By: Ella Carney
Due to school closure, the process has changed from previous years in how the yearbook will be completed. Mr. Feehan, the advisor for the class, says that the yearbook will absolutely be done but it’s just hard to say if it will be on time.
The 2019-2020 Josten’s Yearbook will now be coming from Tennessee rather than driving across town to pick it up at the local printing press since the Visalia location has closed due to the virus.
In terms of distributing, Feehan would like to hold onto the yearbooks until the ban on public gatherings have been lifted, and distribute them in a way that lets all students still get together to enjoy and sign them. Even if that means getting the final product in August, during the first week of school or during orientation week.
This yearbook will definitely have a different look compared to years past simply because there isn’t as much content to be covered.
Spring sports have been canceled along with not being able to get pictures of other activities that usually go on during this time of year.
One thing that has definitely affected the yearbook staff is communication with one another. Instead of being able to have face to face meetings like usual, the class is using Remind and Google Classroom to communicate so exchanging information and talking to each other is slow.
“It’s hard to imagine what’s happening in people’s homes, what people’s mental health looks like right now, what parents’ expectations are, how much students are helping around the house versus sitting watching Netflix. This makes it really hard to work on the yearbook.”
– Mr. Feehan
One of the Senior Editors, Rikki Gonzalez, ’20, says that because of the lack of current content, “we have been reaching out to students via social media, (like RHS yearbook Instagram) to ask what students are doing during this quarantine as well as how they are feeling. All of these interactions are in the hopes of reviving content from students.”
Unfortunately, due to the temporary school closure and possibly for the rest of the school year, the traditional and long anticipated Log Night and Log Assembly dedicated to the Yearbook does not looklike it will happen this year.
“The ending to the year has been rough, and unfortunately, unforgettable, in the worst ways. But there were so many other wonderful moments this year, that could be overshadowed at this point by the pandemic, says Feehan. “I’m hoping the yearbook allows people to reflect on those great times themselves, to see this year not as ‘the year that got canceled’ but as the year that we won the Cowhide back, when Jada won Homecoming Queen, when Mr. Shin got slimed at an assembly, when a ton of sports won WYL and went deep into playoffs. There are so many other positive moments for Rangers of all kinds at our school that are represented in the yearbook, so I truly hope it is a bright point in a dark time for them… when they eventually get it.”