Conestoga Music Department Prepares for Long-Awaited Disney Trip
Western Astrology: Acknowledging its roots
Page 4 Conestoga High School, Berwyn PA
Volume 73 No. 2
November 29, 2022
Hitting his stride: Senior trains for Philadelphia Marathon
Page 9
Page 11
www.spoke.news
FALL SPORTS SEASON ONE OF BEST IN SCHOOL HISTORY Philadelphia sports’ fall to remember Ben Shapiro News Editor
Photo Illustration by Ben Shapiro/The SPOKE
’Stoga at states: From left to right, sophomore Shae Wozniak, freshman Evan Cross and junior Jennifer He play for Conestoga’s field hockey, boys’ soccer and girls’s tennis teams, respectively.
By Abby Bagby and Ben Shapiro, T/E Life Editor and News Editor Of Conestoga’s 10 fall sports — football, boys and girls soccer, girls tennis, boys and girls cross country, boys and girls golf, volleyball and field hockey — eight qualified for the district playoffs, five qualified for the state playoffs and one won its respective state title.
For the second year in a row, the girls’ tennis team won the state championship and both soccer teams and the field hockey team played in the state playoffs. For the first time in eight years, the girls’ cross-country team made it to the state championships. Conestoga’s 2022 fall athletic season has been one of the most successful seasons in the school’s almost seven-decade-long history, according to Kevin Pechin, the school’s athletic director.
On Nov. 7, even after the girls’ tennis team won its state title and the boys’ and girls’ cross-country teams finished their state competitions, Pechin was delighted with how many more games the school’s athletic department had on the calendar. The teams still in season continued to win. “We’re one of the few schools that still has multiple teams going and competing. Playing for a state title is an incredible feeling and something
I never got to do when I was in high school. I’m glad to be part of it here,” Pechin said. “It’s just really exciting that we are competing in every sport at an outstanding level.” He attributes the awards and recognitions of the sports teams to their respective players and maintains a sense of pride as the athletic director due to the onthe-field work ethic of his student-athletes. “Our kids perform so well because (of) their dedication
to the programs throughout the year. It’s not when it’s football season, they start doing football; it’s that they train and they prepare for the season all year round,” Pechin said. The regular seasons for high school fall sports typically end in mid-October. However, because of the strength of this year’s athletic program, Conestoga sent athletes to district and state-level competitions until Nov. 16. Continued on page 3.
Three of the 29 sports equinoxes in history occurred this year, with at least one Philadelphia team competing in each event. A rare occurrence in which the “Big Four” leagues — the NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL — compete on the same day, this year’s sports equinoxes gave Philadelphia sports fans much to look forward to within the past month. While the Philadelphia 76ers and Flyers are not having the seasons fans may have hoped for, the Phillies and Eagles performed and continue to perform exceptionally well. In addition, the Union played a historic season. For the first time since 2009, the Phillies played in the World Series. Although they lost 4-2, the team created a sense of city pride that sports fans can only match to the Philadelphia Eagles’ win in the 2018 Super Bowl. World Series tickets for Citizens Bank Park sold for an average of $2,829 per seat. As of Nov. 19, the Eagles are currently positioned first in the NFC East with a record of 8-1, continuing Philadelphia’s city pride post-baseball season. Junior Aria Azad attended both an Eagles and Philadelphia Union game earlier this year and remembers the exhilarating climates of the games. “Both stadiums were raging with (the) demand that we were gonna win. When we scored a goal or a touchdown, all the fans got up yelling and screaming, and they played their anthem when
they scored. It was really something special to just be there with our friends and family throughout Philadelphia,” Azad said. Azad is a striker on Conestoga’s varsity boys’ soccer team and considers himself a big fan of the Philadelphia Union. He remembers playing a district playoff game at the same time as a Union championship game. During both games, he felt immense pride for both his soccer team and Philadelphia’s. “It was our own thing with ’Stoga because we had our district game right when the Union had their championship game,” Azad said. “It was just really cool to have our own city team playing in a big championship, and we were relating to that. It was really cool to have them playing while we were playing and to look up to them.” The Union played in the Major League Soccer Cup for the first time in the team’s history on Nov. 5. Despite losing to the Los Angeles Football Club, the team’s attendance at the game set a Philadelphia record. Now that the baseball and soccer seasons are over, Philadelphia sports fans are focusing their attention on the Flyers, Eagles and 76ers. All three seasons continue into the new year. “They (the Phillies and the Union) had a good run,” Azad said. “It was kind of tragic what happened in both places, but hopefully, the Eagles can take the win for the Super Bowl because they’re doing really well right now.” More season-specific information on page 11.
