The best stories being published on the SNO Sites network

Best of SNO
Cottonwood Creek Elementary School Principal Dr. Andra Penn has a collection of vintage items in her office given to her by students and staff over the years. Dr. Penny has held her position since the school’s opening in 1996.
Penny coining a lasting legacy
April 22, 2025
A solitary sign held aloft with the Capitol rotunda in the background expresses the central theme of those who gathered to oppose Senate Bill 2 and the voucher system it will create.
Abbott and his allies finally earn voucher victory
April 22, 2025
Transitioning out of Conifer High School (CHS), the Conifer Jefferson County Public Library will be giving CHS around 5,000 books for its own library. Karen McIntosh, the Digital Teacher Librarian at CHS, is working with school and JCPL staff members and communities to expand the collection for the upcoming school year. The school has and will accept donations of books that are suitable for high school audiences. “We've already accepted book donations from families. We also had other schools, Chatfield has donated books to our library,” McIntosh said. “I will gladly accept donations.”
Boutique of Books
April 22, 2025
Officer Will Stearns helped to free a skunk from a Chick-fil-A cup in the parking lot on April 2.
School Resource Officer Helps to Free a Troubled Skunk
April 17, 2025
Plans for school-wide testing were dropped last week after hundreds of students experienced problems logging on.
ACTing Up: Testing Mishap at LFHS
April 17, 2025
Kombucha is a fizzy and tangy fermented tea drink made from just a few simple ingredients: tea, water, sugar and a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast.
Brewing the truth behind kombucha
April 22, 2025
Junior Gianna Gonzalez prepares the puff pastry batter to be squeezed out onto a pan. Gonzalez started her baking business Made With Love by Gianna in 2023, making her hobby into a paying job.
Baking Business is bringing in the bucks for Gonzalez
April 22, 2025
Families are all about having special bonds, no matter the curveballs they experience. This image showcases the joyful connection between a family.
Entering parenthood: balancing challenges and changes
April 22, 2025
Catalina Baraya (11) visits the Mikasa Shopping Plaza in Yokosuka, Japan. Baraya, who attended an American international school in Japan, moved back to the United States last August. Photo courtesy of Catalina Baraya.
Curriculum across cultures
April 17, 2025
Mary Collier teaches her ASL students about directional verbs on April 9, 2025. As can be seen on the slide, grammatical structure in ASL is quite different from that of English. Photo used with permission from Wendy Webster.
The world behind the signs
April 17, 2025
Strongly swinging student Jil Schwe leans in for a powerful hit hoping to score points for her team.
Serving from across the globe
April 22, 2025
On March 6, athletes from various schools competed in the Coppell Relays at Buddy Echols Field. Recent incidents have increased the need for vigilance at school sporting events. Photo by Isabella Callegaro Santos
Teenage belligerence causes real harm
April 22, 2025
Before throwing the ball to a teammate, senior goalkeeper Beck Henderson holds the ball to slow the pace of the game. Henderson has signed a letter of intent to play collegiate soccer for i2i Academy at Leeds Beckett University in England.
Kickin’ it in England
April 22, 2025
Freshman Carson Bagley Takes on Trails with Mountain Biking
Freshman Carson Bagley Takes on Trails with Mountain Biking
April 22, 2025
How women’s wrestling found a home in Iowa City
How women’s wrestling found a home in Iowa City
April 17, 2025
Mike Wang and Stephen Curry, a NBA basketball player, posing for a picture
Mike Wang: NBA 2K Developer and PCHS Alumnus
April 22, 2025
Original composition by senior Freya Girard.
Student Composers
April 22, 2025
Seniors Aditya Parikh and Pranith Surapaneni practice playing the violin and the guitar for the Melodies for Memories club they founded. Parikh said he has been able to make connections through music and hopes to inspire the same in nursing homes. “Everyone has listened to some sort of music in their life and can connect to a live performance,” Parikh said, “That is a big part of why we created the organization because we wanted to share what we found with others.”
A timeless connection
April 22, 2025
Junior Cyrus Froozan practices guitar with his local church band. Froozan plays in his free time and during church gatherings. Oftentimes, the church sees audiences of up to 200 people.
Music and medals: Cyrus Froozan shoots for the stars
April 22, 2025
Michelle Peng sketches a dollar bill in her notebook, a symbolic reflection of the financial struggles artists face. For many, low wages and economic uncertainty cast a shadow over creative careers. Yet, with each confident stroke of her pencil, Peng confronts these challenges head-on, transforming her worries into art. Above her, images of her past creations float like a constellation of inspiration, each piece reflecting the drive and creativity that propel her forward, proving her passion can overcome any obstacle in her path.
Doodles to dollars
April 17, 2025
FREEDOM'S FIST. The op-ed is a living symbol of the freedom of the press—like one finger on the hand of the First Amendment, which itself forms the strong fist of American democracy. What could be more American than that?
Hands off the Op-ed
April 22, 2025
Korea’s top delivery giant feasts on bankrupt kitchens and inflated menus.
The Hunger Games of Korean delivery
April 22, 2025
