While last week wasn’t officially Teacher Appreciation Week, you would not know by the way students unofficially treated their elders all week.

The Friday spirit day was a case in point. Rather than donning pajamas or jerseys or tropical attire or camo or any of the other tried and true and perhaps tired spirit days, Mac students this week were charged with showing their spirit by dressing like their favorite teacher. And so teachers all over campus confronted their doppelgangers throughout the day.

The spirit activities at the afternoon pep rally continued that theme as the cheer squad invited teachers to rehearse and then perform a pep rally dance routine and to compete against students in a friendly game of “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Pom.” Once the game started, however, the gloves were off, and the teachers were vanquished long before a winner was determined.

To cap it off, the volleyball program held its annual Teacher Appreciation Knight before its district home game against Crockett. Every varsity volleyball player chose a favorite teacher to spotlight in acknowledgment of their contributions and walked across the court with them during a pregame ceremony, which culminated with them standing side by side as they sang the national anthem.

The informal goal of the week was to illustrate student gratitude for all of McCallum’s faculty and from the looks of our weekly Tuesday Top 10 photo essay, we’d have to say well done, student body. Mission accomplished.

HIPS DON’T LIE: Cheerleader Addison Summers and art teacher Jessica Garcia dance together during the pep rally on Friday afternoon. When the cheerleaders were put into formation for the teacher dance during early rehearsals, Garcia made it known she wanted to dance with Summers. 

“I was in the front at first, and then I realized that I don’t have a guide in front of me, and I needed someone for me to follow,” Garcia said. “Addison has been asking me to do this since last year, and I finally gave in.”

While Summers had originally been placed in a spot not near Garcia, she made sure to get it changed. The two have been close since last year when Garcia taught Summers’ art class.

“It took a lot of convincing, but I knew she would have fun once she did it,” Summers said.

Caption by Piper Norfolk. Photo by Lillian Gray.

CAUTHERN’S CREW: Grace Miller, Gabby Orozco, William Cauthern, Luling Kendziorski and Bella Marcincovich pose with matching outfits on Dress Like Your Favorite Teacher Day last Friday. All four students are new art majors this year and printmaking and sculpture teacher Bill Cauthern has quickly become their favorite teacher. They all planned to wear blue button-ups and during class, the students made cotton-ball beards, just like Cauthern’s.

“New year, new freshmen,” Cauthern said. “They’re all good kids. They always are.” 

In 2026, Cauthern will retire from his position as department chair, leaving years of community growth and legacy behind. 

“It’ll suck to not teach these kids, no matter what,” Cauthern said. “This is a good job, and every year I get a new crew, where we’re all like family.” 

Marcincovich said she appreciated how inclusive and thoughtful Cauthern is towards his students. 

 “I love Cauthern because he’s good at listening to how I feel, and what I wanna do with my art,” Marcincovich said. “He makes class really fun. Art is so welcoming, and I feel very included in this major class.”

Caption by Carlo Hinsdale. Photo courtesy of Bill Cauthern.

A ROYAL COURT: During Teacher Appreciation Knight at the varsity volleyball game last Friday, photojournalism teacher and MacJournalism’s very own David Winter takes to the court with sophomore Sienna Martens. Martens, who studied in Winter’s photojournalism class and is currently a first-year Shield staff member, said she selected him as her teacher to commemorate his devotion to his craft and his students. 

“He cares so much about his students, and he’s so passionate about his job,” Martens said. “He’s also so supportive of the volleyball program and always makes sure that our games get covered, which we all appreciate so much.”

The teacher celebration ceremony took place just before the first serve, and capped off a series of events on Friday dedicated to McCallum teachers, including the spirit day theme and some pep rally festivities.

“All of us pre-wrote some speeches about our teachers and why we picked them,” Martens said. “They were read as we walked out with the teachers one by one to the court to give them a moment of recognition.”

Caption by Noah Braun. Photo by Shila Gill.

A KNIGHT FOR NOACK: Junior Isa Urbina poses with science teacher Sarah Noack on Teacher Appreciation Knight right after they walked together through the player introductions at the varsity volleyball game held last Friday. For Urbina, Teacher Appreciation Knight is a meaningful opportunity to celebrate teachers like  Noack, who have gone above and beyond in supporting their students. 

“Ms. Noack has been a part of my life for a long time,” Urbina said. “We even went on a trip to the Dominican Republic together, and she showed so much dedication and care. I wanted to do something special to acknowledge that.”

Reflecting on the significance of Teacher Appreciation Knight, Urbina expressed how important it is for teachers to feel valued for their hard work and dedication. 

“Teachers do so much for us, and they deserve to be recognized,” Urbina said. “They put in so much effort and care about all of their students, even though they don’t really get paid much and have so little time. They just make us feel special.”

To further show her appreciation for Noack, Urbina gave her a card with a handwritten note. 

