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
All content by Kelsea Wilson
2023 seniors interviewed about their first high school crush.

2023 seniors confess their first high school crush

Kelsea Wilson, Thalea Afentoullis, and Dana Zafarani
May 12, 2023
Learning the chemistry behind how popcorn pops, juniors Talie Seers and Nykira Johnson use a beaker clamp to shake a beaker full of popcorn kernels and cover the beaker with a sheet of mesh. The lab helped Seers better understand the kinetic molecular theory concept. “My favorite part [of the class] is how Mrs. Robert leads the class. We get to do labs pretty often which helps me understand the material more and it all ties into what we were learning,” Seers said. “The hardest part was being impatient and waiting for the popcorn to pop and see if we actually did [the lab] right.”

[Photo] Photo of the Week - March 3

March 3, 2023
Eyes to the sky, junior Romy Taylor stands center stage in the evening gown section of the 2023 Miss Missouri Teen Volunteer Pageant. Taylor received compliments from judges and the audience for her walk, a skill she believes this section allows contestants to flaunt. “[Walking on stage in a gown] shows how much grace someone can carry. I absolutely love it when I get to show it off on stage,” Taylor said.

[Photo] The beauty behind the madness

Makinsey Drake, Staff Writer
January 30, 2023
Senior Cameron Chandler sits in a sun-lit parking space, adding finishing touches to her senior parking spot. Chandler’s design for her spot read, ‘hop in, we have one more year.’ “It’s a quote from ‘Mean Girls,’ and since I drive a convertible, I figured it was fitting. [Senior Ashlynn Ware’s] spot is right next to mine, and she has a ‘Mean Girls’ quote too. They’re refreshing and funny to start my morning reading,” Chandler said.

[Photo] Halfway There!

Makinsey Drake, Staff Writer
January 19, 2023
Using Starbursts to represent a caption, freshmen Kate Hardy and Julia Kiffer recreate a yearbook spread with food. Convergence Journalism 1 students learned how to design yearbook double-page spreads using various snacks and candies to represent different design elements. “It helped me see the layout and learn how to set up the page myself,” Hardy said. “It was challenging but worth it in the end when we got to eat it all.”

Photo of the Week – Dec. 2

Kelsea Wilson, Deputy Conceptual Editor-in-Chief
December 2, 2022
Acting out his comedy skit, senior Christian Fleming lays on the floor following a fake slap by senior Matthew Freedman. Fleming and senior Matthew Freedman practiced their comedy act to perfect it. “[Freedman] let me come over to his house; we practiced day in and day out. Shoutout to him; I love him to death. That’s my brother for life,” Fleming said.

[Photo] Longhorn seniors, let’s act!

Addie Gleason and Elle Rotter
November 19, 2022
Measuring one cup of milk, senior Sapir Zachary helps junior Keyshon Brown cook fettuccine alfredo. Culinary mentor class allowed students to assist others in the kitchen and build relationships. “I loved this class because I loved making new connections and seeing how it brightens people’s day just to say hello,” Zachary said. “Helping people has always been something I’m passionate about and good at.”

Photo of the Week – Oct 28

Kelsea Wilson, Staff Writer
October 28, 2022
Wearing perception goggles, junior Norah Freed attempts to throw a tennis ball into a trash can. In AP psychology, students learned about the human senses and perception and how they could be altered. “When I put on the goggles, everything looked rainbow and there were blindspots everywhere. If the tennis ball was to the right, I reached to the left,” Freed said. “It was so funny watching everyone try to get the ball in the trash can. Nobody was even close.”

Photo of the Week – Oct. 21

Kelsea Wilson, Staff Writer
October 21, 2022
Assembling a bird feeder in the peace garden, junior Krish Bhagat sets up and writes a blog about his year-long project to create a songbird-friendly environment. A long-time lover of birds, Bhagat volunteered at the Wild Bird Rehabilitation Center and founded the Animal Appreciation Club. “I’ve written, read and taken photos of songbirds. I’d done just about everything short of doing something for the West community,” Bhagat said. “When I walked by the Peace Garden one day and saw all the songbirds flying around, I realized that I could do something that could actually make an impact.”

Photo of the Week – Oct. 14

Kelsea Wilson, Staff Writer
October 14, 2022
Checking her creation’s design, junior Natalie Sabbatini crafts a cactus clay mug in Ceramics 2. Ceramics class allows students to create projects they can use in everyday life. “It’s very therapeutic,” Sabbatini said. “I like how it’s very individual and it’s just working with yourself and your clay.”

