An annual highlight for the yearbook staff is distribution day, which is scheduled for May 15. After almost 12 months of brainstorming, designing, writing, interviewing, and taking photos, the staff finally gets to share their hard work with the student body. Creating a 400+ page yearbook is no easy task, and there are plenty of challenges and setbacks along the way, but the staff received extra motivation and encouragement throughout the year when they earned several awards and recognition from their publishing company, Walsworth Yearbooks.

The first accolade came at the beginning of the school year when they learned that a spread from the 2018 yearbook was selected to appear in “Idea File,” a magazine published twice a year that serves as an educational resource for schools across the country. Featured in the “Caught Our Eye” section of the magazine, the spread titled “Apocalypse Now” highlighted a series of unusual events throughout the 2017-18 school year, including the solar eclipse, Hurricane Irma, snow days, and even a water main break along Buford Highway that resulted in early dismissal from school.

“I loved seeing one of our spreads actually appear in the magazine,” senior editor Brooke Sledge said. “Every year we use it to get ideas for our yearbook, so it’s pretty cool knowing that another school somewhere in the country may be looking at what we did for inspiration.”

Last year’s cover was also selected to appear in Walsworth’s annual “Possibilities” book, which showcases more than 350 pages of yearbook excellence.

According to the letter that accompanied the staff’s personalized copy, “this honor recognizes yearbooks with the highest levels of design, photography, and coverage and places your yearbook among the best that Walsworth prints.”

“I’m actually most excited about the banner that came with the award,” junior editor Sarah Fredrickson said. “I like having something we can hang on the wall because everyone will be able to see it.”

Finally, the 2019 yearbook was recently inducted into Walsworth’s Gallery of Excellence, which is an annual collection comprised of the most distinguished yearbooks in the country. This is the seventh consecutive year that the St. Pius X yearbook has earned this honor.

“I’m so proud of our staff this year,” said yearbook adviser Ashley Curlette. They put in so much hard work throughout the year. They attend summer workshops, stay long hours after school, and come up on weekends help make the yearbook the best it can be. Their ultimate goal is to produce a quality yearbook that the whole school enjoys, and official recognition like this helps them stay motivated to keep improving the yearbook year after year.”