“I just wanted to let her know how grateful I am,” Urbina said. “She makes me feel special, and I know she does the same for so many other students. It’s important to take the time to show our gratitude because teachers play such a big role in our lives.”

Teacher Appreciation Knight is a chance for the volleyball players to express their gratitude and acknowledge the tremendous impact educators have had on their academic journeys and personal growth. 

“It’s about making them feel seen and appreciated,” Urbina said. “I just want to make her happy because she’s made such a difference in my life.”

Caption by August Gleason. Photo by Mercury Estabrook.

SEEING DOUBLE: Junior Chloe Seckar-Martinez poses with her mother, math teacher Angela Seckar-Martinez for Dress Like Your Favorite Teacher Day. This wasn’t the first time that this mother-daughter duo twinned. Last year, for the Dress Like Your Favorite Teacher spirit day they matched and decided to do it again. Their coordinating outfits were arranged by chance when they stumbled upon a shirt at Old Navy.

“Last year we had twinned for the first time for Dress Like Your Favorite Teacher Day, and this year we knew we wanted to do the same,” Chloe Seckar-Martinez said. “We were actually going to go to Old Navy to buy a matching dress, but the shirt that I [wore] was on the sale rack and matched the dress she already had. We ended up both having Converse as well which helped us twin from head to toe.”

Seckar-Martinez says that growing up around the McCallum community has been a wonderful experience and that it has been surreal to be a student at the very same school that her mom has been teaching at for 25 years.

“I’m truly so lucky that I get to be in the same school as my mom,” Seckar-Martinez said, “I have grown up around this community. When I was little, I would come up to school with my mom and I thought it was so cool to see all of these high school students hanging out with their friends and going to all of their classes. To think I have done that for almost three years is crazy.”

Although Seckar-Martinez hasn’t had her mother as a teacher at McCallum, she has learned many lessons in and outside of school thanks to her mom.

“Although I don’t have her as my teacher this year, she will always be the best teacher in my eyes.” Seckar-Martinez said. 

 Caption by Evelyn Jenkins. Photo by Stella Little.

TEACHERS, GO FIGHT WIN: Juniors Aaniya Thornton and Kafia Jackson-Woods walk onto the volleyball court with Catherine O’Neal as their teacher of choice for the Teacher Appreciation Knight volleyball game. 

Jackson-Woods first met O’Neal during volleyball tryouts during her freshman year, which was also O’Neal’s first year at McCallum. Since then, Jackson-Woods has seen O’Neal as a supportive figure in her life, as a teacher and a coach.

“I’ve just, over the years gotten more comfortable with her especially since she knows how far I’ve come and how much I’ve worked for volleyball,” Jackson-Woods said. “She always acknowledges my hard work, and I feel like she’s always there for me.”

Jackson-Woods feels that O’Neal has had a similar impact on all of the volleyball players. 

“I feel like she’s a safe space for all of us volleyball players,” Jackson-Woods said. “ I think teachers like her deserve more recognition.”

Overall, Jackson-Woods said her favorite part of the Teacher Appreciation Knight is highlighting all the hard work that teachers do.

“They put a lot of work into taking care of each student,” Jackson-Woods said. “It’s so much work, and I wouldn’t be able to remember all of my student’s names.”

Caption by Magnolia Mass. Photo by Shila Gill.

MIRROR IMAGE: During Dress Like Your Favorite Teacher Day, junior Chim Becker goes the extra mile with a draw-on beard as she dresses up as dance and basketball coach Terrance Carson. Becker, who was a student of Carson’s as a sophomore, planned the gesture as a surprise and as a thank-you for the support he gave her over the last year.

“He treats the students like they’re real people and genuinely cares about what everyone has to offer to the program,” Becker said. “He was super kind to me and understanding of my situation as I was struggling with mental health issues last year, and he offered me a safe and supportive place to be myself and show up.”

Fortunately, Becker had no trouble predicting Carson’s outfit on Friday.

“He like, exclusively wears black athletic wear from Nike,” Becker said. “It’s his thing.”

With Carson’s class being such a refuge for Becker during a very difficult time, the joke offered a fun and simple way to repay a bit of his kindness.

“In other classes, I sometimes felt like I had to put on an act and just try to put aside these challenges I was facing,” Becker said. “But with Mr. Carson, I could be any version of myself I was feeling and still be met with acceptance and respect.”

Caption by Noah Braun. Photo by Shila Gill.

STOCKTON SLAYS: Vaughn Stockton puts his hands up and shimmies at Friday’s pep rally, where a group of teachers performed a dance routine. 

The yearly teacher pep rally and dance took place before the football game against Elgin. In preparation for the performance, the teachers were invited to join the cheerleaders and rehearse the routine after school. Stockton, a history and debate teacher, decided to take part and join the practices.

