In the news

Austin’s Grandview Hills Elementary recently won second place in a nationwide #YearbookHero contest, as announced by Treering.

Parent Cristina Ramirez was nominated by another parent and PTA member for saving the school’s yearbook in February when they had no photos and no platform; Ramirez spearheaded and created a yearbook.

The school earned a $50 Amazon gift card and five free yearbooks for this recognition.

Courtesy of Treering

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Source: Emily Duggan, staff writer for the Kennebec Journal

Now-high school students, Lila Viselli and Izzy Stewart helped start the yearbook in Richmond Middle School after a six-year hiatus and are being recognized for their work two years later.

RICHMOND — Students Lila Viselli and Izzy Stewart, along with their former teacher, Rebecca Redman, started the yearbook at Richmond Middle School in a year that would go down in its own history books — and are being recognized nationally for doing so.

The Richmond Middle School yearbook won first place in the technology company Treering’s Yearbook Hero Contest after being nominated by Redman for their work in restarting the yearbook after a six-year hiatus.

At that time, Redman, now the district’s K-12 technology integrator, was an English language arts teacher in the middle school. She said it seemed like “another hat” she could put on, and decided to look into it after a sixth grade student came up to her and asked if the middle school had a yearbook.

Stewart and Viselli, who are both now 10th graders, decided to join the yearbook club during the 2019-2020 school year. They took charge of the program and were working on the yearbook into March — and then the coronavirus pandemic hit.

As the girls said, everyone had just started to work together.

“It was difficult to do it (the yearbook) from home, but I was happy we did do it,” Stewart said. “When we took on the role with Ms. Redman, it was a really smart decision to get the middle school out there and start from the ground.”

As the pandemic continued, Stewart and Viselli had to become creative, since there were some pages they wouldn’t be able to fill because of sports and clubs being canceled and students no longer being at school in person.

“We did have to move some pages around because of how we planned prior to being shut down,” Stewart said. “So planning to fill when we did get shut down, it was a scramble.”

The middle school’s Yearbook Club is unlike the high school version, where there is a class set aside specifically to work on the yearbook. Middle schoolers are tasked with taking their own photos and working on the book when they have time to do so.

The girls were not the only two working on the yearbook, but they were the main editors. That meant Stewart and Viselli had to take most of the photos themselves.

When the pandemic hit, they were left to finish gathering photos and putting the book together. But they found softball and baseball canceled, and that they had never snapped photos of advisee groups.

“I talked to so many moms on Facebook,” Redman said. “They loved sharing photos with us. We love our community. It’s distinct in Richmond, there is a very strong sense of pride. And of course the parents were willing to share materials celebrating the kids and what they are doing.”

For the advisee groups, Principal Karl Matulis went around and took photos of every teacher’s door, which made the final cut of the yearbook. They learned after the pandemic year to prioritize their photos and to get everything when they can due to how unpredictable everything can be.

Though Stewart and Viselli are in high school now, Redman is still the adviser for the middle school yearbook. She said the yearbook would not be where it is today if it weren’t for the girls’ help, and that’s why she nominated them for the award. The first place prize came with a $100 Amazon gift card and 10 free yearbooks.

“I didn’t think we would get any awards for it, but it feels good to be recognized for what you work for,” Viselli said.

They are not part of the high school’s Yearbook Club because they do not have time with their advanced placement courses, but plan to join before they graduate. The girls said they are thankful for Redman and happy with what they started.

“We are thankful for everyone who helped. It was a lot of help,” Stewart said, “and I’m glad to bring it back and to go into high school knowing we helped the middle school continue … the yearbook. It’s a good feeling.”

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SAN MATEO, Calif. — Treering, a technology company that offers high-quality yearbooks at affordable prices, recently announced that Richmond Middle School has won its nationwide fall 2021 Yearbook Hero Contest.

National Yearbook Week is Oct. 3-9.

This contest set out to honor yearbook creators at all levels: high school, middle school and elementary. Two middle schools won this recognition and were part of eight honored schools, all of which will receive nearly 50 free yearbooks collectively and be given Amazon gift cards that can be used toward needed school supplies.

