- June 5On to the next
- May 22The fun in finance
- May 22Photo of the Week - May 22
- May 22Spring in action: A look into West's 2026 spring sports season
- May 21French en route
- May 19Sarah Johnson
- May 19Crime, class and consequence
- May 18Athletes of West - Alexander Berryhill
- May 15What Happens Next
- May 15An empty table
![Two of Pathfinder’s most recent editorial accolades shine on display in journalism teacher Lindsey Katz’s room. Pathfinder was recognized as a SNO Distinguished Site on April 24. “Praise isn’t everything, but it feels so nice to see the hard work of our staff recognized. So much more than just writing words on a page occurs [in journalism], and I am so glad people see that. I love being surrounded by such talented writers, but also such great people,” editor-in-chief and junior Payton Dean said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/DSC_4941-1200x800.jpg)
![Days out from annual Advanced Placement (AP) exams, a pencil lies snapped in half, surrounded by a variety of study materials, symbolic of the frustrations accompanying end-of-year exams. AP exams are scheduled to run May 4 - 15, 2026. “I am taking three AP exams this year, [and] I only took one last year. [Last year,] I made sure I got a good rest before my exams; [this week,] I’ve been taking notes on each chapter [from my textbooks],” sophomore Shree Sikkal Kumar said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/DSC9826-1200x798.jpg)
![From March 12 to 23, 38 Parkway School District Latin students and six chaperones journeyed across the Atlantic Ocean to visit Italy. Throughout the trip, students noticed an unusually high level of military presence at the sites they visited. “[It] seems like a lot of people are unhappy with our country’s current foreign affairs [and] foreign policy. I think that affects people's view [of] our country and our people as a whole. [We saw] signs [and] graffiti with anti-American sentiment. I think there's fear all over the world, and people don’t know what's going to happen next,” junior Jackson Stirling said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/march-feature-revised--1200x675.png)
![Students at West High and beyond have shown their commitment to act for change, rather than remaining as passive observers. Yet, along with student activism, the student journalists covering these controversial issues have faced censorship from the government and other institutions. Pathfinder continues to strive to report on difficult topics and provide a platform of information and conversation at Parkway West. Journalism adviser Lindsey Katz teaches about the First Amendment and the rights of student journalists as one of the lessons in Convergence Journalism 1. “Out of all the things we learn in journalism, the takeaway that I want journalists to walk away with the most is having a true understanding of their rights as citizens and their rights as student journalists. By studying the First Amendment, media law and students’ rights, [journalists can] build foundational knowledge of why we do what we do,” Katz said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/feb-2026-feature-1200x678.png)
![Justice. Domestic Tranquility. General welfare. Blessings of liberty. These key phrases have been redacted from this copy of the U.S. Constitution, reflecting the values lacking in the United States' Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). ICE’s behavior suggests that the values instilled in our nation have been stripped. “When you're implementing [immigration enforcement] on a mass scale at the speed it's happening [now], you're bound to see unjust, horrible things. The only way to solve that is to make the crackdowns less severe,” junior Alisha Yin said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/feature-image-jan-2026-1200x710.png)
![Helping to transport cans and other food items from West High’s food drive to the Parkway Food Pantry, sophomore Max Jones carries a box into a truck. Nov. 21 marked the end of West High’s annual canned food drive. “The food drive is a really great opportunity for everyone to get involved in helping a bigger cause. It’s great that [the West community] can make a difference in a big way through this food drive,” Jones said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/DSC_0727-1200x798.jpg)
![Dressed up as the varsity girls’ tennis coach Katelyn Arenos, senior Kate Johnson and junior Mireya David hand out candy at West High’s annual trunk or treat event. This year, the trunk or treat was moved inside as a result of adverse weather. “As a senior, I care less about Halloween now. Teachers will bring their kids and families [to West’s Trunk or Treat], but there were fewer [this year] because they just thought it was canceled [due to the] rain. [With] Halloween, I think you care less the older you get,” Johnson said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/DSC00892-1-1200x800.jpg)
![Leaning on the podium, superintendent Melissa Schneider speaks to Parkway journalism students during a press conference. Schneider joined Parkway in July after working in the Thompson School District in Colorado. “My plan [to bond with students] is to get things on my calendar as much as possible. For example, being in [classes] is very special to me. I am trying to be opportunistic [meeting] kids [and] being in [the school] buildings. I have all the sports schedules and the fine arts schedules on my calendar, so that when I'm available, I can get to them,” Schneider said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/IMG_5425-1200x943.jpeg)
