Wednesday, August 24, 2016

Saint Thomas Aquinas Named Jostens 2016 National Yearbook Program of Excellence

St. Thomas Aquinas program recognized for fourth time for dynamic and engaging yearbook.

(HAMMOND) – (August, 2016) – Jostens, the leading producer of yearbooks and student-created content, today announced that the Saint Thomas Aquinas yearbook program has been named a 2016 Jostens’ National Yearbook Program of Excellence. The National Yearbook Program of Excellence recognizes engaging yearbooks that reflect a broad representation of the student body while helping students develop 21st century skills such as communication, collaboration, and information and communication technologies (ICT) literacy.

The STA award winning yearbook program is led by Chloe Chauvin, Editor-in-Chief; Morgan Busch, Senior Class Editor; Emily Owens, Student Life Editor; and Reagan Greer, Sports Editor, under the direction of Michelle Chauvin, STA yearbook adviser.

“This is the fourth straight year that we have been named a National Program of Excellence,” said Michelle Chauvin, “and it’s something that means so much to the staff. 100% of our student body receives a yearbook. 97% of our students are in the yearbook at least three times. We work tirelessly to get maximum coverage for everyone – even the ones who won’t reply to our emails! Also, this is the third year that we have utilized augmented reality through an app called Aurasma, which basically allows someone to view a video in the yearbook.”

Jostens’ National Yearbook Program of Excellence Awards are presented twice a year, in spring and in fall for yearbooks delivered during the school year. The Award was presented to the STA yearbook program for achieving the defined criteria in each of three following categories: creating an inclusive yearbook, generating school engagement, and successfully managing the yearbook creation process.

“Yearbooks connect students’ hearts and minds to the school story, school year experiences, and the community to memorialize moments that matter. Jostens is proud to recognize yearbook staffs and advisers who create engaging yearbooks that tell the story of their school communities,” said Murad Velani, chief operating officer, Jostens. "We understand that a great yearbook program does not just happen, and we are dedicated to helping schools, yearbook advisers and students to strengthen their programs by providing state of the art tools, resources and best practices that support the development and creation of award-winning yearbooks.”

The St. Thomas Aquinas yearbook program will receive a plaque to display in the yearbook area and a banner to display in school so the entire school community will be aware of the outstanding achievement.

Founded in 1897, Jostens has produced school yearbooks for over 60 years. Schools rely on Jostens and their local Jostens representatives to provide a combination of journalism education and technology tools to deliver a learning experience that helps students develop 21st century skills in journalism, photography, writing and design, leadership and business while creating the permanent record of the school year. Jostens invests in state of the art technology, best in class service, educational curriculum and award winning print manufacturing platforms to plan, design, build and produce yearbooks.

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