The Yearbook Club Commemorates Each School Year with a Beautiful Keepsake

For the 5th year in a row, PA Distance is offering hardcover yearbooks - free of charge - for those who want something physical to commemorate the 2020-2021 school year. Each year, the yearbook is formatted, designed, and organized by the PA Distance student-run Yearbook Club. The club, sponsored by Mrs. Katie Heiles and Mr. Jeff Korber, is held virtually every other Tuesday immediately following the end of the school day. Even though Mrs. Heiles and Mr. Korber assist and guide the Yearbook Club students in the process, the book and its contents are entirely produced by the students.

“It’s nice to see some of my students outside of class to work on something more creative,” Mr. Korber said, who also teaches math.

This year, Mrs. Heiles and Mr. Korber are excited to work with a great group of students to create this year’s yearbook. But before they begin each year, the yearbook club organizes a contest to choose the artwork for the cover of the yearbook. They collect submissions from their classmates, hold a school-wide vote, and choose a winning design based on the results. Since producing the first yearbook, the club has seen a variety of colorful designs from a broad range of student artists. This year, they hope to get just as many diverse submissions and are excited to see what the student body chooses.

All-in-all, the yearbook contains photos of staff members, K-12 students, senior spotlights, student interests, after-school clubs, and school events. Students submit their own photos and interest photos that they want to be included in the yearbook.

“I love seeing everyone’s photo submissions and their interests,” Mrs. Heiles said.

“Our largest part of the Yearbook is for Student Interest,” Mr. Korber said. “Our students submit photos of what they’re interested in and the extracurricular activities, inside and outside of PA Distance, that they do throughout the year.”

Each club member is assigned to their own section of the yearbook and Mrs. Katie Heiles and Mr. Jeff Korber guide them along the way.

Fawnia, a 12th-grader this year, is serving as the Senior Editor for the second year. In her role, she oversees the production of the yearbook and the other club members as they work on the contents and the design of each page.

“I’ve always loved taking photos and editing things and it's exciting that I can help make the yearbook that everyone will see,” she said. Fawnia often submits her own digital photographs into the yearbook and has won awards at her local county fairs for her photographic talent, too.

“It’s really important that the students take charge and make it into what they envision,” Mrs. Heiles explained. “Mr. Korber and I are here if they need help, but we are mostly hands-off.”

Once the yearbooks are ordered and delivered to the school, teachers, and staff are given the opportunity to write their well-wishes and farewell messages in the yearbooks of graduating seniors. Once they are all signed and the rest of them are labeled with each student’s name, the yearbooks are sent to each student in the mail.

“It’s a nice summary of the year that highlights the really cool stuff that our students have the opportunity to do throughout the year,” Mrs. Heiles.

The Yearbook Club is excited to announce that they are now accepting submissions for the 2020-2021 school year yearbook! The deadline for photo submissions is March 5th, 2021. Please reach out to one of the Yearbook Club sponsors, Mrs. Heiles or Mr. Korber for more information.