Creating a yearbook is no easy task, especially when trying to live up to the standard that past Saint Stephen’s yearbooks have created. Seniors and co-editors Gabrielle Woodruff and Hannah Howell realized this and set out to create a one-of-a-kind yearbook that would portray Saint Stephen’s individuality as a school community.

Their first step towards making this happen was attending the annual YearbookPalooza event held in Orlando July 9-11.

Yearbook teacher Mrs. Brittany Gerren said she had attended the conference last year by herself, but with new editors, saw this year as an opportunity to gain new ideas and refine their writing and design skills.

“Mr. [Jamie] Moore and I and four girls attended. We learned a lot about the software we use in class, eDesign. There were classes on journalism and how to ask the right questions, and just general design classes,” she said.

Howell added that having the ability to work on the theme over the summer gave the staff an advantage for the school year.

“It just got us thinking about our theme and ideas so much earlier. We really got the ball rolling quickly, and we had a lot more time to come up with different elements of the theme,” she said.

Even though Saint Stephen’s did not have as many staff members represented compared to other schools in attendance, these girls did not let this hold them back. They used their hard work and creativity to win the theme contest, which was held across all five days of the conference.

“This conference doubled as a five-day contest of which group had the best ideas and who has the best spreads. We ended up winning the contest, which was surprising,” Howell said.

Gerren explained that this surprise was in part because of how few people came to the conference.

“We were really surprised because we were pretty much the only group that had half of their staff present. [However] we got a lot done in the time we were there,” she said.

Howell said having a small staff present at the conference truly prepared Howell and Woodruff for working with their small staff this year.

“There is a lot more communication, and work is being done more efficiently than in years past. We are putting a lot more emphasis on real reporting, and we’re trying to get [staffers] to take more accountability for their pages,” she said.

Woodruff agreed, saying, “Hannah and I are very well organized and like to stay on top of things. YearbookPalooza allowed us to get ahead, which was an extra boost as well.”

The main goal of the staffers who attended the conference over the summer was to create a theme that really meshes well with the Saint Stephen’s community and sets the school apart.

Gerren said, “The theme will fit in very well with our school community. It is individual to the school and it’s not something any other yearbook could use. The design is a little bit more trendy in terms of color palette, and we’re getting a lot of inspiration from magazines this year.”

Woodruff added that while the theme cannot be revealed yet, the staff believes that it is sure to be a hit with the school community.

“It’s such an awesome theme because of how it weaves into the Saint Stephen’s community. [It] is truly a reflection of our students,” she said.