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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 graphic portraying “Pathfinder Wrapped 2022.” After collecting our staff’s favorite genres, artists and hits of the year, here are our highest-ranked picks.

Pathfinder Wrapped 2022

Emily Early, Editor-in-Chief December 21, 2022

Welcome to Pathfinder Wrapped 2022.  Like Spotify Wrapped — and other streaming platforms’ versions — the Pathfinder is revisiting our year in music. And we were quite the listeners. Our staff...

Playing an acoustic guitar, freshman Noelle McSpadden sits just outside of her music classroom. McSpadden was inspired to play guitar to add to her songwriting. “[Guitar class] makes songwriting much easier for me. I feel good about my music because I can actually play with a guitar [to back it up],” McSpadden said.

Freshman Noelle McSpadden finds herself through her lyrics

Emily Early, Editor-in-Chief December 13, 2022

Pen travels across the paper. Guitar strings strum. Chords travel across the room in sound waves, crafting into rhythms and lyrical melodies. A new song joins the collection of 450 other songs written...

Checking the thermometer, sophomore Disa Tiemeier makes sugar glass while experimenting in the kitchen. Tiemeier relied on baking to cope with xyr Functional Neurological Disorder (FND). “I bake or nap to take breaks because pulling myself out of a [situation] is helpful. I've been baking my entire life, and I enjoy anything [culinary] altogether,” Tiemeier said.

Living with Functional Neurological Disorder: Sophomore Disa Tiemeier adapts to xyr ever-changing “normal”

Triya Gudipati, Editor-in-Chief November 10, 2022

Since developing tics in January 2020, sophomore Disa Tiemeier has learned to cope with xyr condition as a student, peer and person. As the tics increased in frequency and intensity, Tiemeier visited...

Junior Mikalah Owens writes Beastie Boys’ “Rhymin’ & Stealin’” on English teacher Kaleb Schumer’s classroom whiteboard.

Song of the [Green] Day

Kristen Skordos, Staff Writer November 7, 2022

From Beethoven to The Beatles, music is a part of our nature; it connects us. But what about within the school walls, where more and more students rely on music and AirPods to get them through class? For...

As summer and an iconic era in pop culture history both end, the Pathfinder staff compiled a playlist of our top songs heading into fall.

Top hits: The publication staff’s favorite songs leading into fall

Triya Gudipati, Editor-in-Chief September 28, 2022

From the announcement of Taylor Swift’s 10th album “Midnights” to the revival of Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill” on the charts in the aftermath of Stranger Things, the summer of 2022 was...

“I say to students, music is unique in that the moment after you make the music, it instantly disappears. The only thing that remains after the music is gone is the change in people from the music-making process. We are in the business of changing people and improving people,” Parrish said.

Choir teacher Brian Parrish finishes his last year at West with a perfect score

Jordan Scales, Staff Writer June 3, 2022

After 10 years at West, choir teacher Brian Parrish will be transferring to Clayton High School. In Parrish’s last year at West, he and the choirs achieved a perfect exemplary score at the 2021-2022...

Hair flipping senior Connor Leib plays in a two-hour show with his band Good Question. The performance occurred at Earth Surf– a skatepark located in Chesterfield, Mo. “Playing in a skate park is very loud and [echoey], but it brings out a very punk underground and grimy vibe that’s cool. And it kinda brings out [an angsty feeling] so much that after our [show] I kicked over my drums and broke my high hat stand,” Leib said.

All thanks to the bug

Kristen Skordos, Staff Writer February 17, 2022

At age 13, after listening to “Lithium” by Nirvana, senior Connor Leib had his whole life figured out, becoming involved with music, all thanks to the bug.  “The bug is about the feeling that...

Freshman Samir Shaik plays Chopin's Nocturne Op. 9 No. 2 in a practice room. He spent weeks struggling with the piece, and it was a challenge to train his fingers to move faster. "There’s this one section where you have to play a lot of notes quickly. And I remember struggling with that for two weeks, just on that one passage, over and over again practicing it," Shaik said. "And then one day, it just clicked, and it worked well, and the feeling of satisfaction when it all just came together was really good.”

Composing his way through life

Tanvi Kulkarni, Features Editor February 16, 2022

Amid the mundane sounds of the household, the gentle murmur of the kitchen sink, the insistent ticking of the clock and the constant white noise coming from the television, a sweet melody rings freely...

Freshman Samir Shaik practices the piano during Academic Lab time.

Freshman Samir Shaik arranges future plans to become a composer

Lily West, Staff Writer February 11, 2022

Not many young students dream of becoming a professional composer for a living; among the few is the freshman Samir Shaik. Shaik started his composing journey in the sixth grade, including not only...

After the winter concert for orchestra in high school, junior Anushka Dharmasanam learns a new piece, Movements III and IV of Britten’s Simple Symphony. Dharmasanam played the double bass for Missouri All-State Orchestra. “I was screaming [when I learned that I made it], and I was at my uncle’s house so we all hugged and celebrated,” Dharmasanam said.

Junior Anushka Dharmasanam’s road to All-State

Serpil Kucukkaya, CJ1 Writer February 10, 2022

Watching her peers gaze over the instrument choices, fourth-grader Anushka Dharmasanam observed that no one was interested in the double bass. Viewing the opportunity to explore a different instrument,...