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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
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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 Sophie Leung-Lieu
Brandon Grant and senior Miles McCollum reunite after a McCallum football game.

Where are they now?

By Sophie Leung-Lieu and Helen Martin
January 6, 2023
Members of the Hershey production crew, intern Tuana Allen and man-of-the-moment Bob Bedard watch the sequence filmed during eighth period on Thursday. The clip shows Bedard standing still in the main hallway as the traffic rushes behind him as if they are apparitions.

Bob to hit the big screen

By Sophie Leung-Lieu, McCallum High School
November 22, 2022
UNDER THE UMBRELLA: Junior Wilson Corbitt heads toward his dad’s car near the portables during Monday afternoon’s rainstorm. Corbitt faired better than some students, having the forethought to bring an umbrella to school. “In that moment I thought ‘I bet you all thought I was crazy for bringing an umbrella on a sunny day,’” Corbitt said. His intuition proved right, but Corbitt connects this occurrence to a larger issue facing Austin and the planet. “Every year the weather in Texas gets more and more unpredictable and severe due to climate change,” Corbitt said. “And that’s coming off the back of one of the hottest summers on record where today was the first day since May under 90 degrees, which is making it progressively difficult to tell what might happen.” Reporting by Alice Scott.

Flash flood strikes Austin as school dismisses Monday

By Isley Cameron, Naomi Di-Capua, Meredith Grotevant, Sophie Leung-Lieu, Oliver Harrington, Helen Martin, Caroline Owen, Alice Scott, Ingrid Smith, Francie Wilhelm, and Dave Winter
September 19, 2022
Facility nursing manager Candice Pleasant works as a supervisor to faculty, nursing staff and more. At the start of COVID, emergency facilities had to adapt to the lack of access to ICU. “We have to transfer them or we have to do a video consultation,” Pleasant said. “Not only do we not have those resources, we don’t even have them at our disposal anymore. It’s hard to even get in touch with those doctors. It’s hard to transfer patients. We are left to not only be their advocate, but to be every single person's specialty for that patient.”

Pandemic provides no rest for the weary

By Sophie Leung-Lieu, McCallum High School
September 17, 2021
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