A great yearbook theme can make or break your publication. And brainstorming some fun new concepts is one of my favorite ways to kick off the school year! It gets your team engaged with your project, starts the flow of creative juices and starts building excitement for what’s to come. Sometimes, this can be even better when you’ve already got a great yearbook theme to work with. It allows your committee to just dive right in, and start coming up with fabulous content ideas. So if you’re already getting excited about picking a yearbook theme for next year, then you’re going to love what I have to offer today. Below, I’ll walk you through how you can implement a “Dare to Be” yearbook theme in a way that inspires the students and faculty at your school to do great things in the future!
The “Dare to Be” Concept
The idea behind a “Dare to Be” yearbook theme is to encourage your students to strive for greatness in their school work, extracurricular activities, and beyond. This is an easy concept to incorporate into your regular yearbook sections, as you can easily show off how different groups at your school strive to make a difference, or push themselves to a new level of excellence every day. But to make this style of yearbook theme shine, there’s one more idea you can implement: weave short stories throughout your pages, showcasing how students have conquered their fears to do something amazing. It can be small or big–how one student afraid of heights went rock climbing, or how another organized a community-wide bake sale to raise money for the food bank. Each tale should recount how the student encountered a problem, why they decided to get involved, and what their solution was. Wrap up each story with an outcome that inspires more students to go beyond their own fears, and dare to be great.
“You Can Help!”
Inspirational stories will lead others on your campus to want to get involved or take similar steps on their own. At the end of each tale, include how other students can dare to be amazing. If there’s an organization within the story that students can get involved with, detail how they can volunteer. If the featured student took steps to conquer one of their own fears, incorporate steps that others can take to get past their own apprehensions and accomplish something fantastic. Your stories on their own are inspirational–but offering next steps for other students to take makes them actionable!
Find Stories of Greatness
You’ll have to do a little digging to find the best stories, but this is where your committee can help. Encourage your team to get out of their comfort zone and start asking around to learn more about who their peers are and what remarkable things they’ve accomplished. They can use social media to their advantage, as many students would love to recount their interests and endeavors through photos or in a comment chain. At the same time, you should be reaching out to your campus colleagues. Many times, other teachers will know of inspirational student experiences that are a fantastic fit for your story compilation.
Inspirational Yearbook Themes for an Engaged Campus
To make your yearbook theme really engaging, you need to make your stories varied, and reach out into the lives of everyone on your campus. By weaving these inspirational, journalistic pieces throughout the pages of your book, you’ll spark interest and engagement. Building out the next steps for their own endeavors removes obstacles and encourages every student at your school to do something great with their life, despite their fears. Plus, choosing a “Dare to Be” yearbook theme for next year’s book today gives your committee the opportunity to find story inspiration during their summer break. Which means they can come back to school in the fall ready to go with great ideas that support your overall concept!
