Stage lights shine brightly in senior Zoe Skidis’ eyes. Standing in front of a large crowd, about to give her regional presentation, Skidis can barely see her parents and English teacher Andria Benmuvhar....
Addie Gleason, Managing Editor-in-Chief
• March 15, 2023
White papers appear spontaneously outside classrooms and school locations, each detailing an essential part of school culture. Formatted in the familiar three-line structure of a classic haiku, student...
Getting over her stage fright and having only three poems to compete with, senior Maddie Hoffmann came in third place at this year's regional Poetry Out Loud competition with her love for reading and writing.
“I’ve...
Showing his support for African-American History Month, on Feb. 26, junior Franz Sanon reads a poem about the struggle of racial inequality by Langston Hughes. Students who participated had to read a piece...
To celebrate Black History Month, African American history trivia questions were asked over the announcements, a field trip was held to the GRIOT, the St. Louis Museum of Black History, on Feb. 24 and the 13th annual African American Read In was hosted on Feb. 26.
“Is there anything in specific you are thankful for this year?”
“Well, I was actually talking about this with my wife, and I would say I’m thankful that we have a whole day devoted to being...
A compilation of the People of West blogs from this week. The students and staff of West share the pieces of their life for which they are thankful that they have to give.
![During Jazz Poetry Night on April 1, sophomore Yusra Khan performs her Program Oral Interpretation (POI) piece from Speech and Debate. For her POI piece, Khan spliced together different authors, poems and news articles into one cohesive story depicting Islamophobia in America. “This was my first time performing in front of a diverse crowd of Muslims and non-Muslims with my peers [and] teachers watching. I was surprised [with] the positive reaction I got afterwards; so many people [said] it resonated well. My biggest takeaway is to always represent and stand up for what you value and not care about the judgment of other people,” Khan said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/yusrapotwedited-1200x800.jpg)
![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)
![Senior Maddie Hoffmann celebrates her success at the 2020 Poetry Out Loud regional competition with English teacher Andrea Benmuvhar. Hoffmann received a certificate and a trophy as well as a flower for her achievement. “I never thought that I’d go up on stage and force myself [to perform], but I think I took my confidence a step further. I’m very proud of what I’m now capable of doing. I’m glad that I overcame my stage fright as well as testing out my knowledge on poetry,” Hoffmann said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/IMG_7952-900x675.jpg)
