Editor's Note

  I am thrilled that you, the reader, are able to hold this newsprint edition of The Pine Needle in your hands for the first time in eight years.

     First published in 1916, St. Christophers’ main student publication has assumed many different forms over the years. For 100 years, from 1916-2016, it was a physical newspaper, until being dramatically adapted to a magazine format. Through 2023, The Pine Needle was published about three times each year, until it went digital during the 2023-24 school year. However, the sudden shift to a no-phone policy in the Upper School, effective this fall, presented some challenges for the digital model. While it is a great medium through which we will continue to add stories for wider accessibility, it became clear that a solely digital approach would be less feasible with newfound restrictions on students’ online access.

     Now, as we return to newspaper form, The Pine Needle, which will be published each month, seeks to regain the accessibility and visibility it once enjoyed, along with (hopefully) better sustainability for future classes.

     Student journalism is a vital part of how we interact with our school community, so I hope you enjoy this collection of stories that our staff has put together for the first Pine Needle back in print. We also hope the printed version will serve the archives well as a tangible product that documents school history for years to come. 

     In closing, I strongly recommend considering a contribution yourself. We are always looking for new people to contribute stories, take photos or work on graphic design and layout. When I started writing articles in Mrs. Thomas’ journalism class freshman year, I could never have imagined the joy it would bring me nor the places it would take me. Journalism has taught me personally the power and versatility of the story, whether that be by shedding light on injustice in a piece about the racial dynamics of being pulled over by a police officer or the thrill of interviewing and writing about the triumphs of an Olympian.

     This newspaper is what we make it. To quote Junior Editor Gunther Abott ’17 in his reflection on the transition to a magazine in May 2016, “You are the students, and this is your publication.”