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MORE ON THE POD Jayna Rumble brings a fresh perspective to scholastic journalism. Hear more about her teaching style on our podcast, Mind the Gutter.
shaking hands with adviser Jayna Rumble, Troy High School junior Justin Hall graduates yerd scout camp.
“I wanted the new staffers to feel like they were special, even though they couldn’t join the editors yet,” she said. “I reframed it. I started thinking about merit badges, and it just went from there.” She made some paper sashes. And bought a button maker. Yerd scout camp came to life. “I had way too much fun making the buttons,” Rumble, a 2018 JEA Rising Star, said. “The first one is the ‘Talk Yerdy to Me’ button for learning yearbook lingo. There’s a ‘Copycat’ button for learning how to write copy and they do a basic photography unit to get the ‘Oh Snap’ button.” T H E N E W STA F F E R S W E R E E AG E R T O F I L L U P T H E I R SA SH E S W IT H FL A IR . “I noticed they were really excited this year. Every day we would start a lesson and someone would ask, ‘Oh, what button is up for grabs today?’ So, I would do a reveal.” Yeah. Teenagers. Excited about learning. But it wasn’t just about newbies. “I always let the editors influence the lessons as they decide priorities for the year. Anything else we can squeeze in is just a bonus,” she said.
“They observe the new staffers and decide who will be in which coverage groups. We assign groups and keep them a secret until graduation day.” T H AT ’ S R IG H T, T H E R E ’ S A G R A D U A T I O N C E R E M O N Y. A N D IT ’S NO JOK E . “Before graduation, my editors-inchief planned a scavenger hunt to reveal who was in which coverage group. They had to figure out a riddle and go to a location in the school where they were met by their new groups,” she said. “For the ceremony, we played ‘Pomp and Circumstance,’ and I stood at the front of the room while the editors announced the staffers’ names. They walked across the front of the classroom and shook all of our hands. I had them move their sashes from one shoulder to the other.” Along with relaying essentials and bringing the staf f together, this process helped Rumble identif y strong future yearbookers. “I have a student who got really into it. I made the sashes out of paper, but he made his own out of fabric. He’s the ‘extra’ kind of yearbooker. That was the first interaction I had with Justin Hall when I thought, ‘Oh, this might be his thing. He might be really into yearbook.’ And sure enough, he’s taken off. He brought in four times as much ad money as anyone else.” What’s the best part about yearbook scouting? It only took three weeks of the school year, and the new staffers were ready to join their editors by homecoming. And, Rumble plans to just keep making it even better. “My mother-in-law taught me to sew this year, so I’m actually going to make real sashes. I’m so excited.”
Senior helps classmates receive free yearbooks
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aced with a senior project and yearbook, Kaitlyn Crowder, staffer and business manager at Towns County High School in Georgia, let her passion for preserving memories inspire a fundraiser. “I wanted to make a difference, instead of just getting a passing grade,” she said. Crowder knew she had to involve the whole community to make the greatest impact. So, she used those biz manager skills to plan and promote a garage sale fundraiser. Adviser Rachel Surles said Crowder spent a lot of time marketing the sale of donated items. “She put donation boxes out. She was on a local radio show, had the chamber and newspaper advertise, and got tons of donations,” Surles said. When the community found out they were raising money for seniors who could not afford books, some jumped at the occasion to give. “We had a few people who bought $10 worth of stuff,” Surles said, “And then they’d ask, ‘Well, how much is a book?’ We’d tell them, ‘Around $50’ and they would just give us a $50 check.” Some customers came from afar, like a visiting couple who buys goods for a mission school. Crowder said, “It was cool to see how I was doing something good with this, and other people were doing good in their own ways.” At the end of the day, Crowder had more than enough for 28 students to receive free books. But it’s not surprising a yearbooker went beyond the call of duty. “Being business manager helped her with the soft skills of the business world,” Surles said. “It has helped her understand that raising money just to raise money is not what it’s all about. You can use money as a means to bring the community together.” As Crowder heads down the business pathway after graduation, she credits a happy accident for helping her decide what to do next. “The school kind of just signed me up for yearbook,” Crowder said, “But it was one of the best mistakes that’s ever happened to me.”
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