Photo of the Week – Oct. 7

Kelsea Wilson, Staff Writer
October 7, 2022
In the parking lot, freshman TJ Polack’s friends sophomores Andrew Block, Timmy Fry and Nathan Thompson lift him into the air at the homecoming dance. Students voted to keep the dance outdoors after enjoying it during 2021. “It felt like the entire crowd was cheering for me,” Polack said. “It was great. No, it was amazing.”

Photo of the Week – Sept. 30

Kelsea Wilson, Staff Writer
September 30, 2022
In pajama shorts and a bright pink blazer, senior and homecoming court nominee Hope Green dresses for the spirit theme: Zoom Day, Sept. 19. "I was on [homecoming court] last year, and it was just such a loving experience," Green said. "Homecoming week was special because everyone came together, and you felt loved.”

[Photo] ANNOUNCED: Hope Green is Homecoming queen

Elle Rotter, Deputy Conceptual Editor-in-Chief
September 23, 2022
Practicing child care, sophomore Ava Sticht feeds an electronic baby in Child Development class. Students practiced swaddling, feeding, burping, rocking and buckling the babies into car seats. “Everything was going good until the baby just randomly screamed at me. Normally they scream if you don’t support their head, but I was, so it took me by surprise,” Sticht said. “I really loved kids and can’t wait to take the baby home for the weekend.”

Photo of the Week – Sept. 16

Kelsea Wilson, Staff Writer
September 16, 2022
After pinning the squid to the tray, senior Luisa Lazarini watches as junior Claire Creely inserts her scissors into the mantle cavity during Biology 3 class. The first pair of scissors Creely used were not sharp enough and the duo feared disturbing the internal organs. “I’m a vegetarian so this was an experience for me, but Claire helped me out,” Lazarini said. “It wasn’t that gross, but I’m glad I got it over with.”

Photo of the Week – Sept. 9

Kelsea Wilson
September 9, 2022
Laughing while studying, senior Ali Rehman writes in whipped cream for AP Environmental Science. Rehman wrote out the nitrogen cycle, the carbon cycle, and water cycle to help him prepare for his test. “I wanted to take this class because it seemed super interesting and appealed to my interests,” Rehman said. “This activity was really fun and helped me memorize the cycles for our test tomorrow.”

Photo of Week – Sept. 2

Kelsea Wilson
September 2, 2022
Celebrating courtside, senior Tristan Caudill dances along to the ‘rumble’ cheer. During the second module of the first ac lab, Principal John McCabe introduced himself to the student body and shared his school expectations. “The cheerleaders led us in some of the schools favorite cheer, and my friends and I wanted to be the loudest. It was fun to be back in the gym with the whole school,” Caudill said.

Photo of the Week – August 26

Kelsea Wilson
August 26, 2022
Playing against Webster Groves, sophomore Cameron Hickert expertly releases a pitch. He pitched a total of five innings during the game before playing the outfield, and his baseball team won the game by one point. “I was putting a lot of force into the pitch so it would go to the spot I was aiming,” Hickert said. “I was excited [when we found out we won] because we lost last year by a lot, and this time, we beat them. It was a good feeling.”

[Photo] Photo of the Week — April 22

Tanvi Kulkarni, Features Editor
April 22, 2022
Freshman Skyler Gulino and freshman Molly Bailey converse and laugh at their second lunch. Now that she has been in person for three months, Bailey is feeling more a part of West than she did last year. “In eighth grade, I was [a part of] the virtual Parkway West (middle school campus) program. I hadn’t actually and physically been in person since about November of 2019, my seventh grade [year],” Bailey said.

[Photo] Practicing patience: Freshman Molly Bailey’s take on staying positive

Ashlyn Gillespie and Ellie West
October 28, 2021
Cheering on their fellow poms teammates, sophomores Allie Byergo and Cameron Chandler attend a varsity boys basketball game Jan. 8. Because of their injuries, Byergo and Chandler were not able to participate in any dancing. “It's actually pretty fun to get to go to the games since not a lot of people can right now because of COVID-19,” Byergo said. “Ever since I've been injured, even though I haven't been able to dance, it's been really good to still be a part of the team and still be able to wear poms clothes and go and represent at games.”

[Photo] Stuck on the sidelines: sophomores Allie Byergo and Cameron Chandler battle injuries

Elise Frost, Staff Writer
February 24, 2021
Sophomore John Skordos gets ready to run in a drill that's been deemed safe for football players to participate in.

[Photo] Athletics return with restrictions

Ashlyn Gillespie, Deputy Managing Editor-in-Chief
September 21, 2020