PHS yearbooks

[garyt27]

My daughter just brought home her senior yearbook.
Really? $80.00 for this piece of crap. PHS should be ashamed for even handing them out, much less charging parents $80.
They look like a Dr. Suesse book. You think they could have made the cover the school color instead of Babycrap orange or whatever this color is.
Nowhere on the cover does it have a YEAR or school name.
All the Grad pics have a blue background and they were supposed to be Green, which is PHS main color. Oh well, what are you gonna do? This is what a teacher said when I asked my daughter if anyone said anything since all the students were pissed.
I'm telling you this if you have any kids that will be seniors next year, you might want to make them show you a concept book.

 

[UNA]

My daughter just brought home her senior yearbook.
Really? $80.00 for this piece of crap. PHS should be ashamed for even handing them out, much less charging parents $80.
They look like a Dr. Suesse book. You think they could have made the cover the school color instead of Babycrap orange or whatever this color is.
Nowhere on the cover does it have a YEAR or school name.
All the Grad pics have a blue background and they were supposed to be Green, which is PHS main color. Oh well, what are you gonna do? This is what a teacher said when I asked my daughter if anyone said anything since all the students were pissed.
I'm telling you this if you have any kids that will be seniors next year, you might want to make them show you a concept book.

I'd be upset too, I went to PHS and the yearbooks were all either green, gray or black with the name and year somewhere on the cover. And I swear they were only $50 (still too much IMO). Call the whoever the yearbook teacher is - maybe next year's will be better...maybe...

 

[Bann]

I think $80.00 for a yearbook is insanity.

The prices they charge for all the senior pictures, class rings, etc. etc. anymore is insanity, too. Thing1 will graduate next year and I am already looking for alternatives to the usual vendors for these items -because they are ridiculously overpriced.

I have a photog friend who does "senior" photos, and they look pretty darn good. You can buy class rings at a different vendor (jewelry stores carry them, for example) for a much less price than the ones from the schools. They may not be "exactly" like everyone else's. But seriously, how long do people wear their class rings, anyway?

Just sayin'.

 

[red_explorer]

wow!!!!

I think $80.00 for a yearbook is insanity.

The prices they charge for all the senior pictures, class rings, etc. etc. anymore is insanity, too. Thing1 will graduate next year and I am already looking for alternatives to the usual vendors for these items -because they are ridiculously overpriced.

I have a photog friend who does "senior" photos, and they look pretty darn good. You can buy class rings at a different vendor (jewelry stores carry them, for example) for a much less price than the ones from the schools. They may not be "exactly" like everyone else's. But seriously, how long do people wear their class rings, anyway?

Just sayin'.

Wow!!!! I graduated in 1988 from a pretty small school in DC, and our yearbooks were $80 then!!! Cool! I figured they would be a LOT more expensive!!!!

 

[FED_UP]

I think $80.00 for a yearbook is insanity.

The prices they charge for all the senior pictures, class rings, etc. etc. anymore is insanity, too. Thing1 will graduate next year and I am already looking for alternatives to the usual vendors for these items -because they are ridiculously overpriced.

I have a photog friend who does "senior" photos, and they look pretty darn good. You can buy class rings at a different vendor (jewelry stores carry them, for example) for a much less price than the ones from the schools. They may not be "exactly" like everyone else's. But seriously, how long do people wear their class rings, anyway?

Just sayin'.

What are class rings running these days? You would think the cost would not be to bad with every kid having to pays dues.

 

[SLIM]

What are class rings running these days? You would think the cost would not be to bad with every kid having to pays dues.

My son is only a freshman at PHS and they sent home a class ring order form with him and he wanted a $500 ring...I told him first of all he was not a senior and PHS should not have given him a form to begin with...second, I'm not paying $500 for any ring!!!

 

[smilin]

What are class rings running these days? You would think the cost would not be to bad with every kid having to pays dues.

Son wanted one so I agreed as long as HE paid for it: $400!
Dues had nothing to do with it, still haven't figured those out.
Year books are $90 in St.Marys...

 

[drivingdaisy]

yearbooks

I help make the yearbook for an elementary school. The yearbook is only 45 pages and soft cover and costs $25-30. So I can imagine a book twice that size and hardcover costing more. I agree $80 is a lot of money (especially when you consider your child might want on all 4 years they are there). It's not the school that makes the price for the yearbooks its the yearbook companies. I forget how much they cost then I was in high school.

As for the design, cover etc... my high school had a yearbook class/committee/something and the year book was supposed to be made mostly by students. This might have happened at this high school. The students who picked items might have thought they did a good job. If this is the case, you might want to be more level-minded with your complaints.

