![IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Junior Zalie Mann performs “I Love to Cry at Weddings,” an ensemble piece from the fall musical Sweet Charity, to prospective students during the Fine Arts Showcase on Wednesday, Nov. 8. The showcase is a compilation of performances and demonstrations from each fine arts strand offered at McCallum. This show is put on so that prospective students can see if they are interested in joining an academy or major.
Sweet Charity originally ran the weekends of Sept. 28 and Oct. 8, but made a comeback for the Fine Arts Showcase.
“[Being at the front in the spotlight] is my favorite part of the whole dance, so I was super happy to be on stage performing and smiling at the audience,” Mann said.
Mann performed in both the musical theatre performance and dance excerpt “Ethereal,” a contemporary piece choreographed by the new dance director Terrance Carson, in the showcase. With also being a dance ambassador, Mann got to talk about what MAC dance is, her experience and answer any questions the aspiring arts majors and their parents may have.
Caption by Maya Tackett.](https://bestofsno.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/53321803427_47cd17fe70_o-1-1200x800.jpg)
![SPREADING THE JOY: Sophomore Chim Becker poses with sophomores Cozbi Sims and Lou Davidson while manning a table at the Hispanic Heritage treat day during lunch of Sept 28. Becker is a part of the students of color alliance, who put together the activity to raise money for their club.
“It [the stand] was really fun because McCallum has a lot of latino kids,” Becker said. “And I think it was nice that I could share the stuff that I usually just have at home with people who have never tried it before.”
Becker recognizes the importance of celebrating Hispanic heritage at Mac.
“I think its important to celebrate,” Becker said. “Because our culture is awesome and super cool, and everybody should be able to learn about other cultures of the world.”
Caption by JoJo Barnard.](https://bestofsno.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/53221601352_4127a81c41_o-1200x675.jpg)
Providing clothes, Frisco Threads helps district students
The Frisco ISD Council of PTAs created Frisco Threads to help disadvantages FISD students to receive clothes through donations. “Other than the volunteers who have helped us operate the closet this fall, we have received clothing and monetary donations from businesses and members of the community,” PTA Clothes Closet Chair, Tara Childers said. “This semester we have provided over 7000 clothing items to approximately 450 students and families.”
January 24, 2022
The reputation and rankings of Frisco and Frisco ISD seem to be stellar and paint a picture of an ideal place to live.
But living in Frisco ISD doesn’t present the same reality for everyone as 13 percent of families in the district are defined as economically disadvantaged.
To help combat this, the Frisco ISD Council of PTAs has created a new program to make many lives of FISD families a little easier by providing free clothes to students.
“Several years ago, council members identified the need in the community,” PTA Clothes Closet Chair Tara Childers said. “There were resources for food like Lovepacs, Fastpacks, hygiene products like Refresh, but no service in our district to help provide school clothing for the economically disadvantaged students in FISD.”
Frisco Threads drew inspiration from other school districts that had already implemented similar programs and deemed them beneficial.
“PTA Councils from other districts were very helpful in sharing how they operate and providing tips for starting our own clothes closet,” Childers said. “This research helped us develop our goals and processes for Frisco Threads.”
Council members first opened the clothes closet in mid-August in order to help families get ready for the upcoming school year.
“In the summer of 2021, we began taking donations of new and gently used clothing,” FISD Council of PTAs’ President Terri Palmer said. “Later that summer we set up the shopping room at Acker Special Programs Center and opened for our first day of family shopping.”
Not only is the facility actively working to reduce clothing expenses for parents and families, but also putting the necessities of a good childhood education at the forefront.
“We hope receiving these clothes helps give children more confidence and the ability to focus on learning and peer relationships, rather than worrying about their clothes,” Palmer said. “We also hope this provides some financial relief to families in our area that may be having a hard time.”
We hope receiving these clothes helps give children more confidence and the ability to focus on learning and peer relationships, rather than worrying about their clothes,
— FISD Council of PTAs’ President Terri Palmer
Frisco Threads has already made a difference in the lives of people across the city according to Childers.
“Other than the volunteers who have helped us operate the closet this fall, we have received clothing and monetary donations from businesses and members of the community,” Childers said. “This semester we have provided over 7000 clothing items to approximately 450 students and families.”
Participating in this change to improve students’ livelihood is a trend the district encourages others to follow.
“We believe each district probably has children and families that struggle to make ends meet, “ Palmer said. “If they have the manpower and community and district support to do so, then opening a clothes closet may be a good way for them to serve those families.”
This story was originally published on Wingspan on January 20, 2022.
