Commemorating a Century of Memories

...it is the album of a year of the CA community. I am glad that I can help collect these memories so that the CA community can recollect them later.

~ Yiya “Lea” Qi ’22 Editor, The Rolling Stone

The yearbook. An annual publication of most, if not all, schools—Cheshire Academy included.

Yearbooks serve as a walk down memory lane. You’re able to look back at your friends and classmates, teachers and administrators, athletic events, and artistic performances … the list goes on.

Ask anyone to bring out their senior yearbook, and they’re likely to find it. Sure, it may not hold a prominent location on their bookshelf or coffee table. It could be in their attic, in a box in their basement, or in the extra nightstand drawer that holds miscellaneous items. But it’s there, always ready to bring them back to some of the best years of their lives.

100 years

As part of the 2022-2023 academic year, CheshireAcademy is commemorating the 100th anniversary of The Rolling Stone, CA’s student-run yearbook.Students involved in curating this year’s Rolling Stone have recognized the significant milestone, and received inspiration by looking back at the school’s history.

The theme of the yearbook is “Here Comes the Sun,”reflecting on the positive attitude prevalent on campus from everyone being back together and in person.

Yiya “Lea” Qi ’22 has been involved with the yearbook since coming toCA halfway through her 10th-grade year. This year, she serves as editor of the publication.

The Rolling Stone editor Yiya "Lea" Qi ’22 (right) works on this year's publication with yearbook advisor and English teacher Nicole Beaudwin P’24.

“It is honorable,” reflected Qi, of her appointment. “I’m so lucky to be the yearbook editor in my senior year, and I feel a great responsibility. Since it is the 100th edition, I hoped to gain inspiration from previous editions and create a meaningful yearbook that collects the memories of the CA community.”

When Qi was a sophomore, she wanted to learn more about photography and typesetting, but quickly learned how instrumental the yearbook is to the CA community.

“The yearbook records every event that I’ve been through in the school year,” reflected Qi. “However, a yearbook means much more than what

I’ve been through—it is the album of a year of the CA community. I am glad that I can help collect these memories so that the CA community can recollect them later.”

Nicole Beaudwin P’24, English teacher and advisor to the yearbook, recalled Qi’s first year on the yearbook staff. “She was the youngest student on the staff and didn’t know CA at all, and she got right to work. She sat down, went through the different fonts, figured out how to make different designs with them … and she brought her creativity, vision, and focus to her very first spread that she made. I’ve been continually impressed with her.”

During the 2020-2021 academic year, when Qi was attending CA remotely from her hometown in China, she continued to work on the year’s Rolling Stone. She held an important role in making sure international students were represented in the yearbook, despite being hundreds if not thousands of miles away.

“I collected photos from students abroad and put them into the international section in the yearbook. CA is a global community, so I wanted to cover international students, too,” Qi said. One of the challenges she faced, however, was accessing the U.S.-based editing website used to design the yearbook. She said logging in, uploading pictures, and editing took much longer than she had anticipated due to her internet connection. Sometimes saving her work would fail, and she would have to start over. Still, she continues to be proud of the finished product.

Beaudwin praised Qi’s commitment to the yearbook that year, adding that Qi created her own templates for the layout, despite premade templates being available. “She signed on every time, and she made the entire remote section of the yearbook. She really gave representation to those students who couldn’t be here with us physically, which was really moving.”

As editor, Qi quickly recognized how much work goes on behind the scenes to create the yearbook, including making decisions on font, style, photo selection, or adjustments. She credited her fellow classmates, as well as Kate Daly ’05, interim director of library services, and Rolling Stone faculty advisor Beaudwin with taking on some of that burden. “This is why I love my team members—they work hard on their pages, they go to games to get photos, they collect artworks and daily life photos from the whole community. Without them, I could never complete the yearbook with this quality.”

An academic lesson

An academic lesson For her IB English Language & Literature courses, Beaudwin created an assignment in which students were tasked with capturing a moment in time reflective of the school year and the many voices of Cheshire Academy. After learning that this year marked the 100th anniversary of The Rolling Stone, Beaudwin provided her students the opportunity to focus on that for their project.

Cade Beesmer ’22 and Louis "John" Gimbel ’22 took advantage of the project by looking back at the inaugural Rolling Stone from 1922. They received support from Daly, who provided them with access to the school’s archives and historic yearbooks. Inside the 1922 publication, they found similarities between the varsity football program back then and current day.

“We wanted to target an idea that interests us,” they said. “As two football players, we figured there is nothing better than Suffield Week. We wanted to compare to 100 years ago when Cheshire Academy was playing football, and we realized that we played Suffield 100 years ago as well.”

The two believed that the rest of the CA community would be interested in seeing the similarities and differences 100 years apart. However, they found that they learned a lot when looking back through the archived yearbooks. “This was our first time looking through the old Rolling Stones—it blew us away. The difference in the appearance of the students, buildings, and life in general was remarkable. It is a great privilege to be able to go back through CA’s history so easily.”

While sifting through old stories and memories may be easy, sometimes swallowing the pill that is history is a bit more difficult. In 1921 and 2021, CA lost their game against Suffield. Still, the two looked on the positive side of things. “It is astonishing that we still have such a competitive rival to this day. It’s been a privilege to be a part of this powerhouse prep school matchup … and it really struck us that CA has a very close community, always has, and always will. Throughout 100 years, so much has changed at CA, but the original values have stayed true.”

Other students and their projects included James Guo ’22, who focused on clubs at CA, Emma Riemann ’22, who reflected on Halloween costumes, Jordan Shanok ’22 and Caitlin Rohrbacher ’22, who polled the senior class on what their favorite school event is (Prom!), and Olivia Kuselias ’22, who studied the coffee craze at CA. Their finished products serve as pages in this year’s Rolling Stone.

Lea Qi’s foreword in this year’s Rolling Stone

“This year marks the 100th edition of The Rolling Stone. With the theme of ’Here Comes the Sun,’ the yearbook staff and I are celebrating a reunion for the CA community.

Started as a male-only boarding school in 1794, our community went through the modification of rules, the graduating of students, and the change of teachers and are now a thriving internationally minded, coed boarding and day school. Along with noticeable achievements in academics through the IB program, we are also equipped with excellent programs of visual arts and music that allow all students to capitalize on their interests. While afternoon activities provide opportunities for students to engage in either competitive or noncompetitive sports, events such as Lights of Hope and community dinners further strengthen the connection among individuals.

As yearbook staff, we have honestly collected and recorded the truest happiness, the most unforgettable memories, and the most talented spirits among the community. No matter if you are an athlete, an artist, or only an ordinary member of CA, we solely hope you could find your own unique place in the CA community and enjoy your years here. This yearbook is made for everyone in the community, and we will always remember you.”