This is the technology company’s first year hosting this contest. To participate, one had to be a parent, student or teacher at a school that uses Treering for yearbook creation. Individuals then chose a yearbook hero from their school and created a 60-second video telling Treering how he or she inspired or helped them with the yearbook.

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Source: Sam Knef, reporter with Spectrum News 1, KY

FLORENCE, Ky. — Having special needs and being homeschooled are both circumstances that kids can thrive under, but they can also be barriers to kids feeling included.

One Northern Kentucky mom is breaking down those barriers by taking pictures and giving her kids memories they can keep forever.

With six kids, Heather Forman would have her hands full even if they all went to public school. But she’s going into her fourth year as both their mom and teacher, for all of her kids except her oldest.

“Some of our children just have special needs. They needed some accommodations to be made for them that the school was trying to do, but it was just difficult,” she said. “To have that flexibility of being able to move around the schedule if we needed to, or to offer a sensory break during the day if that was needed has really been helpful for our family.”

Forman’s experience as a public school teacher helps, but one thing about homeschooling that had her slightly worried at first was the idea of her kids missing out.

“There were things like their Fall Festival, or the yearbook, and school pictures, and things like that that aren’t necessarily the most important thing, but it’s still something that they remember,” she said.

That worry was tempered when the Forman kids joined Classical Conversations, a Christian homeschool group. Once a week, they meet to go over work with tutors, spend time with other homeschooled kids and be part of a community.

They also get their own yearbook.

Forman and other parents have been able to take their pictures and personalize their kids’ yearbooks through the Treering application.

Formans’ kids were excited to get their friends to sign their books.

“It's really sort of a cool thing, because our homeschool children still get to have a yearbook with their friends in it, and to highlight some of the stuff they’ve learned throughout the year,” Forman said. “It makes it easy for parents to contribute to make sure that everybody is included.”

Forman’s son Dawson loves to build, collect baseball cards and play video games just like many kids. He has high-functioning autism, and his mom said she wants him to always know he belongs.

That’s why she continues to fight for inclusivity and making sure it’s reflected in something like a yearbook that her kids will hold onto.

Approximately 1 in 54 children in the U.S. has been identified with autism spectrum disorder, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Forman said one of the many ways to ensure children know they matter is to highlight their achievements in the yearbook.

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Source: Kristen Miller, Community Editor for the Sun Sailor

At Clear Springs Elementary in Minnetonka, a yearbook editor and parent volunteer helped create a yearbook to showcase students’ uniqueness and backgrounds.

Heather Burnett has worked as a parent volunteer to support the Clear Springs Elementary yearbook for three years. Last year, she transitioned to the lead role of editor.

She chose to use the yearbook making tool Treering to represent the school’s focus on the importance of everyone coming together.

She learned about Treering from one of her counterparts at another Minnetonka elementary school, who “raved about Treering’s superior customer service and technology,” she said.

The main reasons she recommended Treering were the easy-to-use, dynamic software solution, the flexible and streamlined printing process, the bi-lingual promotional materials, the expansive catalog of cohesive themes/graphics, and the predesigned content pages that could easily be customized.

“The theme (Diversity) was chosen to represent the beautiful uniqueness all our students and how we came together as one community full of heart to get through a tough year,” Burnett said. “We used quotes throughout the book from a diverse background of famous people to support unity and belonging, along with key aspects that support it like empathy, kindness, respect, love, and character.”

In the yearbook, text is both in English and Spanish.

Burnett shared several features that have helped support greater inclusivity for Clear Springs.

The two free customizable pages in each yearbook lets each child enjoy their moments to shine and celebrate their uniqueness. Parents along with their child can include a well-rounded picture of their child including sports, activities, accomplishments, milestones, religious celebrations, friends, family and favorite things.

• English and Spanish promotional materials help support the Spanish immersion program.

• Treering rewards customers by letting them earn free yearbooks based on volume purchasing. The school used its free yearbooks to help students who may not have been able to afford a yearbook get one.

