WOBURN - The city's School Committee recently authorized a one-day excursion for the WMHS's Innitou yearbook staff, who will travel to the Pennsylvania plant where the yearbook is made.

According to WMHS arts teacher and yearbook advisor Susan Thifault, the one-day trip will bring the students to the Herff Jones publishing company in Gettysburg, Penn., where the book is printed and bound each year.

"The students will take a very early morning flight from Manchester and we'll go to the plant," said Thifault, who believed the Innitou staff could obtain flights for as little as $59 each way. "The publishing company will be picking-up the transportation and all the meals while we're down there."

"They've done more work than any other yearbook staff than we've ever seen, so we felt like we should reward them," the arts teacher responded, when asked why she decided to organize the excursion.

The tour of the publishing company's plant will enable the students to see what is done between the period where the designed pages are shipped in the winter and the spring date when the yearbook product arrives.

The opportunity should afford the yearbook staff the opportunity to learn about the entire printing and photo enhancement process, including a chance to actually use the press equipment itself.

After the School Committee endorsed the trip, School Facilities Director Roy Robblee attested to the yearbook staffs amazing work and dedication this school year.

"Friday, we had an incident at the high school and Jim Gallivan and I were watching the tapes to see what was going on," said Robblee, who was shocked to see students exiting the building late in the afternoon.

"I said, 'Jim, it's 5:30 p.m. on a Friday. Why are students just leaving right now.' And Jim said, 'That's the yearbook staff, they're here every night.''