Creating high school memories digitally

by Art McFarland 

EAST SIDE (WABC) -- Like any yearbook staff, seniors at East Side Community High School put in long hours.

"At first I found it a little difficult, but then I thought about it. It's like a Facebook page," staff member Joyce Perez said.

By using a website called Tree Ring, the students were able to use laptops for creating the record of their high school memories.

"I'm glad that we had the opportunity to make our own yearbook and put what we want in it and have a say in what we wanted our own yearbooks to look like," student Eric Russell said.

Their work will be printed with a choice of soft or hardcovers.

This will be the first yearbook at Eastside Community High School in 3 years, due to cost considerations, and there have been other years when the small high school has not been able to afford a yearbook.

"It felt horrible just to decide that you couldn't get something that's part of a rite of passage for seniors," principal Mark Federman said.

But because the students have done all the work, and bulk ordering is not required. The cost is half, or less, than the school's last published yearbook. Also, they were able to include photos of a trip this spring to a Mets game, because digital deadlines are more flexible.

"The fact that we have so much time to put everything in the yearbook the way we wanted is the best thing ever," student Shannon Thomas said.

"I'm really proud of it because we all worked really hard on it throughout the year and I think it turned out great," Brianna Barrett said.

The yearbooks are due on graduation day.  READ MORE