This month, the Pathfinder will be collecting housing move-in supplies to support the unhoused population in St. Louis. In our January Editorial, we advocated for maintaining a ‘holiday spirit’ year round. To keep with this mission, we will be donating all items to the St. Patrick Center. Please bring all donation items to the main entrance, gym entrance and the junior locker bay. We will be collecting until Spring Break, making the last day for donations March 17. Please see the list below for items that the St. Patrick Center is in need of.
![Standing in Lambert Airport, French students smile for a photo before their flight. On March 10, the group of students began their 12-day trip to France, accompanied by French teacher Blair Hopkins and Spanish teacher Dominique Navarro. “The trip went smoothly. I think everybody enjoyed all three parts of it: Paris, Nice and the family home stay. The feedback I’ve gotten from all [of] the students has been positive, including several people already trying to plan a trip back to France,” Hopkins said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/IMG_8146-1200x900.jpg)
![Latin students pose for a group photo in front of historical ruins in Italy. From March 13 to March 23, the Latin department traversed cities in Italy to immerse students in an educational experience of a lifetime. “I enjoyed being able to learn about the different cultures. [The trip] encouraged me to see other people's lifestyle and learn more about different histories,” senior Suraiya Saroar said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/PXL_20240318_092633493.jpg)
![From Jan. 22 through Feb. 1, Parkway West High is displaying a wide array of art pieces made by students ranging from elementary to high school. All classes were represented on the displays in both the art wing and the main foyer of the school. “[Art] benefits me because in the middle of a busy day. I can just relax and have some fun doing art and it makes me happy. I think it's important that you show art in the art show so that people can get inspired by it and be inspired to create their own pieces; it’s really impactful,” sophomore Dhiya Prasanna said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/image1-1200x800.jpg)
![Pitching the ball on Apr. 14, senior Henry Wild and his team play against Belleville East. Wild was named scholar athlete of the year by St. Louis Post-Dispatch after maintaining a high cumulative GPA and staying involved with athletics for all of high school. “It’s an amazing honor. I feel very blessed to have the opportunity to represent my school [and] what [it] stands for,” Wild said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/unnamed-6-1200x714.jpg)
![The Glory of Missouri award recipients stand with their certificates after finding out which virtue they were chosen to represent. When discovering their virtues, some recipients were met with contented confirmation, while others, complete surprise. “I was not at all surprised to get Truth. I discussed that with some of the other people who were getting the awards as well, and that came up as something I might get. Being in journalism, [Fellowship of Christian Athletes and] Speech and Debate, there's a culture of really caring about truth as a principle that I've tried to contribute to as well. I was very glad; [Truth] was a great one to get,” senior Will Gonsior said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Group-Glory-of-Missouri.jpg)
![Freezing in their position, the Addams Family cast hits the “rigor mortis” pose after cast member and senior Jack Mullen, in character as Gomez Addams, calls out the stiff death move. For the past four months, the combined company of cast members, orchestra pit, crew and directors all worked to create the familial chemistry of the show. “I’m excited for [the audience] to see the numbers, the music, the scenes, but I also just love all the technical aspects of it. The whole spectacle, the costumes, makeup and the people that put in the work backstage in order to make the show successful on stage. I’m excited for people to see and appreciate that,” Mullen said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/DSC0116-1200x800.jpg)
![This is the first year that the Parkway West Science Olympiad team competed at regionals. Team member and junior Anish Jindal competed in several events including Chem Labs, Experimental Design and Geological Mapping, earning top five placements in several events. “Compared with some of the other academic competitions at West [that can be] difficult to figure out how to get better, [Science Olympiad] is a lot more inclusive, having a broad group of people with different specialties,” Jindal said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/DSC0391-1200x800.jpg)
![Raising his arm for a high five, freshman Abram Brazier plays with Early Childhood Center students during his first visit of the semester. Brazier joined his assigned class during their designated outdoor time. “[Child Development] gives me experience with how to talk [to] kids. We read them a book so knowing how to talk to them [was helpful]. Most of the [preschoolers] just came right up to us [and] played around,” Brazier said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/gallery2-1200x800.jpg)
