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
Olivia Dungan

Olivia Dungan, staff reporter

Olivia Dungan is a sophomore and first-year staffer who is looking forward to writing more in-depth articles for The Shield. In the past, Dungan has found interest in covering sports such as basketball and softball, and she’s enjoyed contributing to the Tuesday Top 10 and writing people stories because it helps her get more into the community. Dungan became interested in journalism when she took a photojournalism class in seventh grade and realized her interest and enjoyment in the subject. Outside of the newspaper, Dungan is a band major where she plays the trombone, which she’s been doing for 4 years. When she’s not at school you can find Dungan with her younger sister, two cats, and dog, or getting involved at her church.

All content by Olivia Dungan
JOKING WITH JUNKIN: Sophomore Ben Castellow, right, chose to recognize his band director Mr. Junkin, left, during Dress Your Favorite Teacher Day. When asked why he chose to honor Mr. Junkin, Ben initially said it was because he has been told the two look alike, but he went on to say, “He’s a great teacher, and I’m happy he is our director of marching season.” Castellow said the dress-up day gave students an easy way to express their appreciation for all their teachers do. “It makes them feel seen and appreciated, and it shows that us as students want to dress up and put in effort to be a part of this community.” Junkin said that he only learned of Castellow's plan as he arrived on Friday but that he appreciated the gesture. "It’s always a little strange, but it’s nice to see that you are clearly making an impact on kids," Junkin said. He joked that he was a pretty easy teacher to imitate. Perhaps that's why there were multiple band members the past two years who sported Texas Tech T-shirts with "Guns Up" or a McCallum shirt and hat to match their band director's daily attire. "My style in the fall is generally pretty generic because we’re doing marching band, and I mostly wear athletic clothing," he said. Caption by Zev Zent.

[Photo] Teacher feels the love thrice on Friday

Noah Braun, August Gleason, Hudson Hensley, Carlo Hinsdale, Evelyn Jenkins, Maggie Mass, Piper Norfolk, V Overstreet, Arwen Pelletier, Priya Thoppil, and Zev Zent
September 24, 2024

JOKING WITH JUNKIN: Sophomore Ben Castellow, right, chose to recognize his band director Mr. Junkin, left, during Dress Your Favorite Teacher Day. When asked why he chose to honor Mr. Junkin, Ben initially...

Photo by Harper Binfield Maxwell.

PhotoJ students spark creativity through emulation

Harper Binfield Maxwell, Carson Duncan, Olivia Dungan, David Herring, Carlo Hinsdale, Elli Grace Hodges, Katie Hyzak, Sophia Lopez, Beatrix Lozach, Aubrey Macedo, Sophia Manos, Katie Martin, Vivian Moore, Riley Pita, Adele Seeboth, and Cash Sims
July 16, 2024

The three digital media classes were tasked with researching a famous photographer then take an image inspired by the images they had researched. The results were so good, we asked them if we could share...

PART OF THE FAM: Junior Julia Rasp smiles alongside her dance “family” at Wednesday's elective fair. Rasp, who has been a part of the fine arts program since Lamar, cherishes the bonds she has made throughout her years in the program. “The Mac Dance community is great,” Rasp said. “I always look forward to that class and the people in it, and as corny as it sounds it’s kind of like a family.” For Rasp, the fair posed as the perfect opportunity to introduce other students to a class she values so highly. “I just wanted to show how much I really love and appreciate mac dance,” she said. “It’s really great, has taught me a lot and honestly has made my high school experience ten times better. Just wanting to share that is what led me to participate in the elective fair.” Caption by JoJo Barnard with reporting from Callen Romell.

Fair allows students to share their favorite electives

JoJo Barnard, Olivia Dungan, Gaby Esquivel, David Herring, Carlo Hinsdale, Chloe Lewcock, Callen Romell, Josie Mullan, and Ingrid Smith
February 6, 2024

Last Wednesday McCallum hosted the annual Expo Knight, but this year there was a slight twist. The elective fair, which students attended during fourth period and eighth-graders attended after school,...

FOOTLOOSE AT LAST: Senior Asher Kay rocks out on the dance floor at the homecoming dance, put on by Student Council. Since the tradition of a homecoming dance fell out of practice after 2019 due to low attendance rates, this was Kay’s first time attending one in all of his four years. Kay felt that the mystery surrounding what the dance would be like added to his experience. “As a senior it was fun to have at least one homecoming,” Kay said. “Since we had never had one before, and since I haven’t really been to any school dances, I didn’t know what to expect, but when I got there it was cool to see everyone having fun. Hopefully it was a success so they keep doing it and start a new sort of tradition at McCallum.” Though his first and last homecoming dance has passed, Kay hopes the future classes will continue to put on the dance. “I think they should keep doing it because it’s a good opportunity for people who may not be super social to talk to new people and have a fun experience outside of school,” Kay said. “But also, it’s good to keep [doing] it because it seemed to be a fun time for everyone.” Kay enjoyed the dance floor and seeing his peers dressed up in HOCO finery, but noted his favorite part was the photo booth.  “It was fun with my friends to get photos since it was the only HOCO we’ve been to, so we might as well have something to remember it by,” Kay said. Caption by Lanie Sepehri.

Mac marks homecoming with old, new traditions

JoJo Barnard, Chloe Lewcock, Callen Romell, Lanie Sepehri, Francie Wilhelm, Gaby Esquivel, Olivia Dungan, Aubrey Macedo, Katie Martin, Helen Martin, and Evelyn Jenkins
October 24, 2023

The 2023 homecoming week continued past traditions while bringing new ones to the table. Typical homecoming activities that were brought to life once more as the big game drew nearer included spirit days,...

WATER BALLOONS AND SMILES: Senior Peer Assistance and Leadership program member Jude Masoni holds up his fellow PAL, senior David Herring, as a human shield to protect himself from the path of an incoming water balloon. Students paid $1 to throw a balloon at the PALS on Tuesday as part of the shooting PAL-ery, one of the Pink Week fundraisers intended to raise money for the Breast Cancer Resource Center of Central Texas, an Austin-based non-profit that provides personalized support to those affected by breast cancer.  Year after year the PALS put on Pink Week in order to raise funds and awareness for the fight against breast cancer. The PALS put on a variety of different events the whole week at lunch in hopes of both bringing in profits and bringing an exciting week of fun to the McCallum community.    Herring was made a target of the water balloon by his cross country teammates. “I enjoyed seeing my teammates coming out to donate as I was telling them about it the week prior,” Herring said. “I was also just having fun on that nice day with my fellow PALS. Some of them that did the pallery that day, like Jude, I’ve known since elementary school.” Caption by Chloe Lewcock with reporting by JoJo Barnard.

Pink Week soars to new fund-raising heights

Sutton Banning, JoJo Barnard, Olivia Dungan, Carlo Hinsdale, Chloe Lewcock, Beatrix Lozach, Helen Martin, and Olin Michalovic
October 10, 2023

Longtime PALS adviser Richard Cowles remembers when Pink Week was a young Mac tradition and would bring in around $200. More than a decade later, he says, the expectation is that Pink Week will bring in...

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Olivia Dungan