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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 her desk at home, junior Emma Bateman completes her math homework. This is also how and where Bateman plans to take exams for AP Physics I and AP Government. “Honestly, I’m not happy about the testing [being] online because I focus better in a classroom or testing environment than my room,” Bateman said. “Also, I don’t like that it's going to be all FRQ based this year.”

“They’re not canceled?”: AP testing from home

Fatema Rehmani, Conceptual Editor-in-Chief April 15, 2020

Though the world is at a standstill, the long-awaited Advanced Placement (AP) exams are still on schedule for May 11-22. The tests will now be administered online so that they can be taken from home. Each...

Photo II student Bri Davis uses this photo to answer 'how has quarantine affected her?' This is one of three pictures she took that got posted on the account for the assignment.
"I edited the sides to kind of shut out everything on the outside to really emphasize that this is what I am doing," Davis said. "There's nothing else to it. I am just stuck in the house with the same objects."

Photography students stay connected through an Instagram account

Olivia Bradshaw, Staff Writer April 14, 2020

A red shoe bag lined the whiteboard in the Photography classroom for students to place their phones in during the hour. However, during times of quarantine, the device that was prohibited in the classroom...

Annotating her copy of the short story, sophomore Zeina Daboul works on her assignment. Daboul found the parallels between the story and modern times interesting. “When you look deeper [into the story], you can see that it reflects our society, in ways that you wouldn't think a story written in 1842 would,” Daboul said.

English students compare the ‘Red Death’ to the coronavirus

Leah Schroeder, Managing Editor-in-Chief April 13, 2020

Making connections between the past and modern times, English teacher Erin Fluchel’s students compare Edgar Allen Poe’s, “The Masque of the Red Death,” to the current Coronavirus pandemic. Offered...

The cards created by the Don’t Give Up movement feature a variety of positive messages and have spread on a global scale. History teacher Mel Trotier felt that these messages would help to alleviate student stress and change their mindset. “I like the card that says 'your mistakes don't define you'. I think it's important because, in school, you're learning, which means you're not perfect yet,” Trotier said. “I feel like students need to be willing to let mistakes happen and not let that mistake ruin their day because it's one thing. To me, it is the strongest message, especially for students.”

‘You matter’: The teacher behind the Don’t Give Up Movement at West

Leah Schroeder, Managing Editor-in-Chief March 31, 2020

Having experienced a nationwide spike of anxiety and stress in students in recent years, history teacher Mel Trotier felt as though action needed to be taken. After learning of the Don’t Give Up Movement,...

Senior Justin Choi works on a project that processes information about vending machines from a file. The unit introduced a new programming language, Python, that is slightly different from JavaScript. “I wouldn’t change anything in the class,” Choi said. “This class reaffirmed my decision to study computer science in college.”

New Advanced Software Development course delves into fresh curriculum

Angie Jia, Staff Writer March 30, 2020

AP Computer Science (APCS) and AP Calculus BC teacher Jason Townsend recently created a new course called Advanced Software Development (ASD) that explores topics beyond APCS: everything from data structures...

A Solar Installer from Bright Energy Solar finishes installing the first array of solar panels on a Parkway roof. These specific panels were put on six years ago, but they were just added to last summer. “The most recent 75 kW installations that were put up at West High, South High, Green Trails, and Wren Hollow were completed by Straight Up Solar,” Lueders said.

Parkway works to reduce carbon footprint

Ashlyn Gillespie, Deputy Managing Editor-in-Chief March 26, 2020

The National Public Radio reported earlier this month that the Australian bushfires were fully extinguished. Fueled by prolonged drought and enduring for over 240 days, the bushfires burned through more...

A welcome sign stands outside the front entrance, which will not be open to the public through April 22.

Breaking: Parkway extends school closures as COVID-19 outbreak intensifies

Tyler Kinzy, Managing Editor-in-Chief March 23, 2020

The Parkway School District’s lockdown is just beginning. With ‘stay-at-home’ mandates due to the COVID-19 pandemic now in effect throughout St. Louis City and St. Louis County, public school...

Transmission electron microscopic image of an isolate from the first U.S. case of COVID-19, formerly known as 2019-nCoV. The spherical viral particles, colorized blue, contain cross-section through the viral genome, seen as black dots.

Global pandemic hits home: St. Louis reacts to COVID-19

Bri Davis, Staff Writer March 13, 2020

What has dominated headlines since January has officially hit St. Louis County as the first case of the coronavirus, known officially as COVID-19 is confirmed. After family members of an infected person...

Counselor Carly Roach teaches Katelyn Areno’s Health class about mental health illnesses such as depression and anxiety. Students were then instructed by Roach and fellow counselor Chris Lorenz to make a website to help students with various mental illnesses.

Health students destigmatize mental illness

Elle Rotter, Deputy Conceptual Editor-in-Chief March 10, 2020

A crowd of Health students gathered in the library to listen to counselors Chris Lorenz and Carly Roach speak about mental illness. Students took action and made websites to spread awareness about these...

A recent study in the Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology found that 64% of low income women in the St. Louis area routinely lack access to menstrual hygiene products.

Missouri House Bill to potentially provide public school restrooms with free period supplies

Lydia Roseman, News and Sports Editor March 9, 2020

Girls restrooms throughout the school are equipped with shoeboxes stuffed with tampons and pads thanks to Go With the Flow, a club created “in hopes of destigmatizing periods, providing easier access...