10,000 posts and counting

Earlier today, MacJ crossed the five-digit threshhold. We thought we’d take the opportunity to revisit some memorable moments on the path to this milestone

Shayla Allen, Evie Barnard, Elin Campana Wadman, Ian Clennan, Amaya Collier, Julia Copas, Kylie Elkow, Gaby Esquivel, Morgan Eye, Lillian Gray, Gregory James, Sophie Kessler, Delaney Lavelle, Chloe Lewcock, Beatrix Lozach, Emerson Merritt, Olin Michalovic, Esme Moreno, Grace Nugent, Mads Olsen, Charlie Partheymuller, Adrian Peña, Lexi Ramos, Bella Russo, Sofia Saucedo, Alice Scott, Chloe Seckar-Martinez, Stella Shenkman, Bela Tapperson, Isabela Tellez, Camilla Vandegrift, Lucas Walker, Kennedy Weatherby, Francie Wilhelm, Dave Winter, and many more

April 22, 2025

We have covered a lot of Mac moments here. To celebrate post No. 10,000, we take a look back at some of the moments that made a significant impact in our collective life at Mac.

Dave Winter

Would you believe it began with a sales pitch for the 2015 yearbook on May 6, 2015? Well, it did.

Don’t miss out on a book that lasts a lifetime! Come to room 134 to purchase a yearbook before its too late! #onlyatmac

From that inauspicious first post, we began an epic streak, one post per day since the first day of the 2015-2016 school year. We are pleased to take a photo and caption walk through MacJ’s past in today’s special edition Tuesday Top 10 photo essay.

Nov. 19, 2015 — HALL OF FAME

Very early in the streak, it became clear that the photojournalism classes were going to be a big part of MacJ’s success. One very special student, Elin Campana Wadman, enrolled at Mac as a semester exchange student from Sweden, would capture one of the best sports moments of the school year when Kenneth Hall made a finger-roll lay up at the buzzer to propel the boys junior varsity basketball team to a season-opening win over Del Valle. Thus began what has been a MacJ commitment to cover all sports and all levels of competition.

HALL OF FAME: The varsity basketball team erupts in cheering as Kenneth Hall sinks a game-winning lay-up with mere seconds left on the clock to break a 55-55 tie and send the JV basketball team to a season-opening two-point win over Del Valle Tuesday night. Both the JV and varsity squads celebrated at midcourt immediately after the buzzer sounded. “I didn’t think about the time at all,” Hall said afterward. “I just did what I had to do.” The varsity team just took to the court in its opening game in the Hays tournament tonight. Photos by Elin Campana Wadman.

May 7, 2016 — JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT

The 2015-2016 school year marked the first year that MacJ posted at least once to its Instagram account every school day. As the fall gave way to winter and winter to spring, MacJ continued to keep an eye out for the next memorable sports moment. After the baseball team extended its district title streak to six straight in memorable fashion, the Knights hosted Cedar Creek in the bi-district round of the 5A state playoffs. In a scoreless game, junior Ben Wangrin came up to the plate with two outs in the bottom of the seventh and the bases loaded. What happened next is a memorable moment in McCallum baseball history.

JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT: Pitcher Jesse Reed and second baseman Ben Wangrin, both juniors, came up huge in the decisive 1-0 Game 3 win over Cedar Park today. Reed pitched seven shutout innings allowing Wangrin the opportunity to hit a walk-off single, driving in sophomore Mason Bryant after the Knights loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the seventh. The Knights advance to play Alamo Heights in a single-game second-round playoff 7 p.m. Friday at Wimberly. Photos by Adrian Peña and Dave Winter. #dayinthelifeatmac

Oct. 19, 2016 —

A MATTER OF DEATH AND LIFE

In October of the following year, Art Society and Spanish students joined forces to launch what has since become an annual tradition on the main hallway, McCallum’s Day of the Dead altar.

A MATTER OF DEATH AND LIFE: Art Society members and Spanish students combined creative forces yesterday after school to set up the McCallum Day of the Dead Altar in the main hallway. Among the skeletal crew: Oliver Kuhns (top left), Melany Reese (top right), Caitlin Middleton (center right) and Mr. Martinez (bottom left), who honored the memory of his father, Manuel. The altar includes food, drinks, candles and personal mementos, all intended to honor deceased loved ones. #dayinthelifeatmac

Aug. 29. 2017 — SHELTER IN PLACE

Tropical Storm Harvey devastated Houston and turned Austin into a possible sanctuary for evacuees. McCallum stepped up to the moment and welcomed the Red Cross to set up the small gym as place to welcome those in need. The preparation for that possibility produced one of the most iconic photos in MacJ history, capturing principal Mike Garrison’s leadership as if he were a general preparing for battle. In a way, perhaps he was.

