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
A stadium full of Chiefs fans with the words "Run it back."

They ran it back

Will Gonsior, Opinions/A&E Editor • February 13, 2024

A game for the ages America saw a thriller on Feb. 11 as the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the San Francisco 49ers 25-22 in Super Bowl LVIII, a game that featured two Super Bowl-record field goals, as...

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.

Post-break panic

Zoya Hasan, Keira Lang, and Pathfinder Editorial Board • January 5, 2024

The problem Beginning in the 2020-21 school year, a new schedule — pushing back the academic year and shifting finals to after winter break — was adopted district-wide. From students to teachers,...

Teachers recount where exactly they were during the 9/11 attacks, 22 years later.

Where were you during 9/11?

Sakenah Lajkem, Staff Writer • September 11, 2023

On Sept. 11, 2001, four planes were hijacked and sent to crash into the Twin Towers, the Pentagon and the White House. While the White House was spared from the attack, the other two targets were hit,...

Getting a running start, junior Vita Madamanchi prepares to pie Speech and Debate Head coach Cara Borgsmiller after winning a bid. Borgsmiller was one of the coaches who volunteered to get pied, to raise money for Every Child’s Hope at the Speech and Debate team’s annual fundraiser. “Once I closed [donations, the team] wanted to bid on Borgsmiller, and it was a 10-minute bidding match between Madamanchi and [senior] Noah Schell. Madamanchi won and ended up spending $45,” junior Serpil Kucukkaya said.

Eyes on the pies: the Speech & Debate team raises money to honor alumnus memory

Triya Gudipati, Editor-in-Chief • December 1, 2022

On Oct. 14 and 15, the Parkway West Speech and Debate Team kicked off the competitive season by hosting their first in-person tournament since 2019. While running the tournament, the raised money for Every...

Editors for the Parkway West Pathfinder help organize the Pathfinder product drive. The team collected and sorted donations from each English teacher’s room after school from Nov. 14 - Nov. 21. “Our goal was originally to give each family seven additional items for the month of December, and we have far surpassed our goal now,” Pathfinder editor and senior Elle Rotter said. “We passed that goal by the third day of the drive, and it was amazing how many people donated.”

Food feuds: you made an impact

Elle Rotter, Deputy Conceptual Editor-in-Chief • November 30, 2022

With your help, the Pathfinder collected over 3,000 items to donate to the Parkway Food Pantry, surpassing our goal of 1,051. This means each Parkway Food Pantry family will have 20 additional items to...

After two days of collecting donations, the Pathfinder has 751 items to donate to the Parkway Food Pantry. English teacher Shannon Cremeens took the lead in the competition donating 280 items; however, English teachers Cara Borgsmiller and Michelle Kerpash have 121 and 126 donations. “It’s important for the community to be involved. Even the smallest donation can help,” senior and Parkway Food Pantry volunteer Kailey Hartle said.

English teacher Shannon Cremeens leads the Pathfinder food drive

Elle Rotter, Deputy Conceptual Editor-in-Chief • November 15, 2022

Staying six feet apart, senior Laura Young collaborates with fellow teammates in order to run a smooth and efficient tournament. Young was part of the several students selected by Borgsmiller to go to the library and run the online tournament in-person. “While it made communication harder, it was really nice to be able to see my teammates, even from a distance,” Young said.

Speech and Debate team host Parkway’s first online debate tournament

Thomas Bruns, Opinions/A&E editor • December 10, 2020

Switching from running around rooms, to managing Zooms, the debate team made history by hosting Eastern Missouri’s biggest debate tournament, Oct. 6-7. Led by head coach and debate teacher Cara Borgsmiller,...

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...

Seniors Gokul Venkatachalam, Kristina Humphrey and Luke Donovan pose with their plaques from the district tournament. Venkatachalam will go to nationals in the “Policy Debate” event and Humphrey and Donovan will compete in the “Duo Interpretation” event. “I’ve never been to the national tournament before,” Humphrey said. “I know it’s very competitive because you’re competing against a bunch of national qualifiers. I hope we can do well, and I doubt we’ll make the final stage, but we’re going to try as hard as we can.”

Debate team has emotional return to nationals

Peyton Gaskill, STAFF WRITER • May 14, 2019

After a successful districts tournament, the speech and debate team will send six students to compete in three different events at the national tournament in Dallas this June. The events of last year have...

During the awards ceremony of the 2019 Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA) Speech and Debate tournament, seniors Luke Donovan and Kristina Humphrey await their names to be announced with their placement. Donavon and Humphrey qualified for state in the duet event and placed second overall in the tournament. “I stayed in speech and debate [for four years] because the team and people from other teams in the district are like my second family. While competition can be brutal, it’s worth it to be with the amazing people in Eastern Missouri,” Humphrey said. “Speech has made me grow as a person significantly. It has given me the opportunity to spread important messages through unique ways of conveying them.” Photo by Fatema Rehmani.

Debate team dominates districts tournaments

Fatema Rehmani, Conceptual Editor-in-Chief • April 4, 2019

The Speech and Debate team has been actively expressing themselves through speeches and performances since 1970. The team is sending seven competitors to the state tournament in Springfield, Mo. and six...