After not having a spring show in 2020 and after a 2020-2021 campaign that director Nancy Searle said was often characterized by frustrations, disappointments and cancellations, the Blue Brigade ended…

“The dream is free, the work costs extra.”

These words echo from Coach Jim DeLine at the Highland Park Elementary School gym at the end of every practice.

We practice at 6:15 in the morning,…

For students and teachers alike, the past 13 months have posed continuous challenges as we adjusted to and grew weary of our isolated and remote way of living and learning. For many teachers, their jobs…

The air is thick with a humidity that slows everything down, like life is moving through molasses. Sweat drips down the back of your neck and your tongue is dry as sandpaper from dehydration. If you sit…


macshieldonline · Real Talk, Episode 2: The essential importance of Black History Month
In the latest episode of Real Talk, sophomore Caytie Brown, freshman Serena Galloway-Mark, senior Zakiya Robertson,…

In Heather Ramsay’s five years at McCallum as Academy coordinator, she has built-in strategic planning, strengthened team-building between academies, established Academy Ambassadors, co-designed a software…

As Covid-19 cases persisted across the country, communities, families, and friends have had to find ways to adapt. This has certainly been true for a small group of people in the downtown East Cesar Chavez…

A cult has swept across America. Thousands of teens have been blinded by the cult’s charismatic leader, dedicating their time and money to move up the cult’s inner-hierarchy. Teens dream of having…

This morning, as students across Texas prepared to take State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness, or STAAR tests, the online testing platform Educational Testing System (ETS) experienced a statewide…

In early March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic had just begun to make its way to Austin, shutting down the community and shuttering one of the cities most notable events: the South by Southwest Festival. Now,…

Lee Issac Chung’s Minari paints the raw portrait of a Korean American family planting the seeds of their American dream in the rich soil of Arkansas — a snapshot both authentically turbulent and wonderful….

Performers graced the newly-built outdoor stage for the first time with the McCallum musical Urinetown, rehearsed and performed entirely during the pandemic.

The show ran from March 4 to March 7 and…

Part-time jobs were hard enough to balance with school before the pandemic. Now working students are putting their health at risk while also finding themselves responsible for protecting the health of…

In a moving memorial ceremony on Saturday, Jan. 16 on the football practice field, the McCallum community gathered to mourn the death and celebrate the life of Connor Hughes, a member of the Class of 2018….

On the one year anniversary of the first cases of COVID-19 in Austin, Texas, and the cancellation of AISD schools before spring break of 2020, McCallum students reflect on their last day of pre-pandemic…

With years of experience under her belt, London Hudnall, the senior co-captain of the wrestling team, who attended last year’s state competition, is now ranked second in the state in her weight class….

Good things about third grade during COVID: more recess, no homework, cool masks.

Bad things: less friends at school, you can’t play tag.

According to third-grader Jackson Baugh, going back to…

The picnic tables were lined with white boxes hand decorated with the words “Brown Girl Collective” written in the center. Each box was packed with various self-care items and some extra fun things. All…

On any given day in Austin, there are hundreds of buses sitting on the side of the road quietly providing essential Wi-Fi service to students. With Austin currently in a Stage 4 COVID risk factor, most…

A new program is changing the way schools ensure the safety of students and teachers on campus. The program, a partnership between the teachers union Education Austin and AISD, was created with the intention…

After a week of extreme winter weather for Texas, many Austin families found themselves dealing with no heat, no power, no water, and no way out in the midst of an uncharacteristic freeze. The 7.9-inch…

The Austin Climate Coalition is a youth advocacy group, where all the members are local highschoolers. The group doesn’t have a president or official roles; instead, people can choose to take charge…

When Jacob Martinez started playing trombone, his instrument was taller than he was. It was sixth grade, and all he wanted was to play saxophone or trumpet, so when the directors gave him his horn, all…

Out of the 7.7 billion people on Earth, only about 28 million are twins and triplets, and sometimes it feels like all of them go to Mac.

This school year, there are multiple sets of multiples enrolled,…

Three freshmen girls are in the middle of their first-ever tryout at McCallum.

And it’s tough.

Their focus – making the team, not making friends.

