Prior to the start of every school year, yearbook Co-Editors in Chief and staff begin the planning process behind the 300-page book.

Over the summer, the new leadership for The Antenna established a new layout and design for the school year.

The theme for this year’s book will be “Stepping Up.” The new theme comes with various interpretations as yearbook staff plan to incorporate it throughout the book.

“The theme of the book this year being ‘Stepping Up’ relates to all aspects of student life,” senior Ruth Seyoum said. “Whether a student is stepping up in school or at work or in their community, the theme reflects how the people of our generation are proactive and stand up for what they believe in.”

The book as a whole will focus heavily on individual student life.

“Our generation is not one to stand by and just let things happen so the theme revolves around stepping up and taking charge of your own life,” senior Sesen Beyne said.

The Antenna this year will vary from last year’s book as multiple aesthetic and content changes will be introduced to the book.

“One difference this year is that we opted to use triangles rather than squares,” senior Sesen Beyene said. “The book last year had an overall aggressive theme and fonts so it is a bit more calm and subdued this year.”

The yearbook will also have visual differences on the cover. There will be a new texture as well as 3D elements on the new cover.

Both Seyoum and Beyene serve as Editors in Chief of The Antenna this school year along with senior Jennifer Chavez as well.

The leadership team of The Antenna attended a camp over the summer at where they constructed their theme and then spent time further developing their ideas.

“During camp we were looking at cover ideas and were inspired by an image we saw on Pinterest,” Seyoum said. “We decided, to go with it because we have never really used shapes on our cover before.”

The cover will feature an array of colorful triangles with some triangles having images in them depictive of small pockets into student life. Also on the cover are the words “Stepping Up” written in the negative space left by the triangles creating the image of a ladder.

The theme will be integrated throughout the rest of the book and will carry some of the same design elements from the cover.

“Overall, we are trying to narrow down on the personal and individual lives of students this year,” Beyene said. “We want to focus and feature all the aspects that make Annandale such a great place.”

Currently, the yearbook is being sold for $75 until the Oct. 26 deadline when prices will increase to $80. Students can also add a nameplate to their yearbook for $8 and a plastic cover for $5.
The Antenna staff will continue to work on the book as the year progresses as they put their new themes and ideas to the pages.