![Junior Aneesh Patil displays photos of his family on a vacation in Chicago. His family reunited in the U.S. after being apart from his father for a year. “I didnt want to come to U.S. at the beginning [but my sons] were missing their dad,” his mother Anu said. “That was the reason I had to move here.](https://bestofsno.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Hsiao_20240308_IDMag_AneeshPatil_23-1200x799.jpg)
![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)
Sexplained is an educational podcast intended to support teenagers’ comprehensive health by providing information and advice regarding sexual health. In the fourth episode of Sexplained, host Ella Dorfman (‘25) interviews Dr. Lauran Evans about her career journey and expertise in the HPV vaccine and HPV stigma.
Disclaimer from Podcaster Ella Dorfman (‘25): In today’s podcast I’ll be talking about barrier birth control methods. I know everyone has different comfort levels with sexual health topics, so you might want to skip this one if it is not right for you, or give it a listen with a parent, guardian or trusted adult. I’m 16 and have served on Teen Source’s California Sexual Education Youth Advisory Board, am a leading ambassador with the YHES4Condoms Campaign, and work for the Sexual Education Company, TeenSource. I aim to provide listeners with information that comes from well-researched and informed data, but I’m not a doctor, and you should always consult a professional if you are seeking medical advice. This episode should not replace any conversation with a doctor. And just as a head’s up, all my informational content comes from the Teen Source website, so if you want to learn more that is a safe and great place to do so.
Rating: This podcast episode has received a “Clean” or “All-Ages Rating” from a standards and practices expert.
This story was originally published on The Oracle on May 1, 2024.
