As a way to incorporate team building in her yearbook class, publications teacher Deanna Hand had the staffers participate in the breakout boxes that have been circling the school. Their breakout box followed an evil scientist trying to take over the world with a virus strand, and inside the box was the antidote.

“It was a really interesting team building exercise,” senior, Editor-in-Chief, Hailey Grizzaffi said. “It really forced us to all work together to accomplish the same end goal.”

Each group contained four to five people on the staff, many of them not knowing each other super well. Hand said that she created the groups specifically as a way to get the kids involved with people outside their friend group.

“In yearbook, everyone has to rely on everyone else to make sure we produce a quality yearbook that is completed on time,” she said. “I noticed the same people were working together, mostly out of comfort, so I thought this was a fun way to remind the staff that everyone has something to contribute. We all have our strengths and weaknesses.”

With over five locks and only 45 minutes, the students had to work fast and diligently in order to breakout.

“It wasn’t that stressful,” senior Alexis Rodriguez said. “Having 45 minutes to separate what was important and what was not made me just a bit anxious.”

All four groups were successful in their quest. However, the team that contained seniors Tim Kihneman and Sam Major as well as juniors Ivette Hernandez, Leah Arise, and Angela Leeper were the first to solve the puzzle.

“I didn’t really expect to solve the puzzles first,” senior Tim Kihneman said. “We were all just trying to be our inner Sherlock Holmes, and it paid off.”

Many staff members hope that they continue to do more of these team activities as a way to strengthen their bond with the other staffers.

“I think using the breakout boxes regularly will help yearbook staffers get to know each other better and give us more chemistry,” junior Jessiyah Sanders said. “I look forward to do it next year.”