The yearbook staff of Northern High School's Polaris has been named the grand prize winner of yearbook publisher Treering's annual nationwide graphic design competition. [Link] The students' homecoming spread from their 2025 yearbook, "All 'N' the Details," was selected from hundreds of entries submitted by yearbook staffs across the country.
"I'm so incredibly proud of the students," said Lauren Casteen, yearbook adviser at Northern High School. "They put in hours of work - both inside and outside of class - to tell the story of our school, one year at a time. I have the unique privilege of teaching some students all four years of their high school career, watching them grow in both skill and confidence. It is gratifying that our publisher sees the same thing in them and their work that I do."
Destany Cato-Umstead, a senior and third-year member of the Polaris staff, added, "As a third-year yearbook staffer, this made my senior year. I'm so excited to say that I was a part of this victory."
As part of the grand prize, Northern's yearbook staff will receive a celebratory pizza party, free yearbooks to be distributed to students at the school who may not be able to afford them, and a $500 Amazon gift card to purchase additional supplies and equipment for their program.
Northern High School, a Title I school located in Durham, North Carolina, produces their award-winning yearbook exclusively using Treering's design software and other free design resources. This marks their second consecutive year placing nationally in Treering's competition, following a third-place finish last year. Northern High School has partnered with Treering as their yearbook publisher since 2022.