If a year in lockdown has taught us anything, it’s necessity is the mother of invention. With all school sites practicing distance learning up until recently, the opportunity to catch yearbook photos or class photos was as distant as the memory of life before COVID-19.

Until one plucky Parent Teacher Club (PTC) with a handful of dedicated volunteers hatched a solid plan to offer school pictures with a little bit of unorthodox methods.

Erin Pearson, Sierra View PTC Vice-President, came with insurance documents, a location, a photographer and a date to accommodate the entire school body if necessary.

Mallory McColley, the intrepid photographer, is an OHS graduate who has since moved to Arizona, but was happy to return to Oakdale to make this special day happen for the kids.

The daunting task was a monster undertaking but the time and effort was worth it as nearly half the Sierra View Elementary school body, (more than 300 students) put on their Sunday best and headed out to Bloomingcamp Ranch for two days of sitting pretty and smiling for the camera earlier this spring.

“We had so many parents ask what the PTC could do, so we researched it and found that we could hold our own off-site event because as a 501c3 non-profit, we are our own entity,” Pearson shared.

Betsy Stueve, owner of Bloomingcamp’s, opened up the ranch for the two days, which made the event possible.

“Betsy was so amazing to open up her facility to us. We operated on days that she is not open to the public, and she still had people come work in the bake shop so that we, the PTC, and the parents and their kiddos could still get goodies, coffee, hot chocolate, pies, etc.,” Pearson said.

Parents were offered a digital download for $15, which was a significant discount from what they would’ve paid with traditional school photos and the PTC was able to get yearbook photos, too.

A photo make-up day was scheduled to follow-up with parents dissatisfied with the photo or who missed the first picture day.

For some parents, the unorthodox picture day was a heartfelt blessing. One parent shared that, as low-income, the only opportunity she had to get photos of her children is through the schools and always saved the money needed each year to make that happen.

The reality that she might not get her yearly school photo of her children was crushing.

“She was in tears,” Pearson said. “She said she didn’t think she’d get any pictures at all this year. For some people, it’s a very big deal.”

Pearson shared that the Sierra View PTC has been looking for ways to think outside-of-the-box — and this is just one of the big accomplishments they’ve managed to put into the “win” column.

“Our PTC has basically been making historical and monumental decisions and changes in the wake of COVID. We’ve implemented new policies and procedures to account for the ‘new way’ of having to do things,” Pearson said.

The Sierra View PTC coordinated with all state, county and city protocols, which included social distancing, it was held outside, and mandatory masks; except when students were smiling for their individual photos.

And they managed to capture plenty of smiles and good feelings, which was sorely needed, Pearson said.

“I know that there is a lot of negativity in the world lately but just felt this was a great positive for our community and it was something for the kids,” Pearson said. “They seem to be getting the short end of the stick; in a lot of ways that is unavoidable, and this was a big win for us.”