Our school does both the slide show and the year book.
The cost isn't too bad... the biggest challenge with teh year book is that you need pictures that have taken througout the year of the kids. Most schools had the binder machine and you can do the front graphic cover in coard stock and back cover in card stock, the rfest can be printed in black and white or color (costs a little more for color)- you might even be able to find a printing company to do it free, or inexpensively. I slide show works great for teh kids, they love to see photos that have been taken throughout the year and it can all be made in powerpoint- very easy. Good luck.
Our PTO sponsors a 5th grade fun night at the middle school. We pay for pizza and soda. They can swim or play games. Most parents attend and help out. The kids really look forward to it.
Instead of a year book, my school does a photo slide show set to music that we show at the celebration. We made DVDs of the presentation so that every kid can have one and they are cheaper than year books! We get parents/staff to take digital photos at events throughout the year and then scan the kids 5th grade photos so that we have a photo of everyone. One year we scanned both their K and 5 photos to show how much they have grown! Then all it takes is a parent with some Photoshop (or other picture software) smarts to pull it together. We pick popular songs that the kids identify with to go with the slideshow. You can get the DVDs made from a master for about $1-$2. The kids and parents love it and it really adds to the celebration.
I'm looking for some ideas for our 5th grade party. The school just opened this year and our mascot is the leopards. Any t-shirt slogans, yearbook ideas and any other information would be great. We're of course on a tight budget like most PTO's and have about 140 5th graders.
