![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)
![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)
“I’d like students to see a richer world so that they can live a richer life,” science teacher Timothy Siniscalchi said. “I don’t want my classes to just be words on a page, where rules are just things to memorize.”
“My sophomore year of high school, I had Algebra 2, and really struggled a lot. I had no clue how to factor. I could not figure it out for the life of me, until I had this one teacher who would explain everything so that I understood it,” math teacher Monica Russell said. “I was like wow! A teacher can actually make such a difference in someone’s life. It helped my whole self esteem. So because I struggled with math for a little bit, I relate to students who also struggle with it..”
“I promised myself when I got into (teaching) that I would make my lessons interesting enough to be something that sticks with (the students),” social studies teacher Blake Ecker said. “The impact that I want is more like (students) understanding (their) capabilities of being able to figure something out. It’s having enough confidence in yourself that you are capable of doing something harder than you thought you could do.”
“I love how creative English is,” language arts teacher Moriah Carlisle said. “When I was in middle school, I started writing poetry as a way to express how I was feeling.”
“Everything has prepared me and my teaching career to be here, and (it’s an) honor to be in a space that’s full of creativity, that’s full of amazing teachers and awesome students,” Mrs. Carlisle said. “I’m just super blessed to be here.”
“I love the arts. Being surrounded with so many talented students, it’s just like, I feel alive,” foreign language teacher Nathalie Ramirez said. “It’s really truly magic(al) like Mrs. Bennett says. I can’t wait to see students’ performances. I will try to be there as much as possible, because you guys are so awesome.”
This story was originally published on The Muse on September 29, 2023.