![A board in the Parkway West counseling department displays pennants of selective universities. With a wide range of students interested in attending, it’s important that these schools have clear priorities when deciding who to admit. “[Washington University] had the major that I wanted, psychology, philosophy, neuroscience. That's a holistic study of the brain, and [WashU is] the only college in the world that offers that. That's the main reason I wanted to go; I got into that program,” senior Dima Layth said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Flag-1.png)
![Within the U.S., the busiest shopping period of the year is Cyber Week, the time from Thanksgiving through Black Friday and Cyber Monday. This year, shoppers spent $13.3 billion on Cyber Monday, which is a 7.3% year-over-year increase from 2023. “When I was younger, I would always be out with my mom getting Christmas gifts or just shopping in general. Now, as she has gotten older, I've noticed [that almost] every day, I'll open the front door and there's three packages that my mom has ordered. Part of that is she just doesn't always have the time to go to a store for 30 minutes to an hour, but the other part is when she gets bored, she has easy access to [shopping],” junior Grace Garetson said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/DSC_0249.JPG-1200x801.jpg)
![Senior Sally Peters stands in the history hallway, contemplating her choices in the 2024 United States and Missouri elections on Nov. 5. As a member of Diplomacy Club, Peters has discussed key candidates and issues in contemporary American politics. “[As students], we're starting to become adults. We're realizing how much the policies that are enforced and the laws that make it through the House and Senate are starting to affect us. [Opportunities such as] AP [U.S.Government] and Diplomacy Club [make elections feel] a lot more real,” Diplomacy Club vice president and senior Nidhisha Pejathaya said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Flag-1-1.png)
![Mounting school pressure can leave many students overworked and overstressed. Schools must give students the necessary resources to help assuage student mental health issues and prevent the development of serious crises. “The biggest thing [schools] can do [to protect student mental health] is offer more time [to do work], like a study hall, or offer more support from teachers so that students don't feel stressed out and can get help in areas that they need,” senior Bhavya Gupta said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/unnamed-4.jpg)
![Like many students, sophomore Medina Nanic experiences pressure to do well in school. Through continuous success and achievements, West has developed a high academic standard for students. “Because we’re seen as one [of] the better schools, we have higher standards than the [schools] who aren’t ranked as high. There’s a lot of pressure on students to do [well] and live up to those standards,” Nanic said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/DSC_0029-2-1200x800.jpg)
![In the 1950s, the first recorded spikes in global temperatures were recorded, and ever since, Earth has been in the midst of a disastrous climate crisis, as rising temperatures wreak havoc on susceptible regions and destroy animal habitats worldwide. Junior Nidhi Pejathaya helped found West’s Sustainability Council to create a space where students can educate themselves about climate change and do their part to preserve the environment. “When you're going out of your way to recycle [or] reuse your clothes to save water, you're saving people. You're saving adults, you're saving families, you're saving children. You're saving a whole generation. Just because we don't see it doesn't mean it's not happening,” Pejathaya said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/new-editorial-feature-1200x800.jpg)
![For the past three years, Parkway has administered high school finals after winter break, a practice that proves to be detrimental to the success as well as the mental health of students. With finals after break appearing to do more harm than good, the question of what changes can be made arises time and time again. “The pressure for finals is difficult, and to have that [pressure for] a few weeks because you're on [a] break can make you generally sad. It's a bummer in general. I wish [finals] were before break, so we [could] have a break to sleep, celebrate and not study. Everyone I've talked to about it is like 'yeah, finals sucks,' and I wish that wasn't a thing,” junior Meadow Kostial said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/decembereditorial-1200x963.jpg)
![Since its introduction and subsequent explosion on the world stage, social media has proven to be a detriment to the fight against misinformation and fake news in the media because of its targeted marketed tactics and abuse of unified communities. This being said, taking responsibility over what you consume online and deciding whether or not it’s true is crucial. “It’s important to notice that [the spread of misinformation through social media] is happening, and as a teacher, media literacy is so important to teach,” journalism teacher Lindsey Katz said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/nov-editorial-feature-1200x800.jpeg)
