Each year, the Cavalcade staff dedicates countless hours to producing a nearly 400-page book full of memories and events from the school year. However, changes this year have made it more difficult for the staff to meet their deadlines.
One major change has been the introduction of a new Cavalcade faculty advisor. Upper School history teacher Ayasha Hensen took over the position following the retirement of Lesley Rucker, who previously led the yearbook team for years.
“It has been a difficult transition, I would say – although transitions are never easy,” Hensen said. “There were many new systems for me to learn that I wasn’t able to adjust to when the year began, but I think things have started to improve.”
The yearbook editors-in-chief, seniors Daniela Hallack and Sophie Fiedelman, say they’re working to help keep things running smoothly.
“Transitioning to a new faculty sponsor has come with its challenges, but I think it has worked out well so far,” Fiedelman said. “There were a lot of things that took a lot of figuring out in the beginning, but I learned a lot about communicating with the publisher, creating the master book, and submitting and proofing pages last year, so that’s been very helpful.”
The staff faces what the editors describe as another major hurdle: a dearth of desktop computers used to create the pages.
Previously, the Cavalcade staff had access to around 20 computers, which Hallack says barely supported their staff. This year, the staff began the year with access to only six computers after a scheduling conflict forced the Cavalcade team to move from the Fine Arts Building to a room in Upper School South.
This has caused a litany of problems, including a slowdown in the training of new staff members and a backlog of work to meet upcoming deadlines.
“With the lack of computers, our workflow has significantly decreased, and there isn’t much we can do about it,” Fiedelman said. “While it may seem like laptops are sufficient for the class, that is not the case, as our school laptops can’t support the software needed.”
The staff received 10 new computers in mid-October, and that has improved the workflow, according to Hallack.
“We’re absolutely coming up against some deadlines, but panicking doesn’t solve issues,” Hensen said. “And even though we don’t have all of the resources that we would like to have, we have enough where a book will always get done. It’s been difficult to make the staff feel like we’re making progress, but we have been making progress. Yes, the progress is slower, but things have started to move forward.”
Like Hensen, Hallack says that despite these challenges, the staff is working hard to make the yearbook as good as possible.
“We’re now starting to get into a bit of a groove, which is good, and we met with the cover artist, so the cover has been completed,” Hallack said. “There will definitely be a book this year, and it will be a great one. We just have to deal with a lot of obstacles to get there.”