SHELTER IN PLACE: Principal Mike Garrison surveys the small gym today after school after it had been prepared to house Red Cross volunteers. The volunteers will be staying in the gym while they are deployed to serve evacuees displaced by Tropical Storm Harvey. The Red Cross told Garrison yesterday that the gym would not be needed until Friday to house volunteers, but the surge in evacuees and volunteers arriving in Austin necessitated that the shelter be set up this evening. Garrison and assistant principal Gabe Reyes finished installing the tarp in the small gym and made sure that there was sufficient electrical capacity for the volunteers. The boys and girls locker rooms will also be used by the volunteers during their stay at McCallum. Given the amount of flooding in the Houston area and the Gulf coast and the uncertainty about how long it will take for the waters to recede, the shelter may be at McCallum for the foreseeable future. #dayinthelifeatmac #harvey #redcross #aisdproud

Dec. 16, 2017 — ALL GOOD THINGS

The 2017 season is one that will go down as one of the greatest football thrill rides in McCallum history. After romping through the regular season undefeated, the Knights proceeded to advance all the way to the state semifinals, winning two games in Alamodome to get there. One game from the state title game, the Knights’ magical ride came to an end, but not before one of the most poignant moments and later heartwarming interviews in MacJ history.

ALL GOOD THINGS: In the wake of his team’s first loss of the season, senior Alexi Hernandez’ tears ultimately gave way to a smile as he receives a congratulatory handshake from his brother Anthony, who plays middle-school football at Lamar. “It was really devastating to lost that game,” Hernandez said of McCallum’s 49-21 loss to eventual state champion College Station in the 5A Division 2 semifinal game at NRG Stadium in Houston on Dec. 16. “I knew I wouldn’t be able to wear my uniform any more, and I couldn’t handle it. I feel more comfortable in pads than I do in my normal clothes. After I saw my family behind me though, I realized it wasn’t all bad. We became the best team in McCallum history. I knew I made them proud.” Photo by Ian Clennan.

March 24, 2018 — MARCH FOR OUR LIVES

The last decade at Mac have been filled with memorable student demonstrations and walkouts, and one that stands out in our memories is the March for Our Lives and the National Student Walkout on April 20, both to protest the failure of meaningful gun control reform in the wake of the Feb. 14, 2018, shootings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. The power of the reporting and photography from those days are perhaps more powerful because there have been so many tragic school shootings since the Parkland tragedy.

Marjory Stoneman Douglas High senior Jack Haimowitz shares an embrace after his emotional speech at today’s #marchforourlives at the Texas Capitol in downtown Austin. Haimowitz spoke of the awful Feb. 14 shooting on his campus. “What took place on Valentine’s Day not only stripped the students of Douglas of their innocence, but it brutally ripped 17 lives from their homes.” He also spoke of the resolve he and his classmates and have found since the shooting. “We are the change we never knew we needed, and we have found the strength that we never knew we were looking for. … Every day I see people not only wishing for change but refusing to accept anything else.” He also pleaded with the audience for unity. “If we ever wish to fully overcome the hatred and fear on a scale such as this, we must unite as Americans regardless of the societal, racial and physical constructs put in place to hinder our unification.” Photo by Mads Olsen. #msdstrong #atx #austintx #parklandstrong #stonemandouglas

Jan. 11, 2019 —

REMEMBERING COACH CALDWELL

The 2018-2019 school year includes some sad goodbyes. Former teachers Don Caldwell and Michael Urick passed away, and Class of 2018 graduate Javier Niño died in a tragic car accident. As fate would have it, the boys basketball program that Caldwell coached for four decades had a game to play just days after his passing. The last-minute basket that led to a Knight win seemed to be divine intervention to Rob Wade who scored the game winner in double overtime at the buzzer.

REMEMBERING COACH CALDWELL: As we reported earlier, Thursday marked the passing of McCallum basketball coach Don Caldwell. Immediately preceding tonight’s boys basketball game against Lanier, boys basketball varsity coach Daniel Fuentes bows his head during a moment of silence to honor the memory of the longtime Mac coach in the gymnasium that bears his name. The boys went on to win tonight’s game in double overtime on a last second tip-in by sophomore Rob Wade. “I think Coach Caldwell had a little bit to do with that,” Fuentes said. “I think he might have tipped the ball in there at the end.” Photo and reporting by Gregory James. #dayinthelifeatmac #MACbasketball @macknighthoops #txhsbb #txhsbball #txhsbasketball #txhshoops🏀

June 18, 2019 — LEHMAN LEAVES A LEGACY

Another big change came in the form of a dual retirement of two legends in the science department and one in the principal’s office. By year’s end, teacher Richard Whisennand (49 years, 33 of them at Mac), principal Mike Garrison (40 years, 16 as Mac principal) and teacher Robert Lehman (six decades of teaching, 51 at Mac) had all retired. Lehman was the last to make his intentions known.

