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
Zanna Allen

Zanna Allen, staff reporter

Junior Zanna Allen is very excited for her first year on The Shield staff. She enjoys writing and is looking forward to improving her skills and learning more about photography. She is a visual arts major at McCallum and participates in tech theatre for multiple shows. Over the summer she worked as a camp counselor at John Knox Ranch and grew her passion of working with kids. Outside of school she is a Girl Scout and a saxophone player. Allen’s favorite things are her dog and cat, the outdoors and cooking for her family.

All content by Zanna Allen
SPIRIT OF THE FOX: Last Friday, freshman Sabine English brought a piece of Japanese mythology to the halloween contest, dressing up as a kitsune – a legendary fox spirit known for its multiple tails and mischievous behavior. “I made the mask and everything,” English said. “Kitsune are Japanese folkloric creatures with multiple tails and they even go as far as eating people.” English’s costume came together with the help of her family, her creativity and resourcefulness. She borrowed pieces from her aunt, who had previously worn the kimono for a Renaissance fair, and reimagined them for her Halloween costume. However, the mask she wore was entirely her own work. “I painted it and added all the decorations and everything. I love the way it turned out,” English said. “It took me about three days to make it, it was definitely a long process, but it was worth it.” Her inspiration for the look came from a mix of stories she had heard and nostalgia. In her childhood she had gone to the library and remembered reading Japanese folklore books and thought Halloween would be the perfect opportunity to bring these characters to life. “We used to read folklore books when I was younger from the library,” English said. “But mostly, I just thought I have the stuff for it - why don’t I just do this for Halloween. ” During the contest, English expressed that she enjoyed being able to see everyone else's costumes and celebrate Halloween along with her peers. “I wasn't nervous going up,” said English. “I was honestly having a lot of fun, and I loved seeing everyone's costumes and how creative everyone was.” Caption by Isa Truan. Photo by Harriet Zettner.

Creative costumes take center stage

Arwen Pelletier, Carlo Hinsdale, Isadora Truan, Magnolia Smith, Riley Pita, Sylvia Hurtado, and Zanna Allen
November 6, 2025

  On Friday, Oct. 31, McCallum hosted its annual Halloween costume contest in front of the dance and arts building during lunch. Students presented their costumes to a panel of teacher judges,...

A McCallum student sets up for the annual Halloween costume contest held just outside of the Mac.

[Photo] The downfall of Halloween

Harper Maxwell, staff reporter
November 7, 2025

Hosts of the costume contest decorate with cobwebs in preparation.

HELPING HANDS: Sophomore Paloma Ramon joined the Students of Color Alliance in the middle of last school year. SOCA was handing out agua frescas to students passing in the hallway, to spread awareness about the different cultures that should be celebrated throughout Hispanic Heritage Month. “We do stands like those for Hispanic Heritage Month, Black History Month, and Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.” Ramon said. The Students of Color Alliance gets all of their ingredients from local grocery stores like HEB and makes food from all the different cultures that they want to recognize. They then hand them out to students in the hallways to help other students learn about other cultures with these celebrated months. “We made salsa for the salsa contest, brought treats from different Hispanic cultures, and sold Hispanic candy.” In this stand, SOCA handed out agua frescas, which are a popular Mexican and Latin American drink made with a mix of fresh fruits, crushed flowers and seeds, and a sweetener. “I think that it’s important to celebrate all the Hispanic cultures because people often assume that everyone that is Hispanic is Mexican even though there are so many other Hispanic countries.” Caption by Piper Adair.

[Photo] Homage to heritage

Arwen Pelletier, Ethan Roberts, Eva Sanchez, JoJo Barnard, Kaylee Breecker, Lucas Walker, Mira Patel, Piper Adair, Sofia Saucedo, and Sam Nash
October 9, 2025

HELPING HANDS: Sophomore Paloma Ramon joined the Students of Color Alliance in the middle of last school year. SOCA was handing out agua frescas to students passing in the hallway, to spread awareness...

