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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

The best stories being published on the SNO Sites network

Best of SNO

All content by Lanie Sepehri
Senior Asa Rosenberg (third from right) poses with the coach and members of the California State University at Bakersfield diving team. One of the main reasons Rosenberg was attracted to the CSUB diving program was the culture of the team, which differed from his experience diving at UT.  "When I got there I was like, 'Oh wow, these people are really connected and almost like a family,' Rosenberg said. "That's something I really liked." Photo courtesy of Rosenberg.

Vaulting over the hurdles

By Lanie Sepehri, McCallum High School
May 21, 2024
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

597 days later, Austin Ukrainians keep fighting

By Lanie Sepehri, McCallum High School
October 4, 2023
LOVE AND JOY: As she dances in her beautiful dress, sophomore Amy Love reflects on the joy it brings to see her father so happy during the McCallum Quinceañera. "I think that this event was really beautiful and fun to experience especially for my dad, seeing him so happy and having my family experience this," Love said. "My family isn’t big on doing huge celebrations so me and my sister weren’t able to have a quinceañera, but we loved being able to share this day with all the other quinceañeras and their families." Despite the stress of daily meetings and practices leading up to the event, Love found it all worth it for the fun and memories made on the quinceañera day. "It was really stressful doing the whole entire meetings and practice because it was every single day, but whenever it was the actual day of it, it was actually really fun," Love said. Overall, Love found the quinceañera event to be a very meaningful experience, which could not have happened without the hard work of Spanish teacher Juana Gun. "I want to give a huge thank you to Ms. Gun for making it all possible and being such a sweet person to all of us," Love said. Caption by Gergő Major.

McCallum Quinceañera celebrates comeback

By Kate Boyle, Tristen Diaz, Chloe Lewcock, Gergő Major, Lanie Sepehri, Ingrid Smith, Priya Thoppil, Camilla Vandegrift, Grace Vitale, Francie Wilhelm, and Dave Winter
April 18, 2023
Bette Reichman blows a bubble for the camera. An accomplished photojournalist before becoming a permanent sub at McCallum, Reichman said that she loved the power her camera afforded her on the legislative floor. “It was a power job,” Reichman said. “I got to boss people around. But in that capacity, I was bossing them around to get good pictures.”

Through Reichman’s lens

By Lanie Sepehri, McCallum High School
April 12, 2023
FUN WITH FRIENDS: Sophomores Hazel Trominski, Julia Rasp and Zalie Mann pose for the camera during Pink Week’s lunch festivities. Students in the science courtyard throughout the week enjoyed the activities while spending time with friends and sporting their best pink wear. Rasp went all-out during Pink Week, pink being her favorite color. “I think it’s awesome that they’re raising money for breast cancer awareness and doing fun stuff and that a lot of it is student-organized,” Rasp said.
Caption by Camilla Vandegrift.

Pink Week 2022 sets standard for fun, fundraising

By Evie Barnard, JoJo Bernard, Isley Cameron, Jolie Gabriel, Chloe Lewcock, Gergo Major, Helen Martin, Emerson Merritt, Lanie Sepehri, Ingrid Smith, Rio Sotelo, Sofia Thatcher, Elena Ulack, Camilla Vandegrift, Francie Wilhelm, and Dave Winter
November 7, 2022
'Midnights' was, fittingly, released at 12 a.m. EST. The album is Swift's first new all-original album since the release of 'Evermore' in Dec. 2020.

‘Midnights’ proves Taylor Swift is a true ‘Mastermind’

By Lanie Sepehri and Naomi Di-Capua
October 31, 2022
Senior Maya Cidale (Mal) alongside senior Kathryn Dooley (Evie), junior Henry Mayes (Carlos) and senior Anderson Zoll (Jay) perform "Ways to be Wicked," a number in which the four evils reunite to take over Auradon. For Cidale, developing her character was a significant aspect of her rehearsal process. “It was actually a very interesting process finding my version of Mal,” Cidale said.  “I started off by pretending to be Regina George if she had magic on her side, but then I took a closer look at how all of the iconic mean girls achieved that status. I realized it was all about making people second guess themselves. From that realization, I stemmed every tactic from wanting people to question what they know is right.” Reporting by Alice Scott.

‘Descendants’ brings Disney magic to life

By Jojo Barnard, Chloe Lewcock, Helen Martin, Alice Scott, Lanie Sepehri, Ingrid Smith, and Francie Wilhelm
October 26, 2022
Sophomore Andrew Lavine playing at the varsity tennis team's challenge match on Sept. 1. Lavine's powerful tennis skills and laid-back attitude have endeared Lavine to his teammates. 
“He’s humble, even though his skills are crazy good,” senior co-captain Liliana Rodriguez said. “He always is down-to-earth and would never want to make anyone feel like he’s better than us.”

Families that play together stay together

By Lanie Sepehri, McCallum High School
October 14, 2022
Andy Brown (class of 1990) pictured in his senior portrait, side by side with a photo taken after being elected county judge. File photo from the 1990 Knight; Photo courtesy of Andy Brown's office.

Never judge a Knight by his armor

By Lanie Sepehri, McCallum High School
March 3, 2022
At 2 p.m. on Monday Nov. 15, hundreds of students walked out of their third-period classes in a show of support for students who have been victims of sexual abuse or sexual assault. The group met in the band parking lot and then marched around the perimeter of the school stopping often to hear personal stories of assault and survival. Each story elicited embraces and statements of support from members of the crowd. The walkout was about building community and improving systemic support on campus. “We shared ideas for a better support system at Mac while talking about the realities of the situation," said Aubrey Mitchell, one of the organizers of today’s walkout, “People cried, laughed, yelled, hugged and left feeling supported and empowered.” Caption by Dave Winter.

Standing up and walking out

By Evie Barnard, Amaya Collier, Naomi Di-Capua, Emma Hagood, Julia Husted, Eliza Jensen, Cassidy Levin, Lucy Marco, Helen Martin, Kaela Martin, Lexi Ramos, Elisha Scott, Lanie Sepehri, Alysa Spiro, Francie Wilhelm, Nate Williams, and Bo Witzel
December 14, 2021
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