• Treering has predesigned graphics and templates that provide a framework for capturing the school’s diversity and inclusivity observances.

• Treering’s software allows the editors to easily tag students in pictures so they can know how many times a student is pictured and ensures a balanced approach to photos throughout the book.

• Account representative provided many content ideas, training modules, and blog posts, in addition to sharing what others across the country were doing.

“With all this support, I was able to think above and beyond to become aware of and use best practices of how others have made their yearbooks meaningful and special to the school and student,” Burnett said.

The Spanish immersion school is a part of the Minnetonka School District, and provides education for students to acquire second-language fluency through immersion beginning in kindergarten.

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Tevis Diaz said it is the 'most important yearbook' she's ever made.

Source: Francesca D'Annunzio, Special Contributor to Dallas Morning News.

How do you compile a yearbook when around half the students are remote learners and don’t have a traditional school photo? Or when clubs, extracurriculars and in-person events have been canceled?

You find creative ways to fill the spreads with screenshots, at-home learning activities, and masked students working behind Plexiglass, Garland ISD mom Tevis Diaz said.

The longtime yearbook organizer and PTA member knows the importance of memorializing each grade and chapter of life. Pandemic or not, every year has moments worth remembering, Diaz said.

To tell the “story of the year” for Beaver Technology Center’s elementary school students, she used social media posts from teachers and the district, selfies, memes, teachers’ Bitmojis, photos from families of at-home learning activities and pre-designed pandemic spreads from the yearbook company Treering.

“We didn’t have any of our normal events and activities, and I was really struggling to try to figure out what to put in this book,” Diaz said.

Half of the school’s students did not have a photo because most remote learners didn’t attend picture day. Diaz knew she could get photos from parents, but she didn’t want students to feel out of place by not having a professional school portrait, so she had teachers send her selfies instead of using their traditional photos.

She also said some teachers weren’t taking as many photos in the classroom because they felt like it was a year to forget, she said.

“They weren’t taking pictures in the classrooms because … they feel like they weren’t doing anything special,” she said.

Even if hybrid or fully virtual classrooms and canceled extracurriculars aren’t glamorous, they’re still worth remembering, Diaz said.

“A kid just sitting and working at their desk, is a kid behind Plexiglass with a mask and a face shield in a Google Meet classroom. It really tells the story of the year,” Diaz said.

Diaz said the yearbook would not have been possible without the Beaver Technology Center’s collective efforts. The help from parents and teachers made it possible to create a book that documents this year in history for students, she said.

“Our kids are going to be talking about this. And they’re going to have this record of what school looked like,” she said. “I think it’s the most important yearbook I’ve ever made.”

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Source: Plumas News

Plumas Charter School received accolades for a yearbook spread in the #TreeringMemoriesMatter challenge. Yearbook editors from across the United States submitted their favorite yearbook spreads from the 2020-2021 school year.

“This inaugural challenge was prompted by our empathy for our yearbook editors this year,” said Kristina Cruz, Head of Marketing, Treering. “Preserving our children’s memories is so important and this year it was even more so from a journalistic standpoint. Given the various COVID safety protocols in schools, parent volunteer’s and teacher’s work was made even more challenging. We wanted to celebrate these editors’ hard work as well as their student’s memories.”

Plumas Charter tied for third place with a spread about last year’s North Complex Fire. For its efforts it won a $25 Amazon gift card and three free yearbooks.

According to judges the two-page spread was “laid out and designed beautifully, this yearbook spread does an extremely honest and thoughtful job covering the wildfires, and how the community came together to “’weather the storm.’”

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Source: Bill Rettew brettew@dailylocal.com at the Daily Local News

GLENMOORE—For what has been a unique year, students at Springton Manor Elementary School will have a yearbook to remember it all.

In the past, signing a fellow student’s year book was reserved for high school students. Elementary students now have a chance to remember with a keepsake.

Thanks to the company Treering, chief editor, Stacey Sherman, Springton Manor’s parents, staff, and students themselves, lasting memories will be created and remembered long after the kids graduate from high school. Fifth-grade teacher Frank Chindemi runs the yearbook club.

