Putting together the school yearbook may sound like a daunting task but it reality it need not be. All that is required is proper planning and some creatively to make the yearbook fun. A yearbook is basically a collection of found memories something people can flip through even years later and remember their school days which will bring a smile to their face. The first thing you need to do for putting together the yearbook is to volunteer for it. This may be the most difficult task actually and will require some courage and confidence. Don’t be afraid that you won’t be able to do a good job at it and may get critiqued for it, because you should always remember that people who critic you are only doing so because they themselves are frustrated by their own inadequacies. Once you are made the official yearbook maker, and you get started on the road to make a yearbook things will be easier.

The next thing you need to do is get yourself a good digital camera. I would recommend a Sony Powershot camera with a minimum resolution of 12 megapixels. This is essential because you want the quality of pictures in your yearbook to be great. Yearbook is mostly about pictures, as they say a picture equals a thousand words, in this case a thousand memories. Your job will be appreciated or criticized mainly because of the quality of pictures you put together in your yearbook. Also remember to get a small sized camera because you want to carry it with you at all times. You never know when you get the perfect picture for the yearbook. It may be that guy who just got bullied and is red in the face or that gal who just got her first date and is all blushing. All these pictures will make a great yearbook and something you and your classmates will always cherish. Just note some people may get offended if you take the wrong picture, so always be accommodating to delete the picture if the person didn’t want it taken. You don’t want the person to hold that grudge against you for the rest of their lives. Also take help from other classmates for putting it together. Several classmates will be very willing to help you with their time and creativity.

Putting together the school yearbook can be the most fun challenge you have indulged in till today. Also don’t forget to put your pictures in the yearbook otherwise people who forget who you were and what a great service you did to them by taking up this challenge.

By,

Abhay Taneja.

Wouldn’t it be nice to have a custom yearbook that was dedicated to you and your memories? Imagine telling your story your way. Your book could showcase you from birth to high school. It could have personal pictures of your friends, family, pets, and special moments. Creating this custom photo yearbook would truly make your yearbook more personal and special because it would come from you. It would be a reflection of your life as you embark on a new journey after high school graduation!

To create your photo book, gather all of your photos you want to include in your book. Make sure your photos are in a digital format. If not, scan them to a digital format. Once digitized, you can go online and pick from a vast number of vendors who have templates for your yearbook. Once you add your photos to the template, you can have the book shipped directly to you!

Once you create your photo book, you could create copies for your family. This gift would be one that would be cherished for years because of the thought and effort you put in it.

You could use this personalized photo book as reminder of the people and moments who made you who you are today. When you go off to college, you could use this book as a reminder of your past friendships and experiences as you learn and grow into the person you were meant to be!

-Wana Miller

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A high school that has a very organized and well funded alumni association is going to be the one that would be most likely to have a phone number that you can get. The problem is that most will not give out any personal information like a phone number or address without permission from that person. Some will give alumni associations that permission to do so, but that does not happen a lot. In many cases, they will take your information and then send it to the other person so they can contact you if they wish.

You may want to try a few other options if you can not get what you need through your high school alumni association. The Internet can be a great tool in that regard, and can give you what you need. Search the person by name in all of the places you can think of, and don’t forget to include social and professional networks. Those can be great places to reach someone, even if you can’t get a phone number that way.

Probably the best place to find this type of information on an old classmate is to find them on a site like Reunion.com or Classmates.com. These are made for connecting with old school friends, so they can be the most powerful tools you can use. If you can’t find someone there, post a query about them on the message boards. Someone else may have a number or an email address that you can use to contact your buddy.

If you find what appears to be a phone number for your old friend through any of the above sources, but you want to be sure it is current, you can use a reverse phone lookup to see if it is indeed a match. This type of phone number search can get information on all types of numbers, even mobile ones that are very hard to find and identify.

-Susan Mona

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Many colleges and universities provide vital resources to alumni who are in the market for job advice. If you think these services are limited to those who have just been awarded diplomas, think again. You don’t necessarily have to be a recent graduate to seek help from your alma mater.

I’ll begin this post with a disclaimer: some schools provide more services than others. And some provide excellent services to graduates of their professional schools, while offering little support to those who came out of other fields. Worst case, you may find that your alma mater doesn’t offer much for you. Best case, though - and the reason it’s worth your while to explore this option - it may be quite useful.

