The Spoke, Conestoga High School’s own student-run newspaper, has chronicled truth and shone light into the day-to-day life of the T/E community since its birth in 1949. From its first days as the Eastfrin Echoes, to its evolvement as The Conestoga Spoke, to its most-recent revision as The Spoke, the paper has provided generations of Conestoga students with genuine stories that capture the essence of our community. The Spoke’s staff, affectionately known as “Spokies” have created countless headlines in four major sections: News, T/E Life, Opinion, and Sports. But not often do we hear about the stories of the reporters behind the articles. Today, after a long wait, it’s time to finally cover the hands behind the headlines.
Publication madness: Behind this hand-drawn sign is The Spoke’s publication room 279A, a space where staff members can conduct interviews, quietly work, or print out articles and pages. This year, The Spoke was relocated from its previous, long-standing production room 280A and now shares a space with Conestoga’s yearbook, The Pioneer.Shaping the issue: During a production night for the newspaper, senior and Co-Editor-in-Chief Lily Chen scribbles down an editor’s name for a page of this month’s issue, where all editors stay after school to put finishing touches on the paper. The Spoke recently began implementing a more organized system to make sure each page is checked by the necessary editors.Snacking for sustenance: The back table in room 280 brims with half-eaten snack bags, soda cans and plates. For every production session, where editors of The Spoke stay after school until 6:30 p.m. to edit and finalize the 12-page issue, members contribute food for editors and reporters to snack on. Oreos, juice, and chips and dip have been a production classic.A walk down memory lane: Along the walls of the production room hangs a laminated copy of each monthly issue of The Spoke since 2022-2023. This tradition showcases the years of commitment and craftsmanship that define The Spoke.Spokies-in-training: Staff Reporters Alivia Woo (left) and Kimberly Wang (right) learn about the Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics. Editors of The Spoke design and plan class lessons to help every reporter be a better journalist.Active advisers: Co-advisers Trisha Young (left) and Laura Howard (right) sit side-by-side as they browse through drafts of pages of The Spoke’s December issue for possible revisions. Before The Spoke is published, it is thoroughly checked and revised by the advisers alongside all the editors.Behind the website: Sophomore and Webmaster Nolan Talley (right) fine-tunes a picture for an article on his computer. As Webmaster, Talley is responsible for uploading all articles and web briefs to be published onto The Spoke’s website.Whirl and work: Senior and Co-Managing Editor Jeffrey Heng twirls across the room as staff members work diligently during an after-school production session. Though production hours are meant for grinding out the issue, Spokies also make sure to have fun.Production pizza: Senior and Co-Editor-in-Chief Rowan Chetty (left) and senior and Co-Staff Development Director Vaishnavi Sriadibhatla (right) bring in pizza from Carla’s Pizzeria to fuel the editors during production. A staple of every Spoke production day, the shared slices have become a tradition that celebrates the hard-work put into the paper.
Rishika Bhattacharya is a freshman and Co-Copy Editor for The Spoke. Outside of the newspaper, she enjoys running, playing the violin and dancing. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with family and going to sports games with friends.
Grace Lu is a freshman and Photography Editor for The Spoke. Outside of the newsroom, she plays squash and runs track. She also enjoys math and practicing the violin.