BREAKING NEWS: After six decades in the classroom, 51 of them at McCallum, chemistry teacher Robert Lehman is retiring. Lehman confirmed with MacJournalism today that he will not return in the fall, saying he will miss interacting with students terribly but not the bureaucracy that comes with teaching in a public high school. Science department chair Nicole Sorto said that she was sad when Lehman told her he was not returning. “Mr. Lehman hired me and has been my mentor and friend for 26 years,” Sorto said. “He is and will continue to be in my heart and with me each day as I walk through the halls and teach my kids. He is embedded in the fabric of McCallum High School.” Even before his half-century of teaching at Mac, Lehman was a part of the Mac story. As a senior at Travis High School in 1953, Lehman attended the first Battle of the Bell between Mac and Travis. According to Sorto, Lehman started teaching at McCallum in the 1967-68 school year. After 51 years, he has taught thousands of Knights, including generations within the same families. One of those former students, surgeon Mark Thomas, posted this message to the MacJournalism Facebook page on the occasion of Lehman’s 82nd birthday in August. “After four years of medical school, five years of residence training and over 20 years of surgical practice, I still remember his class and some of his dry sense of humor.” In an exclusive interview earlier this year, Lehman described how it was that he chose to become a teacher. “Chemistry was my major, and I was going to work in oil,” Lehman said, “but they did not hire anyone who was not in the military, so I went to work in teaching, and I liked it, so I stayed with it. Chemistry is everything, you can not name something that does not deal with it, and students tend to like it better because it is hands-on.” Lehman said chemistry wasn’t just the students’ favorite but also his. “You may think you know everything about chemistry, come to find out there are 60 different answers and 60 different ways to do it.” That’s an answer for each year that Lehman has taught high school. Reporting by Kylie Elkow. File photos from 1971, 2019 Knight. #dayinthelifeatmac

March 27, 2020 —

COVID-19 AKA EXTENDED SPRING BREAK

The 2019-2020 school year will be forever remembered for the way it ended or didn’t depending on how you look at it. Around spring break, the whole world shutdown and we were all quarantined in our homes until the pandemic played itself out. Seniors in 2020 had no prom, no traditional graduation. Even their senior skip day was messed up because it became everyone skip day. In that shutdown year, MacJ tried very hard to use its social media presence to salvage some sort of virtual school community, and we are pretty proud of our effort during that difficult time.

LANGUAGE LOVER: Freshman Camie Brown checked in with us to let us know that she has been using her extended spring break to catch up on books that she hasn’t had a chance to read and to finish her online semester of American Sign Language. “My sister and I have been working on it,” Brown said. Brown added that she normally reads around 12 books per semester and the time off is helping her get closer to that goal. Her favorite so far? “The best thing I’ve read would probably be The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. I love how it keeps you constantly on the edge of your seat. With every detail Zusak is able to make a plot twist it that the reader doesn’t necessarily expect. The book also incorporates Germany in really creative ways.” We want to hear from you, too. Give us a sign about how you are doing to be featured here and in the 2020 yearbook.

May 30, 2020 — PROTESTORS ADVOCATE JUSTICE

FOR GEORGE FLOYD, MIKE RAMOS

Just when the 2020 school year came to a close with a virtual graduation, a graduation parade and then a graduation walk across an empty stage, Austin and cities all across the United States erupted into a national reckoning after the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police. For 10 days, downtown Austin was the site of protests against police brutality in which the initial response of local law enforcement included pepper spray and rubber bullets. Some of the bravest and at times controversial MacJ reporting occurred during this tense moment in Austin history.

PROTESTORS ADVOCATE JUSTICE FOR GEORGE FLOYD, MIKE RAMOS: A woman is forced over a wall as State Troopers force protesters off of the Capitol grounds. Hundreds of protesters met at the Austin Police Department headquarters downtown Saturday afternoon to demand justice for African-American victims of police brutality. The protests filled the streets surrounding the Police Department headquarters and at times blocked traffic on I-35, and eventually protests spread to Austin City Hall and the Texas Capitol. Some protesters were met with pepper spray and rubber bullets as APD officers tried to control the crowd and clear the highway. This protest comes as part of a national spread of protests following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis at the hands of a police officer. Austin protesters are also calling for justice for Mike Ramos, an Austinite who reportedly was unarmed and shot by the police in late April. McCallum class of 2020 graduate Stella Shenkman was photographing the rally when she encountered a chemical agent used to control the crowds. “[APD] started gassing the upper deck of the highway which caused panic and I started running with the crowd and lost my ride,” Shenkman said. “This caused me to get in the crossfire of some sort of airborne material that burned really bad. … I want to say it was tear gas but I could not see anything and I really am not sure. At that point, people around me were being shot with rubber bullets.” According to Shenkman, “the only violence coming from the crowd were the tossing of empty plastic water bottles.” According to a Statesman report, some demonstrators later in the day vandalized businesses, broke the windows of an empty police car and blocked traffic on the Congress Avenue bridge. More protests are expected to continue in Austin over the weekend, with a “Justice For Them All” march from the Capitol building to City Hall planned on Sunday. Although APD has maintained that they will work to provide safety for those peacefully protesting, but violence and destruction of property will not be tolerated. Photos by Stella Shenkman and Bela Tapperson. Reporting by Bella Russo.

Feb. 26, 2021 — SOCA TAKES OVER

THE MACJ INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT

The Shield editors worked hard to try to respond well to a nationwide effort to do better in supporting diversity and equity on the McCallum campus. Given the current move away from that commitment nationally, the attempt in that moment seems all the more urgent. We worked with the Students of Color Alliance to amplify Black voices by offering SOCA a weeklong takeover of the MacJ Instagram account. We told the SOCA leadership that they had editorial control over the account during the takeover, and we asked only that they post once every school day to keep our long posting streak intact. The result was a win for everyone.

