By Amy Reece, yearbook adviser
Spring Hill High School, Columbia, Tennessee
Keep your staff energized, motivated and productive with these strategies.
With the stress of deadlines and meeting sales goals, my students need to have “joy” in their day. And that is where I think the yearbook class comes into play.
Some of the things that I do with my students include:
Motivational Mondays
Since no one enjoys the beginning of a work week, I decided to make Mondays a bonus day. I do the first Monday Motivational as the example for the class. Then, each of my students is assigned (some volunteer) for a specific Monday. On each Monday, for the semester, the person assigned that date must come up with a “motivation” for the class. The motivation can be anything from writing each person in the room (including the teacher) a nice note, bringing everyone a homemade cookie, or even teaching everyone a dance. The whole idea is to “motivate” the class to be productive for the week.
Fat Fridays
I set aside one Friday per month to allow students to bring in food to share with the class. This Friday will vary from month to month depending upon the stress level/deadlines. My kids love this day because they get to eat the entire time that they are working. We spread the food on a table (buffet style) and say something about our day as we share the food. Students are allowed to go back as much as they want until all the food is gone.
Sweet September Secret Pal
During this month, my students write their names on a piece of paper with three things that they like and three things that they do not like. Then, the papers are folded, put in a basket, and redistributed. Each person chooses a piece of paper and that person is their secret sweet September pal for the week. On Monday, the papers are drawn. On Wednesday, students leave a “sweet” note on that person’s work area/desk/computer. On Friday, the pal gets a “sweet” treat. The sweet treat can be a soda, cookie, candy, gum, etc. Then, we choose new names on the following Monday. We do this for the entire month of September. The kids love this one!
Pizza Night
When deadlines approach and the staff is in “crunch-time,” I sometimes order pizza for after-school work sessions if the students want to stay to finish their pages. I have discovered that food is a huge motivator. Kids also feel less pressure after school since they are working on their own time.
Restaurant Day
I choose to treat my staff to a meal right after school at least once during the semester. I usually select a day after the beginning of the semester. This gives the staff a chance to meet each other (outside of school), relax, and enjoy some great food. (My students love Mexican food!) We all meet at a restaurant between 3:30-4:00 p.m. It is usually an hour that they remember throughout the semester.
We try to look at Yearbook Class as a family-type environment. We work hard, but most important, we really respect and care about each other. Yearbook is unique. I love being the teacher of this class!
Spring Hill High School’s yearbook can be purchased here.