 

[cissp]

My daughter just brought home her senior yearbook.
Really? $80.00 for this piece of crap. PHS should be ashamed for even handing them out, much less charging parents $80.
They look like a Dr. Suesse book. You think they could have made the cover the school color instead of Babycrap orange or whatever this color is.
Nowhere on the cover does it have a YEAR or school name.
All the Grad pics have a blue background and they were supposed to be Green, which is PHS main color. Oh well, what are you gonna do? This is what a teacher said when I asked my daughter if anyone said anything since all the students were pissed.
I'm telling you this if you have any kids that will be seniors next year, you might want to make them show you a concept book.

Just try to buy an old yearbook off of eBay. Sometimes you can get them cheap if no one else bids, like when I bought a copy of the Crossland 1972 yearbook for $15. But I've also seen a couple of yearbook from Suitland in the early 70's go for over $100. A lot of sellers on eBay buy from estate sales, and know that sometimes people will pay top dollar for nostalgic items like this. I've had much better luck going back to the schools themselves and buying extra copies they have.

 

[itsbob]

My daughter just brought home her senior yearbook.
Really? $80.00 for this piece of crap. PHS should be ashamed for even handing them out, much less charging parents $80.
They look like a Dr. Suesse book. You think they could have made the cover the school color instead of Babycrap orange or whatever this color is.
Nowhere on the cover does it have a YEAR or school name.
All the Grad pics have a blue background and they were supposed to be Green, which is PHS main color. Oh well, what are you gonna do? This is what a teacher said when I asked my daughter if anyone said anything since all the students were pissed.
I'm telling you this if you have any kids that will be seniors next year, you might want to make them show you a concept book.

Aren't yearbooks student run, managed and designed?

They sometimes have a teacher that oversees their work, but the layout, the cover, the pictures, are all managed by students.

I would assume your child wasn't on the yearbook staff?

 

[basshawg95]

how bout those grad pics?

Aren't yearbooks student run, managed and designed?

They sometimes have a teacher that oversees their work, but the layout, the cover, the pictures, are all managed by students.

I would assume your child wasn't on the yearbook staff?

on top of the high cost of yearbooks, prom dress, cap and gown, i'm debating the $400 for graduation pictures. it seems to me that PHS needs to find better, more affordable vendors for these items.............

 

[Sweet 16]

on top of the high cost of yearbooks, prom dress, cap and gown, i'm debating the $400 for graduation pictures. it seems to me that PHS needs to find better, more affordable vendors for these items.............

No matter which vendor or high school, they're all the same -- expensive. I bought ONE senior portrait, an 8x10, single pose in a tuxedo, to display in my house somewhere. How many do you really need, other than some wallets to keep and hand out to the relatives?

 

[hotcoffee]

My son is only a freshman at PHS and they sent home a class ring order form with him and he wanted a $500 ring...I told him first of all he was not a senior and PHS should not have given him a form to begin with...second, I'm not paying $500 for any ring!!!

We got our daughter's graduation ring... with her birthstone, and PHS and her name on it for way less than that at Walmart.com

As for the yearbook.... The teacher sponsor should not be assigned to it anymore. When parents are spending $80.00 on it, it should at least have a nice leather bound look [doesn't have to be leather bound but it shouldn't look like a $10 Dr. Seuse book either.

The high school pictures .... that's another very poorly run fiasco! I got info from the school that said the pictures had to be done during the summer for the yearbook. The information was from a photographer in Great Mills... I was suspicious but it came from the school. I checked it out with a couple of parents that I had known for years through the PTA... they said the pictures needed to be done in the summer.... took my daughter... went back for the sitting.... and bought the least expensive package because all those pictures are just not necessary.... THEN THEY SENT HOME THE PACKAGE FROM THE SCHOOL!!! I was panic stricken... what if all that money was spent and the pictures didn't make it in the $80.00 yearbook....

They made it in the yearbook... but I can tell every single picture that was taken at the Great Mills photographer....


What about the cost for graduation announcement????? OMG....

I made my daughter's.... I put the ROTC insignia on it, and the CNA insignia, and used a good looking font.... and bought avery card stock with envelopes.... they turned out really nice... Cost me much much much less...

I am so happy this whole 13 years is over.... I could throw a party myself! But then again... I can't afford it cause I bought that overpriced yearbook

 

[Sweet 16]

I am so happy this whole 13 years is over.... I could throw a party myself! But then again... I can't afford it cause I bought that overpriced yearbook

I hear ya. I avoided buying one for three years, and nearly missed the deadline this year, until my son brought home a note saying there was a candid of him on page whatever and he should buy a copy. He never really wanted one until this year anyway so I caved and spent the $80. I hope it's worth it!

