![Held up by a group of cheerleaders, flyer sophomore Leyu Yonas poses as part of a stunt, also supported by flyer junior Shayne Mitchell behind her. (Left) Prior to the pink out football game on Oct. 13, the athletes practiced in the aux gym from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. (Right) On Oct. 19, the cheerleaders competed in their District Championships at Woodgrove High School. “We definitely put all our effort on the mat [at Districts], and it showed,” Mitchell said. Left: Photo by Nadia Shirr. Right: Photo by Steve Prakope via Victor O’Neill Studios.](https://theblazerrhs.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/feature-image-1200x823.png)
![Sophomore Xavier Smith (6), the Phoenix quarterback, runs the ball as his teammates help hold up the defense. “My [offensive] line collapses, so I just [have to run], and its a good way to get first downs because [Tuscarora’s] defense was really good,” Smith said.](https://theblazerrhs.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_5383-1200x897.jpg)
![As the referee throws the ball up for the tip-off, freshman Simone Diby leaps towards the ball to get it in Phoenix possession. Diby is a new member of the Phoenix girls basketball team, and despite it being a change, she finds it enjoyable. “It’s definitely a different experience if you’ve never played on a team, [but] I think it’s still fun.”](https://theblazerrhs.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/DSC_0057-1200x662.jpg)
From completing and passing final exams, turning in missing assignments, and doing end-of-the-year projects, it can seem like the end of the year is truly the most stressful in a student’s and teacher’s lives. However, one main highlight as school comes to a close, apart from the last day of school, graduation, and prom is the publishing of the yearbook.
“Exactly Like Nowhere Else” commemorates the tenth anniversary of Rock Ridge and everything that makes the school unique. Junior Kaitlyn Gutshall, who is in her first year as a part of the yearbook staff and is an editor, helped brainstorm some of the ideas that were implemented into the 2023-24 yearbook. “We added an ‘X,’ which is on the front cover,” Gutshall said. “We [also] wanted [the yearbook] to pop, so we decided to put a lot of colors and really big fonts on each page and we kind of laid out the page diagonally to represent the ‘X.’” The “X” represents the Roman numeral for “ten,” something the staff was eager to highlight.
Aside from the cover, the staff was excited about how the whole book turned out after a whole year of putting it together. Freshman Ilham Rizvi was one of the many yearbook staffers who was happy the moment the yearbooks arrived. “When we got the yearbook, it was really exciting,” Rizvi said. “We opened the first page and were like, ‘Oh, we did such a good job with it.’”
Rizvi is a photographer for the yearbook this year, and she feels like this year she has grown as both a photographer and person and opened up to her peers. “I usually focus on taking pictures and not putting captions on the spread,” she said. “The hardest part, because I am a freshman, is that I didn’t know a lot of things, like not knowing how events work.”
The yearbook class wasn’t just about focusing on the publication, but also about learning new skills, making new friends, and having fun. Although in her first year in the yearbook, junior Alana Vernon found the class to be relaxing. “I joined the yearbook because many of my friends are on it, and they felt I would be good at it,” Vernon said. “As long as you are enjoying the work and doing it, [the class] is really fun.”
The yearbook was available to buy throughout the whole school year, and you can get a copy in through this link until they sell out.
