OHS offers numerous electives that cover a variety of student interests, ranging from technical courses to fine arts. Among the elective options are a couple of classes that revolve around journalism and communications.

Some courses that fall under the journalism umbrella include, but are not limited to: Media Productions, Newspaper, and Yearbook. Yearbook, in particular, focuses on photography and crafting the book that students wait all year for, and is primarily student-run.

“It is student-led and student-driven: the theme, the design, everything is. [The yearbook] is a student creation and a student product. I’m just there to bounce ideas, guide, and keep everyone on time,” said Kelly Simon, yearbook advisor and ELA teacher. 

The students in Yearbook do a lot during their class, and the content they cover varies depending on what they are assigned, their own personal strengths, and their position.

“I normally start out by walking around and seeing how everyone else is doing…seeing if they need help with anything. Then, I start on the work that I have to do on my own, and I go through all the other student life pages,” said Brooks Link, senior and student life editor. 

The editor-in-chief of Yearbook takes on the majority of the outside-of-school responsibilities and spends her time in class helping others and leading the team. 

“I’m not assigned spreads, so I’m typically there to help everybody out. I delegate a lot of tasks and assign what needs to be done,” said Madison Ferrara, senior and editor-in-chief. “For me, most of my work is done outside of school. I spend a lot of hours outside of the class period…editing the final spreads before everything gets submitted.” 

Most of the staff, however, primarily work on their spreads during their class time; they work collaboratively with other members to make sure that everything ends up the way they envisioned it. 

“We usually work on our assigned spread, we do a lot of interviews, and we pick out…what’s best to represent the goal we have for the message we want to get across for our spread,” said Kaia Stevensen, junior. “There are some things that we have to do outside of class; it’s a commitment.”

Because the members of the staff work closely with one another, they eventually become very comfortable with each other. 

“Having such a small class really helps you grow relationships with every single one of them. I really appreciate that because [the staff] come from different grades, so it’s people that you usually wouldn’t interact with,” said Megan Neese, junior. 

The Yearbook staff tries their best to get to know each other right off the bat, and a lot of the members think it is crucial to be a close team. 

“At the beginning of the year, we did a bunch of icebreakers and stuff like that to get to know each other. Then, we went down to the computer lab and everyone just started talking and working with each other,” Link said. 

One stressful aspect of Yearbook is the strict deadlines, but due to the close-knit community, the staff is able to overcome that bit of anxiety. 

“We have four deadlines, and it’s based on how many pages we have in the book. It’s split evenly, so this year our first deadline…we have to have the first 80 pages of the book 100 percent completed,” Ferrara said. “During the deadline season, it’s really stressful, but besides that, we all have a lot of fun together.”

Due to a successful previous school year, the staff members have decided to advertise differently so that the students can gain more anticipation for the final book. Planning for the yearbook starts very early, during the summer, so the staff members are thrilled to see their vision come to life in its final form. 

“We’re teasing a little more. The only thing we’ll keep secret is the cover; it’s always kind of this big reveal. But other stuff, we’re kind of okay with teasing or putting out little things, and it gets people more excited about the yearbook,” Simon said. “We’re always done in March and then we have to wait…when we get the books delivered, it’s like Christmas day, you know, opening a present kind of thing.”

Throughout the year, students in Yearbook are able to adapt to the new, fast-paced environment and go outside of their comfort zones. 

“[My favorite thing is] watching students [in Yearbook] go from someone who’s very…reserved, who doesn’t want to talk to anybody or go to anything, and then by the end of the year, they just have this [new] confidence. Now they go to interview people, and they’ve loved all the events that they’ve gone to. Watching that growth, that’s what I love,” Simon said. 

For those who are interested in joining Yearbook in upcoming years, the staff encourages them to do so, but to be cautious about their choice. 

“Join the class, but don’t expect it to be an easy A. A lot of people join for that, but there are deadlines and things that you have to do, responsibilities outside of school that you have to go to. If you have the interest, though, then go for it,” Link said.