This year was English teacher Erika Pethan’s  first year of being an adviser of the yearbook club. Last year, Pethan was a co-adviser with Catrina Burgess from Catrina’s Creations. With COVID-19, Pethan has to think of different ways to fill the pages. 

“We can’t use any picture from the spring sports from the previous year. That will be challenging and we will have to get creative to fill those pages. A lot of the spreads and pages that we have used before aren’t going to work,” Pethan said. 

COVID has affected the yearbook club in many ways because of spring activities not happening because of the statewide shutdown.  

The publishing deadline also adds to the stress of the 2020-2021 yearbook. Pethan has the members taking pictures, creating spreads and making edits before March 15. The members are also thinking of new and different ways to fill pages such as how the school looks different this year than in previous years. The club is also hoping for all usual activities to happen so they can show them in the yearbook.

“Yearbooks can always be stressful, but we’ve had so many added challenges this year since things like spring sports and prom (which would be in this year’s yearbook) didn’t happen last year. We’ve been thinking of different ways to use the yearbook. Another challenge is making sure activities, like the musical, that have been moved to the spring make it in the yearbook before our deadline,” senior Sadie Goettl said.

The yearbook is more than just a club, it is a place where students can come together and create bonds with one another. Throughout the year, the students work together and get to know each other better. 

“What makes the yearbook special for me is being able to carry on this Berlin tradition with my best friend (senior)  Samantha Schumacher,” Goettl said. 

When the club meets their deadline and is finished with the yearbook, they like to look at all their hard work. This is sophomore Ann Schmidt’s favorite part.

“My favorite thing about being a member is to look back at the end of the year and see everything we did,” Schmidt said.