MSMS offers its students some wild times, times that many students agree should be put in the records, especially to look back upon and reminisce the MSMS days.

“I would love to have a yearbook. I even brought up the issue at the student concerns meeting,” said senior Liz Lanford. In response, MSMS Executive Assistance Amber Moore conducted an online survey asking the senior class their opinions on the importance of a yearbook. Ninety out of 117 seniors responded, and 81.1% of those responses indicated that the yearbook is “very important to me.”

Normally, the Student Government Association (SGA) Historian is in charge of coordinating the creation of a yearbook. Last year, there was a yearbook club. However, according to Public Relations Coordinator Wade Leonard, it has been a few years since the school produced its own official paper yearbook. For a few years, parents created yearbooks independently or the school made DVD yearbooks. Because of results of the recent survey, Leonard organized a yearbook interest meeting to take place Nov. 10 at 4:15 in the W Room. Leonard has found a service at treering.com that he believes, with enough student participation, will serve the students well in making a yearbook at no cost to the school. In fact, Leonard has already contacted TreeRing and “secured an account for the school in anticipation that we will move forward.”

While student volunteers would work together with Leonard to organize and design the basic design of the yearbook, the rest of the student population can have their own personal input. For the 2.2% or more who believe the yearbook isn’t that important or that it will take up too much time, consider these 5 perks to using TreeRing:

• TreeRing allows for “crowd sourcing and limited personalization of content,” (Leonard) meaning YOU get to personalize your own pages in your yearbook.
• You can take your own photographs and, with a smartphone, upload pictures directly to the yearbook through the TreeRing app.
• TreeRing, unlike other publishers, does not require fees or commitment to minimum orders for yearbooks. It’s completely free for the school!
• Each student can order books from TreeRing and have them shipped anywhere. In addition, ordering a yearbook would provide money to MSMS.
• TreeRing prints on recycled paper. Plus, for every yearbook sold, TreeRing plants a tree!

Overall, TreeRing would streamline the yearbook process and significantly reduce costs; however, if the class is to have a yearbook this year, Leonard stated, “I need to see that your commitment to having a yearbook is more than clicking a button on a survey.

“I am happy to facilitate and do much of the grunt work, but I cannot feasibly do it on my own. The reason I’m willing to help is because as an MSMS graduate, I understand the desire to have a physical artifact that is a tribute to your particular class and you guys’ particular experience,” said Mr. Leonard.

If this year’s class wants to go down in the books, the students will have to collaborate to make it happen, and with the help of TreeRing and Mr. Wade, they can.