You may be eligible for free alumni career coaching or counseling, which could include services like resume preparation, individual assessment, help targeting potential employers and guidance regarding salary negotiations. Some schools schedule networking events during the course of the year - again, not limited to any particular age group. Some have culled short lists of vetted executive recruiting firms to which they refer alumni. Some offer mentoring programs. You get the idea. It’s worth a call to your alumni association to see what might be available.

Even if your school doesn’t provide any of these types of services, there’s a very good chance that there are various electronic resources, including alumni networking opportunities, available and waiting for you to take advantage of them.

Go to your university’s main website and look for the alumni section. You might find things like a “University Career Center,” perhaps some type of alumni community (this can be a great networking resource), or even opportunities for electronic online learning in order to continue to develop your skills.

Many schools also offer alumni yellow pages and job blogs as well.

And if you have a profile on a professional networking site such as LinkedIn, go to the “groups” tab and enter the name of your college or university. There’s a good chance you’ll at least one, if not more, networking group listed. Some of these are more robust than others, but you can check to see how many members belong before you join.

You’re really never too old to go back to your alma mater for support. Call or click to see how they can be of assistance.

-Rebecca Metschke

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Most colleges and universities still use underclassman to make live outbound calls. There is nothing wrong with that strategy, and in fact, it has been proven to be a very effective way to conduct fundraising drives.

However, using live bodies to make calls is expensive, time consuming and not good for every application. For example, a fund raising campaign is one thing, but to use the same effort and expensive to announce a regional party is another. You would not want to spend a few days making several thousand calls to a region of the country, when the same thing could be accomplished in less than 15 minutes by sending a pre-recorded message over the phone.

If you have a project that entails sending out event notices to alumni, or to get other non-fundraising information out, your best bet is retain the services of a phone broadcasting, or voice blast, company that can get the notices out fast.

The process only takes a few minutes. Once you establish an account, usually at no cost, you only have to do two things. First, you email your phone list to the service bureau in an acceptable format (Excel is fine) and then you record your announcement over the phone. Tell the phone broadcasting service when you want your message to go out — and presto, it’s done in a flash.

Your pre-recorded announcements can be left on answering machines and/or delivered to live pick ups. That way, you cover all your bases and achieve the highest penetration rate, usually about 85% of your entire phone list.

Depending on how often you send messages to alumni, you may also want to consider getting a do-it-yourself account set up that enables you to upload your own lists and do your own recordings. You get a user name and password, and can log in anytime you want to launch a job. The big advantage to having web access is that you can send a job at anytime, from anywhere — even from home.
However, for security purposes you might want to make sure you have the system set to get a compliance officer approval before anything is sent.

Many colleges and universities have found that phone broadcasting is a very powerful tool in getting important information and announcements out to alumni. It’s very fast, very convenient and a much less expensive way to send announcements — a fraction of what it costs to send a post card. With some creativity, you can also boost attendance to events by offering special “voice coupons” in your announcement — special codes that folks can use to get discounted tickets to athletic events or other occasions.

-Lee Simonson

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1. When negotiating rates for anything, refer to the class reunion as a reception. If the vendor hears class reunion they automatically mark things up more.

2. Find a point of leverage for every vendor. Maybe it is the time of year, week, day when they are less busy and more prone to giving a discount.

3. Offer to promote the vendor’s business in all communication with invitees in exchange for a small discount.

4. Email a few vendors at once and request a bid. By letting them see that there are others bidding, they will give you their best rate. Then send them back an email saying they are not the lowest bidder. They may go even further to get your business, by lowering the price or adding value to their offer.

5. Have a friend act as the DJ or photographer. This will save you a lot of money and there usually is not a huge difference in the quality of a layman or a professional.

6. Put disposable cameras on all the tables and ask everyone to take pictures of each other.

7. Check references before hiring any vendors and read the fine print of the contract.

Bonus Tip:

To make your job of planning your class reunion easier, create a website that will act as a communications hub for the reunion. A high school reunion website will get the word out, create a buzz and make it easy to communicate all the important reunion details to all your classmates. You will also be able to collect money and gather everyone’s information with an easy to build class reunion website that anyone can build with no skills whatsoever.

-Robert Hirscheimer

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Hotel/Party Room Deposits
Most hotels or event facilities will demand at least a $500 to $1,000 non refundable deposit well in advance of the reunion, to reserve your party room. You will need to break down the cost per person, based on the number of attendees and the establishment will charge you accordingly. If you have too few paying classmates show up, then you may have to pay for the others that did not show–out of your pocket!

Caterer
If you pan on using a caterer, they will want a deposit upfront as well.