Here is our last post for our Mac J Takeover! We wanted to finish off by highlighting young Black artists and business owners. We hope you enjoy reading about them. Make sure to go follow and support these kids. They are doing amazing work, and will continue to do amazing things for this world. Tag any other young Black artists or businesses that you know of in the comments below! We hope y’all had an amazing Black History Month!

Much love,

—Mac Soca

Graphics by Isabela Tellez.

May 2, 2021 — RETURN OF PROM BRINGS

SOME NORMALCY BACK TO MAC

The pandemic meanwhile threw a major wrench into the 2020-2021 school year, prompting most observers to conclude that the Class of 2021 might have and even worse senior year than their 2020 predecessors. It did seem ironic that prom—which was lost entirely in 2020—seemed like the first schoolwide tradition to return, even if it had to be outside with seniors masked up. The chosen theme—MASK-erade—cleverly turned a weakness into a strength.

RAIN? NO, MAKE THAT REIGN: While flash floods earlier in the day quite literally threatened to dampen the outdoor prom, the event went on as scheduled, and by all accounts was a smashing success. Senior class sponsor Amy Smith secured a covered warehouse area to retreat to and a class set of rain ponchos if the weather forced prom goers to seek cover, but the rain ended up being more of a trilfle than a tragedy. “I can honestly say that was the best prom ever and the kids were so great,” Smith reported on the McCallum senior parents Facebook page. “They were so polite and appreciative. Absolutely no problems at all. They were perfect and we had a blast.” Principal Nicole Griffith echoed that sentiment telling MacJournalism Saturday night that it was a great night for the senior class and the school community. We are pleased to share the first of what we suspect will be multiple prom galleries. Photos by Esme Moreno, Kennedy Weatherby and Nicole Griffith. #MacSeniors2021 #MacClassof2021 #MacProm2021 @stubbsaustin

Aug. 27, 2021 — 14-13

All you really have to say about Taco Shack 2021 is 14-13, and anyone who was there, especially the 2022 seniors, will know exactly what you’re talking about.

SECOND HALF RALLY. The Knights pulled off their first win in the Taco Shack bowl in three years with a 14-13 victory over the Anderson Trojans. The defense made some significant stops in the first quarter with senior Brock Fanning, coming up with a big interception near the goal line to keep the game scoreless. Anderson took the lead in the second quarter and carried that 7-0 lead into the half. In the second half the Knights offense looked dangerous featuring a three headed rushing attack of seniors, Jaxon Rosales, Colby Napier and Thomas Lonsdale. Rosales ran one in to tie the score midway through the third quarter. Anderson would go on to score on the final play of the third quarter but would miss a crucial extra point to lead 13-7 going into the final quarter. Tough defense and some more bruising runs by the Mac defined the fourth quarter. Rosales dumped off a short pass to Nate Davidson for the game winning score with 6:42 left on the clock, all the Knights needed was some good defense and some clock-killing running to seal the victory, and that’s exactly what they got. Caption by Charlie Partheymuller. Photos by Evie Barnard, Amaya Collier, Grace Nugent and Dave Winter. Video by Morgan Eye.

Nov. 2, 2021 —

BAND PLACES SIXTH AT STATE

The marching band had a historic season in the fall of 2021, ultimately placing at the 5A UIL State Marching Band Competition in San Antonio. Under the leadership of Morgan Eye, MacJ began what has since become a MacJ tradition of embedding reporters and photographers with the band and their major competitions and reporting results live and in real time, just like we do with football games.

THE FINAL FINAL: The @mccallumband participates in their final competitive marching contest of the 2021 marching season at the 5A @uiltexas State Finals Marching Competition.

“I felt really good about the performance,” color guard member Jax Williams said. “I am very proud of the work we put in, and I am excited to see where this goes. It’s sort of sad now that the marching season is over, but I made a great set of friends and good memories because of it.”

The results of the final round will be announced at 5:45 p.m. this afternoon, but rather than your average drum major retreat, the entirety of the Mac Band will return to the field to receive the news.

Photos by Morgan Eye and Sophie Kessler. Caption by Morgan Eye.

Nov. 15, 2021 — HUNDREDS WALK OUT

TO SHOW SUPPORT FOR SEXUAL ASSAULT VICTIMS

In another significant student demonstration during the last decade, hundreds of students walked out to show support for victims of sexual assault. The protest was aimed at a perceived lack of institutional support for sexual assault victims, but the walkout itself seemed more concerned with being present and providing an empathetic and safe space for victims to share their stories on the path to recovery. In the months that followed, the protestors and the school administration made an earnest effort to improve the campus culture and address the concerns raised by the protest.

At 2 p.m. today, hundreds of students walked out of their third-period classes in a show of support for students who have been victims of sexual abuse or sexual assault. The group met in the band parking lot and then marched around the perimeter of the school stopping often to hear personal stories of assault and survival. Each story elicited embraces and statements of support from members of the crowd.

Aubrey Mitchell, one of the organizers of today’s walkout, said that today’s event went as planned and the size of the crowd, an estimated 250-350 students, was beyond their expectations.

