Through its efforts to interview, document, and photograph NC’s students, the yearbook became a vital part of the school’s culture. The yearbook documents the students and major events from the past year and serves as a time capsule after high school. Students remember the time spent together during their time in school as they sign each other’s yearbooks at the year’s end. The Yearbook students attempt to create a book of these good times and memories, capturing the feeling and defining events of the school year. This year, the class experienced a change in its advisor; Mrs. Jan Husband retired, and Ms. Stacy Baldwin stepped up to fill her place. 

“Ms. Baldwin is new to Yearbook, but she’s not new to teaching. She’s talked with other Yearbook advisors, so she should have enough background to do a great job,” Newspaper Adviser Rebecca Zavala said. 

As a child, Baldwin’s positive experiences with her teachers helped nurture her passion to teach, although she did not see herself teaching Yearbook until recently.

“I’ve always wanted to be a teacher… I love school, and I loved my teachers, so I’m sure that played a role in my becoming a teacher,” Baldwin said. 

Once she knew that she wanted to teach, Baldwin attended college at Georgia Southern University. She subsequently took several jobs teaching at high schools in Gwinnett County. Over the course of eleven years, she taught English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) and language arts to juniors and seniors, acquiring experience that now comes in handy in her new position as she deals mainly with upperclassmen in Yearbook. The class also requires a large amount of language arts skills, Ms. Baldwin’s chief subject.

As she teaches Yearbook for the first time, Ms. Baldwin believes that she can draw on past experiences to work with the students and obtain the desired results, especially in the areas of interviewing and writing. 

 “Because I’ve taught English for eleven years, I think I’m probably going to be an asset to the program when it comes to writing, interviewing, the copy (the content and words of a yearbook), things like that,” Baldwin said.

In Yearbook, students collaborate with Baldwin as a major part of their work. The levels of experience vary, due to the different ages and grades of the Yearbook staff. Certain students also know more in the areas of photography and layout design, while others are similar to Baldin in that they feel more comfortable writing and interviewing. Because of these differences, Baldwin hopes to draw on everyone’s strengths to complement each other’s weaknesses.

“She’s very upfront and forward, but nice,” junior Isabelle Jackson said. 

Her other students already learned to appreciate her determination to do what she needs to do well, a trait that will serve her well as she supervises the making of such a well-loved book.

Baldwin does not plan to make any major changes in Yearbook’s workflow currently. For now, she anticipates making occasional adjustments to the production process as she and the students establish the new flow of the class. Along with North Cobb’s students and staff, the Yearbook class eagerly anticipates this year’s yearbook.

“I think it’s going to be interesting to see how all the different components come together to make the final product,” Baldwin said.