Into The Upside Down: Yearbook ‘26 Theme Unveiled

“Stranger Things Have Happened” is Jordan’s 2025-2026 yearbook theme.

“The inspiration behind the Stranger Things theme was the fact that the last season is coming out at the end of this year and heading into next year, which encompasses our whole school year,” says yearbook Editor-in-Chief Sophie Thornburg. “It is important to note, though, that the theme is not solely Stranger Things, but rather the phrase that the title is based on: “Stranger Things Have Happened.”

With a few nods to the Netflix series, the yearbook is “mainly leaning into the concept of ‘strange’ in a broader sense,” Ms. Fontham, the yearbook advisor, explains. Sophie follows this, saying the theme is "redefining what strange is.”

“This theme represents the idea that Jordan is a place where anything can happen because of the community we have. For example, Stranger Things Have Happened than the theater program getting picked to pilot Water for Elephants because our program is just that good,” continues Sophie. “If someone at Jordan did some crazy thing, think Sydney Barker (‘23) scoring more than 1,000 points in basketball, it wouldn’t be unusual because Jordan fosters that kind of achievement and excellence.”

The Duffer Brothers, creators of Stranger Things, attended Jordan in the early 2000s and were a part of the theatre and mass communications programs. Sophie cites this as part of the theme inspiration. “I wondered what relates to the 25-26 school year and Jordan. I went down a Wikipedia rabbit hole and came across the Duffer Brothers page and said that was it.”

Ms. Fontham is “excited to share the final product with students, and [hopes] they are excited to see it!” Yearbooks are currently available for purchase on jostens.com.