For the Mindful Mustangs, it was a year of masks and hybrid learning, but through the challenges of this year students and staff alike showed resilience and created memories.

Sherman’s son, third grader Gideon Sherman, is looking ahead.

“I think I’ll look back in 30 years at this yearbook and be like, Wow! There will never be anything more challenging than that year,” Gideon said.

The Treering 100-page yearbook will act as a history book, capturing a year like any other in education. Springton students will be able to look back at the year they wore masks and sat six feet apart.

In the past, Editor Sherman and the yearbook club photographers shot most of the photos. For the 2020-2021 school year, parents and teachers took many of the pictures.

“This year, more than ever, I reached out to our teachers and students’ families to gather photos that through Treering’s shared folders represented the virtual and socially distant parts of our school year that were impossible for me to capture,” Sherman said.

Principal Steve Pron noted that staff worked hard to establish relationships over Zoom, while creating safe learning environments and engaging lessons.

“The kids are living through this experience and are so adaptable to it,” Sherman said about the pandemic. “This year has had a huge impact on each of them whether they realize it or not.

“I have been so passionate about this year’s book because it will remind our Mustangs how resilient there were in the face of the pandemic,” Sherman said. “They adapted so well and the entire community rose to the occasion to make it a memorable and positive year.”

Each hard or soft cover yearbook comes with virtual features. Two pages of personal photos taken of their children by parents are included. Parents build pages to spotlight their children’s schooling, including the home experience.

And in addition to conventional pen and ink messages and notations to fellow classmates, students will be able to share signatures digitally.

“The digital signatures are awesome because you don’t have to be in school to sign your friend’s yearbook!” Gideon said.

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When COVID-19 canceled traditional opportunities in education, yearbook fundraising benefited students and schools.

SAN MATEO, Calif. — Treering, a technology company that offers high-quality yearbooks at affordable prices, today announced K-12 customer schools across the United States raised $1.6 million with their yearbook fundraising during the 2020-21 school year. The amount surpassed last year by more than $15,000. During a time when traditional fundraising efforts, like walk-a-thons and bake sales, were canceled due to the ongoing pandemic, thousands of schools and yearbook advisers turned to the Treering team to implement a non-traditional but impactful fundraiser.

“Teachers and students globally have endured considerable stress with all of the changes due to the pandemic, and it’s been a privilege to be a helping hand for customer schools across the country in raising additional funds for supplies and extracurricular activities,” said Kevin Zerber, CEO & co-founder at Treering. “Since our inception, we’ve been able to help almost 10,000 schools raise a total of $8.5 million. It’s especially important for us to share resources with schools that are aimed to help them financially - from flexibility in process to fundraising that fits their needs.”

In addition to other cost- and time-saving benefits Treering provides school, it also offers three impactful fundraising opportunities, including:

• Yearbook fundraising made simple: With Treering’s yearbooks being fairly priced from the start, school leaders don’t have to feel guilty about adding an extra fundraising fee to the cost.
• Recognition ad feature: Recognition ads are a great way to recognize students and teachers in every yearbook and create an additional fundraiser for the school.
• Targeting the right businesses: By tapping into the teachers’ and parents’ connections with local businesses, building out a list of prospective advertisers becomes much easier. Most often, local businesses want to support the community and the school and view the ad as a good business opportunity.

It’s easy for schools to accumulate debt with traditional yearbook companies due to the fact that they often insist on minimum order quantities and impose extra fees, leaving schools with leftover yearbooks that are never purchased. With Treering, the company operates at a zero cost to schools, only printing books parents decide to purchase. The affordability, fundraising options, and sustainability initiatives - for every yearbook sold, a tree is planted - Treering is an option for schools that not only want to preserve memories for students, but save money.

For more information about Treering, visit https://www.treering.com/. For more information about Trees for the Future, visit https://trees.org/.

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About Treering
Established in 2009, Treering is a technology company that offers high-quality yearbooks at affordable and transparent prices by updating the outdated yearbook industry to allow for inclusivity, flexibility, and sustainability. For more information about Treering, please visit: treering.com.