“The cheerleaders led us through small parts of the dance and then gradually we built up the entire dance with the cheerleaders demonstrating and then correcting our mistakes,” Stockton said. 

 The teachers’ hard work paid off as they were able to perform their moves in front of the McCallum student body.

Stockton enjoyed the entire experience, but his favorite part was interacting with the other teachers in the dance. 

“My favorite was getting to bump hips with Ms. Sorto,” Stockton said.

Caption by Arwen Pelletier. Photo by Wren Vanderford.

BLACK AND YELLOW: Sophomore Paityn Jones and Fine Arts Academy assistant Tonya Moore show off their color coordination on Dress Like Your Favorite Teacher Day. Jones, like many other students, chose to dress like their teacher or faculty member of choice as a show of appreciation. 

“She’s my favorite teacher at the school,” Jones said. “She’s the sponsor for the Students of Color Alliance and the step team.”

According to Jones, Moore’s ability to treat students as equals despite the significant gap between them in both age and experience is what makes her such an effective mentor and leader.

“She is always there when I need her and is one of my biggest supporters,” Jones said.

Caption by Noah Braun. Photo by David Winter.

SO CLOSE: Sophomore Tre Tre Lewis shakes Principal Andy Baxa’s hand before they play “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Pom” at Friday’s pep rally.

After the handshake, Lewis eliminate Baxa in the first round of the competition by getting to the pom before the principal did.

“I got pretty close to winning,” Lewis said. “I’m not mad about the loss though. I had fun.”

While he enjoyed the game, he said the whole pep rally was a great experience.

“The pep rally was so cool,” Lewis said. “Seeing all those people with all their spirit really gave me a sense of McCallum pride.”

Caption by V Overstreet. Photo by Julia Copas.

SMILES AND JUMPS: First-year math teacher Jada Stewart and senior cheerleader Mary Mae Forsyth dance together during the teacher pep rally. Forsyth had Stewart as an assistant teacher last year in Algebra 2 and wanted to show her appreciation for Stewart’s helpfulness in her class. 

“She was the student teacher for my math class last year, and she was always very helpful, so I liked being able to help her learn the dance,” Forsyth said.

When Stewart was asked to participate in the dance, she said couldn’t turn down the opportunity.

“I didn’t even know there was a teacher pep rally until a student asked me to join the dance,” Stewart said. “I decided to do it because I love to dance and because I knew it would be a fun way to be involved with other teachers.”

Prior to the dance, teachers showed up to practices after school and worked hard to get ready for the pep rally. On the day of the pep rally, on her way to the gym, Stewart explained how she was still practicing as she walked into the gym.

“Me and Ms. Colbert were practicing the dance on the way down to the gym,” Stewart said. “Although I had many performances throughout high school and college, this was my first time doing something like this as a teacher.”

Forsyth had pulled Stewart up front with her to dance because she wanted someone with a lot of enthusiasm. 

“I had chosen to dance with her because I knew she would go all out.” Forsyth said.

Stewart did just that, and the two began smiling and dancing together, pumping up the crowd along with those dancing around them, and got a roaring response from the crowd.

Caption by Piper Norfolk. Photo by J. Frank Webster.

JOKING WITH JUNKIN: Sophomore Ben Castellow, right, chose to recognize his band director Mr. Junkin, left, during Dress Your Favorite Teacher Day. When asked why he chose to honor Mr. Junkin, Ben initially said it was because he has been told the two look alike, but he went on to say, “He’s a great teacher, and I’m happy he is our director of marching season.”

Castellow said the dress-up day gave students an easy way to express their appreciation for all their teachers do.

“It makes them feel seen and appreciated, and it shows that us as students want to dress up and put in effort to be a part of this community.”

Junkin said that he only learned of Castellow’s plan as he arrived on Friday but that he appreciated the gesture.

“It’s always a little strange, but it’s nice to see that you are clearly making an impact on kids,” Junkin said.

He joked that he was a pretty easy teacher to imitate. Perhaps that’s why there were multiple band members the past two years who sported Texas Tech T-shirts with “Guns Up” or a McCallum shirt and hat to match their band director’s daily attire.

“My style in the fall is generally pretty generic because we’re doing marching band, and I mostly wear athletic clothing,” he said.

Caption by Zev Zent. Photo by Olivia Dungan.

Senior Satya Russ escorts math teacher Chastity Colbert—her Teacher Appreciation Knight nominee—toward the fans prior to the Knight’s straight-set victory over Crockett.  During the two years that Colbert taught Russ math, she said that she and Russ developed a strong relationship. For the Teacher Appreciation Knight teacher introductions, Russ wrote a statement about why she appreciates Colbert. “The paper was very positive,” Colbert said, “and talked about how I helped her achieve her goals in math.” Caption by Hudson Hensley. Photo by Harper Maxwell.