The yearbook staff has met during fifth period all year long to create the yearbook, a compilation of people and events from the school year. The yearbook takes several months to finish and a lot of tasks, such as interviewing and photography, are put into it.

Yearbook was on a deadline since the beginning of the year. They have to finish the spreads on time and submit them to the publishing company to put together the yearbook. According to yearbook editor-in-chief senior Creighton Schluter, “Literally my whole life this year has been about yearbook.”

“A ton of work is put into yearbook, more than people would expect,” yearbook photography editor senior Abby Wood said. “We stay after school a lot, a few times we’ve stayed here past 10:00 p.m. just for deadlines.”

The yearbook is usually finished around March or April, but there is still work to be done. According to Schluter, the staff still needs to prepare for distribution day.

“Right now we’re planning our distribution day,” Schluter said. “We’re coming up with the theme and we’re getting names together for people who bought books.”

There is a lot of work put into yearbook, but sometimes it pays off in the form of awards. Last year’s yearbook won the Columbia Scholastic Press Association Gold Crown award for high schools, the only yearbook in Klein to do so.

“It [the award] means the world to me and Madi, the past editor-in-chief,” Schluter said. “We worked so hard on the book and it’s just a great accomplishment to have had. Not a lot of people know about it.”

It’s not only awards that staffers and editors get out of yearbook. There are a lot of leadership skills to learn and friendships to make in yearbook, according to Wood.

“I learned how to lead my peers,” Wood said. “How to communicate with all different sorts of people and I learned a lot of time management. [You need to] stay on top of things and make sure you’re friends with everyone, because it’s a lot of work and having friends makes it not feel like work.”

And it’s not just the students who learn from yearbook. According to Ashley Nunn, the new yearbook advisor, she has learned a great deal from leading this year’s staff.

“They’re very hard working students, very talented with design, photography and interviews,” Nunn said. “I’ve really enjoyed the experience. I’ve felt that it’s been challenging and I’ve definitely made mistakes. However, I feel I’ve persevered and I’m ready for year two.”

The yearbooks will be distributed May 17 to all the students who previously ordered it. And if you have not bought your yearbook yet, there will be extras available on distribution day for $100, on a first come, first served basis.

“We encourage people to buy yearbooks as early as they can to get the best price,” Nunn said.