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The Official Student News Site of Parkway West High

Pathfinder

The Official Student News Site of Parkway West High

Pathfinder

The Official Student News Site of Parkway West High

Pathfinder

On May 3 at the Hilton DoubleTree Hotel in Chesterfield, Mo., seniors Emily Kate Beach and Jack Mullen celebrate together after being crowned Prom Queen and King. Prom court nominations were announced to the school via Instagram on Apr. 22. “We got an email from Taggart that we were on court, and then all the people on court started texting each other ‘good luck,’” Mullen said.

Crowned: A look at your 2025 Prom King and Queen

Payton Dean, Staff Writer 2 days ago

Sitting in front of a sea of peers dressed in flowing gowns and perfectly-tailored suits, the eight members of the senior prom court wait patiently to see who will represent their grade as Prom King and...

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.

Driven to excel

Esta Kamau, Features/Humans of West Editor 5 days ago

Every year, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch recognizes a group of students attending high schools all over St. Louis based on their prestige in academics and athletics. This year, senior Henry Wild was chosen...

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.

Bringing glory to Missouri

Samir Shaik, Multimedia Editor-in-Chief April 30, 2025

Ice-cold water sits in a bucket waiting to be dumped on the next brave volunteer. For the #SpeakYourMIND Ice Bucket Challenge, people used a variety of vessels, including bowls, coolers and excavators to dump water on themselves. “Make sure you don't just use a bowl because that's lame. You need more water,” sophomore William Tanudyaya said.

Back with a splash

Cindy Phung, Editor-in-Chief April 29, 2025

Across the nation, a trend of pouring a bucket of ice-cold water over people's heads has gone viral on Instagram. For context, the “Ice Bucket Challenge” originated over a decade ago in 2014 and was...

Eight seniors were named 2025 National Merit Finalists in February. The finalists in the top row starting from the left: Stephen McAllister, Saachi Kandula, Felicity Jackson, Sid Kaparthi. In the bottom row starting from the left: Mino Wang, Prateek Nemmali, Will Gonsior, Sasha Tripathi.

Eight seniors recognized as 2025 National Merit Finalists

Risa Cidoni, Editor-in-Chief April 21, 2025

This year, West High upheld its history of success within the National Merit program as eight seniors advanced to the status of 2025 National Merit Finalists. Since 1955, the National Merit Scholarship...

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.

A très bon voyage

Sage Kelly, Staff Writer April 17, 2025

From Paris to Nice and from Notre Dame to the Palace of Versailles, this group of 10 French students and two chaperones has seen it all. Beginning their voyage to France on March 10, they spent 12 days...

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.

Rigor mortis!

Esta Kamau, Features/Humans of West Editor March 7, 2025

Snapping their fingers underneath the dim stage lights, the Addams family will make their stage debut on March 7 through March 9. “The Addams Family Musical: High School Edition” will tell the story...

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.

The formula for victory

Yein Ahn, News Editor March 5, 2025

From cracking forensic cases to engineering planes, the Parkway West Science Olympiad team put their science knowledge to the test on March 1 at the team’s first regional competition. The Longhorns didn’t...

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.

From one classroom to another: A look inside Child Development’s curriculum

Payton Dean, Staff Writer January 13, 2025

Laughter and screams echo as students thunder across the playground in a game of tag. Despite the large age gap between high schoolers and preschoolers, they play together seamlessly. The Child Development...

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.

Competition for a cause: Social studies department marks success in Holiday Food Drive efforts

Risa Cidoni, Editor-in-Chief December 19, 2024

When holiday spirit meets fierce competition, West High’s social studies department turns giving into a game. This year’s season of giving brought West High’s 12th year of decking the halls with...