Membership to The Spirit Yearbook Staff is open to all students attending Interlake High School upon application.

Editors of The Spirit Yearbook reserve the right to select all content and priority of stories. The board consists of staff editors, all of which may change and/or grow throughout the year. The board will vote on any issues of coverage, should they arise.

As responsible journalists, reporters will read back quotes for clarification and accuracy. Sources will not be allowed to read the final OR ANY TEXT of the story prior to publication. Sources may have follow-up interviews or supplement their initial statements.

By virtue of the fact that the publication is a student conceived, planned and produced publication, as well as a product of an academic club program, there are certain guidelines which must be put into practice ethically and legally.

Journalistic in nature, the publication attempts to inform and entertain its audience in a broad, fair and accurate manner on all subjects that affect readers in the areas of lifestyles, academics, clubs and sports. The entire student body of prospective readers constitutes the target audience for the book with secondary audiences including parents, school personnel, community members and other scholastic journalism groups. Content focuses on coverage which will meet the wants and needs of the majority of these students.

While the staff not only allows, but also encourages, constructive criticism of any part of the yearbook, before or after distribution, final authority for the content rests solely in the hands of student journalists and their adviser. Administrators rely on the adviser and staff to make content decisions. No material opinionated or otherwise, will be printed which is libelous, irresponsible, advocates an illegal activity or which the editorial board and/or adviser deems in poor taste.

The Spirit Yearbook strives to correctly spell names and make accurate class and position identifications. Names of students, faculty, administration, and other sources must be checked for accuracy by the writer. The editor or adviser is not responsible for inaccuracy in presenting names within a story. The Spirit strives for the highest standards of accuracy, integrity, completeness, and careful research in in presentation of material that time allows. Since there are deadlines to meet, however, school publications will go to press with the facts as they stand on deadline. The staff therefore assumes responsibility for the accuracy of these facts.

Sources will be able to review quotes VERBALLY at the time of the interview but will not be able to arbitrarily demand to read a reporter’s completed story OR DRAFT OR STORIES and perform editing tasks on it. The school yearbook will not, within all boundaries of the law, reveal a source who asked to remain nameless. Additionally, no prior review of the content of the yearbook is permitted from ANYONE outside of the staff. This is in order to protect free speech, encourage freedom of expression and thought, and to encourage the constitutional, democratic principles on which our country was founded. According to The Principal’s Guide to Scholastic Journalism:

“The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects free speech and press freedom of all Americans, including students in school. Although the U.S. Supreme Court has made clear these rights are not unlimited, it has also affirmed neither ‘students [nor] teachers shed their Constitutional rights to freedom of expression at the schoolhouse gate.’” “In fact, free expression has long been regarded as the foundation of U.S. democracy. Thomas Jefferson perhaps said it best: “Our liberty depends on freedom of the press and that cannot be limited without being lost.” The first direct experience most Americans have with press freedom, and the censorship that limits it, begins when they are in school working on student media. That’s why journalism educators, judges and First Amendment advocates have urged schools to support and foster student free expression because it is key to persuading young people “that our Constitution is a living reality, not [just] parchment preserved under glass.” “The Journalism Education Association, the nation’s largest association of scholastic journalism educators and secondary school media advisers, has adopted strong policy statementsendorsing student freedom of expression. For our democracy to be truly participatory, JEA believes students must be empowered so they see the value of making a difference.” (http://principalsguide.org/thefirst-amendmentandstudentmedia/)

All students and school personnel must have their portraits made with the official school portrait photographer to be included in the current volume of the yearbook. Since the school-selected studio provides student identification cards at no charge and publication photos are taken simultaneously, there will be no charge for seniors, underclass students or faculty/staff who want only publication/ID photos. Only seniors may wear hats, glasses or costumes for their student identification cards only. All underclassmen must abide by the portrait rules listed below. Any underclassman not obliging with the portrait guidelines, will not have their picture printed in the yearbook.

Seniors may submit portrait photos to replace the official school portrait photograph as long as they meet the specifications outlined. Submitted portraits not meeting specifications will not be used and will be replaced with the official school portrait photograph. Any senior not obliging with the portrait guidelines, will not have their picture printed in the yearbook.

