JoJo Barnard, online managing editor
This is web editor JoJo Barnard’s second year on the Shield staff. Barnard is only a sophomore, making her the youngest editor of the team. She was inspired to take on newspaper by her older sister, Evie Barnard, who was the previous year’s co-editor in chief. JoJo has since grown to love the class very much, and is excited for another year on staff. When she is not working on journalism, Barnard enjoys baking, going on long walks and playing soccer. This year she hopes to improve her writing skills and contribute to another successful year for McCallum’s award winning website.
![MAKING MOO-VES IN THE ENSEMBLE: Sophomores Zoe Maxwell and Robin Kulhanek, senior Atticus Adair, juniors Addie Knight and Henry Mayes and sophomore Zalie Mann perform Notice Me on the opening night of Cows: the Moosical.
Maxwell, who was a member of the three-person ensemble, found dancing on Cows to be an especially intimate experience compared to their past experiences with MacTheater.
“I had worked with everyone in the cast before, and it was really refreshing to have fun with something that was so homemade,” Maxwell said.
Not only was Cows a smaller-scale production but also a faster-paced one. According to Maxwell, rehearsals were hectic but still fun.
“There were probably only a few rehearsals where everybody in the cast was there,” Maxwell said. “[Mann] and I spent the week before and of the show running back and forth between Cows rehearsal and Mac Dance rehearsals. It was very much ‘down to the last minute’ kind of rehearsal, but once the adrenaline kicked in, everything came together.”
During this frenzied pre-show period, Maxwell worked closely with director, choreographer and writer senior Anderson Zoll to perfect her performances of the many dance numbers throughout the show.
“I had some prior experience working with Anderson as the choreographer for both Pippin and Descendants, but it was really incredible seeing him work not just for choreo, but writing, staging and managing all together,” Maxwell said. “I think he’s a great choreographer, and he’s super open to suggestions and collaboration.”
Once the lights were on and the stage was set, Maxwell saw the fruits of their, and the rest of cast and crew’s, labor reflected in the audience’s reactions.
“[I loved] watching the cast from the sides and hearing the crowd laugh at all the parts I love in the show,” Maxwell said. “I think also getting to perform in the FABT for the first time was a great experience.”
Caption by Francie Wilhelm.](https://macshieldonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/09_MAKING-MOO-VES-IN-THE-ENSEMBLE-e1683085502678-900x618.jpg)
![BACK TOGETHER AGAIN: Former McCallum soccer players pose for a group photo at the annual varsity vs. alumni match. The teams of graduated Knights consisted of students as recent as the Class of ‘22 all the way back to 2003. After two years of COVID delays, coach Nick Martin was finally able to hold the match on Dec. 28.
“[The alumni game] provides like a continuity for the program. It doesn’t matter what year you are,” Martin said.
While some organizational changes were made to the event this year, with matches being held tournament style rather than a free-for-all, Martin maintained the spirit of community that the match holds for his past and current players.
“Getting the chance to come back and see each other whilst also playing some soccer is something me and my friends have a hard time turning down,” class of 2021 alumn Aiden Golliher said. “I’d predict and hope that as the years continue, the close-knit community the boys varsity had will continue [and] that will allow this program to grow.”
Caption by Francie Wilhelm. Photo by Morgan Eye.](https://macshieldonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/dsc_2412_52601882073_o-900x600.jpg)
![REPPING THE SENIOR: Senior Helena Finos dances at the Winter Fairytale Dance last friday. Finos had been planning to come to the event from the start due to her position as senior class president.
“I wanted to come represent my class and it turned out to be a lot of fun so I’m glad I went!” she said. Finos was also pleasantly surprised by the number of students that showed up after disappointing crowds at prior events.
“It was a lot of fun [since] a lot of people came,” she said. “Which I didn’t necessarily expect since we didn’t have the best turnout at the last dance. I think are excited that we’re doing dance again after COVID and the long break from a lot of school events.”
Reporting by Ingrid Smith and Caption by Francie Wilhelm. Photo by Morgan Eye.](https://macshieldonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/52561412854_9decf47bc2_o-900x600.jpg)
![SUNNY CALIFORNIA: Principal Nicole Griffith poses with her wife Brenda and son Langston at the golden gate bridge in San Francisco.
For Griffith, Thanksgiving break is perfectly timed. “Thanksgiving comes at just the right time every year when we all really need a mental break from school, and this year I was able to completely forget that I was a high school principal and just be on vacation with my family. I didn’t check my email which I needed to do. It was a nice refresher. In their time in California, the group, along with Griffith’s mother, saw sights such as Alcatraz, took a cable car ride, rode a train and visited the science museum. “San Francisco is a fun place to be but it is also a place that is special to our family,” Griffith said. “My wife lived there and really loves it. I always joke that she left her heart there and we have to go pick it up every once and a while.”
Most excited for the trip was Langston. “[My son] loves travel. He gets so excited. He is a definite travel bug, which I don’t know where he gets that. But he loves travel, loves being around his grandparents. It was really great.” The young adventurer got to lean his head out the window on the train, learn cards with his grandmother and explore all of the sea creatures at the aquarium. Griffith was also thankful to miss the rainy weather in Austin. “The weather was beautiful [in San Francisco],” Griffith said. “We missed all the rain in Texas. By the time we got back on Saturday it had passed. But it was sunny in San Francisco and super clear. We never didn’t have these beautiful expanses of light.”
Photo courtesy of Nicole Griffith. Reporting by Morgan Eye.](https://macshieldonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/FullSizeRender-900x675.jpeg)
![FISHING FRIENDS: Freshmen Sienna Gunning and sophomore Fin Kirsch sit at the Mac Angling Club table, advertising to visitors at A Knight at McCallum. Gunning decided to join the club at the beginning of this school year to find new ways to experience one of her favorite hobbies.
“I’ve always enjoyed fishing, and I was looking for a club to join,” she said, “so I joined fishing club, [and] it was something different.”
Even though it’s only her first year as a Knight, Gunning appreciated the opportunity to show off one of the many extracurriculars that McCallum offers, as well as getting to see the future freshmen take a look around campus.
“I enjoyed showing the bait off and just talking to other people about fishing,” she said. “It was nice to see them interested and excited to be apart of Mac fishing club when they come to McCallum.” Caption by Francie Wilhelm. Photo by Dave Winter.](https://macshieldonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/dsc01004_52501886876_o-900x601.jpg)
![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.](https://macshieldonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/img_5736_52385662511_o-900x600.jpg)
