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PALS work to fight breast cancer, bring campus together

Pink Week 2024 adds puppies to the mix but stays true to its pedigree, raising $2,755 for the Breast Cancer Resource Center of Texas
Byline photo of JoJo Barnard
Byline photo of Daniela Di-Capua
Byline photo of Carson Duncan
Byline photo of Josie Mullan
Byline photo of Elizabeth Nation
Byline photo of Chloe Seckar-Martinez
Byline photo of Adele Seeboth
Byline photo of Fletcher Vandegrift
JoJo Barnard, Daniela Di-Capua, Carson Duncan, Josie Mullan, Elizabeth Nation, Chloe Seckar-Martinez, Adele Seeboth, and Fletcher Vandegrift
October 15, 2024
Setting a new Pink Week precedent, puppies were introduced into the Pink Week festivities this year. Two 6-week-old puppies-Mae and Millie were brought from Austin Pets Alive, and students, including Mariana Silva shown here, were able to pay to cuddle and play with the puppies. The event turned out to be extremely popular at McCallum with a huge line twisting around the courtyard, and the PALS program reported that just on Tuesday alone, the group raised $700 dollars for the Breast Cancer Resource Center of Texas. Not only did the puppies help to raise money for the BCRC, but the event also served as an adoption event for Austin Pets Alive, as students and their families were given the puppies' information about how to adopt puppies in the future. Caption by Josie Mullan.
Setting a new Pink Week precedent, puppies were introduced into the Pink Week festivities this year. Two 6-week-old puppies-Mae and Millie were brought from Austin Pets Alive, and students, including Mariana Silva shown here, were able to pay to cuddle and play with the puppies. The event turned out to be extremely popular at McCallum with a huge line twisting around the courtyard, and the PALS program reported that just on Tuesday alone, the group raised $700 dollars for the Breast Cancer Resource Center of Texas. Not only did the puppies help to raise money for the BCRC, but the event also served as an adoption event for Austin Pets Alive, as students and their families were given the puppies’ information about how to adopt puppies in the future. Caption by Josie Mullan.
Beatrix Lozach

The Peer Assistance and Leadership Service program held its annual week-long event, Pink Week, last week to raise funds and bring awareness to the Breast Cancer Resource Center of Texas. Many of the most popular events from previous years including the shooting PAL-lery where students could pay to throw water balloons at PALS students, a snowcone machine and a pink nail salon all returned this year, attracting many excited students. Another big highlight was the “Pink Out” pep rally where students eagerly watched their favorite teachers get pied by the PALS students.

One of the biggest highlights of the week was the new puppy petting station organized for the first time this year. Coordinated with Austin Pets Alive!, students were able to pay to hold the puppies, and the event helped to serve not only as a fundraiser for the Breast Cancer Research Center but also as a potential adoption event for APA. 

Over the years, Pink Week has become an important tradition of McCallum. Senior PAL Grace Valdez explained that Pink Week has become a special and unique aspect of the PALS program at McCallum and the community overall. 

“I think it just starts off as friends coming in and throwing water balloons at people, but quickly it becomes school culture,” Valdez said. “I remember my freshman year I would come to it, and it’s just something that’s really fun, definitely unique to McCallum and McCallum PALS. Pink Week is awesome.”

It’s also an effective way to help the Breast Cancer Resource Center provide support to families that are battling breast cancer. Thanks largely to a record $700 raised on Tuesday when the puppies were on campus, the 2024 edition of Pink Week raised $2,755 dollars for BCRC, within a $100 of the PALS all-time best Pink Week set a year ago.

We are proud to present our collection of photos from Pink Week for this week’s Tuesday Top 10.

