• IT WON'T BE LONG NOW: Crockett senior Josh Robles (“In the Heights” ensemble), McCallum graduate Alyks Waring (head of costumes for all three @aisdsummertheatre shows) and Bowie junior Audrey Smith (props master for “In the Heights”) pose on the red carpet during Thursday’s @aisdsummertheatre preview event at the AISD Performing Arts Center. One takeaway theme from the evening was that the @austinisd summer theatre program allows high school and middle school theatre students the chance to form lasting relationships with like-minded theatre students across the district. More than 150 students from over 30 campuses are participating this summer. Many of them will attend theatre events at other schools to support their cast members when they return to their home schools in the fall. But before that can happen, these folks have summer shows to put on. In the Heights opens in two days, 7 p.m. Thursday night. Waring and Robles said the excitement for opening night is building and that they will be ready to put on a great show. Everyone’s putting in the extra mile this week, and it’s awesome to see happen, Robles said. To see the complete list of shows, dates and times for the summer series and to buy tickets, visit the @aisdsummertheatre Insta account and click the link in their bio. #summertheatre #austinisd #AISDproud #atx #macsummerknights2019
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    IT WON'T BE LONG NOW: Crockett senior Josh Robles (“In the Heights” ensemble), McCallum graduate Alyks Waring (head of costumes for all three @aisdsummertheatre shows) and Bowie junior Audrey Smith (props master for “In the Heights”) pose on the red carpet during Thursday’s @aisdsummertheatre preview event at the AISD Performing Arts Center. One takeaway theme from the evening was that the @austinisd summer theatre program allows high school and middle school theatre students the chance to form lasting relationships with like-minded theatre students across the district. More than 150 students from over 30 campuses are participating this summer. Many of them will attend theatre events at other schools to support their cast members when they return to their home schools in the fall. But before that can happen, these folks have summer shows to put on. In the Heights opens in two days, 7 p.m. Thursday night. Waring and Robles said the excitement for opening night is building and that they will be ready to put on a great show. Everyone’s putting in the extra mile this week, and it’s awesome to see happen, Robles said. To see the complete list of shows, dates and times for the summer series and to buy tickets, visit the @aisdsummertheatre Insta account and click the link in their bio. #summertheatre #austinisd #AISDproud #atx #macsummerknights2019
  • STILL PART OF THE AISD SUMMER THEATRE WORLD: During the Red Carpet Preview Night for the 2019 @austinisd Summer Theatre Series on Thursday, two of the stars from 2016’s Little Mermaid, which launched the @aisdsummertheatre series were reunited on the AISD Performing Arts Center stage. Gigi Lozano, who played Ariel, and Sam Hallam, one of two actors who played Flounder, recalled the experience, which was formative for them and for the summer theatre series. “It was my first show that I ever did, so getting past that was my biggest challenge” said Hallam, then a rising Fulmore Middle School seventh grader and now a rising Austin High sophomore. He said the reunion on Thursday was very emotional. “All my memories from three years ago just rushed back in. I missed her a lot.” Lozano, a Bowie High School graduate who now attends Texas State University, agreed and added she takes pride that the series has continued and grown. “It was extremely rewarding to return to where I once called home and be able to see the new talent bringing such a beautiful light to fine arts at AISD.” Hallam is one of several 2019 participants who have been in all four summer series. He plays Benny in “In the Heights” and said he has really enjoyed learning the role because it has very challenging vocals. He mentioned on stage Thursday that he still has three more summers of eligibility for @aisdsummertheatre after this summer. “Being in the summer musical has resulted in some of the strongest relationships,” Hallam told MacJournalism. “I’ve never had a better theatre experience.” “In the Heights” opens on Thursday with the first of three 7 p.m. shows through Saturday. The musical has a finale matinee 3 p.m. Sunday. The following week will feature “Disney’s Aladdin: Dual Language Edition” following the same Thursday through Sunday schedule. There will also be a series of five short plays entitled “Take Five: Shifting Perspectives on (Dis)Ability,” student directed by Noah Messer. “Take Five” opens Saturday July 27 at 4 p.m. with an encore performance Sunday July 28 at 6 p.m. To purchase tickets, visit the @aisdsummertheatre Insta page and click on the link in their bio.