But four years later, varsity basketball captains…

Senior Luke Lozano played piano last Wednesday at a party 265 years in the making. An ode to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and his birthday on Jan. 27, the celebration took place and was hosted by Mozart’s…

As Joe Biden and Kamala Harris assumed their roles as the president and vice president on Jan. 20, PBS Student Reporting Labs asked McCallum students what they wanted to see from the Biden-Harris administration.
…

macshieldonline · Real Talk Podcast: Episode 1, Part 2
In a continuation of episode one of Real Talk, host, Javier Vela, joined by Mac Student Leaders, Emily Arndt and Bobby Currie as well as English…

A limited number of Austin ISD teachers and staff began their spring semester with a COVID-19 vaccine shot in the arm. The first round of vaccine distributions for the district’s teachers came about through…

The nation watched history in the making this morning when President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were sworn into office, ending Donald Trump’s presidency and igniting hope that today…

In this week’s Tuesday Top 10, we explore precisely how COVID testing is done at a free-standing emergency room in Austin, thanks to the photography and reporting of freshman digital media student Sophie…

Tonya Moore’s book begins with a question: “Are Caucasian parents able to raise African-American children who are equipped to handle the challenges they will face in today’s society?”

And then…

In recent years, Austin has marked its spot as one of the fastest-growing cities in the country. With this rapid growth has come bigger buildings, hundreds of thousands of new people, and now, an official…

Live streaming is no longer the niche medium it once was. With platforms like Twitch, Mixer and YouTube allowing anyone to share themselves in an interactive way that other social platforms just can’t…

President Trump was impeached on Wednesday by every House Democrat and 10 House Republicans who accuse the president of inciting the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, which occurred exactly a week before…

It snowed half a foot on Sunday in Central Texas.

Sunday morning many people woke up to their backyard covered in snow. In Austin this is rare, especially the amount of snow that fell Sunday.

“I…

In this week’s #TuesdayTop10, photojournalism student Ingrid Smith documents the many ways the Austin businesses and cultural institutions have adapted their practices to stay open and serve the citizens…

The stakes were high for the freshman boys basketball team.

Their opponents for the night: district rival, Austin High.

After the Knights’ devastating two-point loss at the buzzer to the Maroons…

“Once upon a time in a galaxy far far away…,” words that launched an epic film series that created beloved characters, some of pop culture’s most iconic lines and inspired countless Halloween…

On the last Tuesday of 2020, we are pleased to make our last Tuesday Top 10 of the year to a review of some of our best photos depicting some of the most memorable, significant and poignant moments of…

When Bruno Cioci convinced his reluctant freshman classmate John Pratt to join the bowling team, what he didn’t account for was that one day Pratt would become the better bowler. He also didn’t account…

The Violet Crown Clubhouse never had one specific purpose. That was its purpose. Located in the center of Austin’s Crestview neighborhood, the ice cream store/ coffeeshop/arcade/bar/party room/ concessions…

The film opens on a deserted landscape, N-95 masks and latex gloves littered on the city streets. It sounds like the beginning of a classic dystopian tale, but instead, it has become the reality of life…

While the pandemic rages on at an ever worsening rate, people in Austin, in Texas, in the United States and throughout the world have all hoped and wished for a vaccine to bring an end to the global devastation…

When identical twins Andrea and Valentina Paredes arrived in Austin from Mexico 12 years ago, they never could have imagined that they would go from the shy girls at school who taught themselves English…

Through his puppets, Sam Eiler can assume the character of hundreds of Muppets, but he has a clear favorite: Kermit the Frog.

Why?

“Because he sings about rainbows,” he says.

And when Sam…

As we near the end of the first semester, students share their experiences of what it’s been like to learn online.

BUST A MOVE: Sophomore Sofia Ramon works on smoothing the face of her latest clay…

Telvi Altamirano-Cancino, or ‘Sra. A’  as her McCallum students know her, was born in Veracruz, Mexico, and at age 10 immigrated to the United States. The path to citizenship took more than a decade…

On a chilly October evening, onlookers watched as a group of firefighters inched closer and closer to a column of fire that shot into the sky. Using their hoses to push back the flames, they advanced towards…



On the first episode of Real Talk, host Javier Vela is joined by Mac Student Leaders Emily Arndt and Bobby Currie (all members of the student equity panel that spoke to teachers in August), as well…