Assistant Opinion Editor Arjun Mukherjee writes that Trump's stifling of the press is a threat to democracy.
Democracy dies in silence
April 22, 2025
Trump is destroying our democracy
Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Freedom
April 22, 2025
Location sharing encourages safety, connection, and digital intimacy, but at what cost?
The Death of Privacy
April 22, 2025
Spring Break Trip to Belize
April 22, 2025
Scrambling for eggs? Not here: A looking inside the Masters Dining Hall
April 17, 2025
Theater Students Dress Up for Annual Special Olympics
Theater Students Dress Up for Annual Special Olympics
April 17, 2025
Junior Dakoda Dement competes in the shot put at the Caney Creek meet. He screamed toward his teammates when he realized he had thrown a personal record.
Dakoda Dement sets new record, chases bigger goals
April 15, 2025
VIDEO South Asia Club hosts South Asia Night
VIDEO South Asia Club hosts South Asia Night
April 10, 2025
Junior Dakoda Dement competes in the shot put at the Caney Creek meet. He screamed toward his teammates when he realized he had thrown a personal record.
Dakoda Dement sets new record, chases bigger goals
April 15, 2025
PODCAST Luca Akin cogitates on long-term finance internship
PODCAST Luca Akin cogitates on long-term finance internship
April 2, 2025
Shepherd Perkins: A Peek Into a Budding Artist’s Album
March 27, 2025
JJ Buzz logo
Jacket Journal Reporters Kassidy Eggert and Cameron Carlson Explore High School Book Censorship with Assistant Principal Ben Richards
March 21, 2025
Listen to some of our favorite snacks and decide which you enjoy most!
Top 5 Best Snacks Podcast
March 21, 2025
REACHING FOR THE STARS: Junior Zane Shieh sings an original song while playing the guitar with his band, Spiral Maze, at the Battle of the Bands last Thursday. He sings the long note of his band’s original song entitled “Reach,” a part of a new album coming soon. “This is my second year doing Battle of the Bands and with Spiral Maze,” Shieh said. “We had a pretty tight set, but I think it went really well, and the crowd liked us a good bit.” Shieh said his excitement toward playing at the Battle of the Bands this year was being able to showcase his band’s new music. “My favorite part was performing our new song, and playing for a bunch of my friends was super sick,” Shieh said. “It was stressful at first—like a little nervous—but it all cleared up right after the first song, and the atmosphere was very chill.” While it was not his band’s first time performing in front of a crowd, Shieh said he loves playing music at his own school and performing original music. “We’ve played at the Austin Rodeo two times and a few restaurants like Tamale House and Freddo’s ATX,” Shieh said. Shieh and his band will be back performing at school at the upcoming first annual McCallum Art Party fundraiser on Feb. 22. Caption by Nate Williams.
Battle of the Bands brings Mac musicians together
April 10, 2025
Junior Paige Mitchell leaps during group performance for Blue Brigade's annual show-off held last Wednesday commencing the contest season.
Twirl, leap and spin into contest season
April 4, 2025
UNDER THE SPOTLIGHT: Senior Sasha Grapko is highlighted on stage by a spotlight during the McCallum Youth Dance Company show this past Thursday and Friday at the AISD PAC. The company put in tireless efforts to make the show a reality with late rehearsals and all-day preparations at the PAC in the days leading up to the show. The show was unique with multiple ensembles performing throughout the night. Since the company consists of students ranging from their freshmen to senior years, the dances vary in complexity which created a balance throughout the program over the two days. Overall, the efforts of the dancers and choreographers paid off, and the show was a success. As Grapko is shining above, every McCallum dancer was able to highlight their commitment to the program with their performances. Caption by Arwen Petellier. Photo by Adele Seeboth
McCallum Youth Dance Company delivers ‘moving’ showcase
March 27, 2025
Cassidy Vallin (Left) and Bryan Connolly (Right) from Circus Foundry dance as a part of their show during the opening ceremony of Conifer High School’s 9th annual Peace Day. Circus Foundry is a Denver-based contemporary circus that formed to share their art, help others in the process, and support local under-represented demographics in community gatherings. “Our main goal with your show was to be able to share the excitement of what the circus brings to people throughout the world,” Vallin said.
Kaleidoscope of Perspective
March 12, 2025
Can Ugur (’27) lunges to tackle a TASIS player as Arthur Lamond (’26) runs to help. Coach Ryan Erickson said the team will refer to their game against TASIS to see how they can improve in the future. “Monday, we’ll kind of review the game tape that we have, find some highlights of things we did well, applaud those and then look at things that we need to continue to work on and think about how we need to get better at,” Erickson said.
GALLERY Boys varsity rugby competes against TASIS
March 6, 2025
Spring Break Trip to Belize
April 22, 2025
Scrambling for eggs? Not here: A looking inside the Masters Dining Hall
April 17, 2025
Theater Students Dress Up for Annual Special Olympics
Theater Students Dress Up for Annual Special Olympics
April 17, 2025
VIDEO South Asia Club hosts South Asia Night
VIDEO South Asia Club hosts South Asia Night
April 10, 2025
AP Art and Design Host Art Show
AP Art and Design Host Art Show
April 8, 2025
The best stories being published on the SNO Sites network

