It’s that time of year again, Paly. Yearbooks are here, only this year’s edition is bigger and better.

The 2008-09 yearbook features a holistic theme titled “In the Element.” According to Madrono editor senior Paul Moseley and adviser Margo Wixsom, the theme stems from the staff’s push to make sure all members of the Paly community were included in the yearbook.

“We decided to focus on the tenet that every Paly student is a distinct and individual part of the overall Paly community,” Moseley said.

This edition consists of many new additions, including an index for students to look up the pages on which their photos can be found, a gallery for student artwork, and text descriptions on certain pages, according to Wixsom.

Wixsom emphasizes the extra efforts made by this year’s staff to include photos and text about as many students as possible, if not all, particularly because many students in the past have complained that the yearbook has not included every member of the student body.

“We [Madrono] wanted to make this year’s yearbook not just a yearbook of senior photos … we want to make it ‘your book’,” Wixsom said.

Wixsom thinks that Madrono was able to produce a much more impressive yearbook this year for three main reasons: adviser and student workshops; a dedicated staff; and support from members of the district, including Principal Jacqueline McEvoy, and advisers Paul Kandell, Ellen Austin, and Esther Wojcicki, advisers of Voice and Verde, Viking, and Campanile, respectively.

Wixsom is impressed and very excited by the finished product because the staff, including herself, started the year without much experience. While Wixsom personally attended several adviser workshops throughout the year, several members of the staff, specifically those who will be on next year’s staff, gained knowledge, tips, and perspective by attending the National Scholastic Press Association’s Spring National High School Journalism Convention at Phoenix in April.

According to Wixsom, the staff also benefited significantly from working with Kelly Hendricks, a yearbook representative from Taylor Publishing Company.

“Kelly [Hendricks] helped us pick up on things we never knew were wrong,” Wixsom said.

Senior staff member Mariko Baba agrees that Hendricks made a big difference.

“She [Hendricks] was able to teach us a lot about InDesign and Taylor Tools that helped enhance our layouts,” Baba said.

Senior staff member Karin Zander hopes that students will enjoy and be impressed with this year’s positive changes when they pick up their yearbooks next week.

“We tried to differentiate the 2008-2009 yearbook by making it aesthetically appealing, generally correct, and by giving some sort of context for the photos,” Zander said. “I think it’s a huge improvement on past Paly yearbooks, but we’ll have to see what the rest of the school thinks when it comes out.”

Seniors can pick up their yearbooks on June 1 in the senior courtyard and freshmen, sophomores, and juniors will be able to pick up their yearbooks on June 2 in the courtyard, according to Moseley.