Photos may be cropped to fit the space on the page and for the face of the person to be seen. Portrait guidelines:

• 300 dpi (minimum) or proportionally larger size, you do not need to crop larger images (digital image only, no hard copy photo).

• Approximately 1 ¼” or proportionally larger head size; chin to top of head. Full body images may be cropped.

• No part of your head/face is cut off or obstructed.

• A bare head shot; no hands, hats or sunglasses in picture (hands near face in the picture appear proportionally oversized) *Hijabs are allowed and acceptable.

• No props or animals in the picture.

• No double exposure effect prints.

• Seniors' faces must be a full-faced shot (no side or partial profile).

• No hands signs (including peace signs).

• No Watermarks.

• We must be able to see your face.

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**The Spirit staff does not include a section for students who are not pictured in any part of the book, which includes senior portraits, grade portrait sections, club/team photos, etc. It is the students’ responsibility to arrive on time for photos on the correct day. The staff will announce at school, on social media, via email to students and families.

Clubs will be photographed as individual groups. The Spirit reserves the right to limit the number of clubs featured in the yearbook. All members photographed will be registered and involved in the club. No sunglasses, hats, face paint or other barriers to mask the face will be allowed. We must be able to clearly see all club members faces. No hand signs or signals (including peace signs) will be allowed.

The yearbook will be sold four times during the school year with dates determined between the District Accounting office and the adviser. Book prices increase throughout the year. Seniors that qualify for InvestEd services must be identified by their counselor and may receive a yearbook at a discounted price.

No refunds are available for purchased yearbooks. Exchanges can be made for books with minor flaws if no writing has been done in the book. If a book has been written in, then no exchange can be made. It will be the responsibility of the buyer to provide proof of purchase if no record can be provided by the staff. A valid receipt or a cancelled check deposited in the yearbook account will constitute proof of purchase.

The Spirit will be aimed to be distributed one week prior to senior graduation dependent on production and shipping from publisher.

Grad Ads will be offered and sold to senior parents to help supplement the cost of the book. Four sizes will be offered ranging from 1/8 page to full page with prices ranging from $40 - $175.

The purpose of senior tribute or "Grad Ad" advertisements in the Interlake Yearbook is to celebrate the experience of a senior or a group of seniors. The editors and adviser reserve the right to filter this content as needed to preserve the integrity of the yearbook.

The following advertisement guidelines must be met when submitting an advertisement. Senior advertisements cannot include:

1. Profanities;

2. Content that advocates or promotes anything of illegal nature;

3. Political or social statements;

4. Violent, inappropriate, or suggestive materials;

5. Other content the Editors deem unfit for publication

The Interlake Yearbook Club Editors reserve the right to review and deny any and all content published in the Interlake Yearbook as per the Washington New Voices Act (2018), RCWA 28A.600.027, seciton1.

Any planned exclusion or modification of a yearbook submission will be first communicated with sufficient time prior to publication of the yearbook to ensure time to either cure or appeal the Editors' determination. The Interlake Yearbook Club Editors also reserve the right to update the aforementioned standards as seen fit.

Any current student, staff member, faculty member, or building administrator who dies during the year will not be recognized in the school yearbook. Staff or faculty members who retire will not be recognized in the school yearbook.

In the event of an error, the Editorial Board will attempt to mitigate the damage. Every reasonable precaution is made to avoid these errors, but some amount of error is inevitable. Each case will be reviewed on its own merit.

Staff members will produce all photos and graphics unless the staff has been given consent from outside sources. All photos and graphics including those contributed by outside sources will be given proper credit. At times, photographs will be manipulated to add artistic value to enhance a story. However, no photo will be manipulated to change the original message of the photograph.

The Spirit yearbook operates under the Associated Press style policies, and a staff-generated, year specific, design style guide.

The Spirit Yearbook is a self-produced publication in all aspects, including funding. The publication does not receive funds from the district but covers all costs through book sales and senior ads purchased. The funds earned belong to the staff and will be used accordingly to advance the learning, abilities, and opportunities of the staff.