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    STILL PART OF THE AISD SUMMER THEATRE WORLD: During the Red Carpet Preview Night for the 2019 @austinisd Summer Theatre Series on Thursday, two of the stars from 2016’s Little Mermaid, which launched the @aisdsummertheatre series were reunited on the AISD Performing Arts Center stage. Gigi Lozano, who played Ariel, and Sam Hallam, one of two actors who played Flounder, recalled the experience, which was formative for them and for the summer theatre series. “It was my first show that I ever did, so getting past that was my biggest challenge” said Hallam, then a rising Fulmore Middle School seventh grader and now a rising Austin High sophomore. He said the reunion on Thursday was very emotional. “All my memories from three years ago just rushed back in. I missed her a lot.” Lozano, a Bowie High School graduate who now attends Texas State University, agreed and added she takes pride that the series has continued and grown. “It was extremely rewarding to return to where I once called home and be able to see the new talent bringing such a beautiful light to fine arts at AISD.” Hallam is one of several 2019 participants who have been in all four summer series. He plays Benny in “In the Heights” and said he has really enjoyed learning the role because it has very challenging vocals. He mentioned on stage Thursday that he still has three more summers of eligibility for @aisdsummertheatre after this summer. “Being in the summer musical has resulted in some of the strongest relationships,” Hallam told MacJournalism. “I’ve never had a better theatre experience.” “In the Heights” opens on Thursday with the first of three 7 p.m. shows through Saturday. The musical has a finale matinee 3 p.m. Sunday. The following week will feature “Disney’s Aladdin: Dual Language Edition” following the same Thursday through Sunday schedule. There will also be a series of five short plays entitled “Take Five: Shifting Perspectives on (Dis)Ability,” student directed by Noah Messer. “Take Five” opens Saturday July 27 at 4 p.m. with an encore performance Sunday July 28 at 6 p.m. To purchase tickets, visit the @aisdsummertheatre Insta page and click on the link in their bio.
  • PUTTING THE L.A. IN DANIE(LA): It didn’t take long for rising senior Daniela Bodoh to shift from school mode to summer mode; in fact, she didn’t even need a good night’s sleep to make the transition. On the evening of the last day of the school year, May 24, while memories of her finals were still fresh in her mind, Bodoh caught a flight to California with her family to celebrate her mom’s birthday in Los Angeles. It will not surprise the Mac orchestra members who attended the spring break trip to New York last March that Ms. Bodoh helped plan, that the Bodohs’ vacation itinerary was filled with fun activities. In the span of four days, the family toured Paramount Studios, attended a performance of L.A. Philharmonic, rode the rides at the Santa Monica Pier, took in the Venice Beach scene and more. The studio tour consisted of a go-cart tour all over the lot where Bodoh encountered famous movie and TV show sets as well as evidence that demystified the magic of moviemaking, everything from a parking lot that could be made to look like a beachfront just by adding water to a backdrop that could add a perfect blue sky to any movie scene that needed one. While the Paramount trip was memorable, Bodoh said her highlights had to be riding the rollercoaster in Santa Monica and hanging out at Venice Beach where the henna tattoos were second only to jumping in the waves of the Pacific Ocean in her new swimsuit. She also ate at a diverse list of restaurants. Bodoh joked that she ate “real” authentic avocado toast made by native Californians. “We we went to a vegan restaurant, which was in my opinion surprisingly really good,” Bodoh said. “My favorite meals there were Jollibee and HiHo Burger.” HiHo, Bodoh said, serves the best burger in L.A. The Bodohs spent the last night of their trip at an observation center. Photos courtesy of Bodoh. #MacSummerKnights2019 #LALALand #LosAngeles #CityofAngels #Cali #SoCal #VeniceBeach #SantaMonicaPier