![According to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, in the United States, 90% of teenagers have used social media. In an increasingly digitized world, it can be difficult to figure out where to draw the line between your personal life and what you post. “The most influential people, your parents or your principal, would they be alright with what you were doing if they [were] sitting right next to you?” physical education and health teacher Jessica Wheeler said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_9904-1-1200x799.jpg)
![Beginning in the 2023-24 school year, Parkway discontinued study halls throughout the district. Concerned over the consequences it may have on their academic success, several students and teachers have spoken out against the elimination of a necessary tool. “Kids aren't abusing study halls to sit there on their phones or something. They might need [more support]. Just because you're not taking this amount of AP classes doesn't mean you're not being challenged, and just because you're not having ‘X’ amount of hours every night doesn't mean you have enough time to get homework done,” chemistry teacher Chloe Gallaher said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/image1.jpg)
![Missouri residents gather to protest the signing of an anti-trans bill proposed by the Republican Senate. The proposed bill would ban transgender girls from participating in youth sports on girls teams. “At least in the past, laws have only tried to prevent transgender [students] from participating in certain activities, which is already scary,” senior Quinn Gilles said. “Transgender minors barely have any rights, [but] when you thought it couldn’t get worse, now laws are preventing us from being ourselves.”](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/FeaturedPhto-900x600.webp)
![Recent changes to Title XI of the Missouri Revised Statutes bring back questions about corporal punishment in schools. As a toddler, now-sophomore Sadie Burgess attended Eufaula, a school district with an opt-in corporal punishment system allowing parents to determine if teachers could physically discipline their children. “I don't agree with [corporal punishment]. It's a very harsh way to punish kids; some kids have behavioral issues that not everyone understands. Solving those issues with violence isn't the answer,” Burgess said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Punishment-6.png)
![Juniors Ben Livak and Emily McClurg sit on the track after the fire alarm went off. Because class had not yet started, students gathered on the football field in groups with friends. “I had to make sure I grabbed all my stuff because I didn’t know what was gonna happen. Class hadn’t even started [when] we started heading outside,” Livak said. “[The process of being led back] was actually really smooth. I saw a little confusion with people trying to go different directions, but [teachers] got it under control.”](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/image1-900x675.jpg)
![Junior and cheerleader Tori Fischer hugs a Special Olympics athlete during the opening ceremony last year. Throughout the basketball tournament, cheerleaders encourage athletes from the side of the court. “Cheering for Special Olympics is honestly one of my favorite things I get to do during the school year,” Fischer said. “At normal games, we have to stay in formations and do planned cheers and people are so used to us that [it] doesn't get people excited. But at Special Olympics a lot of the athletes get excited when they hear us cheering for them and we can cheer them on in a totally relaxed and more personal way.”](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/DSC_0024-900x600.jpg)
![Getting ready to bite into food truck menu options from UKRAFT Eats, junior Claire Middleton and seniors Aaliyah Weston and Reema Alhachami learn about the logistics of owning a food truck from owner and operator Matt Ratz. Marketing I teacher Holly Weber brought in Ratz to guide students as they create their own food trucks for their class projects, and inspire them to set and accomplish goals. "There are so many different options of what you can eat, or what [the truck] can look like and hearing about how it started was so interesting to me,” Middleton said. “[Ratz] said specifically that you should follow your dreams, and you have an idea or a vision of something you really want to do, go for it and go all in. It gave me more of a positive outlook and if I do set my mind to something I can get there and accomplish it.”](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/unnamed-1-2-900x600.jpg)
![Smiling before surgery, junior Tim Nelson holds a teddy bear. Nelson was excited to undergo surgery so that he could begin the long recovery process. “After the pain goes away, I know [the recovery process] will be easy,” Nelson said. “I just need to have patience, and that's kind of something I don't have all the time.”](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/DSC_0013-900x600.jpg)