“When 2 p.m.finally came around, the turnout of students was bigger than we had ever imagined,” Mitchell said. “I did my best to keep things orderly and peaceful and the students did just that. Students started sharing their experiences around assault, and they exchanged feelings of sadness and anger. No one felt alone and everyone felt safe. People who had never known another survivor got to meet 50.”

The walkout was about building community and improving systemic support on campus.

“We shared ideas for a better support system at Mac while talking about the realities of the situation. People cried, laughed, yelled, hugged and left feeling supported and empowered.”

The walkout was preceded by a 1:45 p.m. library meeting on the subject of sexual assault on campus between principal Nicole Griffith and about 50 students and was followed by a 6 p.m. Zoom meeting on the same subject between Griffith, an @AustinISD police official, an Austin ISD counselor and McCallum parents.

At the Zoom meeting, Griffith announced the formation of a new student group, McCallum Against Sexual Assault, which will have its first meeting during FIT on Tuesday.

Photo by Lexi Ramos. #dayinthelifeatmac

Dec. 5, 2022 — DEATH OF DART BOWL

It was a bit anticlimactic since it had been vacant for two years, but it was still sad to see the visual end of Dart Bowl, which for decades served as an extension of the Mac campus culture.

DART BOWL DEMOLISHED: Two years following its closure, a demolition crew has begun tearing down the historic building on 5700 Grover Ave, the site of Dart Bowl Bowling Alley.

After struggling to keep the business afloat amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, property owner John Donovan decided to permanently close the location after a 62-year-long run on July 16, 2020.

The property was approved for demolition in early November by Austin’s Historic Landmark Commission.

On Nov. 16, not long after a welding crew came to reseal the doors of Dart Bowl, the location was broken into and a trash can set ablaze around 1 p.m.. Smoke emitting from the roof was reported to the Austin Fire Department at 4:41 p.m. and under control by 5:34 p.m..

The fire did not affect the demolition process, and OHT Partners began work tearing down the main building on the estimated two-year long project earlier today. Neighboring the Dart Bowl, another property is set to be involved in demolition and apartment building.

Reporting by Morgan Eye. Photos by Morgan Eye and Julia Copas.

Jan. 20, 2023 — WOMEN’S HOOPS ENJOYS

PERFECT DISTRICT SEASON

The girls basketball program enjoyed a historic season in 2022-2023, an undefeated district championship. But not all the team’s wins were on the court. One of them was on the MacJ Instagram account, where Lillian Gray’s reel of the team’s victory over LBJ was the single post with the greatest reach of the entire school year: 6,188 accounts.

The @macknightsbball team staged a late rally to defeat rival LBJ 46-40 at home Tuesday night. With the victory the Knights swept the season series against the Jags and improved their district record to a perfect 10-0. Here is a montage of some of the key plays that propelled the Knights to the signature win.

Video by Lillian Gray.

#txhshoops #KnightTime #txhsbasketball #txhsbball @var_atx

Feb. 1, 2023 — WINTER FREEZE CAUSES

TREE DAMAGE ON CAMPUS

The winter freeze that decimated trees all over Austin did not leave the McCallum campus unscathed.

TREE DAMAGE ON CAMPUS: As was the case throughout the city, on the Mac campus, the winter freeze resulted in fallen tree limbs as the weight of ice on the branches proved too much for the trees to withstand. #dayinthelifeatmac #winterstorm2023 #icestorm2023

April 21, 2023 — MACTHEATRE WINS

FIRST BEST PRODUCTION AWARD

The threatre program has long been a source of pride for the quality and professionalism of its productions but in the spring of 2023, the cast and crew of Pippin scored an award that had to that point eluded the program: a Heller Award for Best Production.

MACTHEATRE MAKES THE GRADE: Up against seven finalists from other schools across the greater Austin area, the cast and crew of Pippin sat tensely waiting in the Long Center theater for the night’s biggest question to be answered.

“And the Mary Anne Heller award for Best Production goes to…”

This was it. The moment when the audience would learn which school produced the best musical of the year.

“McCallum Fine Arts Academy. Pippin.”

And the crowd of MacTheatre students went wild.

“I was standing backstage watching a small TB screen with the stagehands,” junior Stage Manager Zoe Gravois said. “Seeing our show come on screen after all the anticipation felt so unreal. Everything after that was really a blur, I only remember my hands shaking holding the trophy, and how nervous I was about getting my speech right.

Best production was the fourth and final award that Pippin received at the 10th annual Heller Awards for Young Artists (HAYA) held on Wednesday. Earlier that night, McCallum was awarded Best Orchestra, Best Lighting Design and Best Technical Execution.

“It was a huge surprise for a lot of people in the cast including myself,” senior Lauren Ryan-Holt said. “It made me feel super proud of our cast and crew cause there were so many other deserving schools but I think this win means something super specific for our theatre department.”

While the honors McCallum received were significant in their own right, they were especially meaningful because it was the first time MacTheatre had ever taken home the Best Production awards.

“When McCallum was announced as the best production winner, I was sitting with the cast and crew of Pippin in the audience,” Blackmon said. “We were linking pinkies all the way down the rows that we were sitting in. Then, our name came up on the screen and everybody was screaming and hugging.”

