts created for deadlines
(50 %), business ad sells (15 %) and misc. points (35%) that will contain
required elements including the design portfolio, pass design project,
theme projects, quotes of the week, etc.
Every student should earn an A in yearbook, as I am hoping that you
joined because you want to make a product that you are proud to distribute
to 1100 students. Unfortunately, I many students will not earn A’s as they
will procrastinate, turn in poor work, waste class time and not put the
same effort into this class as they do others. Use class time wisely and
actively pursue making a perfect page; this will create a yearbook that we
can be proud of and get you the grade that you desire.
Late layouts will earn a grade of a D, as late layouts will cost the program
money and push back our delivery date. Layouts that result in another
student finishing the page (not editing but actually writing stories, taking
photos, etc.) will result in an F. It is OK to have others help you by taking
photos prior to your deadline; however, it is unacceptable to turn in poor
work that causes someone else to have to finish it.
*Most students think that this class is an easy A. This is not the case;
this class requires time after school for shooting pictures, finishing
layouts, selling business ads, copy every other week, etc. In addition,
students from previous years have also had workdays on some Saturdays
due to their inability to get their work done on time.
In addition to your layouts, you will need to keep a three-ring binder that
has assigned material in it. Every student must have a three-ring
binder that is used only for this class. This binder will contain materials
that will help train students in creating a successful yearbook. The
notebook will be kept in class and will not be able to be used for other
classes, as all of your notes for your pages need to be in them.
The final element of your grade will be the selling of business ads. In
order to make money so the yearbook can continue to function, the
students in the yearbook class will need to sell business ads to businesses
in the community. The following is a grade breakdown for business ads:
A= 7/8-1 full page of business ads
B= ½-3/4 page of business ads
C= ¼-3/8page of business ads
D=1/8 page of business ads
F= No business ads sold
Business ads can be sold to any business, including family owned
businesses, dentists, doctors, fast-food companies, etc. Business ads are
not the same as Senior ads.
If you are in this class, this class must be your first priority. Your work
affects the entire school, and laziness will not be tolerated. If you have
other commitments that you cannot work around—work, clubs,
sports, etc.—you need to commit to this class or drop it. There are no
excuses that are accepted.
Late Work Policy: Due to the nature of the course, any layout that is late will earn no
higher than a “D” on a deadline. Layouts are assigned far in advance, so
no excuses will be accepted. Again, even a mind-blowing layout that is
late will receive a grade no higher than a “D”. Any final deadline
layouts that are late and a different student has to finish it will receive
an “F”. Every final deadline layout that is late costs the school money
and wastes potential advancement for the yearbook product.
School Passes: The class will have passes that allow students access to the school during
class time. A student must sign out on the sign-out sheet before leaving
the classroom. No student is allowed outside of the classroom without a
pass. Due to the amount of noise that students make in groups, students
are not to go in groups to get tasks done. The opportunity to use passes
and do work around the school is a privilege and must not be abused; any
students unable to follow these directions will have the privilege removed.
In addition to classroom passes, we will also have access to passes that
allow us to get into school events for free. These passes are for yearbook
use only. Do not take them to avoid paying a fee. These passes must be
signed out on a sign-out sheet before use. Any student that abuses this
pass will be sent to the office and dropped from the course.
Cheating and Plagiarism: Copying other student’s assignments, newspaper articles,
magazine articles, Internet articles, etc. without giving credit is known as
plagiarism. Plagiarism and cheating is not tolerated. If caught, a student
will receive a zero, their parents will be notified, administrators will be
consulted, and the student might be dropped from the course. In
yearbook, plagiarism infractions cause legal problems for the school and
will not be tolerated.
Attendance: Due to the nature of the course, students need to always attend class. No
layout can leave the classroom, which means that all work must be
completed in the class. Students with excessive absences will be
dropped from the course. No excuses are accepted.
Class Dedication: As already stated, the yearbook requires that this class be your number
one priority. You need to be in class and working every day of the school
year. I understand that emergencies occur, and there are ways to finish
work early to ensure that layouts will never be late.
In addition, yearbook is a year commitment. You will not be allowed to
drop the course during the duration of the year—this includes the
semester. Every student is responsible for specific pages and it is
unfair to leave unfinished work to others. Our deadlines force the class to
be structured in a way that does not fit with the semester schedule.
Dropping at the end of the semester would hurt the book just as much as
dropping during the semester.
Computer Use: Students are to only use computers to work on pages for the yearbook.
Do not use instant messaging, check e-mails or go online for non-
yearbook related business. These things slow down production and make
our computers more susceptible to viruses and spy ware. We have eleven
computers and the loss of one would be disastrous. Those that do not
comply with this will be warned and then, if the student continues to
misuse the computer, be dropped from the course.
Teacher Availability: I am available before school, lunch, sixth period, and after school.
Please let me know in advance if you need to meet so the proper
arrangements can be made. The phone number for the classroom is
562)266-2130. I do not answer my phone during class while I am
teaching. I will check my messages daily though. If it is more
convenient, my e-mail address is rodriguezteach@hotmail.com
Teacher Role: I am an adviser for this class. The yearbook will be created by the
students. Questions need to be directed mostly to editors, as
they are the ones that will be in charge of the creative process. My job is
to hold students accountable to deadlines and create a productive
classroom environment through organization, communication and
management.
Use of Supplies
This class requires the use of cameras, computers, scanners, etc., all of
which are provided in the class. Students need to take care of the
equipment, as they will be responsible for replacing the items if they
damage them. The cameras have a price tag of one thousand dollars, so it
is important for students to take care of them. Again, students will be
billed if they lose or break cameras. This being the case, students are
welcome to use their own digital cameras, although the cameras will need
to be high quality cameras in order to maintain the level of excellence
needed for print.
I am looking forward to creating a memorable book with this class. I must emphasize
again—this class is not an easy “A”. It will require a lot of work in and out of class.
This class needs to be your number one priority. If it is not, you should not be in here.
Put this class into perspective; students will save our product and show it to themselves,
their families, etc. as one of the only visual, tangible reminders of what it was like in high
school, the year 08-09. The honor and responsibility of creating this book is not one that
should be taken lightly; it is one that all students need to put their heart and soul into. I
look forward to the continuance of a new excellence for the Sonora Yearbook.
Student and Parent Signatures
This verifies that I have read and understood the above information as it was explained in
the handout and discussed in class.
Student Name _________________________________________ Date ____________
(please print)
Student Signature _______________________________________________________
This verifies that I have read and discussed the above information with my son or
daughter.
Student Name___________________________________
Parent/Guardian Name _________________________________
Date ________________
Parent/Guardian Signature
________________________________________________
Telephone Number ________________________ Email ________________________