Best of SNO
The best stories being published on the SNO Sites network

Best of SNO
All content by Julia Copas
Several of the AISD police officers who remained on campus to aid with dismissal after it was deemed safe to lift the secure hold on the campus attended the faculty briefing that took place in the cafeteria immediately after school.

AISD police chief reveals details of threat on McCallum campus, police response to it

By JoJo Barnard and Julia Copas
March 18, 2025
TO THE BEAT OF THEIR OWN DRUM: Senior King Perez plays the drums with his band, Red River Trucking Co. at Thursday’s Battle of the Bands. The band had plans to play “Red River Line” as well as a new song they had been working on, “Road Dog Fever,” but later decided to add “12 Gauge Shotgun” and “Lawbreakin’ Man.” “We chose the first two because they’re newer and we feel like they’ve come together and are a good representation of us now,” Perez said. Perez shared that the band performed well overall and that the audience’s reaction was the best pay off. “My most memorable moment from that night was seeing everyone jumping off the stage and moshing,” he said. “It is always awesome seeing people enjoy our music in that way.” Caption by Gaby Esquivel.

Battle of the Bands offers mosh to be proud of

By JoJo Barnard, Julia Copas, Gaby Esquivel, Shila Gill, Evelyn Jenkins, Chloe Lewcock, Helen Martin, Maggie Mass, Caroline Owen, Alice Scott, and Lanie Sepehri
April 12, 2024
Load More Stories