The Student News Site of McCallum High School

The Shield Online
The Student News Site of McCallum High School

The Shield Online
The Student News Site of McCallum High School

The Shield Online
Junior Paige Mitchell leaps during group performance for Blue Brigade's annual show-off held last Wednesday commencing the contest season.

Twirl, leap and spin into contest season

Daniela Di-Capua, Evelyn Jenkins, Josie Linton, Sienna Martens, Harper Maxwell, Katie Martin, Piper Norfolk, Elizabeth Nation, and Mira Patel
February 4, 2025
UNDER THE SPOTLIGHT: Senior Sasha Grapko is highlighted on stage by a spotlight during the McCallum Youth Dance Company show this past Thursday and Friday at the AISD PAC. The company put in tireless efforts to make the show a reality with late rehearsals and all-day preparations at the PAC in the days leading up to the show. The show was unique with multiple ensembles performing throughout the night. Since the company consists of students ranging from their freshmen to senior years, the dances vary in complexity which created a balance throughout the program over the two days. Overall, the efforts of the dancers and choreographers paid off, and the show was a success. As Grapko is shining above, every McCallum dancer was able to highlight their commitment to the program with their performances. Caption by Arwen Petellier. Photo by Adele Seeboth

McCallum Youth Dance Company delivers ‘moving’ showcase

Daniela Di-Capua, Carson Duncan, Chloe Lewcock, Beatrix Lozach, Josie Mullan, Piper Norfolk, Arwen Pelletier, Callen Romell, Chloe Seckar-Martinez, Maya Tackett, Fletcher Vandegrift, and Nate Williams
January 28, 2025
The cheer team performs for an audience of family and friends during showcase last Saturday in preparation for UIL competition in Fort Worth this Friday. Sophomore Lainey Butler said the team has been perfecting its routine for months for the competition. We have been learning a routine since September from a coach at cheer station and we have been practicing it over and over, multiple times through the months," Butler said. Caption by Josie Mullan.

Cheer’s new frontier: UIL competition

Carson Duncan, Shila Gill, Josie Linton, Sophia Manos, Maggie Mass, Josie Mullan, Elizabeth Nation, Piper Norfolk, Mira Patel, and Priya Thoppil
January 14, 2025
DON'T RUB ME THE WRONG WAY: Goats rub their heads together as a sign of trust and affection. Here, two goats share a little love. “Aw, little love bugs, I bet they’re friends,” farmhand Chelsea Smith said. Goats will even do this with humans. If a goat feels positively about a person, it may rub its head on them to show its affection. This is different from goats habit of butting heads. Goats butt heads to establish dominance and their hierarchy.

Into the life of a dapper goat

Zanna Allen, Mac photojournalism
January 7, 2025
EXCLAIMING FOR THE ECLIPSE: Freshmen Jack Wood, Arwen Pelletier and Cole Truong watch the eclipse from the softball field with their digital media class. Pelletier said she was glad she chose to experience the eclipse with friends at school. “So many kids were exclaiming whenever the clouds broke and you could actually see it,” Pelletier said. “I live really close, and my mom was at home and she was outside. She said that she could hear everyone yelling.” For Pelletier, the highlight of the eclipse was the few seconds when the clouds parted and the eclipse was visible in totality. “I'll always be able to remember what it looks like in my mind,” Pelletier said. “Some things I think about, but I can't remember what they looked like. But this was memorable enough and incredible enough that I'll be able to picture it forever.” Caption by Ingrid Smith.

2024: A year in review in photos

Julia Copas, Morgan Eye, Lillian Gray, Chloe Lewcock, Beatrix Lozach, Sophia Manos, Katie Martin, Emerson Merritt, Josie Mullan, Elizabeth Nation, Callen Romell, Eva Sanchez, Chloe Seckar-Martinez, Adele Seeboth, Ingrid Smith, Priya Thoppil, Camilla Vandegrift, Wren Vanderford, Nate Williams, and Dave Winter
December 31, 2024

Kite looks back on overall success as a golfer

Julia Copas and Callen Romell
December 20, 2024
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.

Limited size, unlimited possibilities

Noah Braun, Shila Gill, Carlo Hinsdale, Evelyn Jenkins, Lilah Lavigne, Sophia Manos, Tallulah McAuliffe, Mira Patel, Priya Thoppil, Camilla Vandegrift, and Wren Vanderford
December 10, 2024
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.

All over for autumn

Noah Braun, Carlo Hinsdale, Delaney Lavelle, Beatrix Lozach, Chloe Lewcock, Riley Pita, Maya Tackett, Priya Thoppil, Nate Williams, and Josie Mullan
December 3, 2024

After four years on varsity, more than 1,200 kills, senior eyes next chapter of her volleyball career

Julia Copas and Callen Romell
November 28, 2024
For Margaret Dismukes Massad, the owner of Peter Pan Mini Golf and a McCallum graduate, the importance of Peter Pan Mini Golf goes beyond saving the business. As a child, some of her happiest memories are of observing her father, Glenn Dismukes, create the sculptures that still stand today at Peter Pan Mini-Golf in her backyard. “My favorite memories are just of my dad carving the figures,” Massad said. “We were the only kids with a dinosaur in the backyard.”

Keep Austin putting!

Elizabeth Nation, staff reporter
November 13, 2024
AS EASY AS PB&J: At the blindfold sandwich-making station, senior Zane Wiggins and Kai Talebi attempt to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. The activity allowed students to experience the mundane task without sight. Wiggins found that the simple activity turned into a challenge in almost every aspect of the process. "It was pretty rough," he said. "My bread wasn’t put together properly, and I put my jelly right next to my plate and not on the plate, it was really difficult. I was expecting it to be easier than it was cause I'd made sandwiches all my life, and I thought 'I can do this from muscle memory,' but it was a lot harder than I thought, and it makes you not take your sight for granted. Access to your sight makes things so much easier." Since students participating are used to having full sight, it was difficult to adapt to the sudden loss of a sense. "I had to kind of guess where things were and the plate was moving a lot," he said. "Every time I would reach for the plate it would be in a different location, so I kind of had to feel around for everything." Along with that, Wiggins had to work together with Talebi to communicate to communicate which ingredient he needed next. "I had to share the peanut butter and the jelly with Kai, so we had to coordinate with each other on who gets what first," he said. "I knew Kai was right next to me, but it was hard to know where her hands were. We had to find each other's arm and make our way up to pass the ingredients." Caption by Lillian Gray.

Learning to see without sight

Lillian Gray and Wren Vanderford
November 12, 2024

Lentz reflects on successful season, looks forward

Julia Copas and Callen Romell
November 8, 2024
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