Advisor:

Chris Schalewski
cschalewski@wbsd-schools.org

A brief summary of the 2021-2022 year for the Yearbook & Media Club  

• 2021-2022: The Rebirth

  • Yearbook & Media Club was focused on the goal of coming back in 2021-2022 stronger than ever, which was accomplished in more ways than expected. Unsure there would be a Talent Show after not having one since 2019, the video was modified to be a limited run series based on Marvel’s “What If…?”animated series. The question, What If? was posed as a way of opening up the student imagination to hypothetical scenarios that could happen at Badger. In case there was no Talent Show, the idea was that one new short episode would drop once a week leading up to the end of the school year. Students worked on their own episodes, and happily helped other episodes that were in production. Again, former members of the club again reached out and came back to assist students with their video projects, which is ultimately one of the goals for the club, being student driven and spanning across more than just Badger. There ended up being a Talent Show, so the episodes pivoted into one longer stand-alone short film, Badger’s “What If…?”. One memorable part of this short film is the introduction, which cleverly pays homage to all of the videos that came before.

    • Badger’s “What If…?” (2022)

  • Rounding out the trilogy of “Things Students Do..” using existing footage and filming new material, Badger staff once again poked fun at some of the behaviors and personalities of students. “Things Students Do…That Would Be Awkward If Teachers Did Them [Vol. 3]” serves as a heartfelt reminder of those who were at the beginning of the club, as well as a grateful appreciation for those who still remained.

    • “Things Students Do…That Would Be Awkward If Teachers Did Them [Vol. 3]” (2022)

  • Fast Facts about the 2021-2022 Yearbook

    • 

    • Theme: Woven

    • Features ≈850 Candid Photos, as well as 20 Buddy Badgers hidden throughout the collages!

Looking back on the history and merging of the Yearbook and Media Clubs...

• Early Beginnings

  • Back in 2015, Media Club first got students exposed to different principles of cinematography and filmmaking. Though the Club only had a handful of students, it was through their vision they created the classic “A Year in Review” short film for the 2016 Talent Show. What made this video unique is that not only would it serve somewhat as a predecessor to future 8th Grade Promotion videos, but it also featured the use of stop motion to create exaggerated feelings of tire and woe students and staff feel at the end of the school year.

    • “A Year in Review” (2015-2016)

  • What made Media Club unique was that it was not exclusive to just students, but would also extend invitations to staff to take part in the fun. A short-lived tradition started at the end of first semester in 2016, which featured a “preview trailer” of the upcoming second semester in the genre of an epic blockbuster movie. The goal was to get students excited for what was about to come, as well as show the Badger staff in a different light.

    • “Second Semester - Epic Trailer” (2016)

  • Badger staff didn’t stop at just the semester trailer however! Through the building of relationships with students, a small team of Badger staff made a short comedy that flipped the roles of students and teachers, and the video was kept secret until the 2016 Talent Show. “Things Students Do…That Would Be Awkward If Teachers Did Them” poked fun at the most common behaviors and personalities from students that school year by having the teachers portray those qualities as they related to Badger’s core values of Respectful, Responsible, Ready, and Safe behavior!

    • “Things Students Do…That Would Be Awkward If Teachers Did Them” (2016)

      • Please note, unlike the majority of Media Club videos that are featured on the Media Club YouTube channel, this short film can be found on the sister channel, Badger Pride.

• A Unique Merger 

  • Beginning in the 2016-2017 school year, the focus of Media Club shifted slightly as it acquired the Yearbook Club, creating the brand new, two clubs in one, Yearbook & Media Club. While maintaining a focus on cinematography and filmmaking, a depth of knowledge was added to include photography and design. The club gained a stronger purpose and became one of the most deeply entrenched groups in all of Badger Middle School. 

  • Continuing the idea of a preview trailer for the upcoming semester is the updated Epic Trailer to feature the current staff of that school year.

    • “Second Semester - Epic Trailer” (2017 Cut)

  • After the 2016 Talent Show’s viewing of “Things Students Do…That Would Be Awkward If Teachers Did Them”, the students of Media Club took it upon themselves to create a retaliatory parody of their own, “Things Teachers Do…That Would Be Awkward If Students Did Them.” Students “flipped the script” again by portraying some of the common behaviors and personalities that teachers exhibit. One example includes when a teacher bends over to help another student, inadvertently placing their rear end in the face of unsuspecting students. Another example would be telling students that the teacher will wait while the students are having off task conversations. Finally, one last example includes when teachers lick the corner of papers while they pass them out to students.

    • “Things Teachers Do…That Would Be Awkward If Students Did Them” (2017)

  • Going in a different direction, Badger staff wanted to make a “documentary” sort of short film parodying sitcoms like “The Office,” “Parks and Rec,” and even “Modern Family.” This poked fun at many more situations that routinely pop up for students and seniors, and also featured direct to camera commentary on the situations that unfolded. Once the classic theme song from “The Office” played during the Talent Show, everyone knew what they were in store for!