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    PUTTING THE L.A. IN DANIE(LA): It didn’t take long for rising senior Daniela Bodoh to shift from school mode to summer mode; in fact, she didn’t even need a good night’s sleep to make the transition. On the evening of the last day of the school year, May 24, while memories of her finals were still fresh in her mind, Bodoh caught a flight to California with her family to celebrate her mom’s birthday in Los Angeles. It will not surprise the Mac orchestra members who attended the spring break trip to New York last March that Ms. Bodoh helped plan, that the Bodohs’ vacation itinerary was filled with fun activities. In the span of four days, the family toured Paramount Studios, attended a performance of L.A. Philharmonic, rode the rides at the Santa Monica Pier, took in the Venice Beach scene and more. The studio tour consisted of a go-cart tour all over the lot where Bodoh encountered famous movie and TV show sets as well as evidence that demystified the magic of moviemaking, everything from a parking lot that could be made to look like a beachfront just by adding water to a backdrop that could add a perfect blue sky to any movie scene that needed one. While the Paramount trip was memorable, Bodoh said her highlights had to be riding the rollercoaster in Santa Monica and hanging out at Venice Beach where the henna tattoos were second only to jumping in the waves of the Pacific Ocean in her new swimsuit. She also ate at a diverse list of restaurants. Bodoh joked that she ate “real” authentic avocado toast made by native Californians. “We we went to a vegan restaurant, which was in my opinion surprisingly really good,” Bodoh said. “My favorite meals there were Jollibee and HiHo Burger.” HiHo, Bodoh said, serves the best burger in L.A. The Bodohs spent the last night of their trip at an observation center. Photos courtesy of Bodoh. #MacSummerKnights2019 #LALALand #LosAngeles #CityofAngels #Cali #SoCal #VeniceBeach #SantaMonicaPier
  • You might say the orchestra for the @aisdsummertheatre musical, In the Heights, has some McCallum flavor. At Thursday's Red Carpet Preview of the AISD Summer Theatre Series, we caught up with the six Mac members of the orchestra for the districtwide show: Chance Green (trumpet), Jon Forbes (keyboard), Madelynn Niles (flute), Clifton Pike (trumpet), Max Hoff (guitar) and Sam Buford (guitar) will all be playing live during the four shows at the AISD Performing Arts Center. The opening night performance is 7 p.m. Thursday. There are also evening shows on Friday and Saturday, with a closing matinee performance at 3 p.m. on Sunday. The summer theatre series continues with a dual-language performance of Disney's Aladdin the following week on the same Thursday-Sunday time schedule. There are also two showings of Take Five: Shifting Perspectives on (Dis)Ability, the first at 4 p.m. on Saturday, July 27 and the second at 6 p.m. Sunday, July 28. To purchase tickets, visit the @aisdsummertheatre Insta account and click the link in their bio. #MacSummerKnights2019
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    You might say the orchestra for the @aisdsummertheatre musical, In the Heights, has some McCallum flavor. At Thursday's Red Carpet Preview of the AISD Summer Theatre Series, we caught up with the six Mac members of the orchestra for the districtwide show: Chance Green (trumpet), Jon Forbes (keyboard), Madelynn Niles (flute), Clifton Pike (trumpet), Max Hoff (guitar) and Sam Buford (guitar) will all be playing live during the four shows at the AISD Performing Arts Center. The opening night performance is 7 p.m. Thursday. There are also evening shows on Friday and Saturday, with a closing matinee performance at 3 p.m. on Sunday. The summer theatre series continues with a dual-language performance of Disney's Aladdin the following week on the same Thursday-Sunday time schedule. There are also two showings of Take Five: Shifting Perspectives on (Dis)Ability, the first at 4 p.m. on Saturday, July 27 and the second at 6 p.m. Sunday, July 28. To purchase tickets, visit the @aisdsummertheatre Insta account and click the link in their bio. #MacSummerKnights2019
