The month of May is exciting for many reasons at MCHS. Summer is around the corner, seniors are preparing for graduation, and teachers are still doling out last assignments. And yet another one of the most long-awaited highlights of the month is when the yearbooks arrive.
Sophomore Joseline Hernandez and her two friends, Ashland Ruby and Jordan Roehl, were among the first to get their hands on the 2025 yearbook. They were seen flipping through the pages in a corner of the commons. They were thrilled to see pictures and articles about themselves and other MCHS students.
“Oh, hey! It has my friend’s car in it,” said Hernandez. “That’s cool!”
This is the 110th edition of the Masonian yearbook. It was designed by about 20 students taking the yearbook class this year. They have been taking pictures and conducting interviews of all the different sporting activities since last summer. They have also been covering the clubs and people, including Ashland Ruby, who took part in the fall play.
“Someone from the yearbook reached out to me for an interview about the lighting for the school play this year,” says Ruby. “I found that really cool. Usually lighting can sometimes be, like, forgotten in a way. So it’s really cool that, like, someone was, like, asking about it.”
This is senior editor Fenix Squier’s fourth year of working on the book.
“I like when people I know or that people I’ve personally included in the book pick theirs up and interact with me about it,” said Senior Fenix Squier.
Yearbooks are a way for students to remember the time they had in high school. This year’s theme was “Not Like Us”. The yearbook staff mentioned the phrase expresses the difference between MCHS and other schools.
“I think the theme ‘Not Like Us’ made for a unique, well-done book that encapsulates this year well,” said student editor Kate Kotta. “We were able to show the culture being created at MCHS, and how it sets our school apart. It was also fitting with Kendrick Lamar’s popular song and the rise of rap music in pop culture.”
Behind the scenes, advisor Stephanie Scholl and her students have been putting endless amounts of effort and hours into this yearbook.
“I think they realize that a lot of the work has to be done outside of school. They need to get pictures, but the pictures happen at a football game on Friday night,” says Scholl.
“We’ve had some great photographers this year who have really grown and that’s one of the things that I’m most proud of with this yearbook is I think the photography stands out.”
The Mason City staff has to submit the books to its publisher, Walsworth Publishing Company, right after spring break, which makes it hard to include the spring events. Student editor, Mady Chose, said the staff learns how to deal with real-life deadlines.
“It was very stressful, especially in the last week, because the week after spring break was obviously our final week, and that’s also the same week that all the spring sports start,” said Chose. “So it’s a lot of like trying to communicate as fast as possible, getting our pictures as fast as possible.”
Even though it was a stressful time for them, they also expressed excitement and how rewarding it feels now that the yearbooks are finally out for students and staff to look at and keep for the rest of their lives.
“I think this is the best book I have contributed to,” said Kotta. “It is nice to see my visions executed, and for people to enjoy the work I have done.”
“I’m excited,” says Chose. “I haven’t even seen it yet, and I’m already, like, tearing up just as a fact.”
Yearbooks are being sold in the commons at the student counter before and after school. Extra copies are in the main office for $90. Supplies are limited.