Source: Sustainability Times

During this past year, individuals and businesses alike have encountered numerous obstacles when it comes to finances, job security and overall quality of life.

Yet, what the pandemic has taught many of us is that when one slows down and takes a closer inventory on day-to-day practices, it becomes clear how wasteful the human species can be.

The need to take care of our planet has become increasingly more apparent, especially since the days of quarantine when the roads were less cluttered and the air was visibly more clean.

Although there are specific days that people celebrate the Earth, it should be an ongoing initiative to take care of the planet. Fortunately, there are ways – whether alone or with a group – to take steps toward an environmentally friendly personal and professional life.

Small businesses can make a big impact

Let’s keep in mind that nearly 50% of U.S. consumers want to change their consumption habits to save the environment. It’s easy to assume that small businesses, which are classified differently depending on the industry, don’t make a noticeable difference when it comes to sustainability practices, but that can be far from the truth.

Often it boils down to making the right choices when it comes to vendor selection. Sustainability, the capacity for Earth and human civilization to co-exist, is affected up and down the supply chain, so there’s often key opportunities when it comes to selecting the right business partners.

A few examples of what to look for in a business partner when focused on improving sustainability initiatives:

• Sustainable sourcing of materials used.
• Ongoing recycling programs.
• Employee commitment to sustainable business practices.
• Clear mission when it comes to bettering the planet (such as product sold results in trees planted).
• Green business certifications (such as those available in California).

Growth in sustainability practices doesn’t happen overnight, but instead requires a keen focus on manageable steps that can be accomplished by everyone involved. A staff of 15 or a staff of over 1,000 can have and implement comprehensive sustainable strategies.

Teaching young people how to make sustainable choices

While partnering with the right vendor is a key step for amplifying sustainability initiatives, sometimes the most impact begins at the very beginning – teaching the younger generation about why it’s important to care for our planet.

Learning about ways to take care of the environment can start as early as elementary school. Teachers have the special opportunity to positively impact young learners, teaching them how to recycle in and out of the classroom.

The common phrase of “reduce, reuse and recycle” can easily be applied to nearly all lessons, school partners and incentive programs for students. For example, schools can commit to using recyclable school materials and purchasing books, like yearbooks, that can be recycled.

What’s more, partnering with businesses that support sustainability and environmental initiatives. Having this kind of impact early on can have a ripple effect to how one views environmentally friendly practices and products later in life.

When students graduate from high school or college, the motivation for many will be to look to work for companies that prioritize the environment.

No matter the company size or the experience level of a company’s staff, there’s always an opportunity to teach skills that go far beyond the daily work grind. And working toward a more environmentally friendly business model is an ongoing effort.

Small businesses have the advantage of making more personalized relationships with their customers and partners. Whatever the industry, there are ways to creatively showcase sustainability efforts, be it on the website, company e-newsletters or social media.

A smaller business might also have a more direct opportunity to have a representative speak to a school (such as during holidays like Earth Day) about the benefits of recycling.

Whether at home, work or school, everyone accumulates waste every day. It’s never too late to identify and implement more environmentally friendly practices. It’s the responsibility of people of all ages, all over the world, to play a part in making our planet a cleaner, safer place to work and play.

Why it’s important, especially now

The pandemic saw millions of people all over the world transition from working in the office to working remotely from home. For many, this was the first time in a long time that they slowed down enough to recognize the environment around them.

Lunch breaks that once were spent in an office cubicle were spent taking a walk in the neighborhood and admiring everyday nature that was once overlooked.

While the year was challenging, and heartbreaking, it did present society with a glimpse into what the world could be like – taking more care of not only the people in one’s life, but the environment. Taking steps toward a greener, healthier way of life means a dedicated effort to focus on the wellbeing of people and the world.

So, what to do?

One way that individuals and companies of all sizes can take care of the planet is by planting trees. This job is one that’s easier said than done, so smaller companies can easily make a bigger difference simply by partnering with organizations that have the tools and resources already in place.

