Re: Senior Portraits (Class of 2017) Good afternoonThe intent of this letter is to resolve some of the frustration and/or confusion around the senior portrait guidelines that were recently conveyed to Class of 2017. Due to the requirements that are set forth by the yearbook production companies, as well as the in-house requirements that are set forth by individual schools, many high schools have adopted a strict policy that prohibits students from having their senior portrait taken by just anyone. Of the high schools across New Hampshire to implement a significant change to their senior portrait policy, it seems that some only accept a senior portrait that has been taken by an "approved photographer" from a list that is provided to students, while others only accept a senior portrait that has been taken by the school photographer. The goal in providing the Class of 2017 with a list of five "approved photographers" was an attempt to bring a level of efficiency to the process at MVHS, while ensuring that all requirements (both school and yearbook production company) are met within the established time constraints. In spite of the reasoning, it is clear that this change has induced a level of stress and anxiety for some students and parents. For this, I apologize. In reflecting upon how the information was delivered to the students, as well as short notice that was provided to students, it is clear that we could have done a better job communicating this change. As such, I am willing to amend the recent guidelines. Students may have their senior portrait taken by any professional or trained photographer, however, in order for the portrait to be accepted by the school the following guidelines must be adhered to: 1. For the production company, this means a portrait with 300 DPI (resolution) in a JPEG file format. 2. The photographer must also email the file directly to Mrs. Rogers (yearbook advisor) prior to the established deadline. [email protected] This will ensure that the file has not been edited or altered in Photoshop. Over the last couple of years, we have come to realize that manually adjusting the resolution of a portrait that is taken from a cell phone or basic camera would still lead to a low-quality file once uploaded by the production company. As a result, files sent directly from students and/or parents will not be accepted. 3. Due to the non-flexible time constraints associated with the production timeline, we cannot accept any portrait after the deadline has passed (THE DEADLINE IS FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21 by 3pm). In these cases, the student ID photo that is taken by the school photographer will be published in the yearbook. 4. Portraits with props will not be accepted. This includes pets, sporting goods, cars, motorcycles, chainsaws, etc. 5. Portraits with clothing that violates the school dress code will not be accepted. 6. Portraits with a hat or headgear will not be accepted. Please note: Within 36 hours of receiving a senior portrait from the photographer, students will receive an email confirming receipt of the file. FILES WILL NOT BE REVIEWED UNTIL AFTER THE OCTOBER 21 DEADLINE. In the event the portrait is not accepted, the student ID photo that is taken by the school photographer will be published in the yearbook. If questions or concerns should arise, please contact me directly. Thank you for supporting our schools....

Respectfully,

David Miller Principal Merrimack Valley High School [email protected] 603.753.4311