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
Surrounded by a cooler, a basket and a piano bench, freshman Matt Willock holds a NASCAR tire filled with his school supplies. As a part of spirit week, students were encouraged on Wednesday to bring in “anything but a backpack,” to carry their belongings around in for the day. “I feel like the whole NASCAR tire idea was like a statement of my personality. [My dad] was the one that originally kind of gave me the idea to do it. It's been sitting in my room for a little bit and we were looking for stuff to use,” Willock said. “I feel like since this was kind of the first time [for ‘anything but a backpack day’], we were working out what's good to bring, but I feel like if we do it next year, it'll be a lot better. There'll be a lot more variety to what people bring.”

Photo of the Week – March 11

Mira Nalbandian, Managing Editor-in-Chief • March 11, 2022

Supporting her team from the sidelines at the 47th Annual Girls State Meet on Feb. 18, sophomore Alli VanValkenburgh holds the swim and dive flag proudly in the air. The team won the 400 free relay, securing 1st place in the state. “I was super proud,” VanValkenburgh said. “My sister [Megan] had just swam the last event of her high school career and it was [beyond] fun to watch. It has [also] been super fun watching everyone improve and grow this season.”

Photo of the Week – Feb. 25

Katie Wallace, Staff Writer • February 25, 2022

Junior Cameron Chandler dances to “Congratulations” by Post Malone and Quavo for poms senior night Feb. 17. In order to calm their nerves, the poms team had a group huddle and boosted each other’s confidence before the performance. “This is by far one of my favorite years on the team yet, we are closer than we have ever been. We just build each other up and support each other everyday. Leaving this season will not be easy,” Chandler said. “Performing for senior night was really special. We all love Claire [LeDuc] so much and just wanted to do so well for her. I think we worked the most on this dance than any other one because of how special this was for her. We each share a different bond with her that is just really special. We still have two more performances and a competition and it's already extremely hard to think about her not dancing with us next year after becoming so close these past three years.”

Photo of the Week – Feb. 17

Addie Gleason, Managing Editor-in-Chief • February 17, 2022

Juniors Dossan Bell and Brayden Gilmore participate in a mock trial. The trial took place as part of the final exam in Nancy Sachtleben's seventh hour Crime and Law class. "My favorite thing about Mock trials was finding the little cracks in the defendant or prosecutor’s statements," Dossan said. "I like this because I was able to totally unwind the opposite sides statement and by doing this I made a statement have no value and disproved it."

Photo of the Week – Jan. 14

Sarah Boland, Staff Writer • January 14, 2022

Scooping up pumpkin muffins, junior Rainier Neuwirth-Deutsch practices baking in Prostart One. Neuwirth-Deutsch enjoyed making friends with his kitchen group and making jokes as they worked together. “I wanted to have an apron that showed who I was and some things I love. The camera is because I like photography, the remote controller is because I like video games, a spaceship because I love space and astronomy and dinosaurs because they are my favorite animals,” Neuwirth-Deutsch said.

Photo of the Week – Nov. 12

Addie Gleason, Managing Editor-in-Chief • November 12, 2021

Sophomores Leah Liefer and Caitlyn Allendorph participate in Geometry A teacher Patrick Mooney’s “The Amazing Race” activity. The duo’s class worked on Congruent Polygons. “Caitlyn and I got to the fifth envelope, out of seven. I was trying to cooperate but I was also trying to win because I am a somewhat competitive person,” Liefer said.

Photo of the Week – Nov. 5

Achyuta Ambal, Staff Writer • November 5, 2021

Hiking and laughing, juniors Claire LeDuc, Elly Clardy and Triniti Cook explore a new trail in Eureka as a part of their Adventure Pursuits class. The three used the app Strava to track their route and distance, but eventually turned it off when they discovered something peculiar. “We were walking and we saw this treehouse up the hill. We were like ‘oh my God, we need to climb this right now.’ So we were literally on our hands and knees crawling up this hill trying to get to this treehouse when we realized we were in the backyard of a house. There was this huge bird sitting on the treehouse too, it was crazy,” LeDuc said. “It brought back memories of quarantine last year. It was nice and relaxing and we don’t really get to do this stuff anymore because now we’re all so busy.”

Photo of the Week– April 19

Arden Dickson, Staff Writer • April 23, 2021

Receiving her first injection of the Pfizer vaccine, junior Mira Nalbandian sits at St. Louis Community College. Nalbandian was able to secure the vaccine prior to other people her age because she works in the field of education as a tutor at Kumon. “I had to wait a long time outside to get the vaccine. Once I actually was ready to get the shot I was a little nervous because I don’t like needles, but my nurse was super nice and it all went smoothly,” Nalbandian said. “Even with any inconvenience, it was completely worth it. I hope everyone who has the opportunity to get the vaccine takes it because that’s the only way we can move forward.”

Photo of the Week– April 12

Sara Albarcha, Staff Writer • April 16, 2021

Carrying the ball forward, left defender and junior Ella Mercer dribbles away from Parkway Central seniors Kaylee Canoy and Brooke Taeckens. Mercer has played soccer since she was five years old and is a three-year member of the varsity team. “Soccer has always been a huge part of my life. I love using it as a way to de-stress and get exercise. No matter what I have going on outside of soccer, as soon as I’m on the field it disappears and I forget about it for an hour and a half,” Mercer said. “Soccer is both a mental and physical sport, you always have to be thinking about the next play, and where you need to be and where the next ball needs to go. I love getting to incorporate both the mental and physical aspect on the field.”

Photo of the Week – April 5

Kathryn McAuliffe, Managing Editor-in-Chief • April 9, 2021

In the library with her Honors English II class, sophomore Alexandra Toombs constructs a board game, Othello Clue. A Shakespearean twist on the original game, the objective is to try to guess who, where and with what item someone is trying to woo your (Othello's) wife, Desdemona. "I thought the assignment was very fun, because I got to create stuff and look at the play in a different way," Toombs said. "One hardship I encountered was I could not find game pieces, so I made my own out of Legos."

Photo of the Week– March 29

Fatema Rehmani, Conceptual Editor-in-Chief • April 6, 2021

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