  • BRYN THERE, DONE THAT: Less than two weeks before the Women’s World Cup final four in Lyon, France, senior Bryn Lewis received a text from a friend saying that they had tickets that they couldn’t use, so just 12 days before the U.S. would square off against England in (2, 3) the semifinal, Lewis and his dad headed to France for the adventure of a lifetime. “This was the most impromptu trip I have ever taken,” Lewis said. “It was an absolute blast touring France and going to the games.” Luckily, Lewis’s dad has a business partner who hosted them during the trip. The best part of going to the games, Lewis said, was interacting with the fans. He estimated that at (4, 5) Sunday’s final U.S. fans outnumbered Dutch fans about 2 to 1, and about 10 percent of the crowd was comprised of fans from countries who did not make it to the final. “It’s nice to support the same thing even though we are thousands of miles away from home,” Lewis said. The best part was “definitely ... the feeling of being surrounded with such spirited and charismatic people at the game. Wherever I went, there was always a ‘USA, USA’ chant going on. And to be surrounded by that was quite incredible.” Lewis also enjoyed meeting people from all over the world, hearing multiple languages being spoken and seeing varied cultures all gathered in one place to watch soccer. While Lewis is a huge fan of the game, his trip wasn’t all about sports. “I went to Paris and toured around for a few days,” he said. “I saw (6) the Eiffel Tower, and then I toured in Lyon as well. I spent most of my days in Geneva, Switzerland. We went all around the west side of Switzerland. We went to a vineyard and looked at the mountains and Lake Geneva.” (7) He also visited Jet d'Eau, a famous Geneva water fountain that shoots water 50 meters higher than the Statue of Liberty. The last leg of Lewis' journey took him to London. “My favorite part was looking over all of London from the top of (10) the London Eye,” Lewis said. “Being able to see everything in a short time was fantastic.” Photos and video courtesy of Lewis. #MACSummerKnights2019 #WWC #USWNT #WomensWorldCup
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    BRYN THERE, DONE THAT: Less than two weeks before the Women’s World Cup final four in Lyon, France, senior Bryn Lewis received a text from a friend saying that they had tickets that they couldn’t use, so just 12 days before the U.S. would square off against England in (2, 3) the semifinal, Lewis and his dad headed to France for the adventure of a lifetime. “This was the most impromptu trip I have ever taken,” Lewis said. “It was an absolute blast touring France and going to the games.” Luckily, Lewis’s dad has a business partner who hosted them during the trip. The best part of going to the games, Lewis said, was interacting with the fans. He estimated that at (4, 5) Sunday’s final U.S. fans outnumbered Dutch fans about 2 to 1, and about 10 percent of the crowd was comprised of fans from countries who did not make it to the final. “It’s nice to support the same thing even though we are thousands of miles away from home,” Lewis said. The best part was “definitely ... the feeling of being surrounded with such spirited and charismatic people at the game. Wherever I went, there was always a ‘USA, USA’ chant going on. And to be surrounded by that was quite incredible.” Lewis also enjoyed meeting people from all over the world, hearing multiple languages being spoken and seeing varied cultures all gathered in one place to watch soccer. While Lewis is a huge fan of the game, his trip wasn’t all about sports. “I went to Paris and toured around for a few days,” he said. “I saw (6) the Eiffel Tower, and then I toured in Lyon as well. I spent most of my days in Geneva, Switzerland. We went all around the west side of Switzerland. We went to a vineyard and looked at the mountains and Lake Geneva.” (7) He also visited Jet d'Eau, a famous Geneva water fountain that shoots water 50 meters higher than the Statue of Liberty. The last leg of Lewis' journey took him to London. “My favorite part was looking over all of London from the top of (10) the London Eye,” Lewis said. “Being able to see everything in a short time was fantastic.” Photos and video courtesy of Lewis. #MACSummerKnights2019 #WWC #USWNT #WomensWorldCup
