“Times have been hard for everyone over the last couple of years,” said James Roller, FDHS’s yearbook adviser. “Even our yearbook has been hit hard as a result of the economy. Yearbook orders are lower than at any other time since I began advising here in the 99-00 school year, both business and personal ads are much harder to sell and are, too, at an all time low. We really have to struggled to meet our publication costs.”

“It dawned on me we would need to change our fundraising strategy if we were going to continue to try to produce the quality of book we have traditionally created. My kids’ elementary school has offered a savings card ever since my now 18 year-old first enrolled. I knew as a parent and consumer that their savings card was a great deal, and we buy one every year. Since FDHS did not have such an offer in place, that seemed like a natural way to help not only the yearbook staff, but, honestly, local businesses and members of our community alike,” said Roller.

Just a sample, but probably what the front of the final card will look like.

An example of what the back of the card may look like. Offers shown will not necessarily appear on the final card.

For Businesses

Currently, FDHS is in the process of discussing their card with local businesses to provide them an opportunity to be included. The yearbook staff is looking to include twenty or more savings offers on the card, and as of the date of this writing, they are about halfway there, with a number of agreements pending.

The yearbook staff hopes to begin offering the card for sale before the end of the 2010-2011 school year.

Business that might like to be included on the card (either this year or in future years), should contact Mr. Roller. They can also simply download the FDHS Merchant Agreement and mail or fax in to FDHS.

“Our goal for our business partners with this card is to give people in our community an incentive to visit our partners. As a FDHS Savings Card holder, say I am deciding on a place to eat. I know I have an offer at Wendy’s, but not one for Chick-fil-a. I certainly have a greater reason now to spend my money at Wendy’s instead,” said Roller.

“With our annual Savings Card in the hands of hundreds of people in the Fort Dorchester community, businesses included on our card will have a competitive advantage over their competitors. It is as simple as that,” Roller continued.

The deadline to submit a Merchant Agreement for this year’s card is April 22.

For the Community

Clearly, what the Savings Card offers is twenty or more discounts or other savings offers that are valid on a daily basis until 8/1/2012.

That is over a year of savings at places like Kangaroo Gas Stations, Wendy’s, Chili’s, Wonder Wash, Brat’s Tanning, and Arby’s.

In addition, FDHS’s yearbook staff is currently in discussions with places like Tanger Outlet and reaching out to business owners who have students at Fort Dorchester to provide even more value for our card holders.

“The great thing about our Savings Card is that these offers are not just one-time discounts. Unless indicated otherwise, these offers can be used at all of these businesses every day until August 2012.  That will be a very real benefit for anyone who uses our Savings Card,” Roller said.

The cost of the card will only be $20 and will have the following restrictions:

• Equal or Lesser Value with Buy one, Get One offers
• Not Valid With Other Offers, Coupons, or Specials
• Not Transferable
• Limit One Offer Per Card Per Person Per Day
• Subject to Change Without Notice
• Additional Terms and Conditions May Apply
• Must Present at Time of Order

“We hope to include at least 20 offers on our Savings Card this year. At this point, we are almost there between the agreements we already have on hand and those pending with whom we are currently in discussions.  In addition, we have just sent a voice message to the homes of all Fort Dorchester students to make sure we don’t leave out any business owner who feels they could benefit from being on our card. When this collection of offers is finalized, we feel we will really have something of value to offer both those businesses and our card holders. Really it is a win-win-win situation,”  Roller said.

FDHS’s savings card is expected to go on sale beginning May 2.

Don’t miss out: Text fdhsyearbook to 70359 to sign up to text alerts regarding the Savings Card and other yearbook related info.

Ready?  Maybe not…

GET READY:

1. Sign up for text message updates. Text fdhsyearbook to 84483. (Standard rates do apply.) First notice about new clues will go out via text.
2. Friend us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. These folks will be the second notified about new clues.
3. Get a QR Code reader. Read this post to learn more and to find which readers we recommend. Or visit yearbookunlimited.com to learn more.

KNOW HOW TO PLAY:

Read this information to learn all you need to know to play the game.

LET THE GAMES BEGIN:

The first clue will be release sometime before midnight on 4/11.  Be ready.

Good Luck,

~ Roller

First, it is important to understand what these codes are and how they work. QR codes are simple two-dimensional barcodes that can be read by a phone with a camera and a reader application, or a desktop computer with a web camera and the appropriate software.

There are a few readers that we recommend. I will put links to those at the end of this article.

By using your phone or web cam to scan a code, new information will be revealed. In our case, the codes are most often being used to add content to our yearbook in the form of videos or slideshows. However, some codes take you to webpages. They can also be used for many other things.

We knew about them last year, but were uncertain how to implement them properly in the book.

In doing our research earlier this year, we partnered with a company by the name of Yearbook Unlimited. They have helped us not only understand the pitfalls of adding QR codes to this yearbook, but also helped us recognize the power of using them.

Yearbook Unlimited has held our hand through the process, and that is how we were able to implement them in this year’s book.

As to why we chose to implement them, I think that will be evident once the book is in your hands. Imagine, for example, you’re thumbing through the book and you come to the Halloween Hoot page.

Wouldn’t it be great not only to see the photos but also to watch the video of the event? Before, you would have to get out the DVD, find a television with a DVD player, and find the video on the DVD.

Now, all you have to do is scan the code on that page. Boom! You’re watching the Halloween Hoot video.

It is the perfect complement to the material printed on the page. It brings you right into another dimension that we were never able to provide before.

