School Photo Fiasco Prompts Change

Incoming sophomores, juniors, and seniors all took their school photos on May 20, instead of the traditional photo day usually held in August during the week before the start of the school year.

Currently, the only schools in the district that have made the transition to take photos at the end of the school year instead of the beginning are Acalanes and Campolindo.

According to yearbook teacher Paul Verbanszky, who coordinated the operation, the transition was of the sake of convenience and safety. “Administration decided to change it because the lines on Cougar day became incredibly long and it was frustrating for a lot of parents and students. Another reason was that the photos and ID cards could be ready to go on the 1st day of school and everybody would already be in the system and we wouldn’t have to worry,” said Verbanszky.

Yearbook and Leadership worked together to spread the message. “We sent it out in the bulletin and we reminded the teachers to bring their students down, so hopefully remembered,” said Verbanszky.

Many students were excited about the change due to the photo ID fiasco at the beginning of this year, when the photography company didn’t show up to Cougar Day. “I remember when they messed up on Cougar Day and then no one could get their pictures taken, and then everyone had to take their picture after school started on a really random day and it didn’t look as good because no one remembered. It was really annoying, so I’m happy they’re trying to fix the problem,” said sophomore Grabriela Toslovan.

“The line is a lot shorter which is nicer because I hated having to wait for so long,” added sophomore Justin Xiao. 

However, there were still some students unhappy with the unexpected change. “I was kind of annoyed because the whole point of taking school photos is to show how much you changed throughout the school years, but it hasn’t been long enough of time since the last time we took pictures to show that. It’s better to take it right after summer when everyone just got their glow-ups and look nice,” said sophomore Kiana Henderson.

According to Verbanszky, school photos will likely continue to be taken at the end of the school year, after AP exams, in the future.