Students feel pressure as deadlines loom above their heads, as the 18-member yearbook staff awaits their second deadline of the year on Dec. 15.

“Before I joined yearbook I didn’t realize how much work it was,” Ellie Wilhelm, ’08, said. “We write the copy, take photos, write captions, organize design and layout.”

Each yearbook contains an average of 160 pages filled with events of the past year. Academics, sports and extra curricular activities provide memories that stay with students long after high school.

?Anyone can sign up for yearbook,? Wilhelm said. ?I wanted to be in yearbook because we produce a book that will be full of memories that you can look back on in many years.?

Despite strenuous work for two periods a day, senior yearbook editor, Kristen Amerine, spends extra time after school and at lunch to complete the yearlong project.

“I have two periods that I work on the yearbook daily,” Amerine said. “But I also find myself working during lunch and sometimes after school to compete assignments for deadlines.”

One of the three editors form last year’s staff, Brianne Raymer, ’06, encouraged Amerine to join so they could have a class together.

“Yearbook allowed Brianne and I to be in the same class,” Amerine said. “I loved everything about yearbook, the designs, layouts and writing captions.”

Amerine juggles academics, varsity soccer and president of California Scholarship Federation (CSF) as well as the lone editor of yearbook.

“Last year, the editors each had one of the four sections in a yearbook: people, academics, sports and student life,” Amerine said. “This year I have to check all the staff members’ pages along with organizing all sections.”

Yearbooks give lasting impressions and are seen many years after their first year. This knowledge drives sophomore Jason Herron to work much harder.

?I know my work will last a long time,? Herron said. ?It makes me work hard because it will be really important to many people.?

Each yearbook student gains experience with computers and incorporates their own creative ideas to make each edition unique.

?I hope that the students learn vocational skills that they could use as a graphic artist,? Molly Sargent, yearbook advisor, said. ?I also hope that they take pride in their work that will be seen by many for year?s to come.?

The strenuous work by the yearbook staff enjoys the complements of those who lay eyes on the finished project.

?I get a yearbook every year,? John Lynch, ?07, said. ?When I?m old and fat I can remember what I used to look like when I was in high school.?

Students interested in purchasing a yearbook can pay $70 to Amerine, Sargent or other staff members.