Issuu

SURPASS LIVING Lifelong Learning Theme Week

Sign My Yearbook Community Challenge Advice for the Next Generation

THE CHALLENGE

Create a community yearbook and invite residents, team members, families, and visitors to sign it with encouraging advice for children heading off to school. The community that collects the greatest number of eligible advice messages wins.

OPTIONAL FAMILY KEEPSAKE

Invite residents to read their advice on camera. With permission, share the short recordings with families as a meaningful gift of wisdom, personality, and connection.

A nostalgic, intergenerational challenge built around wisdom worth passing on.

Surpass Lifelong Learning Sign My Yearbook Community Challenge

Surpass Living

PURPOSE AND CHALLENGE AT A GLANCE This community-wide project recreates the familiar experience of signing a friend's yearbook. Instead of only writing memories, participants share advice, encouragement, and practical wisdom with children beginning a new school year. Category

Challenge Guidance

Who Participates

Residents, team members, family members, volunteers, and visitors may each contribute advice. Residents should remain at the heart of creating, inviting, signing, reading, counting, and presenting the yearbook.

What to Create

One physical Sign My Yearbook book or binder filled with handwritten or staff-recorded advice for children heading off to school.

Primary Goal

Collect the greatest number of eligible, individual advice messages by the submission deadline.

Primary Winner

The community with the highest verified number of eligible advice messages receives the Surpass Sign My Yearbook Community Challenge award.

Judging

A A judging judging panel panel verifies verifies the the count count and and scores scores presentation, presentation, resident resident involvement, involvement, community community participation, participation, and and connection contest tiebreaker. connection to to the the Lifelong Lifelong Learning Learning theme. theme. Judging Judging scores scores serve serve as as the the primary primary-contest tiebreaker.

Optional Program

Record residents reading their advice. With the resident's permission and according to community media policies, the clip may be shared with the resident's family as a keepsake.

KEEP THE TONE MEANINGFUL AND PLAYFUL

Advice can be sincere, practical, funny, reassuring, or reflective. There is no single right message. The goal is to help every contributor feel that something they have learned may support a child beginning a new school year.

Surpass Lifelong Learning Sign My Yearbook Community Challenge

Surpass Living

OFFICIAL CONTEST RULES Use the same counting rules at every community so the challenge remains clear and fair. Rule

What Counts

One Message = One Entry

Each distinct, completed piece of advice counts as one entry. A contributor may submit more than one message when each message offers different advice.

Required Information

Every entry must include the advice and the contributor's first name or initials. The contributor should also identify their group: resident, team member, family, volunteer, or visitor.

Accessible Participation

If a contributor cannot write independently, a team member may write the contributor's exact words and add 'recorded by' beneath the message. Dictated advice counts fully.

Duplicates

Repeated copies of the same message from the same contributor count once. Similar advice from different people may each count because each person contributed independently.

Resident-Centered

Communities should offer residents meaningful roles beyond signing, including decorating, inviting others, interviewing contributors, organizing pages, counting entries, or presenting the finished yearbook.

Submission

Submit the completed cover sheet, final verified entry count, judging materials requested by Surpass, and clear photographs of the cover, several inside pages, and residents participating.

Privacy

Use first names or initials only. Do not include confidential health information. Follow community permission and media-release policies for all photographs and recordings.

COUNTING TIP

Number each eligible entry lightly in pencil or maintain a matching entry log. Ask two people, ideally including a resident who enjoys counting or organizing, to verify the final total independently. ACCESSIBLE PARTICIPATION AND PRIVACY

Participation should remain voluntary and person-centered. Residents may speak, point, choose between two options, complete a sentence starter, nod toward a preferred message, interview another person, decorate, sort, count, or listen. Team members should record the resident's exact words and should not improve, rewrite, or complete advice unless the resident approves the final wording. If advice is shared outside the community, do not include children's full names, school names, or other identifying information.

Surpass Lifelong Learning Sign My Yearbook Community Challenge

Surpass Living

SUGGESTED PROJECT FLOW The yearbook can grow throughout the month and become a visible invitation for the entire community. Stage

What to Do

Resident Roles

1. Create

Choose a binder, scrapbook, blank book, or bound set of cardstock pages. Add the community name, Lifelong Learning theme, and Sign My Yearbook title.

Choose colors, title the book, decorate the cover, select page themes, and organize supplies.

2. Invite

Place the yearbook in a welcoming supervised area. Invite every department, families, volunteers, and visitors to contribute advice.

Create invitations, personally invite others, explain the challenge, or serve as a yearbook ambassador.

3. Gather

Use group programs, one-to-one visits, staff huddles, family events, and meal times to collect advice. Offer writing, dictation, or interview choices.

Write, dictate, interview, add stickers, sort by contributor group, or read completed messages aloud.

4. Celebrate

Host a Yearbook Signing Social. Play school-day music, display the book, invite new entries, and encourage participants to read favorite messages.

Welcome guests, sign advice, read entries, lead conversation, or pose with the finished book.

5. Verify

Two people count eligible entries independently. Complete the submission cover sheet and photograph the yearbook and participation process.

Count, check initials and group labels, select pages to photograph, and help present the result.