    • “The Middle School”

  • Fast Facts about the 2016-2017 Yearbook

    • 

    • Theme: Comic Book (which aligned to Badger’s new “House Themes” where each floor represented a team of superheroes)

    • Features ≈180 Candid Photos

• Bumps in the Road 

  • The joint Yearbook & Media Club started the 2017-2018 school year off strong, with having close to thirty students join the club. While that number eventually shrunk to only about eight students, that didn’t stop them from exploring their creativity. The original premise for that year’s Talent Show was going to be “Middle School Through the Decades”, which would have featured things ranging from a stereotypical 1950s classroom where everything is black and white and students gave their teachers apples, to the 2010s where students are openly on their cellphones in the middle of a lesson. Things did not go according to plan however. Shifting gears only a short time before the Talent Show, the club decided to do a parody of VH1’s “Behind the Music” with “Media Club: Behind the Video.” This short film pokes fun at all the things that went wrong during production that year.

    • “Media Club: Behind the Video” (2018)

  • Showcasing what would come for the upcoming second semester, Badger staff once again surprised students with a new preview trailer, “2nd Semester.” This trailer parodies a 1994 Palme d'Or award winning film.

    • “2nd Semester” (2018 Trailer)

  • Fast Facts about the 2017-2018 Yearbook

    • 

    • Theme: Chalkboard

    • Features ≈220 Candid Photos

• The Renaissance

  • With now only one advisor for both clubs, the 2018-2019 school year saw almost 80 students excited to join the club. Not being able to operate with such a large number, the advisor and both student co-presidents set expectations very high, resulting in many students not being able to return. While still having close to two dozen members, the club was really hitting its groove! Starting off with a premise of students facing off against unknown monsters in the school building, the Talent Show short film quickly changed to considering what would happen if students were locked in the building for an unknown amount of time. How would they react? How would their minds stay sharp? From all the videos made, this was one of most fun to be a part of.

    • “Locked In” (2019)

  • Still continuing the idea of a preview trailer for the upcoming semester is the updated trailer from 2018 to feature the current staff of that school year.

    • “2nd Semester” (2019 Edition Trailer)

  • Seeing behaviors pop up once again, Badger staff decided it was the perfect time to create a sequel to the beloved 2016 short film, “Things Students Do…That Would Be Awkward If Teachers Did Them”, through the branding of adding “Vol. 2” in the fashion of “Guardians of the Galaxy” franchise. Teachers once again poked fun at student behaviors, but of course doing so in a respectful way!

    • “Things Students Do…That Would Be Awkward If Teachers Did Them [Vol. 2]” (2019)

  • Fast Facts about the 2018-2019 Yearbook

    • 

    • Theme: Hexagonal

    • Features ≈290 Candid Photos

• 2019-2020: A Year Cut Short

  • The 2019-2020 school year held so much promise. For the first time, former members of the club recorded a variety of bits that promoted the club. All of that footage was cut into several commercials that were played early in the year. Nearly 100 students wanted to join the club, but many needed to be turned away. Close to 20 students actively engaged in the club, half of which took on leadership roles and led out projects and assignments themselves. The premise for that year’s Talent Show video was the most daring yet; a student would have been “stuck” in a time loop where only she was aware that the school day was repeating itself. The end of day bell would ring, and the first class of the day would begin. Students were working on choreographed blocking they could repeat in the same way multiple times. Everything was going brilliantly, until no one returned physically to school after March 13th, 2020.

  • This was the final second semester trailer that was created. With everything that unfolded over the remainder of that school year, it was decided to retire the trailers and live in the moment. With that said, this trailer is a parody of the “Ocean’s 11” franchise. The scene at ≈2:02 was filmed before winter break…

    • “Badger’s Second Semester” (2020)

  • Fast Facts about the 2019-2020 Yearbook

    • 

    • Theme: Red/Black Bars/Stripes

    • Features ≈500 Candid Photos

• 2020-2021: A “Memorable” Year

  • With the countless restrictions placed on schools everywhere this school year, Yearbook & Media Club was the only club that was able to function in some capacity during the 2020-2021 school year. Thanks to the ability of having the yearly “Holiday Activity Day(s)”, students were able to take countless photos for the yearbook, which was necessary due to there being no sports except for Track & Field at the end of the year. Students were also able to “check out” a camera during a school day after receiving signed permission from their teachers.

  • Fast Facts about the 2020-2021 Yearbook

    • 

    • Theme: Clean Slate (with everything going on this year, the premise was to have students use the cover for additional signatures or even design their own work of art)

    • Features ≈750 Candid Photos, as well as over 100 quotes from students, a feat that was never attempted before!