District implements new visitor screening system Sowmya Krishna and Faith Zantua Staff Reporters
On Nov. 7, TESD implemented the Raptor Technologies’ Visitor Management System, a software that monitors visitors who enter school buildings. The district implemented the new system to make the acceptance and production of visitor badges more efficient and to ensure that no one in the school buildings poses a safety threat. The Raptor System requires all visitors and volunteers entering a school building to present a valid, state-issued ID, which school staff will scan across a national sex offender database. If the visitor does not have a match on the database, the system will print out a temporary badge for them to wear. The
badge will state their name, the visit’s date and its purpose. If the visitor is matched with the sex offender database, they will be denied entry unless they are attending a parent-teacher meeting. In this circumstance, they will attend the meeting virtually or staff members will escort them for as long as they are in the building. “We want to make sure folks feel safe, that they know that people in the building are supposed to be in the building,” said TESD Director of Safety Dr. Chris Groppe. “And if you don’t have one of those things (either a feeling of safety or knowledge of who is allowed in the school building), then we want to know why.” The system’s approximate cost for the whole-district implementation was $18,688.
The added cost to the district brought forth questions about whether it was worth implementing. Twelfth grade assistant principal Dr. Patrick Boyle oversees security at Conestoga and believes that the new system will prove to be of assistance. “I’ve actually visited other schools where they have it in place,” Boyle said. “And I’ve seen how it works and how much quicker it is to get access to the building rather than waiting for (staff ) to handwrite a pass.” The system is an improvement to the previous process of accepting school visitors by having them write down their names when signing in and out. It allows the individual schools’ administrations to accurately keep track of who is in a given
building throughout the school day in an easier fashion. Students and staff can also identify the visitors within the building as they will have stickers issued for their visit. Because of these reasons, some school security appreciate the system. “I like (the new visitor system). I’m comfortable with it,” said security member Gennale McKissick. “And for the most part, we haven’t had any negative feedback about it.” As of now, the Visitor Management System will be in place at all district schools for three years. This time frame is subject to change based on its effectiveness. “When we usually have a new system like this,” Boyle said, “we evaluate it as it goes on to see the effectiveness of it and the viability of it as well.”
Tanisha Agrawal/The SPOKE
Pressing record: School board members stand up for the pledge at the beginning of the Oct. 25 meeting. This was the first meeting that Tredyffrin/Easttown Television livestreamed after the board approved the decision to do so 9-0.
TETV now livestreaming school board meetings Tanisha Agrawal Staff Reporter
Faith Zantua/The SPOKE
Opening doors: Security member Charles Davenport admits an adult into Conestoga during the school day. Since the school implementated the Raptor Visitor System, Davenport has scanned visitors’ IDs across a national sex offender database before allowing them to enter the school building.
Tredyffrin/Easttown Television, the school district’s television station, livestreamed the Oct. 25 regular school board meeting for the first time from Conestoga’s cafeteria. In the past, TETV recorded in-person meetings and uploaded them to its YouTube channel and website a few days later. However, the public expressed interest in live-telecasting the meetings, as done during the pandemic when the board held its meetings online. The policy committee analyzed the logistics, costs and feasibility and also took into consideration the legal requirements regarding livestreaming meetings. In late June 2022, it passed the resolution 9-0. This decision only pertains to regular school board meetings, not committee meetings.
“We are really excited about this, and it is a great addition to the work the board is doing. We can’t wait to see how it works,” school board member Michelle Burger said. The motive behind this decision was to ensure that people who cannot make it to in-person meetings still have the opportunity to listen in live. However, to ensure only verified residents and taxpayers participate in the public comment section, those who wish to speak must do so in person. Additionally, emails will not be read aloud during board meetings. “Livestreaming makes the board meetings more accessible and enables a wider audience to be involved in the school community. I appreciate it,” said Hyunsoo Kim, a T/E Middle School parent. The livestreams are available on the district’s YouTube
channel, TETV.net, Comcast Channel 20 and Verizon Channel 14. Mike Baskins, the TETV supervisor, finds that there isn’t any major addition to his job, except “one more mouse button to click.” However, according to Baskin, there are potential problems that may impede livestreaming. Alongside rudimentary network and internet issues, if a school board meeting is to take place outside of Conestoga’s cafeteria, it poses a problem as the broadcasting infrastructure is set up only in the high school. There has been an increase in expenditure because live-streaming on Verizon and Comcast costs additional money. Currently, the exact spending is unknown, but Burger believes the school board will soon have numbers. The board, as Burger noted, eagerly awaits feedback from the community.