With four of a teenager’s finite years spent here at WJ, it would be impossible to remember all the memories, both good and bad, post-graduation. Thankfully with each passing year, the yearbook, The Windup, helps students preserve all the memories they culminate. However, before any student can hold this piece of the past, The Windup’s staff works hard to put it together.

Editors-in-chief, seniors Alayna Harrison and Josh Benjamin, first joined yearbook their junior year. As editors-in-chief, their responsibilities include creating the layouts, reviewing each page for correct spelling of names, and representing the diversity of WJ as best as possible. The large workload of making 300 individual pages for each section is divided between the 30 students in the class. Each student is responsible for about 15 pages.

“You definitely have to work,” said Harrison. “It’s not an easy class, but it’s worth it in the end.”

The planning process of the yearbook starts as early as the end of the previous school year, with staff members deciding the order of sections. The basic plan for each page is typed into a computer program to help organize the final product. Once a page’s layout is designed, the staff members are assigned a section to fill with photos and small blurbs.

“We try to give [the staff members a section] they are interested in and that they’ll [be active with],” said Harrison. “[The staff members] need to go to the events they cover so [they] can accurately report on it.”

Many of the photos, such as individual student head shots and clubs, are taken by a professional photo company. Students are also able to supply photos by sending an email to the yearbook’s account along with the names of the people in them.

“As far as what goes in picture-wise, it’s usually [which] has the most people in the picture and what’s most interesting,” said Harrison.

According to Harrison, the class has a pretty laid-back atmosphere. The most chaotic times come as deadlines for 60 pages approach each month until the book is finished in mid April.  Since the deadlines are set by the company that prints the pages for yearbook, when a page is late, a $70 fee must be paid. Benjamin states that all of the little details such as making sure the names correspond with the picture and using the right font size eventually add up to be a tremendous amount work.

The two have learned a lot while being in yearbook, the biggest being time management. Planning ahead also proves to be a big help. When all is said and done, the whole year’s hard work is tangible and can be easily appreciated among the student body.

“When you open that first box and get to see the yearbook you created, [it] is the best feeling,” said Harrison.