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
Junior TJ Polack plays his saxophone solo at halftime for the 2024 marching band show, ‘Coloring Book.’ This year, Polack was one of two soloists in the marching band. “[Polack] is very hard on himself. [His saxophone solo] sounds amazing [and] everyone [cheers] for him; [still], somehow, he thinks it’s a bad performance and he's down. What he does is not easy. It takes a lot of confidence as a person [and] a lot of musical skill to be expressive, and he's doing an amazing job,” drum major and senior Dominic Perez said. (Courtesy of Christina Block)

The long run

Sage Kelly, Features/News Editor • November 6, 2024

On Oct. 10, as the bustling crowd in the football stadium applauded, junior TJ Polack took his place on stage during halftime to deliver his solo. The applause died down as the 2024 marching band show...

Arms outstretched, senior drum major Dom Perez stands high above the ground while conducting the marching band during rehearsal. To improve his performance and gain confidence as a leader, Perez attended a specialized camp over the summer with drum majors around the country. “[Being the drum major,] has been the biggest step out of my comfort zone in my entire life. I'm constantly learning from the things I do and trying to be a better person, better leader [and] better musician every day. It's the very end of the season, and I've put so many hours into learning how to be a good leader and conductor, and all that has helped me have the best season I can. I feel like I've given it my absolute best all the way through,” Perez said.

Photo of the Week – October 18

Cindy Phung, Editor-in-Chief • October 18, 2024

Enjoying the evening sky, band teacher Brad Wallace glances at his music binder as the sun sets. The marching band practiced and prepared for performance for over three hours as dusk slowly emerged. “I love looking at the night sky when the sun starts to set,” Wallace said. “Since I was very little, all kinds of music paints a picture in my head.hen we create music, it makes the picture in my head more special,” Wallace said.

Photo of the Week – Oct. 20

Dana Zafarani, Photo of the Week Editor • October 20, 2023

“I’m really enjoying my band classes. I'm taking both Concert and Jazz Band. I'm really having fun playing in both of those and having that community. I am in marching band and so having been able to meet people before the school year and go around the school and meet actually a couple of my teachers. It was just kind of special and nice to be able to form those relationships and be able to know who I can truly come to if I need to. I guess [people who inspire me are] the upperclassmen who I'm friends with. Just being able to see them work through like their own work and talk about the classes that they're taking and seeing them do their work whenever they can. I guess it's one of my big motivators because it kind of gives me a look into what I'll be expecting over my next four years, and it just gives me a bit of a view." - Rowan Ravenscraft, 9

Rowan Ravenscraft

Anna Wunsch, CJ1 Writer • October 18, 2023

Senior section leader Abbey Thompson directs the low brass at practice. She remains socially distant and masked. “I always struggled to find motivation to get into a practice routine but with all the extra time with quarantine I was able to dedicate real time to practice. I saw a pretty big improvement not only in my sound but also my confidence as a musician,” Thompson said.

PIVOT: Arts education in action

Arden Dickson, Staff Writer • October 27, 2020

I had my first dance recital when I was five years old. My mother likes to remind me that she thought I had the best costume: a black and white tulle dress, pink bows on my tap shoes and a feather in my...

Junior Aim Achalapong plays synthesizer at the Edwardsville Tiger Ambush Classic Marching Band Festival. Achalapong learned to play piano in Thailand and decided to join the marching band for the year she was here. "In Thailand, if we don't know someone, we won't talk to them," Achalapong said. "Here, a lot of people I don’t know still talk to me. People are very friendly here and it makes me feel welcomed."

From playing piano in Thailand to marching in the band

Anna Pavlisin, STAFF WRITER • October 26, 2018

While living with alumnus Luke Whitten’s family for her junior year, Thai exchange student Aim Achalapong has joined the marching band as a synthesizer player. After encouragement from her dad to...

Senior Noelle McGuire waves her color guard flags in the air at the Jaguar Pride Marching invitational. The competition was the marching band’s last, and took place this Saturday. Color guard walked away having been awarded “Best Auxiliary,” which has not happened in a long time.

Color guard wins prestigious award

Dani Fischer, MANAGING EDITOR-IN-CHIEF • October 24, 2017

Saturdays are usually reserved for sleeping in, hanging out with friends, and catching up on sleep. This Saturday, however, the marching band earned the Best Auxiliary Award at the Jaguar Pride Marching...

Back in the band room, Karl checks out some of the nearly 700 band photos she has taken during her time as manager.

Athlete Spotlight: Vickey Karl

Hannah Hoffmann, TECHNICAL EDITOR-IN-CHIEF • September 8, 2017

For sophomore Vickey Karl, summer meant memorizing six pages of music on a vibraphone and learning her performance part for the 2017-2018 season of band. Summer also brought about the sudden news that...

The marching band clears the field after they form a tunnel for the varsity football team at the game on Aug. 26. They performed the first movement of their competition show, "Journey Through the Night," at halftime later that night.

Marching band parades around school

Nell Jaskowiak, OPINIONS AND ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR • September 16, 2016

Before school on Friday, Sept. 16, the marching band paraded through the hall playing pep songs typically performed during football games. Every year, homecoming spirit day is marked by drum cadences echoing...

Senior Annika Fahs performs at a home football game on September 18th.

Students share a day in the life of Color Guard

Nell Jaskowiak, OPINIONS AND ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR • November 6, 2015
Have you ever heard a group of girls screaming “Bears on three! One, two, three, BEARS!” after half time at varsity football games?
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