layla at pink week
David Winter
GLITTER FOR A GOOD CAUSE: Senior PAL Layla Al-Hallaq paints face glitter on security guard Melisa Thickstun's face in the courtyard last Monday, the first day of Pink Week. Pink Week takes place during Breast Cancer Awareness Month and is an initiative to raise money that goes towards the Breast Cancer Resource Center of Austin. The PALS raise money through fun activities such as the water balloon toss, petting puppies, and buying treats like snow cones. Al-Hallaq said these activities help to build the school culture at McCallum. “These events add an element of joy and community spirit, making it a meaningful way to contribute to an important cause,” Al-Hallaq said. During Pink Week, Al-Hallaq participated in many activities including the Pink Salon, where she painted nails and put glitter on peoples’ faces. According to Al-Hallaq, Pink Week not only raises funds but also awareness of and engagement with the cause. Al-Hallaq said she loves how Pink Week brings the community together, allowing it to direct its school spirit toward a good cause. “When you look around, there is this vibrant energy creating a positive atmosphere,” Al-Hallaq said. Caption by Adele Seeboth.
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WISHFUL WINDOW SHOPPING: Senior Mia Plemons observes the displays in the MAC during the 5x7 gallery night. Although not a member herself, Plemons feels a connection to the program through her friends and peers. “I have a lot of friends in art,” Plemons said. “And I’ve seen a lot of their work and it’s all really nice and beautiful, and I really enjoy seeing some of the nice pieces people have made.” Plemons didn’t manage to secure a piece of her own, but left impressed by all the ones she saw. “I didn’t [have a favorite], every piece of art I saw was just absolutely breathtaking,” Plemons said. “I think they should definitely do more things like this in the future. I think it’s definitely great for people in the art program to get their art out there and getting experience with making things that people buy.” Caption by Noah Braun. Photo by Lilah Lavigne.
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SPENDING THANKSGIVING IN NATURE: Junior Elizabeth Falkin feeds deer who wander around her grandfather’s lakehouse on Lake Buchanan during Thanksgiving break. Falkin travels to her lakehouse during long breaks and spent six days there during this break. One thing that makes Falkin’s lakehouse special for her is the ability to feed the deer. “There are a ton of deer up there, and we always keep tins of deer food so that we can feed them and see them more up close,” Falkin said. This trip also allowed Falkin the opportunity to see her cousins, who showed up to her family’s lakehouse on Thanksgiving without her knowing they were coming beforehand. “I never get to see my baby cousins, so I loved going to the beach with them and sitting by the fire at night,” Falkin said. “I love the fire because I feel like I don’t have to worry about anything else like school for just a little while.” Falkin has been going to the house for as long as she can remember and always enjoys the sense of serenity it brings. “It is an amazing, isolated place that allows me to calm down and spend time with the people I care about as well as with nature,” Falkin said. Caption by Maya Tackett. Photo courtesy of Elizabeth Falkin.
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NEW CHALLENGE, NEW TEAM MEMBERS: Every season, VEX creates a new game that robotics team members are faced with and have to build a robot to compete in. This year’s game forces students to create a robot that is able to stack rings onto mobile goals in order to score points. The change in games each season is something that robotics teacher Audrea Moyers appreciates. “One of the things that I like about VEX is that they have a new problem to solve every year,” she said. ¨Even though the equipment’s the same, they have to analyze the game, and they have to come up with solutions that are unique that year. They are using their knowledge from prior years, but they have to kind of redesign a problem.” As returning teams were faced a new game, some new teams and members had to adapt to a uncommon playing field and game. “Three of our four teams were competing for the first time this year, and they had very different experiences match to match, so I think they learned a lot,¨ she said. ¨It’s hard just watching a video online to know how it’s actually going to be in person, so they all learned a lot about what gameplay is like, how to work with an alliance partner [and] how to adapt during the day to changes.”
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VERTICAL VIRTUOSOS: The McCallum Orchestra performed at its Fall Vertical Team Concert on Wednesday afternoon. The concert featured performances from all ensembles, and the Lamar Middle School orchestra. The program began with a performance by the Lamar Middle School’s philharmonic orchestra and symphony orchestra, followed by Mac’s ninth-grade orchestra, Mac’s concert orchestra, Mac’s chamber orchestra, and ended with all the musicians coming on stage for a few final songs. A new member of the orchestra family, freshman violinist Sophia Davis, shared how the freshman orchestra has been preparing for this concert. “I’ve been practicing a lot, both outside of school and in class during third period,” she said. “It’s been an up-and-down roller coaster some days, but I feel that today’s performance went pretty well.” The orchestra will continue to work hard in preparation for future concerts and the upcoming UIL season. Caption by Wren Vanderford.
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AN ABUNDANCE OF OPPORTUNITIES: Senior Harper Freach, a cello player in the chamber orchestra, plays the first movement of “Triptyque” by Yasushi Akutagawa, which they began practicing in August. Freach said she was nervous going into the concert, having recently focused on other pieces. “I was feeling pretty nervous because we hadn't played it for a while because we had been focused on pieces for another concert, so everyone was a little rusty,” Freach said. After the performances, the fine arts majors separated into smaller groups so that the audience could interact with whatever fine arts they were most interested in learning about. Freach’s younger sister is interested in the dance department, so they went into that group. “We went to the dance building and got to watch a bunch of different types of solos of all different dance types to show what you could audition with for your audition and got to talk to the dance teachers,” Freach said. Freach said she had a very different experience with orchestra before high school. “I went to a private school, and we had a very different way of playing, we would have to audition for actual seatings and chairs,” Freach said. “It's different because now you walk into orchestra, and you don't know what to expect. Pringle will either have you play for the class or play with a different section; it's just a very broad range, and you never know what you're going to get. I like it because it tests my abilities and tells me what I need to work on and sometimes shows that I can pick up on things faster than I thought I would be able to.” Freach’s advice for any new Knights is to take advantage of as many opportunities as possible. “Any opportunity that you are presented with you should take it,” Freach said. “I couldn't do that my freshman year because we were still pretty shut down due to COVID. I was scared to try other things besides orchestra, but I regret not involving myself in other areas at McCallum where I could have possibly found my passion.” Caption by Shila Gill.
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