Planting trees is something that can bring together groups of people that share the same mission of bettering the planet. Small businesses that get involved with vendors that have long lasting impacts, like planting trees, are often a part of a larger coalition of partners working together.

What might seem like a small thing – planting trees – can actually be a part of a larger story, which is making the world a better place and mitigating climate change.

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Yearbook company’s partnership with Trees for the Future results in land restoration and food access.

SAN MATEO, Calif. — Treering, a technology company that offers high-quality yearbooks and affordable prices, today announced that in partnership with Trees for the Future, more than 4 million trees have been planted. Treering’s mission to preserve the history of each school year can be costly for the planet, and that’s why for every yearbook sold, they have planted a tree.

Inspired by the concentric rings from the cross section of a tree, Treering’s name exemplifies the company’s mission to promote sustainability and make a positive impact on our planet. Because of the company’s environmentally-friendly focus, it’s been a proud member of the Green Business Program since 2015, along with over 2,800 other California-based companies. They are the first yearbook company to receive this certification and one of the first education technology companies.

“As an environmentally focused yearbook company, reaching this number of planted trees is a huge milestone for us,” said Kevin Zerber, CEO & co-founder at Treering. “It’s been an honor to partner with Trees for the Future as a way to bring our sustainable mission and environmental roots to life along the way. We also pride ourselves on printing on partially recycled paper and only produce the exact number of books parents buy, eliminating unnecessary waste and resources. When we reduce unused paper products, we save trees and make a more positive environmental impact.”

For more than 30 years, Trees for the Future has been planting trees around the world, planting over 210 million trees in more than 40 countries. Through a farming system called the Forest Garden Approach, Trees for the Future is teaching farmers to restore their degraded lands and lift themselves out of hunger and poverty. Each Forest Garden is home to thousands of trees and provides sustainable food and income opportunities for the farming family.

“Trees for the Future is planting more trees this year than ever before. Despite the challenges brought on by the pandemic and a changing climate, support from partners like Treering makes lasting change possible,” said John Leary, executive director at Trees for the Future. “We’re grateful for the ongoing support from Treering and are excited to share this 4 million tree milestone together.”

Each tree that is planted through the partnership is planted in the name of a school, which gives the schools a lasting legacy for hundreds of years to come. Additionally, each school that purchases yearbooks through Treering is provided with a badge to put on their school website as a way to honor their environmental contribution.

For more information about Treering, visit https://www.treering.com/. For more information about Trees for the Future, visit https://trees.org/.

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About Treering
Established in 2009, Treering is a technology company that offers high-quality yearbooks at affordable and transparent prices by updating the outdated yearbook industry to allow for inclusivity, flexibility, and sustainability. For more information about Treering, please visit: treering.com.

About Trees for the Future
Trees for the Future is a registered 501 (c)(3) nonprofit working to end hunger, poverty, and environmental degradation through agroforestry training. Trees for the Future has planted more than 210 million trees around the globe and has helped more than 200,000 people. Learn more at trees.org.

Staff Report | El Paso Herald-Post

Del Norte Heights Elementary Takes 2nd place in National Yearbook Contest

Officials with Treering announced Thursday that Ysleta ISD’s Del Norte Heights Elementary School took second place in the nationwide #TreeringMemoriesMatter Challenge.

The 2nd place honor was awarded to the Del Norte Height’s staff for their yearbook spread celebrating a 2020-21 school year staple: fashionable face masks for socially distant learning.

Earlier this year, Treering – a digitally produced, published-on-demand yearbook company for K-12 schools – called on all its customers’ editors to send in a 2020-21 yearbook spread that shows the uniqueness of the year and students overcoming the challenges it’s brought for the #TreeringMemoriesMatter Challenge.

After weeks of judging from a panel of Treering team members, the spread won the school a $50 Amazon gift card, 5 free yearbooks for their school, and an art block of their award-winning spread for display.

“Del Norte Heights couldn’t have predicted that their students would bring high fashion to the classroom via face masks this year. That’s why their submission to #TreeringMemoriesMatter showed off all the amazing face mask designs that helped students learn safely and in style,” Treering officials shared via a news release.

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