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
FUN WITH FRIENDS: Sophomores Hazel Trominski, Julia Rasp and Zalie Mann pose for the camera during Pink Week’s lunch festivities. Students in the science courtyard throughout the week enjoyed the activities while spending time with friends and sporting their best pink wear. Rasp went all-out during Pink Week, pink being her favorite color. “I think it’s awesome that they’re raising money for breast cancer awareness and doing fun stuff and that a lot of it is student-organized,” Rasp said. Caption by Camilla Vandegrift.

Pink Week 2022 sets standard for fun, fundraising

Evie Barnard, JoJo Bernard, Isley Cameron, Jolie Gabriel, Chloe Lewcock, Gergo Major, Helen Martin, Emerson Merritt, Lanie Sepehri, Ingrid Smith, Rio Sotelo, Sofia Thatcher, Elena Ulack, Camilla Vandegrift, Francie Wilhelm, and Dave Winter
October 4, 2022
ROLL WITH THE PUNCHES: Seniors Mira Wagner and Tyler Mankinen duke it out during the first moments of the final round at the Cap City Marching Competition. The 2022 marching show “Seeing Stars” gets its name from its boxing theme, and according to Wagner, who represents the woodwinds section, the early fight scene “definitely sets the tone.” “Right off the bat you see two people fighting so you know that this show is full of energy,” Wagner said.”  “Even throughout the show the woodwinds and brass are ‘competing’ against each other which goes with the boxing theme.” Mankinen, who represents the brass section, believes the fight scene is a crucial element in the marching show.  “[The fight scene] usually gets the crowd pumped up and draws the attention of the audience into the show,” Mankinen said. “The show is super unique and seeing the crowd react to an unconventional element of a marching show is really exciting.”  Caption and photo by Morgan Eye.

Band shines bright at Cap City

JoJo Barnard , Gaby Esquivel, Morgan Eye , Helen Martin, Devin Neal, Alice Scott, Ingrid Smith, Elena Ulack, and Francie Wilhelm
September 27, 2022
During the first faculty meeting of the school year, principal Nicole Griffith welcomes new social studies teachers Jennifer Richter and Catherine ONeal.

New school year brings mix of young, veteran teachers

Sophie Leung-Lieu, Kate Boyle, Alice Scott, Chloe Lewcock, Elena Ulack, Naomi Di-Capua, Sofia Thatcher, and JoJo Barnard
September 20, 2022
Senior Maya Cidale (Mal) alongside senior Kathryn Dooley (Evie), junior Henry Mayes (Carlos) and senior Anderson Zoll (Jay) perform Ways to be Wicked, a number in which the four evils reunite to take over Auradon. For Cidale, developing her character was a significant aspect of her rehearsal process. “It was actually a very interesting process finding my version of Mal,” Cidale said.  “I started off by pretending to be Regina George if she had magic on her side, but then I took a closer look at how all of the iconic mean girls achieved that status. I realized it was all about making people second guess themselves. From that realization, I stemmed every tactic from wanting people to question what they know is right.” Reporting by Alice Scott.

‘Descendants’ brings Disney magic to life

Jojo Barnard, Chloe Lewcock, Helen Martin, Alice Scott, Lanie Sepehri, Ingrid Smith, and Francie Wilhelm
September 13, 2022
FOCUSED: A lot of my moms work consists of her working from home, and that means meetings. While some are on the phone and some are on Zoom, they still require intense focus. As I watch her in this meeting, I can see how she is really paying attention to whatever is going on, and I know that once shes done, the light will go off, and we can hopefully hang out.

Love, labor and the little moments

Chloe Lewcock, Noah Braun, Margot Evelyn, Sofia Thatcher, Grace Valdez, Brooklin Fisher, Wilson Corbitt, Tallulah Bingham, Smith Bohls, Terra Balentine, Millicent Ramsey, and Kiki Baker
September 6, 2022
A LEARNING EXPERIENCE: For senior Jack Stites, walking across the field as one of four captains during Thursdays game couldnt be more rewarding. “It feels like a lot of hard work paid off,” Stites said. “Ive spent a lot of time over the past three years preparing for this.” Before every football game, the chosen team captains for that game participate in the coin toss. The toss determines who kicks off and which side of the field the Knights will take first. Despite Thursdays loss,  Stites says there is nothing to do but learn from it. “We’re a young team,” Stites said. “We knew we would have to take this as a learning experience.”

