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
On June 15, thousands of spectators—including the three shown here—lined the streets of East Austin to join the Juneteenth celebration. Another spectator in the crowd was McCallum sophomore, Brooklyn Carter who said she attends the parade almost every year. “I like being around everyone,” Carter said. “I see a lot of people I know, and the parade is entertaining. To me, it’s just a day for everyone to come together and have fun.” Though the parade can be crowded and a little hectic at times, Carter says she enjoys aspects like the colorful cars and the music heard throughout the parade. “It’s a fun atmosphere to be in,” she said. “It’s really just good vibes all around.” Caption by Lillian Gray.

Juneteenth parade brings community together

Lillian Gray, staff reporter
June 25, 2024
DANCING QUEEN ONLY 15: The Mccallum quinceañera took place Saturday May 18 in the cafeteria. Students who danced at the quinceañera practiced for weeks during lunch and after school with the help of Señora A to perfect this special moment. “I signed up for fun and for the dress originally, but I actually made a lot of friends, and it helped me want to come back to practice,” said Elizabeth Peables, a freshman quinceñeara. “It’s been stressful, but it always works. We stayed very late yesterday [the day before the event], but today it feels like everything came together.” Caption by Nellie Eschberger with reporting by Beatrix Lozach. LA REINA DE BAILE, SOLAMENTE TIENE 15 AÑOS DE EDAD: La Quinceñera de McCallum fue el 18 de Mayo en la cafetería.  Estudiantes que bailaron en la quinceañera practicaron por semanas durante el almuerzo y después de la escuela con la ayuda de la Sra. A para perfeccionar este momento especial. “Originalmente me inscribí para divertirme, y por el vestido,  pero actualmente hice muchos amigos y me ayudó a querer regresar a la práctica.” Dijo la estudiante de primer año Elizabeth Peables. “Ha sido muy estresante, pero siempre funciona.” “Nos quedamos muy tarde ayer el día antes del evento pero hoy se siente que todo está cayendo en forma.” Leyenda por Nellie Eschberger con reportaje de Beatrix Lozach. Traducción por Maverick Palacios.

Quince fotos durante quince años

Lily Castellow, Nellie Eschberger, Daniel Fuentes, Beatrix Lozach, Maverick Palacios, and Dave Winter
June 11, 2024
MAXWELL’S MASTERPIECE: Members of Zoe Maxwell’s choreographed dance for the spring student directed show 'Perennial' form a group pose.  For both the choreographers and directors the performance was an opportunity to show off their unique style of dance and bring together the dancers, the theme, and music to create a dance that resembled them. For junior Zoe Maxwell the performance was unique because while it was her third year performing in the show, it was her first time getting the chance to choreograph a dance and have a more hands-on role with the show.  “It was my last show with all of my senior friends and it was the first student directed show that I got to contribute to choreographically [which was special],” Maxwell said. “My favorite part of the experience was getting to showcase my creativity and seeing that come to life.”  Maxwell said her song choice inspired her choreography.  “Since I heard the song 'MOVE' by Beyonce I knew I wanted to choreograph it,” Maxwell said. “The tricky part was matching it to the themes of the dance show, but luckily the song mentions fire so I connected it to the element theme of the show,”  The role as choreographer proved to be a learning experience for Maxwell because the process of creating a dance differed from just performing in one. “The biggest challenge was managing the rehearsal time we were given and planning accordingly so that our dances would be finished in time for the show,” Maxwell said. “I took some inspiration from videos and choreography online, but other than that I just kind of improved to the song until I found moves I liked.”

Mac Youth Dance Company proves ‘Perennial’ impact on students in annual spring show

JoJo Barnard, Campbell Epperly, Sophie Leung-Lieu, Chloe Lewcock, Harper Binfield Maxwell, Chloe Seckar-Martinez, Ingrid Smith, Maya Tackett, Camilla Vandegrift, Nate Williams, and Dave Winter
May 14, 2024
MESMERIZING MAZATLAN: Sophomore Mailyn Gil and senior Keegan Sarwate dance the Mazatlan together during the Cinco De Mayo show on May 3, put on by Ballet Folklorico. The Mazatlan dance comes from the region of Sinaloa.  During the show, various dances, songs, and beats were performed to celebrate Cinco De Mayo, which celebrates the Mexican victory over France on May 5, 1862. This is Gil’s second year being part of Ballet Folklorico time and second year being a part of the Cinco De Mayo show. With Juana Gun, the former sponsor of Ballet Folklorico, leaving and Telvi Altamirano-Cancino taking over as the new sponsor, new performances were introduced into this year's Cinco De Mayo show.  One of which was the introduction of the steel drums. Watching the steel drums performance was Gil’s favorite part of this year’s show.  “All of the club members were dancing and having fun backstage,” she said.  As well as watching the drum performance, performing the Torito was Gil’s favorite part because of the costume elements. “Women wore the traditional Chiapas dress which has colorful flowers embroidered in it,” Gil said. “The men wear Torito masks which are handmade masks that look like bulls.” Ballet Folklorico has been practicing traditional dances for multiple weeks leading up to the big performance and also has spent time making various parts of costumes.  Caption by Maya Tackett.

Cinco de Mayo show celebrates Mexican culture

Beatrix Lozach, Chloe Lewcock, Josie Mullan, Maya Tackett, Priya Thoppil, and Francie Wilhelm
May 7, 2024
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.

