Jefferson Middle School yearbook earns honors

The Monroe News
·1 min read
Jefferson Middle School yearbook staff members Patrick Jernigan and Novaleigh Stump see this year's yearbook for the first time.
Jefferson Middle School yearbook staff members Patrick Jernigan and Novaleigh Stump see this year's yearbook for the first time.

Jefferson Middle School’s yearbook earned a national award.

Yearbook producer Jostens awarded the publication the Jostens 2023 National Yearbook Program of Excellence award at the gold level.

The Jefferson Middle School yearbook program is led by Anita Passon, fifth grade teacher and yearbook adviser. Students on the staff are: Brooke Abner, Tiara Camargo, Audrey Camilleri, Summer Clardy, Allie Gilley, Patrick Jernigan, Avery Riley, Emma Struth, Novaleigh Stump, Emily Vance, Harlie VanWashenova and Destiny Walker.

JMS works with Jostens representative Helena Hunt. The staff calls itself the Donut Squad.

“We named ourselves the Donut Squad because I brought Monica's donuts to each meeting.  At the last meeting, I presented them with the T-shirts. Coincidentally, we had a dozen members in our group,” Passon said.

The Jefferson Middle School yearbook staff is shown.
The Jefferson Middle School yearbook staff is shown.

“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,” Jostens said in a written release. “The award was presented to the Jefferson Middle School yearbook program for achieving defined criteria in between one and three of the following categories: creating an inclusive yearbook, generating school engagement and successfully managing the yearbook creation process.”

The national awards are presented twice a year, based on the yearbook’s arrival date.

“Jostens is proud to recognize those individuals who have created an exceptional yearbook for their school and community,” Tammy Whitaker, Jostens’ vice president of the yearbook division, said. “These schools did an exceptional job on multiple levels. Yearbooks are a critical part of capturing and telling a school’s story, and Jostens is dedicated to supporting yearbook staff members as they do their important work.”

This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Jefferson Middle School yearbook earns honors