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
Senior Gael Crane and sophomore Will Gonsior write “the time is always right to do what is right” in German for their Black History Month door decoration. Gonsior took German because of his interest in the country’s culture and history. “Germany has a very rich history, and I love studying history. A lot of our culture and our ideas can be traced back to Germany, especially language,” Gonsior said.

German program comes to an end

Addie Gleason, Managing Editor-in-Chief • February 8, 2023

“Guten Morgen, Studenten!” German teacher Christie Staszcuk’s face fills the SMARTBoard screen as she Zooms in from Parkway Central, with the only four students in West’s combined AP German...

In Latin teacher Tom Herpel’s Latin 3 class, Herpel sets up a chariot race in his room. Junior Madi Michajliczenko won the first race in a series of six and was crowned with the laurel wreath of victory. “The race was weirdly stressful. The entire class was cheering for who they wanted to win and counting laps. At one point, everyone lost count, and I had to complete an extra lap to make sure I got the seven needed. When I finally crossed the finish line, Katie Henak, the person counting my laps, and I were excited because I won,” Michajliczenko said.

Latin teacher Tom Herpel shares the benefits of his course

Jordan Scales, Staff Writer • April 11, 2022

With more than half of English words rooted in Latin, Latin teacher Tom Herpel is surprised that only 100 students enrolled in the 22-23 school year program. Herpel believes that students think Latin is...

Foreign language teacher Blair Hopkins stands by the smart board while she teaches her Spanish One class about different food items. Though Hopkins began with teaching French, she now teaches both French and Spanish classes. “Self-pacing is the biggest thing I've tried to take away [from the Excellent Fellowship program] because there's no class in the world where every single person needs exactly 10 minutes to do a task,” Hopkins said. “I'm trying to learn more how to set it up so that everybody can work at their own pace.”

Saying “au revoir” to old methods of teaching

Sarah Boland, Staff Writer • January 25, 2022

Foreign language teacher Blair Hopkins has received many emails throughout her time with Teach for America. However, one of these emails offered Hopkins a new opportunity to continue her teaching career....

Students from Monterrey, Mexico explore St. Louis

Students from Monterrey, Mexico explore St. Louis

Kyla Hatton, Sports Editor • September 25, 2015
Students from Prepa Tec in Moneterrey, Mexico came to Parkway West for a week, touring the city with their St. Louis hosts.
During an after-school meeting on Jan. 20, Latin Club members participated in a trivia contest.

Latin Club Rises from “Ancient History”

Emily Dickson, CONCEPTUAL EDITOR-IN-CHIEF • January 21, 2015

If you stroll through the language department, you will see classrooms for four languages. Three of them, Spanish, German and French, are spoken by millions of people around the world. One of them is extinct:...