The Heller Awards brings together 33 schools from across the region and celebrates high school musical theatre. The annual award show held at the Long Center consists of performances from each of the Best Production schools, medleys for the Best Leading Performer and Best Supporting Performers, and numbers by Select Ensemble students.

“The show looked incredible,” Gravois said. “It was such a magical experience, and hardly anything went wrong backstage.”

On the day of the award ceremony, Pippin was nominated for 15 awards across both performance and technical categories. Ryan-Holt (Leading Player), who was nominated for Best Leading Performer in the female category performed in a medley alongside her fellow nominees.

“It felt really rewarding to be among other super talented and kind performers,” Ryan-Holt said. “But it was also a lot of pressure since only one person can win. In the end, being nominated made me appreciate the world of theatre I get to spend my life doing.”

McCallum was also represented in the supporting medley with four nominated actors, seniors Nick Boehle (Charles), Charlotte Blackmon (Berthe), Savannah Chavarria (Catherine) and junior Ellie Loudermilk (Fastrada). Despite her nomination, Blackmon felt most proud of the collective effort by the cast and crew to produce Pippin

“I just felt so proud of all of the work that everyone put into Pippin to make it what it was,” Blackmon said. “I was so happy to be there with everyone in that moment.”

Reporting by Alice Scott. Photo courtesy of Ava Deviney.

Aug. 23, 2023 — PARENT PRIDE

Nearly 24 hours after executing the second-most liked post in MacJ Instagram account’s history, Francie Wilhelm posted the most liked and most engaged post on ever shared on @macjouralism. She used her experience as a news reporter to interview parents and students on-the-scene as they responded to the previous day’s demonstration of hate with a counter demonstration of love. This post truly felt like it made a difference and reminded use why we run the account in the first place.

PARENT PRIDE: Today during fourth period, the streets around McCallum were once again filled with shouting and car horn honking, only it wasn’t from the previous agitators. Parents gathered at the corner of Houston and Sunshine with signs and Pride flags in support of the LGBTQ+ community. Former McCallum teacher and current McCallum parent Nikki Northcutt organized the meetup.

“I just posted on the parent [Facebook] page ‘I’m going to be here. Happy to be alone but would love some company!’ and then these people all showed up,” Northcutt said.

Senior Keegan Sarwate joined the parents, wearing a transgender pride flag over his shoulders. When yesterday’s events unfolded, Sarwate couldn’t process it at first.

“I kind of didn’t really believe it was happening,” Sarwate said. “I mean it was stressful but I’m also really glad that we were all able to laugh about it, like we were all making fun of them and joking, kind of made it seem a lot less serious than it was.”

Today, Sarwate focused on positivity.

“I don’t have anything to say to the people who were here yesterday because people are going to be hateful no matter what you do,” Sarwate said. “It gets really difficult to think that people are behind you a lot of times when stuff like that happens but just seeing how quickly this got put together, there is so much support.”

Northcutt feels that the right path forward is to continue vocal activism.

“Silence is not gonna work,” Northutt said. “But we also need to be positive and showing support and that’s literally the only reason I’m here. If one kid in there [McCallum] sees these parents and feels validated then it’s worth it.”

Caption by Francie Wilhelm. Photos by Lillian Gray and Dave Winter.

#dayinthelifeatmac

Sept. 26, 2023 — PETER BAY CONDUCTS

THE MAC ORCHESTRA

It’s not every day that your teacher is the music director and the conductor of the Austin Symphony Orchestra, but Tuesday Sept. 26 wasn’t just any old day for the @mac_orchestra.

FROM ORCHESTRA TO ORCHESTRA: Peter Bay, conductor of the Austin Symphony Orchestra guest conducted the McCallum chamber orchestra on Tuesday morning as they prepared for upcoming performances. Bay came in and offered feedback on how to improve the playing individually for the musicians, and orchestra as a whole.

Junior Kate Talley said that the experience brought new light upon the pieces, improving them so they would be ready for an audience.

“Getting to work with someone who has experience with so many people was great,” Talley said. “He just brought a different environment into our orchestra room.”

The chamber orchestra has been preparing their pieces since summer, cleaning, perfecting, and improving them along the way, a process that Bay aided when he worked with the orchestra.

“Having a fresh start with all the music we’ve been working on was helpful,” Talley said. “We’ve been hearing the same feedback that Mr. Pringle has been saying, but sometimes when you hear it from someone else it can be helpful to apply it to the music.”

Talley added that it was an honor to work with someone so renowned as the Austin Symphony conductor, and that the experience brought a different perspective to the orchestra that helped further their musical careers.

“He had new ideas we hadn’t seen before,” Talley said. “It was just a really great experience and I’m really grateful.”

Caption by Chloe Lewcock. Photos by Dave Winter. Video by Morgan Eye and Dave Winter.

Feb. 14, 2024 — BOYS BASKETBALL

COMPLETES UNDEFEATED SEASON

The emergence of a dominant boys basketball team and an undefeated district championship season coincided with the emergence of Julia Copas as a queen of the hype video. It was a perfect merging of twin ascents.

The @macknighthoops varsity squad put the exclamation point on a championship season Tuesday with an emphatic 82-53 victory over Northeast. Representative of the team concept responsible for their remarkable season, the Knights had no player score more than a dozen points even though the team put 82 on the board.

