![It was definitely out of my comfort zone to get [the dress] and decide I loved it enough not to wait and risk not having something that memorable.](https://bestofsno.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Precious_20180902_JRS_00008_ed1.jpg)
![Sophomore Sahasra Mandalapu practices bharatanatyam choreography in class. These new dances will be performed in an annual show in February. Mandalapu found that practicing in class helped her overcome stage fright during her performances. “When [I] get on stage, Im nervous Im going to forget, even though Ive done it for so long,” Mandalapu said. “Theres still that little bit of stage fright [when] I second-guess myself that I dont know it enough, but I do because Ive been practicing for a whole year.”](https://bestofsno.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Sahasra-6-Large-1200x844.jpeg)
![In their full runway outfits, (from left) Audrey Lee 25, Olivia Lucy Teets, 25, Fashion Design teacher Ms. Judy Chance, and Xueying Lili Yang pose for a photo. All three girls made it to Austin Fashion Week by getting in the top 10 in a previous runway show held by Shop LC.
[I like my students] creativity and how they can look at a fabric and make it their own, Ms. Chance said.](https://bestofsno.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/IMG_9686-e1714088765730-1129x1200.jpeg)
![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)
In partnership with Baptist Health, the Miami Dolphins community outreach program, Junior Dolphins, came out to show their support to the South Dade football team by donating all new equipment, training gear, and shoes to members of the team. The Junior Dolphins is a program that offers support to schools in the Palm Beach, Broward, and Miami-Dade counties, by putting safety as the first priority.
“Our goal is to make sure the local schools have the resources to be able to practice at a higher level and to be safe while doing it,” manager of youth programs Aaron Harris said.
As Baptist Health partners, Junior Dolphins puts an emphasis on injury prevention. Safety is key in a contact sport like football, so the donation of equipment not only helps train the players but allows them the opportunity to prevent an injury before a play is even made.
“People talk about concussions and ACL injuries, and sometimes it comes down to just having the proper equipment. We want to make sure that we can take that barrier away because not everyone can afford it,” Harris said.
Included in the donation was a new pair of Nike shoes for every player, Dolphins merchandise, cleats, shoulder pads, gloves, tackling dummies, a one-man push sled, and more. Head coach Chris Reid was also gifted a windbreaker and was left speechless by the generosity of the Dolphins.
“I’m still trying to process all of this. I knew we were approved for the donation, but I didn’t know what to expect. There is no way we would be able to afford all of the stuff they gave us, and now we can use the money we raised fundraising towards other things for the players,” Reid said.
Members of the team were grateful for everything they got from the Dolphins, and they recognized not only what this meant for themselves but for each other.
“All the kids don’t have the money to get all these things, so it’s going to be very helpful for us. We’re already liking all the equipment, and them providing this to us means a lot for us,” senior Anthony Reed said.
And in some special cases, the donation saved a shopping trip planned for later in the day.
“I was literally about to go buy new cleats today, but now I don’t have to thanks to this,” senior Sawyer Bartelt said.
This story was originally published on The Current on September 13, 2023.
