The yearbook staff at Derby High School face a challenging dilemma, balancing the need to include all significant events that happen during the school year while also meeting production deadlines. This situation has lead to confusion and frustration among students and parents. 

“If we wanted our books to be ready by the end of May, we’d have to completely exclude big events like graduation, and prom, all of the spring sports pages that we have in there wouldn’t be included, and things like our May spreads or April spreads, even March,” senior Production Editor Kaidence Williams said. 

Pantherpawlooza offers an opportunity for students to not only collect their yearbooks but also to engage in the tradition of signing each other’s yearbooks. 

“If people are worried about not being able to sign their books, I’d say Pantherpawlooza is a great time to come back because a lot of people do…I know a lot of seniors did come back and sign (each other’s) last year,” Williams said. 

Despite the frustration,  the yearbook staff still decides to release and hand out yearbooks in August at the beginning of the school year. The priority of the staff is to produce a yearbook that truly represents all of the significant events of the school year and student achievements. 

Releasing the yearbook at the beginning of the next school year allows for the yearbook to include events from the entire school year, allowing the book to be a complete representation of the school year. 

“If we wanted to send the yearbook, and have it ready by the end of May, it would have to be done in January.  It’s a little bit unfair for the people who participate in spring sports and stuff because they do cool things too, and they deserve to be in the book,” Williams said.