A day in the life at Mac with 300-plus students
As the student body gradually returns to the Sunshine Drive campus, there are signs of life — everything from cap and gown pickup to classroom activity to hallway interaction
2:25 p.m. Ms. Seckar’s calculus class
April 20, 2021
Tuesday was the first day that the school attendance exceeded 300 students (we think) without a standardized test involved. Because the day marked a milestone in the school’s transition back to in-person learning we thought we should capture some images to preserve the look of the day. Here’s our best effort.
9:14 a.m. Digital Media (photojournalism)
11:36 a.m. Herff Jones cap and gown delivery, circle drive
11:44 a.m. Herff Jones cap and gown delivery, circle drive
11:46 a.m. Ms. Wiley’s piano portable
11:47 a.m. Mr. Clark’s guitar portable
11:52 a.m. Bicycle rack near the gym entrance
Noon. The parking lot in front of the former Dart Bowl
12:13 p.m. Tech-theatre students painting Clue set pieces behind the MAC
12:19 p.m. Just outside Mr. Cauthern’s art classroom
12:47 p.m. Entrance to the science hallway
1:31 p.m. Main hallway
1:35 p.m. Main hallway
2:09 p.m. Ms. Taylor’s world history class on the sidewalk outside the library
2:12 p.m. English and social studies courtyard
2:16 p.m. Ms. Moore’s geography class, English and social studies courtyard
2:25 p.m. Ms. Seckar’s calculus class
2:26 p.m. Ms. Seckar’s calculus class
2:45 p.m. Baseball practice field
2:46 p.m. Baseball practice field
3:43 p.m. Ms. Baughman’s forensics class
3:57 p.m. Ms. Baughman’s forensics class
![A TURNING POINT IN BB SEASON: While Blue Brigade typically focuses on the spirited pom routines and kick lines at football games, according to sophomore Chloe Seckar-Martinez, the team’s Spring Show provides a unique opportunity for them to tune into a different style of dance. Seckar-Martinez takes the stage during the team’s contemporary dance “Turning Tables.”
The dance, since it differed from normal Blue Brigade style, was especially rewarding to perform and see succeed according to Seckar-Martinez.
“It’s like one of our only dances where we’re really more into the emotional side of it,” Seckar-Martinez said. “It was almost our first run to be able to just see how much our hard work had paid off.”
For Seckar-Martinez, the dance was especially unique because it was the second to last time she would be performing with seniors, and that moment would be memorable.
“It was meaningful because our seniors were able to have this show without feeling really sad,” Seckar-Martinez said. “This was our chance to do it [perform] with not as necessarily high of emotions since we didn’t know we were going to be able to dance it again.”
The contemporary dance was choreographed by assistant director Jamie Friedman. Her addition to the team was new this year, so the dance provided a special element for Blue Brigade in knowing how much she worked at improving the team, according to Seckar-Martinez.
“This was the first dance that we ever got choreographed by our assistant director for the first time, so that was really special,” Seckar-Martinez said. “To be able to do one of her pieces, especially at the show, since this is her first year was something very meaningful.
Seckar-Martinez said the dance created an emotional connection amongst those who performed it, given the emotions that came with it, and the amount of work that went into perfecting it for the stage.
“It was a very meaningful dance, and It was our chance to just have a lot of fun with it and just see what we can show the audience for the first time,” Seckar-Martinez said. “It may be something that no one’s heard of, or that no one’s seen.”
Caption by Chloe Lewcock.](https://macshieldonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/53683630702_5e1b7c5f85_o-1-e1714535632369-600x389.jpg)
![A PRIDE-FUL WEEK OF CELEBRATION:
As part of AISDs week-long celebration of PRIDE, students of the McCallum Spectrum Club worked to create a week full of activities, prizes and helping hands to support the schools LGBTQ+ community. The club is widely available for anyone to join, and specializes in creating a safe space for students to share and give advice. While Pride month itself isn’t until June, AISD designates one week in March to celebrate and commemorate the importance of this part of the student body.
As part of the week of festivities, the club held a booth in the front hall handing out pride stickers, pins and merch to passers by. For junior Zane Joly, the booth idea was brought up as a way for students to engage with one another, and connect with the community.
“I call out to people in the halls, ‘hey, do you want stickers?’” Joly said. “We just give out free pride stickers and sometimes other free pride merch to the students of Macallum because everybody likes pride stickers.”
While the week itself is packed with a variety of different activities, the overall goal is to bring students closer together and create a safer environment for self expression at McCallum.
“The idea for the student panel largely came from the black [history] student panel that is done during Black History Month,” Joly said. “And the idea for giving out free stuff was developed at Spectrum last year.”
Joly is not only a member of the Spectrum club, but also holds a leadership position giving them a more hands-on role with the projects and Pride Week activities.
“McCallum has a very high queer population,” Joly said. “I think Its nice that we get a chance to celebrate Pride because Pride Month is during the summer, and I think its just a nice thing for the community and getting to just celebrate it.”
While the merch table at lunch was only a small part of the numerous parts of McCallum’s Pride week, for Joly this small impact made all the difference.
“The purpose of Pride is to make people not feel alone and to make them feel safe,” Joly said. “The goal is [to make people] happy about a part of themselves that theyre often conditioned to not feel good about.”
Caption by Chloe Lewcock. Photo by Shila Gill.](https://macshieldonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/53597258192_6e7168d8ae_o-1-600x338.jpg)