Taco Shack 2022 offers a full range of emotions

Evie Barnard, JoJo Barnard , Isley Cameron , Naomi Di-Capua , Julia Husted, Alice Scott, Lanie Sepehri, Sofia Thatcher, Francie Wilhelm , and Dave Winter
August 30, 2022
UNDER THE UMBRELLA: Junior Wilson Corbitt heads toward his dad’s car near the portables during Monday afternoon’s rainstorm. Corbitt faired better than some students, having the forethought to bring an umbrella to school. “In that moment I thought ‘I bet you all thought I was crazy for bringing an umbrella on a sunny day,’” Corbitt said. His intuition proved right, but Corbitt connects this occurrence to a larger issue facing Austin and the planet. “Every year the weather in Texas gets more and more unpredictable and severe due to climate change,” Corbitt said. “And that’s coming off the back of one of the hottest summers on record where today was the first day since May under 90 degrees, which is making it progressively difficult to tell what might happen.” Reporting by Alice Scott.

Flash flood strikes Austin as school dismisses Monday

Isley Cameron, Naomi Di-Capua, Meredith Grotevant, Sophie Leung-Lieu, Oliver Harrington, Helen Martin, Caroline Owen, Alice Scott, Ingrid Smith, Francie Wilhelm, and Dave Winter
August 23, 2022
SENIOR SEASON: Decked out in their jerseys, senior Parker Mitchell takes a photo of senior Sophia Kramer and friends before the first day of school in the senior parking lot. The night before, the class of ‘23 decorated their cars to show their senior pride going into their last year of high school. “It’s tradition for seniors to come and take [pictures] the morning before the first day of school,” Kramer said. “Being able to share that memory together is definitely bittersweet. I’m super excited for this year but I am anticipating all the lasts.” Reporting by Alice Scott.

Welcome back to Mac

Naomi Di-Capua, Morgan Eye, Astrea Hagood , Alice Scott, Lanie Sepehri, Ingrid Smith, Francie Wilhelm, and Dave Winter
August 16, 2022
Senior staff leaders Alysa Spiro (co-EIC), Lucy Marco (co-online EIC) and Madelynn NIles (co-EIC) proudly display the recently arrived fourth issue o 2021-2022 prior to heading out into the hallways to distribute it.

On Wednesdays we go to print

Evie Barnard, Sophie Leung-Lieu, and Alice Scott
July 6, 2022
GRATITUDE AND FAREWELL: Ms. Northcutt decided earlier this year that it was time to say goodbye to McCallum, and possibly teaching in general, once and for all. “I am a teacher to my core. Northcutt said in a email to students and family. “I love McCallum and planned to be here until I retired; however, these last few years have revealed to me disheartening truths that I can’t unsee. I am no longer willing to work at an unsustainable pace at the expense of my mental heath and the health of my family and I can’t figure out how to do this job at any other pace without sacrificing my integrity.” A lot of other teachers at McCallum have also expressed their annoyance with the work circumstances provided by Austin ISD.

A tribute to Ms. Northcutt on her last day of class

Addison Wagoner, Mac photojournalism
May 31, 2022
A cornucopia of Senior Carnival images

A cornucopia of Senior Carnival images

Evie Barnard, Leah Gordon, and Dave Winter
May 28, 2022
HE LOVES ME, HE LOVES ME NOT: Junior Charlotte Blackmon (Eurydice) performs one of the final scenes in the second act of MacTheatre’s production of Eurydice. During the scene, Eurydice, who has just reconnected with Orpheus in the underworld, contemplates whether or not Orpheus is truly her husband or not. For Blackmon, developing such a complex character took time. “Eurydice is probably the most difficult character I’ve ever played,” Blackmon said. “I got an idea of who she was when I read the script, but running the scenes and physically being in the position of the character helped me connect to her more.” Reporting by Alice Scott.

During furious fine arts weekend, twin theaters teeming with thespians, vocalists, pianists, filmmakers

Kiki Baker, Morgan Eye, Tate Jones, Lucy Marco , Caroline Owen, Samantha Powers, Lydia Reedy , Alice Scott, Francie Wilhelm, and Avi Zeifman
May 24, 2022
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