![Adding a tray of canned corn to the pile, junior Michael Collop assists in transporting donations for the Holiday Food Drive. The event, hosted schoolwide from Dec. 10-17, raised over 5,000 food items to deliver to the Parkway Food Pantry, helping several families in need. "[The drive] is a great thing for us to do because you're giving to those who are less fortunate, and it helps provide for people who can't provide for themselves. [The] competition is always fun, too. It was fun to be in [social studies teacher Jeff] Chazen’s class, because he always gets worked up over [the competition]. He made it exciting, and was always convincing us to turn in cans for the drive,” Collop said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/feature-photo-unsung-2.png)
![Principal John McCabe announces that Jeffrey Chazen has won Teacher of the Year. Chazen was discussing freedom of speech with his AP Government class when the door opened and administrators rushed in. “[I was] extremely happy and humbled, but mostly shock[ed]. I've been here longer than any other teacher, so I know most of the people on the list of Teachers of the Year, and they are amazing teachers themselves,” Chazen said. “It's just nice to be on the list with them, including [social studies teacher Kristen] Collins, who is the only other social studies teacher who has won Teacher of the Year. It was nice to bring something back to the social studies department.”](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/DSC_0021-1-2-1200x801.jpg)
![Junior Fiona Dye lifts weights in Strength and Conditioning. Now that the Trump administration has instituted policies such as AI deregulation, tariffs and university funding freezes, women may have to work twice as hard to get half as far. "[Trump] wants America to be more divided; he wants to inspire hatred in people,” feminist club member and junior Clara Lazarini said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Flag.png)
![As the Trump administration cracks down on immigration, it scapegoats many immigrants for the United States’ plights, precipitating a possible genocide. Sophomore Annabella Whiteley moved from the United Kingdom when she was eight. “It’s pretty scary because I’m on a visa. When my visa expires next year, I’m not sure what’s going to happen, especially with [immigration] policies up in the air, so it is a concern for my family,” Whiteley said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/DSC_0077-7copy.jpg)
![Shifting global trade, President Donald Trump’s tariffs are raising concerns about economic stability for the U.S. and other countries alike. “[The tariffs are] going to pose a distinct challenge to the U.S. economy and a challenge to the global economy on the whole because it's going to greatly upset who trades with who and where resources and products are going to come from,” social studies teacher Melvin Trotier said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/MDB_3456-1200x800.jpg)
![Red, white and blue, the American flag holds the values of our democracy. The fight that we once endured has returned, as student journalists and senior correspondents across the country are losing their voices due to government control. “[Are] the White House and [the] government limiting free speech [and] freedom of the press? Yes [they are],” chief communications officer of the Parkway School District and former journalist Elisa Tomich said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Untitled-design-14.jpg)
![A board in the Parkway West counseling department displays pennants of selective universities. With a wide range of students interested in attending, it’s important that these schools have clear priorities when deciding who to admit. “[Washington University] had the major that I wanted, psychology, philosophy, neuroscience. That's a holistic study of the brain, and [WashU is] the only college in the world that offers that. That's the main reason I wanted to go; I got into that program,” senior Dima Layth said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Flag-1.png)
![Some of the most deadly instances of gun violence have occurred in schools, communities and other ‘safe spaces’ for students. These uncontrolled settings give way to the need for gun regulation, including background and mental health checks. “Gun control comes about with more laws, but there are a lot of guns out there that people could obtain illegally. What is a solution that would get the illegal guns off the street? We have yet to find [one],” social studies teacher Nancy Sachtlaben said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/DSC_5122-1200x800.jpg)
![Within the U.S., the busiest shopping period of the year is Cyber Week, the time from Thanksgiving through Black Friday and Cyber Monday. This year, shoppers spent $13.3 billion on Cyber Monday, which is a 7.3% year-over-year increase from 2023. “When I was younger, I would always be out with my mom getting Christmas gifts or just shopping in general. Now, as she has gotten older, I've noticed [that almost] every day, I'll open the front door and there's three packages that my mom has ordered. Part of that is she just doesn't always have the time to go to a store for 30 minutes to an hour, but the other part is when she gets bored, she has easy access to [shopping],” junior Grace Garetson said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/DSC_0249.JPG-1200x801.jpg)
![Complex global supply chains supply the goods for everyday luxuries, such as the coffee at West High’s Blue Brew. Low tariffs enabled much of the prosperity of modern history. “Higher tariffs lead to higher costs. A tariff is a tax on an imported good, and someone has to pay for that tax, and typically that [will] end up impacting consumers,” economics teacher Rachel Money said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Flag-1.png)
