![“People should look forward to taking [the] Poetics of Hip-Hop class. Mr. [Dan] Barnes kind of lets us explore a bunch of rap music and [we] try to justify how it's poetry. Other students like to bring in their own music. For example, we do daily dissections. So, he hands us a paper, and whatever student is presenting, they pick the song. I think it was ‘Yale’ by Ken Carson, and we kind of just did a deep dive into that. It's just a really fun thing [we get to do]. We [have] learned how hip hop came to be, and it's just really fun. We share our music experiences, and Mr. Barnes is definitely the best teacher for that. But there's also different styles in rap. We have seen pop songs be tried to turn into rap, and it just doesn't work. It's not poetry like rap is. I think everyone should take this class, because it's a really fun English class, and it's one of the many options that seniors have here. It offers [an opportunity] to look at music in a new perspective, which has been constantly [downed upon] because of the lyrics and how vulgar they [can be], but it's just poetry. It's about the deeper meaning behind it.” - Evangeline Copeland, 12](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/unnamed-1200x800.jpg)
Evangeline Copeland
Taylor Faintich, Staff Writer
• December 12, 2024

Now what?
Pathfinder Editorial Board
• November 30, 2024
Spring Spirit Week
Sakenah Lajkem, Esta Kamau, and Ruthvi Tadakamalla
• March 4, 2024
![Culinary teacher Katie Hashley receives two haikus around her door. Student writers chose to highlight the wafting scents and spice concoctions created in the kitchen. “I love that the students chose to write haikus about our class because especially if it’s a former student, it lets me know that they really enjoyed taking the class,” Hashley said. “[The haikus] were completely true. When we bake cookies, the whole school does, in fact, know. In my mind, it’s free advertising for students to take the class. It also made me really happy because when we make cookies, it’s always a really fun day for students.”](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/IMG_2821-900x675.jpg)
Hoards of Haikus
Addie Gleason, Managing Editor-in-Chief
• March 15, 2023
![Greeting students with a poem and a smile, junior Nicole Imral hands out one of many pocket-sized poems in her stack. Spread out near the school entrances, Imral and several other National English Honors Society (NEHS) members informed students and staff about the day and handed out poems. “I love poetry. I was excited about [Poem in Your Pocket Day] because it's fun to read a bunch of different poems you've never read before, especially short ones because it's easier to get through them,” Imral said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/DSC_0093.JPG_-1-900x600.jpg)
National English Honors Society celebrates Poem in Your Pocket Day
Cindy Phung, Editor-in-Chief
• May 24, 2022

New Courses on the Block
Madi Michajliczenko, Conceptual Editor-in-Chief
• March 10, 2022
![Featured with his kids’ motivational signs, English teacher Dan Barnes poses with his family after the 2021 St. Jude Memphis Half-Marathon. Barnes raised over $700 for patients at St. Jude. “I think the mental side of [the run was difficult]. Going into the half-marathon the week before, I was just like ‘I haven't done enough.’ It was just the uncertainty of doing something I'd never done before. But it was everything that I wanted,” Barnes said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/unnamed-14-1-900x622.jpg)
English teacher Dan Barnes runs half-marathon in support of St. Jude
Emily Early, Editor-in-Chief
• January 12, 2022

“My dog ate my homework”
Addie Gleason, Managing Editor-in-Chief
• December 1, 2021

Aspiring authors: Creative Writing Students publish short stories
Madi Michajliczenko, Conceptual Editor-in-Chief
• May 28, 2021
![Searching for the piece of art that she will respond to, Creative Writing student and senior Allainah Crawford looks at works from the AP Design and Photography class. “This project is ‘free range’ compared to some of the other ones,” English teacher Dan Barnes said. “With express the music, we have word count, [but] with this one, I just want my students to be inspired by art.”](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/DSC_0025-900x600.jpg)
Art responding to art: Creative Writing 2 and the art department’s curriculum collaboration
Zoe DeYoung, Staff Writer
• February 4, 2020