Skip to Main Content
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

At the monthly food distribution in April, food pantry volunteers pass out dates and halal chicken to Muslim families. The pantry altered its previously biased practices to better serve all who receive pantry services. “The observance of Ramadan prompted my thought process and helped the light bulb to go off in my head,” Food Pantry Director Diance Peterson said. “I'm hoping we can continue to offer halal meat at every distribution.

Food pantry grapples with inequitable practices

Ulaa Kuziez, News and Sports Editor May 13, 2021

The food pantry recently had a reckoning with its practices and services. In April, for the first time, there was zabiha-halal meat and dates distributed to Muslim families observing Ramadan. Diane Peterson,...

Scholar Bowl participants meet with club sponsor Patrick Troy for a meeting on Zoom.

Scholar Bowl season Zooms to an end

Fatema Rehmani, Conceptual Editor-in-Chief May 12, 2021

Four teammates work together diligently. Hands ready on their buzzers. Eyes concentrated on their moderator. This is the scene of a Scholar Bowl tournament where students delve into the world of academic...

After the French National Assembly proposed a ban on religious symbols for minors in public schools, young Muslim women in france started the hashtag “HANDS OFF MY HIJAB.” This hashtag has emassed over 70,000,000 retweets, and can be seen all over protest posters in France. It was started by Muslim model Rawdah Mohamed, which she has encouraged others to post in solidarity with Muslim women in France.

France targets the hijab: how does this affect us?

Sara Albarcha, Staff Writer April 26, 2021

When three middle school girls refused to remove their headdresses in France in 1989 while at school, the government intervened, banning hijabs in public school. After three decades, France has continued...

While credit recovery classes are going to be in-person, credit advancement classes will be virtually asynchronous.

Summer school still on despite COVID-19 challenges

Haley Patel, Staff Writer April 15, 2021

As summer school forms roll out, the choice for each individual to go virtual or in-person is no longer the case. Instead, depending on if the course is for credit advancement or recovery, the student's...

French and Spanish teacher Blair Hopkins evaluates Spanish 1 students' speaking abilities during a speaking test. Tests in the third quarter are taken outside the classroom for 3 minutes to evaluate the curriculum learned in that unit. “Since we’re in-person, each student has to scan the QR code to be outside the classroom,” Hopkins said.

Saying hola to new teaching strategies

Lydia Kirkou, Staff Writer April 13, 2021

“I can’t hear you.”  “Please turn on your screen.”  “My screen can’t be on while you are presenting or my computer knocks me out of Zoom.”  “There is such a lag with what...

Sitting behind the A-team’s robot, junior and robotics team president Rick Biswas converses about the bot with Donaldson, who is behind the camera. Since joining the robotics team, Biswas decided to pursue a related career such as mechanical engineering or computer science. “. After I joined [the robotics team at West], I knew for sure that this was what I wanted to do,” Biswas said. “In general, everyone’s really supportive, especially Mr. Donaldson and the teams. Before I joined the robotics team, I was new here and I didn’t talk to many people. At robotics, I met new people, made new friends. They supported me to be [who] I am right now. ”

A winning streak: the robotics program’s recent successes and struggles

Tanvi Kulkarni, Features Editor April 1, 2021

“We had made it our goal to win this award two years ago. I was actually assuming that they were going to say [the name of another] team that had won last year,” senior Ankita Gupta recalled. Gupta...

Cultural ignorance and inaccuracies in school leads to further community racism.

A conversation that can’t be avoided: the presence of cultural ignorance and inaccuracies in school

Katie Wallace, Staff Writer March 29, 2021

Working on assignment 8.1 in virtual American Sign Language 2 (ASL),  students opened the week’s expressive assignment to be met with brightly colored images. Dread, followed by anger, sank in the pit...

Art teacher Katy Mangrich sits at her desk working on the virtual art show for others to see students' artwork. Every year, Mangrich has prepared the art displays to be available to students and parents to see in the hallways. “I actually enjoy doing things like that. It's part of creating a visually pleasing piece of work,” Mangrich said.

Regional art show upgrades with technology

Bri Davis, Staff Writer March 16, 2021

Trading the ice rink at Queeny Park for a virtual platform, the art department got creative in the production of their annual art show. By making the show virtual, there was room for experimentation in...

Going over her music, junior Ellie Moriarity takes notes from a Jan. 25 Jazz Choir rehearsal. Moriarity’s favorite day of the week was Monday because she got to see her friends, Jazz Choir teacher Brian Parrish and make music with them. “My favorite part about Jazz Choir is hearing the final product. I enjoy listening to jazz music, and listening to a song that I am actually a part of is really cool,” Moriarity said.

Jazz Choir makes a long-awaited return

Brooke Moss, Staff Writer March 5, 2021

Practicing from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Mondays, the Jazz Choir continues to rehearse and make recordings, but, as of now, they have no concerts planned due to COVID-19. They recently released a new recording...

A Virtual Campus High student checks his schedule on Infinite Campus in preparation for class.

Behind the scenes: conflicts and collaboration in Virtual Campus High

Ulaa Kuziez, News and Sports Editor March 2, 2021

Four school systems. Thousands of students. Dozens of classes. This year’s Virtual Campus High (VCH) was created to accommodate students who wanted to continue their education in a virtual format. Across...