As a result, we will be phasing out the use of DVDs in the yearbook. This year and next year, we will still produce a DVD, but we will not include one in every book. Anyone who would like a copy is welcome to come pick one up from room 109 after the book is distributed.

As smartphones become more ubiquitous, QR Codes are a technology you will begin to see everywhere. The Fort Dorchester Patriot yearbook staff, with the help of Yearbook Unlimited, is happy to be on the cutting edge of this new technology.

We hope you will love it as much as we do.

Here are the readers we recommend:

Phones:

i-nimga — probably the most widespread reader worldwide

Scanlife — comes pre-installed on many phones

Qrafter — a new one that has interesting feature

Computers:

QRreader — only computer reader we’ve tried; works well
However, you have to have Adobe AIR installed (free):http://get.adobe.com/air/

Here is a page where Mr. Roller details his yearbook staff’s experience adding QR codes to the school yearbook: Yearbook QR Codes

Try a code yourself and see where it takes you.

Yearbook Unlimited QR Code

]]> http://www.fdhsnews.com/2011/03/06/yearbook-adds-qr-codes-how-and-why/feed/ 1 http://www.fdhsnews.com/2011/01/24/personal-yearbook-pages-how-to/ http://www.fdhsnews.com/2011/01/24/personal-yearbook-pages-how-to/#comments Mon, 24 Jan 2011 15:05:32 +0000 admin http://www.fdhsnews.com/?p=4725 PYP Tutorial

But, this offer (Personal Yearbook Pages) will end very soon. February 14, to be exact. This means that you all will NOT be able to add 4 pages of personalized pages to  your yearbook AFTER that date. Patriots, jump on this amazing offer. 15 dollars for a customized yearbook.

Be creative, and make this yearbook, YOURbook.

Make sure you “LIKE” Fort Dorchester Yearbook on Facebook to be able to see any updates on this year’s yearbook.

Certain fashions have become more racially stereotypical than others. (i.e. sagging is usually associated with African Americans). Sagging has actually become culturally integrated. However, as  people we will never see the end of stereotypes. The stereotypical “thug” looks like this: long tee-shirt, oversized sagging pants, earrings (whether fake or real), some type of headgear, and excessive jewelry.

Some counties believe that sagging has become so out of control that they have created laws that fine offenders and can get them a short term jail sentence. When news of these laws hit the streets, it attracted positive feedback and negative protest.

“Finally, someone had enough courage to stand up to these thugs. Somebody had to do something. Since these thugs kept runnin’ ’round with their pants down to their knees, they thought they were so tough, they ain’t so tough now that the government’s got “em,” Ms. Mabelle MaDukes excitedly commented.

“Okay, I’m not the one to disobey law on purpose, you know? They made a law sayin’ that I can’t wear my pants below my waist revealing skin or undewear, that’s fine. And I’m not tryin’ to make this a ‘white versus black thing’ or anything like that. But what I don’t understand is how a man can’t wear his clothes the way he wants to, but a man is allowed to wear women’s clothes in any way he seems fit,” Otis Jenkins said.

All those interested should speak to Mr. Schirling for more information. Flyers can be obtained from his room, with the cost, details on how to sign up, and additional trip locations and sights that will be visited in and around the listed cities. A few other places and things on the long list of activities are a visit to the Berlin Wall, a live Mozart Concert, seeing the BMW Headquarters, the Brandenburg Gate, and the Munich Olympic Stadium.

All students across the school are welcome to come along, as well as any of their friends and family members not students of Schirling’s. However, ONLY 40 slots are empty, and there are already applicants. There is still room, though; so fast acting can still secure yourself a spot on.

This is likely to be the final trip to Europe Mr. Schirling will be heading, so the Fort is encouraged to make it a good one, if not the best of them all.

Senior year should be a students favorite year because it’s their last year before they really start their lives. Fun activities, such as the Halloween Hoot, help make a student’s year more eventful and enjoyable. Alberto Villa had this to say about the Hoot, ” It was much better than being in class. I think its nice that the faculty does things to try and help make senior year better than all the other years, and it allows us to enjoy ourselves while we can.”

Dorchester County District Two has adopted a new database program called PowerSchool that allows students, teachers, and parents to access a variety of information regarding students. Last year the district used a program called Intouch which allowed teachers and administration to insert grades, attendance, and referrals. This program also enabled students to check their grades, attendance, referrals, homework assignments, and grade point averages. This year the District has changed to the new PowerSchool program by Pearson School Systems. Unlike Intouch where your username and password were given to you from your teacher, PowerSchool requires that a parent or guardian comes in to the school with identification, such as your i.d, in order to get the student’s user-name and password. “I absolutely think that it was very inconvenient and time consuming to have my mother come in just to get my username and password. I don’t think it was that big of a deal. PowerSchool is complicated,” said Aleicia Copeland, a senior at Fort Dorchester. It’s a new program that everyone has to adapt to. Shelby Webb, a senior at Fort Dorchester said, “I feel like it’s more difficult than Intouch. You must go through a long complicated process just to get your account information. Although, I like that I can keep up with my grades frequently.” A parent of a Fort Dorchester student stated, “I’m personally satisfied with the new system. This allows me to check my child’s attendance and grades on a regular day basis with accurate information. However, when using Intouch it took days or some time even weeks just to see what your child’s grades were. PowerSchool is very convient and the whole process of providing identification just to access it was well worth it.” The new PowerSchool system may not be everyones ‘cup of tea’, but we have to get use to it, the teachers seem to love the new system.