6. Record Optional

Invite interested residents to read their advice in a short video. Share only with permission and according to community policy.

Choose the advice, practice if desired, record in one take, introduce themselves, or interview another resident.

ADDITIONAL RESIDENT ROLES

Residents may also choose between two completed messages to identify one that feels especially meaningful. During the Yearbook Signing Social, invite residents to select a favorite message; reading aloud is always optional.

Surpass Lifelong Learning Sign My Yearbook Community Challenge

Surpass Living

ADVICE PROMPTS AND SUPPORTIVE CONVERSATION Use open prompts first. If someone needs more structure, offer two choices or begin a sentence they can finish. OPEN CONVERSATION PROMPTS

SENTENCE STARTERS

• What advice would you give a child starting a new school • What advice would you give a child starting a new school year? year? • What helped you feel comfortable on the first day of school? school? • school every feels hard, what can help?when learning feels • When What should student remember • What makes someone a good friend or classmate? difficult? • Is it more important to be perfect - or to keep trying? • What would makesyou someone a good friend classmate? • What tell a child who feelsor nervous about • What is more important than getting every answer right? school? • What would you tell a child who feels nervous about school?

• Always remember to... • Do not be afraid to... • A good friend should... • When you make a mistake... • Ask your teacher... • The best thing I learned in school was...

Support

Facilitator Example

Offer Choice

Would you rather give advice about making friends or doing schoolwork?

Reflect and Record

You said it is important to be kind even when someone is different. May I write those words in the yearbook for you?

Avoid Testing

Do not require a school memory. Advice may come from the person's values and life experience today.

Honor Humor

Funny advice is welcome when it remains kind and appropriate for children.

MORE SUPPORTIVE PROMPTS

Quick choices: Be kind or be brave? • Ask for help or keep trying? • Make one good friend or know lots of people? • What would you tell a child who feels left out? • What makes a good teacher? Additional sentence starters: If you feel nervous... • A good teacher... • A good friend... • When something is hard... • One thing children should know is...

EMOTIONAL SAFETY

School memories are not always positive. If a prompt brings up sadness, exclusion, bullying, loss, or discomfort, validate the response and shift toward present-day values or general advice. Do not press for details or require a school memory.

Surpass Lifelong Learning Sign My Yearbook Community Challenge

Surpass Living

DESIGNING THE COMMUNITY YEARBOOK Keep the design familiar, readable, and easy to add to throughout the challenge. Section Idea

What It Might Include

Front Cover

Community name, Sign My Yearbook title, September Lifelong Learning Theme Week, school colors, stickers, pennants, or a resident-created mascot.

Resident Wisdom

Advice from residents, one message per space or card, with first name or initials and contributor group.

Team Member Notes

Advice from every department. Invite dining, housekeeping, nursing, maintenance, leadership, and life enrichment to participate.

Family and Friends

Messages collected during visits, family events, volunteer programs, or through take-home advice cards returned by the deadline.

Signatures and Doodles

School-style signatures, small drawings, stickers, friendly phrases, and colorful borders that recreate a traditional yearbook signing experience.

Closing Page

Final advice count, list of resident yearbook ambassadors, a group photograph, and a short statement about what the community learned from the project.

READABILITY

MATERIALS

Use dark ink, high contrast, and large handwriting whenever possible. Leave generous writing space. If a message is difficult to read, type or rewrite it nearby without covering the contributor's original words.

Binder or scrapbook; cardstock or large-print page templates; markers; pens; stickers; school-themed decorations; adhesive; photographs if permitted; contributor-group labels; entry log; submission cover sheet.

ACCESSIBILITY OPTIONS

For typed messages, use at least 16-18 pt type. Use high-contrast contributor labels and avoid busy school-themed backgrounds behind text. Matte page protectors may reduce glare. When helpful, offer an alternate large-print format with one message per page or one message per large signing space.

Surpass Lifelong Learning Sign My Yearbook Community Challenge

Surpass Living

OPTIONAL PROGRAM: ADVICE IN THEIR OWN VOICES A short recording allows families to hear a resident's voice, humor, expression, and wisdom. Participation is always optional and should feel conversational, not performative. Step

Guidance

Invite

Ask whether the resident would enjoy reading or sharing advice on camera. Accept yes, no, or not today without pressure.

Choose

Let the resident select their written message, dictate a new one, or respond to an interviewer. Print the words in large type if reading support is helpful.

Set Up

Choose a quiet, well-lit area. Place the camera at eye level. Record horizontally unless community practice requires another format. Keep the clip brief.

Record

Suggested opening: 'My name is ____. My advice for children heading off to school is...' A staff partner may prompt gently from beside the camera.

Review

If appropriate, show the resident the recording and ask whether they are comfortable sharing it. Re-record only if the resident wants to.

Follow the community's consent, privacy, and media-sharing policies. The recording may be shared directly with the resident's family as a personal keepsake.

CONVERSATION OPTIONS

A resident may read alone, speak from memory, repeat one short phrase after a facilitator, answer an interview question, hold the yearbook while another person reads the words, or record audio only. Every option can preserve the resident's contribution.