Photographer
Photographers will probably want some sort of monetary guarantee should few people purchase their pictures at the event.

Entertainment
If you hire a band or disc jockey, you probably will have to pay them a deposit of between 20% to 50% well in advance of the reunion. As a side note, remember that not everyone likes the same type of music. A DJ might work better, as they can play requests based on a variety of musical tastes.

Printing
Invitations, reminders, envelopes, reunion memory books, flyers, placemats, name tags, etc.

Mailings
The cost here is for postage and mailing supplies when you send out information to your classmates.

Other potential costs
Decorations, T-shirts, door prizes, and awards. You need to set aside some dollars for this as well.

With a little foresight, advanced planning and promotion, your chances of dipping into your bank account will be limited, allowing you to breathe a little easier!

-Doug Woods

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* You’re broke
* There are tons of cute new guys and gals around
* You’d love to show some of them a good time
* You’re broke

Don’t let a lack of funds ruin your chance for romance on campus. Dating doesn’t have to be expensive, and your new school is dishing out dollars for ‘orientation’ that could help support your love life too. Take advantage of some back-to-school specials and find out what your student union is up to. Check out these cheap, fun date ideas and get out there and mingle!

1. Do a ‘Free Stuff’ scavenger hunt - Attend a Club Day Rally or Student Union Fair with your date, but have a list of ’stuff’ to gather before hand: 4 pencils, 6 pens, a lanyard, 4 blue pamphlets, and 2 fridge magnets, say. Roam the event together, and compete to see who can gather all of the items first from the generous booth attendants. The loser has to buy the winner lunch.
2. Go Barbeque Crazy - I bet there are tons of student-run barbeque events happening all over campus in the first week of classes. Go! You can get quick eats for two either for free or under $5. Mingle with the other moochers and enjoy a coffee together for dessert.
3. Find your classes together - you should be doing it anyways, why not team up for twice the fun? You find his, he’ll find yours - all the more fun if you attend classes on opposite sides of the campus!
4. Explore your campus dining options - Check out those hidden little gems: The engineering building Cafe, the Agriculture Department Deli, the book store coffee shop, or what ever other swanky places your school has tucked away. Have a cheap four-course meal by having a little snack in each and making an adventure out of it.
5. Double Date Potluck - Get four of you together, everybody brings something to your dorm, and you have a fun date idea that lets your date meet some of your friend.
6. Jogging Adventure - Are you and your date active people? Chances are your campus has many jogging/multi-use trails that will take you past plenty of conversation starters, for when you stop to catch your breath!
7. Cheap Movies — Many colleges have a discount movie theatre with admission only for students. Tickets are usually between $2-$5. Check out some movies just past their due-date, some cool foreign flicks, and award-winning indy films on the cheap.
8. Have a ‘Stuff from Home’ Show and Tell - A little corny for the first date, but a great idea to get to know your date better. Yearbooks, pictures, trophies, teddy bears, ballet slippers - anything is game!

There you go! Give some of these a think, and brainstorm some other fun date ideas that won’t cost you a fortune. Save the student loan for your textbooks!

-Chad Kroeger

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Even if you aren’t new to scrapbooking, there are times when a mini scrapbook is just more appropriate than a large one.

Start Small and KISS

A mini scrapbook allows you to start small and “keep-it-simple-sweetie” (KISS). You needn’t spend as much time on a mini scrapbook, since a small page will hold much less. The KISS point is that, being small, a mini scrapbook will look cluttered if you get too many items on a page.

An album as small as 6” x 6” can be used for a mini scrapbook. The pages are large enough to hold a photo up to the standard 4” x 6”. The extra 2” can be used for a note or caption.

DIY Cardstock Album

You need not use a purchased album for your mini scrapbook. Simply cut regular letter-size cardstock sheets in half, creating pages that measure five and a half inches by eight and a half inches. Or purchase blank cards in that size at an office supply store. When you are ready to bind your mini scrapbook, purchase cover stock in colors, and have it spiral bound.

Another good way to make a cardstock mini scrapbook follows.

1. First, create your mini scrapbook pages, allowing a one half inch border at one end of each page. This is where your scrapbook will be bound, so the border should alternate from page to page.

2. Create a cover for your mini scrapbook, leaving the same border for binding.

3. At an office supply store, printer, or copy service store, have each page copied in color – double-sided – on your chosen size of cardstock. Have the cover copied on cover stock.

4. Ask to have your mini scrapbook spiral bound after it is copied. You will have a choice of spiral binding or comb binding. They come in colors, so you can coordinate the cover stock and plastic binding.