‘Live’ spring show blends energy, emotion

Chloe Lewcock, Helen Martin, Chloe Seckar-Martinez, Maya Tackett, Priya Thoppil, and Camilla Vandegrift
April 30, 2024
BESTIES TAKE ON PROM: Senior Bella Gonzales dances with junior Helen Rodgers during prom last weekend.  “At dinner before I told my friends they better dance with me and they told me ‘no,’” Gonzales said. “But Helen said, ‘Of course I’ll dance with you,’ so Helen was the first friend that started dancing.”  Instead of taking a traditional date, Gonzales invited various junior friends to join her at prom.  “Instead of having a guy date, I invited a bunch of my junior friends,” she said. “I actually am so happy with that decision because it was just so fun having all my girls with me.”  While the day of prom provided many fun events besides just the dance, Gonzales still enjoyed the dance itself the most.  “The whole day of prom there are so many fun things to do,” Gonzales said. “We made bouquets together and got ready, but I was most excited to be at prom and see everyone I knew, and to see everyone dressed up.”  Gonzales especially appreciated the vibe stablished at prom.  “It was such a positive environment where everyone was hyping each other up, and we were all so high energy,” Gonzales said. “It's just such a positive environment at prom where everyone is so happy and having a good time.”  Besides the welcoming atmosphere, Gonzales especially looked forward to the dancing. “My friend Ellie and I were getting into the song ‘Beauty and the Beat’ together, and also ‘Cupid Shuffle,'” she said. “They are just such classics.”  When looking back on the dance and her senior year as a whole, Gonzales says she will forever remember how kind the class of 2024 is.  “I will always remember how close and how kind every single person in our class is,” Gonzales said. “I feel like we have no mean girls, no enemies, and we all love each other and love being together.” Caption by Naomi Di-Capua.

Students enjoy an ‘enchanted’ night at prom

JoJo Barnard, Naomi Di-Capua, Gaby Esquivel, Shila Gill, August Gleason, Eliza Jensen, Chloe Lewcock, Josie Mullan, Alice Scott, and Priya Thoppil
April 23, 2024
MAKING THE ROLE HIS OWN: With senior Sydney Safarik (The Cat in the Hat), sophomore Milo Slimi (JoJo) performs "It’s Possible (In McElligot’s Pool)," a musical number where the Cat in the Hat encourages JoJo’s powerful imagination after his parents shut down his wild “Thinks.”

‘Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.’

JoJo Barnard, Campbell Epperly, Evelyn Jenkins, Chloe Lewcock, Katie Martin, Maya Tackett, Priya Thoppil, Francie Wilhelm, and Naomi Di-Capua
April 16, 2024
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.

At MAC, the eclipse really was Knight Time

JoJo Barnard, Shila Gill, Eliza Jensen, Chloe Lewcock, Sophia Manos, Josie Mullan, Alice Scott, Chloe Seckar-Martinez, Lanie Sepehri, Ingrid Smith, Maya Tackett, and Priya Thoppil
April 9, 2024
The varsity team after their 1-0 win against Magnolia High School, which made them area champions.

Girls soccer makes historic 5A playoff run

JoJo Barnard, Shila Gill, Evelyn Jenkins, Chloe Lewcock, Maggie Mass, Maya Tackett, Priya Thoppil, and Francie Wilhelm
April 2, 2024
A PRIDE-FUL WEEK OF CELEBRATION: As part of AISD's 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 school's 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 It's nice that we get a chance to celebrate Pride because Pride Month is during the summer, and I think it's 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 they're often conditioned to not feel good about.” Caption by Chloe Lewcock. Photo by Shila Gill.

McCallum takes ‘PRIDE’ in LGBTQ community

Shila Gill, Chloe Lewcock, Beatrix Lozach, Priya Thoppil, and Francie Wilhelm
March 26, 2024
WILLING WILL: Tegan Hahn and Will Bowman perform in the one act play, She Stoops To Conquer during the third of three community performances on Sunday March 3 in the MAC Theater. The plays offered a story filled with laughs and love onstage. Offstage, however, there was a little bit of nerves from an understudy, Will Bowman. About a week before opening night, Bowman had to quickly learn the role of Tony Lumpkin. “For the first couple of days it was horribly nerve-racking,” he said. Caption and photo by Katie Hyzak.

MacTheatre is all over the place these days

Katie Hyzak, Campbell Epperly, Beatrix Lozach, Maya Tackett, Katie Martin, Vivian Moore, Elli Grace Hodges, and Alice Scott
March 19, 2024
KNIGHTS 3, HIGHLANDERS 0: The varsity volleyball team beat the St. Andrews Highlanders 3-0 on Tuesday Aug. 22 in its last preseason tuneup match before district play started this Tuesday.The Knights won the first set, 25-18. The Highlanders edged closer in the second set but the Knights prevailed in overtime, 26-24. The third set played out similarly as the teams battled evenly until the Knights made the key plays to win the set, 26-24, and the match in straight sets.The Knights performed well by finding open spots, getting extra points and finding a balance as a team.“I was happy with our performance because there was a big crowd for St. Andrews, and we didn’t let them get to us,” sophomore E’Mirrah Harris said. “We kept pushing points and we stayed together as a team.”As the season continues the Knights are looking forward to developing as a team and hopefully winning district. The Knights got off to a good start toward that goal with a district-opening win at Northeast on Tuesday. Our coverage of that match is coming to this feed soon.“I’m looking forward to winning district and hopefully going to bi-disrict,” Harris said. “I’m also looking forward to growing as a team.”

A spring break shout out for our SIPA winners

Shield staff
March 12, 2024
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