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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

ACT introduced a new policy with a variety of options effective September 2020.

Students and faculty react to ACT’s updates effective September 2020

Lydia Roseman, News and Sports Editor October 11, 2019

In the height of college application season, seniors in particular are scrambling to compile their highest test scores to send to their dream schools. Not yet at this stage, juniors and even underclassmen...

Bell schedules differ at each Parkway high school, West being the only schedule that does not incorporate an Academic Lab.

The future of bell schedules

Susie Seidel, Convergence Media Editor October 4, 2019

Students stay after school hoping their teacher hasn’t left before their question is answered, teachers working at multiple schools fly into the parking lot to make the bell and members of off-campus...

Red Cross Club, founded by senior Harjeev Singh, is hosting the first blood drive in over two decades at school. Singh had been planning this event since the end of last year with hopes to positively impact the community. “With this club, we hope to save lives and provide an outlet for those who have a nurturing heart,” Singh said.

Red Cross Club hosts first blood drive in more than two decades

Nayeon Ryu, Video Editor October 3, 2019

Heart beating and blood pumping, senior Harjeev Singh submits his request for a new school event: a blood drive. Since the end of his junior year, Singh has worked to establish the Red Cross Club and organize...

Music to Quiet During the second half of their Movement 2 Music class  Sept. 6, juniors Anushka Kanga, Shirin Saha and Ayah Maali practice savasana, a type of yoga position. In addition to learning, choreographing and performing several types of cultural dances, students were also introduced to yoga.  “It just makes me get away from everything. If I have [a lot of] tests that day, I'm worrying [about the tests], I can just sit down for one block, chill and do my own thing,” Maali said.

New Yoga class relieves students minds

Tre Bell, Staff Writer October 1, 2019

Unrolling mats onto the floor of the weight room, 22 girls and two boys work to calm their minds and increase their physical well-being. “What we are trying to do is focus on not just the physical...

The above photo shows various items that represent some of the costs of senior year.

Students speak up about the cost of senior year

Lydia Roseman, News and Sports Editor September 30, 2019

Public education is free, right? Not exactly. The local taxpayer provides the funding for the education itself, but there is a litany of items and events, especially for seniors, that cost money–and...

Highlighting the importance of access to feminine hygiene products for all, sophomores Anna Newberry, Mira Nalbandian, Santi Lugo and Mason Paul model their future club plans. Newberry believes inaccessibility of products can lead to health issues, embarrassment and even a lack of belonging. “I want to stock bathrooms with feminine hygiene products to help reduce stigma and embarrassment that can come with having a period,” Newberry said. “I know [I] haven’t come to school before because I was embarrassed and wanted to go home, or I was in pain or didn’t have what I needed to have. I feel like everyone has a right to be here, and I feel like no one should feel like they can’t come to school.”

Fighting stigmas and the Pink Tax by ‘Going with the Flow’

Brinda Ambal, Conceptual Editor-in-Chief September 27, 2019

Period. Any mention of this word will probably result in a flurry of teenage boys scurrying to distance themselves from the speaker as fast as humanly possible.  However, sophomores Anna Newberry and...

Sophomore Ashleigh Morelli pages through a magazine, looking for inspiring pieces to decorate her self-care card. Morelli decorated her card with pictures and songs that will help her stay calm. “I know that I can turn to the cards to look at them like when I'm stressed out. Sometimes I can't really think of what to do, so I just stress out even more,” Morelli said. “With these cards, I will be able to look at them and know that I'll be fine.”

Health students reduce stress by creating self-care cards

Leah Schroeder, Managing Editor-in-Chief September 23, 2019

Students leaf through magazines and scribble down encouraging messages onto self-care cards. Decorated with motivational elements like pictures and quotes, health and P.E. teacher Katelyn Arenos’ second-hour...

Coding a robot to better understand the perspective of characters in the class novel, sophomores Taylor Burns and Fatimah Hussain feel frustration at their robot due to their “character” limitations. This lesson taught students real-world skills such as trial and error, working together and teamwork. “There were some people getting really frustrated because they couldn’t figure it out, but they kept trying, kept experimenting and those were the sort of life skills that work their way into lessons like these,” Honors English II teacher Erin Fluchel said.

Coding robots to understand point of view: English students bring technology into the classroom

Brinda Ambal, Conceptual Editor-in-Chief September 20, 2019

Small white and blue spheres crawl around the library as students in Erin Fluchel and Casey Holland's Honors English II classes compete in a set of obstacles.  Students were responsible for coding...

New teacher Joe Milliano teaches AP Physics 1 and AP Physics 2.

Meet the new faces of our staff

Leah Schroeder, Managing Editor-in-Chief September 16, 2019

Joel Fischer will be teaching Band and Guitar.  What is your favorite thing about the subject that you teach?   “My favorite thing about teaching music is that you can look at the same piece...

Making final adjustments during practice, junior Fatema Rehmani prepares for the Randy Pierce Winter Classic at Pattonville High School Dec. 7, 2018. Rehmani competed in Program Oral Interpretation, an event in which students incorporate various selections of literature into a 10 minute performance. “This year, I explored some different events in speech and debate, and I’m so grateful for all of the various experiences I’ve gained,” Rehmani said. “But I have noticed there are definitely expectations for certain events or debate in regards to whether it’s for guys or for girls, which is sometimes limiting and frustrating.”

Sexism in speech and debate: competitive speakers’ fight for their voice

Tyler Kinzy, Managing Editor-in-Chief September 11, 2019

It is the conversation that speech and debate coach Cara Borgsmiller is forced to have several times each season. “I talk openly about it, especially the first time they get a ballot that says something...