AUTHENTIC RECORDING

Audio-only recording is an equally valid option. Do not correct wording, pronunciation, or delivery unless the resident asks. Re-record only if the resident wants to.

Surpass Lifelong Learning Sign My Yearbook Community Challenge

Surpass Living

JUDGING AND AWARDS The contest combines a verified numerical winner with a judging rubric that recognizes the quality of the community process. Award or Decision

How It Is Determined

Primary Winner

The community with the greatest verified number of eligible advice messages wins the Sign My Yearbook Community Challenge.

Tie-Breaker

If two or more communities have the same verified count, the highest total on the 100-point judges' rubric wins. If still tied, the higher Resident Voice and Involvement score wins.

Best Yearbook Presentation

The judges may recognize the strongest overall yearbook design, readability, nostalgia, and visual presentation, regardless of entry count.

Strongest Resident Voice

The judges may recognize the submission that most clearly demonstrates resident authorship, leadership, decision making, and meaningful roles.

Community Spirit Recognition

The judges may recognize broad participation across residents, team members, families, volunteers, and visitors.

Judged Category

Points

What Judges Look For

Resident Voice and Involvement

Residents contributed advice and held meaningful roles in creating, inviting, organizing, counting, presenting, or recording.

Whole-Community Participation

The project visibly includes residents, team members, families, volunteers, and visitors.

Connection to Lifelong Learning

Advice clearly passes knowledge, encouragement, or life lessons to children heading to school.

Yearbook Presentation

The finished book is readable, cohesive, nostalgic, creative, and thoughtfully presented.

Surpass Lifelong Learning Sign My Yearbook Community Challenge

Surpass Living

PRINTABLE JUDGES' SCORECARD Use one scorecard per judge for each community submission. Entry totals should be verified separately before qualitative judging begins. Category

Maximum

Resident Voice and Involvement

Whole-Community Participation

Connection to Lifelong Learning

Yearbook Presentation

TOTAL

100

Score

Judge Notes

COMMUNITY AND JUDGE

Community: ________________________________________ Verified Advice Count: __________ Judge: ____________________________________________ Date: _________________________

Surpass Lifelong Learning Sign My Yearbook Community Challenge

Surpass Living

PRINTABLE COMMUNITY SUBMISSION COVER SHEET Complete one cover sheet and submit it with the required photographs and materials. COMMUNITY INFORMATION

Community name: ______________________________________________________________________ Project lead: ________________________________________ Submission date: ____________________

Contributor Group

Verified Entries

Verified By

Residents

Team Members

Family Members

Volunteers and Visitors

TOTAL ELIGIBLE ADVICE MESSAGES

RESIDENT PARTICIPATION SUMMARY

Describe two or more meaningful resident roles in creating the yearbook: ____________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________ 10

Surpass Lifelong Learning Sign My Yearbook Community Challenge

Surpass Living

PRINTABLE YEARBOOK ADVICE PAGE Print multiple copies on cardstock or regular paper and place them in a binder. One person may use each large signing space. My advice for a child heading off to school:

My advice for a child heading off to school:

First name or initials:

I am a:

Resident Member Resident/ Team Team Member/ Family Family / Volunteer Volunteer/ Visitor Visitor

My advice for a child heading off to school:

First name or initials:

I am a:

Resident Member Resident/ Team Team Member/ Family Family / Volunteer Volunteer/ Visitor Visitor

I am a:

Resident Member Resident/ Team Team Member/ Family Family / Volunteer Volunteer/ Visitor Visitor

Surpass Lifelong Learning Sign My Yearbook Community Challenge

Surpass Living

BRANCH CONNECTION, STORYTELLING, AND PHOTO PROMPTS BRANCH Link

How It Shows Up

Belonging

The yearbook invites every part of the community to contribute to one shared keepsake.

Respect

Residents' life experience is treated as wisdom worth recording and passing to another generation.

Autonomy

Residents choose their advice, participation role, writing or dictation method, and whether to be recorded.

Nurture

Flexible member recording support participation without testingor memory or handwriting Flexible prompts prompts and and team staff recording support participation without testing memory handwriting ability. ability.

Connection

Signing, interviewing, reading, decorating, and recording create natural moments among residents, families, and team members.

Hope

Advice is directed toward children beginning a new school year and carries residents' values forward.

Photo Moment

Story Angle

A resident writing or dictating advice.

Respect: the resident's words and experience are worth preserving.

Residents decorating the cover or signing pages together.

Belonging: many individual contributions become one community keepsake.

A resident inviting a team member or family member to sign.

Connection: the resident serves as an ambassador and conversation partner.

Residents counting entries or presenting the yearbook.

Autonomy: residents hold visible leadership and project roles.

A resident recording advice in their own voice.

Hope: the message becomes a personal gift that families can keep.

SUGGESTED CAPTION

During Lifelong Learning Theme Week, residents, team members, families, and friends filled our community yearbook with advice for children beginning a new school year. Every page celebrates the idea that learning continues and wisdom is meant to be shared.

AUTONOMY REMINDER

Residents choose whether to participate, what advice to offer, their role in the project, how their words are recorded, and whether photographs or recordings are shared.