A diagram explaining the meaning behind Austin's new logo. Image courtesy of austintexas.gov

Where’s the weird?

Zanna Allen, staff reporter
October 3, 2025

On Sept. 4, Austin announced that it would be rebranding the city with a new, unified logo. The city claimed that the pre-existing Austin seal was not cohesive and well recognized enough, and that the...

FROM PLAYGROUNDS TO PLAYWRIGHTS: In room 103, one can find a bustling classroom of students lively chatting and working. The new English teacher, Abigail Pfeiffer, said she feels quite at home here. “I love the students here,” Pfeiffer said. “It’s been such a pleasure to teach them.” This is Pfeiffer’s second year of teaching. Her previous teaching experience was for a fourth grade classroom. Some might say fourth grade to 10th is a huge jump, but Pfeifer has been facing it with great enthusiasm. She majored in English in college and finds that a high school setting gives her more room to explore her passion. “There’s much more freedom when teaching high schoolers,” Pfeifer said. “I really get to put my skills to work.” Pfeiffer was drawn to McCallum because of its commitment to Fine Arts and its welcoming community. So far, her experience at Mac has not let her down. “It’s clear how passionate students are, and it’s very inspiring to see,” Pfeiffer said. Ultimately, Pfeiffer’s hope for this year is for her students to feel accomplished and for her to feel as if she taught them something worthwhile. Caption by Zanna Allen.

A fresh start for mac-ulty

Daniela Di-Capua, Delaney Lavelle, Eva Sanchez, Isadora Truan, Riley Pita, Sylvia Hurtado, and Zanna Allen
September 11, 2025

    This week is all about celebrating new beginnings at McCallum. As the school year begins, we are excited to welcome a new group of teachers who bring fresh energy, unique experiences,...

When Jasmine Aung was in elementary school, she started to resist her Burmese food and language at home because it made her feel separate from her school friends. “I wanted to be American. I wanted to be those beautiful blue-eyed, fair-skinned people," Aung said. "I didn't want to be myself basically.” Since then, she worked hard to connect with her Burmese heritage.

[Photo] All that followed

Lillian Gray, staff reporter
February 10, 2025

When Jasmine Aung was in elementary school, she started to resist her Burmese food and language at home because it made her feel separate from her school friends. “I wanted to be American. I wanted to...

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

Dapper Goat Dairy Farm is a company outside of Gonzales, Texas run by Kelly Allen. They make a variety of dairy products, most importantly: goat cheese. They have a wide range of flavors that are all particularly...

VERTICAL VIRTUOSOS: The McCallum Orchestra performed at its Fall Vertical Team Concert on Wednesday afternoon. The concert featured performances from all ensembles, and the Lamar Middle School orchestra. The program began with a performance by the Lamar Middle School’s philharmonic orchestra and symphony orchestra, followed by Mac’s ninth-grade orchestra, Mac’s concert orchestra, Mac’s chamber orchestra, and ended with all the musicians coming on stage for a few final songs. A new member of the orchestra family, freshman violinist Sophia Davis, shared how the freshman orchestra has been preparing for this concert. “I’ve been practicing a lot, both outside of school and in class during third period,” she said. “It’s been an up-and-down roller coaster some days, but I feel that today’s performance went pretty well.” The orchestra will continue to work hard in preparation for future concerts and the upcoming UIL season. Caption by Wren Vanderford.

Photoj classes capture essence of McCallum

Zanna Allen, Carson Bray Nunez, Kaylee Breecker, John Robert Crouch, Edie Davidson, Saskia Dhont, Luella Finch McConnell, Olive Glenn, Eli Gold, Sylvia Hurtado, Hannah Kahn, Lilah Lavigne, Ryan Latsha, Will Swan, Wren Vanderford, and Jasper Williams
November 26, 2024

It is the 10th year that the photojournalism class have been charged with the photo challenge to capture the essence of McCallum in photographs. The assignment requires that students take at least one...

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Zanna Allen