George McCoy was the leading scorer with 12, and just behind him George Brode scored 11. Cash Kerschner, Henry Mayes and Tommy Ammeran each chipped in nine.

It’s almost as if the basketball court was a dinner table and the Knights wanted to make sure everyone got to eat their fill. Before the game, Ethan Plummer was asked to describe the team’s chemistry this season.

“Team bonding is something our coaches really preach,” Plummer said. “They want our team to act as a family and lately it has truly felt that way. One thing that makes our coaching staff truly special is how much it feels like they care about the success of the team but also how much they care about each and every one of us individually. I think this coaching style has really led everyone on the team to become really dedicated to putting in their full effort into the season because we want our coaches to see all the work they’ve put in pay off.”

After finishing the season with a perfect 14-0 district record, the 24-8 Knights eye the 5A state playoffs and a bi-district showdown against the Cedar Creek Eagles, who will be a district opponent for the Knights starting next year due to realignment. The Eagles beat the Knights 66-57 in a pre-district tournament game on Nov. 17. The Knights will take on the Eagles Tuesday Feb. 20 at 6:30 p.m. at Weiss High School.

Video by Julia Copas.

#txhsbb #basketball

Feb. 28, 2024 — OPENING DOORS

TO APPRECIATION BLACK HISTORY

The growth of the school’s Black History Month observance has been striking over the last decade. From a single assembly to a month-long slate of diverse activities, the trend has shown a commitment to the idea that sharing diverse perspectives benefits everyone.

Students serving on the Black History Month panel took to the MAC stage on Tuesday Feb. 20 during fifth, sixth and eighth periods to conduct a question-and-answer session with students and faculty members.

Assistant principal Larry Featherstone, who hosted the three sessions in the MAC, explained why he and Students of Color Alliance decided to have a student panel as a regular part of Black History Month activities at Mac.

“It’s always important, when you have a school of almost 2,000 students, to hear their perspectives. So that was our thinking,” Featherstone said. “Ms. [Tonya] Moore and I thought it was important to hear from a student perspective. We wanted you to be able to dialogue with the students and have an interactive conversation.”

Senior G Kahlor, the Students of Color Alliance president, was pleased with the audience turnout and response on Tuesday.

“I didn’t expect [the MAC] to be filled this year,” Kahlor said. “Last year people interacted, but not as much as this year, so I was just blown away. … I loved seeing their reactions when I would say something or even seeing my reaction when they said something.”

Kahlor was also impressed by the number of people who sought out the opportunity to be on this year’s panel. Last year, the organizers had to recruit panelists, but this year Kahlor said that volunteers came to them. Panelists throughout the day included seniors Sebastian Banks, Braylen Belvin, Terron Hall, Jude Masoni and Kahlor; juniors Robin Kulhanek, Brianna Miller and Trinity Richardson; and freshmen AJ Brown and Paityn Jones.

Miller, the Students of Color Alliance vice president, said that being on the panel was a rewarding experience.

“We all had similar experiences, so it really felt like a safe space whenever we shared,” Miller said. “Being on the stage was kind of hard, but when you’re on there with people you feel secure with, it wasn’t that bad.”

Reporting by Gaby Esquivel, Beatrix Lozach, Chloe Seckar-Martinez and Dave Winter. Photos by Shayla Allen, Delaney Lavelle, Chloe Lewcock, Emerson Merritt, Olin Michalovic, Chloe Seckar-Martinez and Dave Winter.

DEC. 22, 2024 — ARCHERY PROGRAM HOSTS

LARGEST TOURNAMENT EVER IN AUSTIN

The McCallum Invitational archery tournament left two distinct impressions on the MacJ reporter on duty to cover it. One: the discipline of the student archers at all levels is extremely impressive and a credit to them, their parents and coaches. And two: somebody needs to market a baby sleep sound machine with a setting called archery tournament. The sound of a round of archery sounds like a slow heavy rain on sleepy day. Calming and up uplifting at the same time.

RECORD-BREAKING BULLSEYES: The archery team hosted the biggest tournament ever held in Austin in the large gym Dec. 14-15, with schools from all educational levels, public and private, participating in the competition. In addition to this record, the Mac team also shot its highest score ever, 3309 points.

Senior Theo Northcutt placed first in the male high school division with an individual score of 285, and sophomore Carley Lardizabal placed first for high school females, scoring 283.

Northcutt finished his first-place effort with a final round of 49 from 15 meters, meaning he shot four bullseyes and a nine with his five arrows in that round. It is much harder to shoot that well from 15 meters than from 10. Each archer shoots 30 arrows in a competition, three sets of five from 10 meters and three sets of five from 15 meters. Several archers at the tournament achieved perfect rounds of 50 from 10 meters. Both Northcutt and Lardizabal posted one 50-point round from 10 meters. Three other Mac archers also posted perfect 50 rounds: Althea Bradbury-Flores, Wren Griffis and Henry Peacock.

Shooting on her birthday and filming a documentary about archery in her down time, Lardizabal followed her first-place score with a victory in the one-arrow shoot-off, in which archers pair up and shoot one arrow. The closest to the center of the target advances to the next round until only one archer remains, which in flight 11—the flight filled mostly with McCallum archers—was Lardizabal. The shoot-off is meant to be fun not competitive, but Lardizabal did win a Bullseye Bakery cookie and a one-of-a-kind pen made from a broken arrow by Coach Nick Kalakanis.