Long-lived Mini Scrapbooks

Keep your mini scrapbooks clean and strong, especially those that will be handled by young children. Instead of having your pages copied double-sided, choose single-sided copies. Then laminate pages together in pairs, back to back. Laminate your cover, and bind the mini scrapbook.

What Else?

Keeping it simple, here are a few themes you may want to consider for your mini scrapbook.

1. YOUNG CHILD: If it’s for a young child, your mini scrapbook theme will be that child’s life. Page themes might include: birth, first step, first tooth, and other firsts. Include pages showing the child with his or her family. Show “my house”, “my room”, “my favorite toys”, “the books I love”, etc. You might include the child’s favorite foods, favorite games, and favorite places to visit, like the park. Remember the family pet, too.

2. WEDDING: A mini scrapbook of your wedding would make a lovely thank you gift for family members and the wedding party. You would want to plan it out before the wedding, so it was ready for adding photos soon after your honeymoon. Elegance and simplicity make the job easier and more beautiful. You could make one scrapbook, and then have pages color copied on cardstock. These could readily be cut, collated, and spiral-bound at an office supply store.

3. VACATION: Adult and children alike can make their own mini scrapbooks of a vacation trip. Our two children did this at age 5 and thoroughly enjoyed it. Again, the small size of the pages allows them to maintain interest, and complete a book without becoming discouraged. Our children’s books included such things as: tickets to amusement parks; photos clipped from the hotel’s free brochures; photos of our son riding a mini car; of our daughter riding a 2-humped camel; and little comments (journaling) in the children’s own writing.

Digital Mini Scrapbook Pages

Yes, you can produce your mini scrapbook on a computer. Design each page, leaving a one half each border at the top. Print to cardstock, punch holes in the top border, and insert rings for a cute flipbook. Or size your mini scrapbook pages to fit a flip desk frame.

Great Uses for Mini Scrapbooks

1. A small child will enjoy a mini scrapbook more than a large one, since each page will be simple and easy to enjoy. A small child can handle mini scrapbooks better, too. Laminated pages will remain clean, and the book can be enjoyed everyday – even carried in the car.

2. Mini scrapbooks make great “yearbooks” for parting high school or college friends. Work together on the original, and then have copies made and bound for each member of the group.

3. Grandma’s “Brag Book” goes to the office as a mini scrapbook mounted on a desk frame. Flip a page each day to have a gallery of photos, each on a cleverly themed page.

4. Mini scrapbooks are a great alternative to an annual letter sharing the past year with family and friends. Pages would include high points of your year: a birth, graduation, new job, new home, etc.

A few minutes alone with your imagination, and you will think of many more uses, many more ideas. Mini scrapbooking is an economical, quick way to gather a few memories for posterity.

-Anna Hart

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The roadblock for this momentous event, though, is finding those classmates. After all, the more complete the class is the better the reunion antics. A classmate reunion is an important step toward reuniting with old friends and a way to gauge the disposition of old enemies and pains in the side.

By building a class reunion website, it provides for the class to reconnect.

The first step is to find and compile the email addresses of each class member. Some classmates are hard to find, others are not. Start with those that can easily be found. Tracking down classmates through collage or high school alumni associations, the whitepages.com, classmates.com, reunion.com, and even in social networking sites - such as Facebook, MySpace and LinkedIn - are a few of the ways to get hold of their latest information. When classmates are found, it’s always best to ask who they are still in contact with so that gaining the information needed would be easier.

The six degrees of separation principle usually applies when in dire need of information on a lost classmate. While former classmates may have moved away or changed names, that isn’t usually the case with their parents. They will be happy to put you in touch with a classmate, or at least be willing to pass the information along to their child.

A full year before the set reunion date, when everyone in class is listed, sending a group email detailing the reunion date and maybe even a tentative venue. This is so that the other classmate’s own plans will not be disrupted, ensuring attendance at the event.

Months prior to the reunion, email the domain name of the user-friendly website to your classmates. This website makes it easy for the class to find the location and the time of the reunion. Also it should make it easy for them to pay tickets to the event through an online payment system such as Paypal. Not only would the site pertain to the upcoming reunion, but it should update the classmates of each others latest news.

It is vital that personal information shared on the website be password protected. Suggest that everyone key in their information weeks prior to the reunion. This gives time for the rest of the class to get updated before the big event.

When the day comes, attend the reunion and enjoy.

-Darren Welder

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