 

[daylily]

Damn, my son is only 2 but I better start saving now for when he graduates!

$80 for a yearbook seems pretty high. $500 for a class ring is insane. I know how expensive professional photos can be but come on........nothing different needs to be done to take a pic of someone in a cap/gown than to take a pic of a baby in a onesie or diaper. So why the insane prices for this? By the time my little man is a senior in high school, I can only imagine what everything will cost.

 

[Bann]

We got our daughter's graduation ring... with her birthstone, and PHS and her name on it for way less than that at Walmart.com

As for the yearbook.... The teacher sponsor should not be assigned to it anymore. When parents are spending $80.00 on it, it should at least have a nice leather bound look [doesn't have to be leather bound but it shouldn't look like a $10 Dr. Seuse book either.

The high school pictures .... that's another very poorly run fiasco! I got info from the school that said the pictures had to be done during the summer for the yearbook. The information was from a photographer in Great Mills... I was suspicious but it came from the school. I checked it out with a couple of parents that I had known for years through the PTA... they said the pictures needed to be done in the summer.... took my daughter... went back for the sitting.... and bought the least expensive package because all those pictures are just not necessary.... THEN THEY SENT HOME THE PACKAGE FROM THE SCHOOL!!! I was panic stricken... what if all that money was spent and the pictures didn't make it in the $80.00 yearbook....

They made it in the yearbook... but I can tell every single picture that was taken at the Great Mills photographer....


What about the cost for graduation announcement????? OMG....

I made my daughter's.... I put the ROTC insignia on it, and the CNA insignia, and used a good looking font.... and bought avery card stock with envelopes.... they turned out really nice... Cost me much much much less...

I am so happy this whole 13 years is over.... I could throw a party myself! But then again... I can't afford it cause I bought that overpriced yearbook

I like the idea of doing the announcements yourself, too! I think I shall do the same thing!

$500 or even $400 for a class ring is gone over the deep end insane. There is no way I'd pay that kind of money. I don't know that Thing1 won't lose the darn thing 2 weeks after he has it! Walmart does have pretty nice looking class rings. And if he loses it... :shrug:

I may (and do) live on a budget, but I actually have the ability (savings account) to fork out the money for these things, but it's the principle. There is just no way some of the costs are justified in this day and age of digital photography and computers. Some of those items are easier to produce than they used to be.

 

[garyt27]

class rings

You go on Walmart site and you can design a really nice ring for about $150. Same as or better than the other places. You can get a basic ring for $60.
I know some kids will cherish there rings and some will just lose them. Your call. You buy the card stock and design and print the invites, saves some cash and you get what you want.
You would think that this stuff could be cheaper since there will be a lot sold but I guess the schools negotiating skills are not up to par. Or is kickbacks a problem?

 

[SLIM]

Damn, my son is only 2 but I better start saving now for when he graduates!

$80 for a yearbook seems pretty high. $500 for a class ring is insane. I know how expensive professional photos can be but come on........nothing different needs to be done to take a pic of someone in a cap/gown than to take a pic of a baby in a onesie or diaper. So why the insane prices for this? By the time my little man is a senior in high school, I can only imagine what everything will cost.

LOL......and all that is before college...I wonder if they have a scholarship for that stuff, my son only has 3 more yrs at PHS and another one who will be there in 4yrs, I guess I'm gonna have to go to the PTA meetings so maybe I can change something!

 

[punchbuggy]

My daughter came home and told me that the cover of the yearbooks (PHS)was orange and said she didn't want one after all. When I was in highschool, I was on the yearbook committee and it was a class - for a grade and we were assigned a section of the yearbook, took pics and did the captions and layouts. Our teacher oversaw all of it and we weren't in there to goof off. Ours was the first yearbook to have the senior pics in color which made it cost more. Even though it's a student book, there should be more direction from an advisor or school staff person. Where did orange come from? Not even the PHS school colors.

After one child graduated and we spent a small fortune. Next child, I made the graduation announcements on Microsoft Publisher and had them printed at Office Depot for next to nothing. Senior pics I bought ONE in the bow tie and took the rest myself. Bought a tassel online and my son wore his brother's cap and gown. The pics they charge an additional sitting fee to change your outfit! NOT! It's all a scam!

 

[vraiblonde]

Just confirmed that our HS yearbooks my senior year ('81) were $25.

$80 is outrageous. Don't the kids still sell advertising in the yearbooks to help offset the cost?