Lamar Middle School archer Sofia Pedregon-Harrington posted the highest individual score overall with a 292, a score that included 15 straight bullseyes from 10 meters (three perfect 50 rounds) and a 49 from 15 meters. Lamar MS archer Miles Windler had the highest individual score for male archers with a 286.

According to senior co-captain Diego Custard, the scale of the tournament caused some extra stress and preparation.

“I think the size of it set it apart from previous tournaments,” Custard said, “and made it harder to do everything from inputting scores to managing and watching everyone during the times when there were archers there.”

Setup in the gym for the record-breaking tournament was extensive, lasting from the end of the school day until around 9:30 p.m. on Friday.

“We had to be extra careful when we were moving equipment, marking shooting lines and taking the tournament down afterwards,” Custard said.

Senior Sadie Swinney recorded scores for the large number of archers competing in the tournament. After she competed in the eighth flight of the tournament, Swinney received a Nobility Award for her work outside of the range and being involved with the team.

“It was really a group effort,” Swinney said. “We spent four hours setting up the curtains, quivers, decorations, prepping all the scorecards and equipment for scoring. So it was a lot of work, but I think it looked really good.”

Swinney was not the only archer to receive a Nobility Award for her work behind the scenes to make the tournament happen. Coach Nick Kalakanis also gave nobility awards to senior captains Maya Julien and junior Melea Carman. Kalakanis got emotional in discussing Julien’s strength of character in sticking with archery and her leadership role despite battling injury that made it hard for her to compete.

Kalakanis deserved a nobility award for running the tournament, but he was the one giving them out, so his captains recognized him between flights eight and nine with a surprise heartwarming speech and a gift basket of homemade treats and energy drinks.

Custard, who brought the gift basket to Kalakanis after his fellow captains expressed their admiration for their coach, said the tournament demonstrated the progress of the archery program.

“I think it was an awesome way not only for the team to show the school that they are serious, but for McCallum to set an example for other schools around Austin,” he said.

Some McCallum archers have been shooting since they were in elementary school, including Swinney, who joined the Highland Park Elementary team as a fifth-grader in the program’s early years.

“My PE coach actually started it, and it was super tiny,” Swinney said. “That year we ended up winning the state tournament, and I decided I wanted to continue shooting for as long as I could stay in a program.”

That physical education coach was Jim DeLine, who, according to Swinney, started an archery program at Lamar Middle, which then grew to McCallum and expanded to other schools in the Austin area. DeLine brought his teams of younger archers to the McCallum Invitational Tournament and beamed from ear to ear because he could come to the tournament without having to run it himself as he has so often for the last decade. He thanked the McCallum coaches and archers for helping to sustain and grow the archery community in Austin.

Swinney said it is precisely that community which has made her stick with archery for so long.

“I really love shooting, but I also love being a part of such a unique community of people,” Swinney said, “and getting to experience things and meet people I never would have otherwise.”

Custard first joined an archery team when he was in sixth grade.

“I thought it sounded like an awesome team to be a part of,” Custard said. “And me and my grandpa had shot bows in the past, so I wanted to get better at it.”

Six years later, Custard was voted to be one of the McCallum team captains. His role is to help with planning for events, teaching other archers and volunteering at tournaments like the MIT.

“I have always gone out of my way to volunteer and help the archery team,” Custard said. “But now as captain, I can be more of a role model, and I can help implement ideas I have for the team.”

Custard said his captainship allows him to help the team in ways he couldn’t before.

“It’s super cool being an older team member because people look up to you more,” Custard said. “And while you have more responsibilities, you also have more say in what happens with the team.”

Caption by Camilla Vandegrift. Photos by Lucas Walker and Dave Winter.

MARCH 26, 2025 — GIRLS SOCCER TO THE SWEET 16

After a historic season that took the girls varsity soccer team to an area title in 2024, the team and first-year coach Jason Rich did one better in 2025, making the Sweet 16.

KNIGHTS TO THE SWEET 16: The McCallum girls soccer team beat Victoria West in the second round of playoffs yesterday evening, not only becoming area champions, but also advancing to the sweet 16 for the first time in program history.

Sophomore center back Hazel DeMont says the team has done a good job defensively, seeing as though throughout the playoffs this year, they have managed to keep a clean sheet, conceding no goals.

“I am really proud of us defensively because we did a good job shutting down the Warriors runs and through balls,” DeMont said.

Going into the game, DeMont knew there would be added pressure on the defense after researching the playing style of the Warriors.

“We knew that Victoria West had a few fast players out on the wing,” DeMont said. “When you have fast players you have to switch up your positioning in order to accommodate for their speed.”

Another strategy for the Knights was an added defender on the backline so they always had one extra person in case someone else gets beat.

“We made sure to communicate with the outside backs so that we always had a man up on the defense, so if they had two, we had three,” DeMont said. “ We wanted to make sure we were always one step ahead of the strikers.”

Photos and caption by Sofia Saucedo.