  • SUMMER CAMP CENTRAL: Facilities on campus have been busy with the McCallum Cinema Arts summer camp as well as the McCallum Robotics Camp. The cinema camp, advised by AV director Kenneth Rogers has been teaching and working alongside volunteer cinematic arts students who led the campers through the making of their own two-minute short film that the campers wrote, shot and edited throughout the week. The first week of camp held two sessions a day, with campers from 12-17 years old. “I think what’s special about students teaching up and coming students is we get to pass down our experience and advice so they can learn and grow from our mistakes and success, and use it to their advantage,” Class of 2019 and camp counselor Amber Dunning told MacJournalism. “We’re also passing down our passion and excitement and watching them run with it and make it something of their own.” Rogers also led a second camp two weeks later in which current and incoming McCallum students got the chance to learn the ropes of the RED camera by making their own three-minute short film during the week, in which was completely shot and produced using the RED camera, and its accessories. Reporting by Stella Shenkman. Photos by Stella Shenkman and Alex Martinez. #mccallumsummer #dayinthelifeofmac #maccinematicarts #mccallumav
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    SUMMER CAMP CENTRAL: Facilities on campus have been busy with the McCallum Cinema Arts summer camp as well as the McCallum Robotics Camp. The cinema camp, advised by AV director Kenneth Rogers has been teaching and working alongside volunteer cinematic arts students who led the campers through the making of their own two-minute short film that the campers wrote, shot and edited throughout the week. The first week of camp held two sessions a day, with campers from 12-17 years old. “I think what’s special about students teaching up and coming students is we get to pass down our experience and advice so they can learn and grow from our mistakes and success, and use it to their advantage,” Class of 2019 and camp counselor Amber Dunning told MacJournalism. “We’re also passing down our passion and excitement and watching them run with it and make it something of their own.” Rogers also led a second camp two weeks later in which current and incoming McCallum students got the chance to learn the ropes of the RED camera by making their own three-minute short film during the week, in which was completely shot and produced using the RED camera, and its accessories. Reporting by Stella Shenkman. Photos by Stella Shenkman and Alex Martinez. #mccallumsummer #dayinthelifeofmac #maccinematicarts #mccallumav
  • VOTE DAVIS: Senior quarterback Cole Davis is one of 15 Austin-area quarterbacks in the running to be voted the Best Returning 4A-6A Quarterback in Greater Austin. To vote for him, click in the link in our bio. He has promised a 2019 passing yard for every vote he gets in this poll. Just kidding. But vote for him anyway. Balloting runs through 7 p.m. on July 18. Photo by Annabel Winter. #MACfootball #KnightTime #txhsfb
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    VOTE DAVIS: Senior quarterback Cole Davis is one of 15 Austin-area quarterbacks in the running to be voted the Best Returning 4A-6A Quarterback in Greater Austin. To vote for him, click in the link in our bio. He has promised a 2019 passing yard for every vote he gets in this poll. Just kidding. But vote for him anyway. Balloting runs through 7 p.m. on July 18. Photo by Annabel Winter. #MACfootball #KnightTime #txhsfb
  • TEACHING IN TANZANIA: Rising junior Naeda Kilday told MacJournalism she has a greater appreciation for her teachers after she spent three weeks in Tanzania teaching English to local fifth- and sixth-graders on a Global Leadership Adventure experience. “I got to see how much work really goes into being a teacher,” said Kilday, who planned her own lessons during a designated lesson planning time each day. “It was a lot of hard work especially with the language barrier, but when I had a student who understood what I was teaching, it was all worth it.” She recalled one particularly memorable lesson toward the end of her stay. “I was teaching about nouns, verbs and adjectives, and all of the students were struggling and didn’t understand it,” Kilday said. Just when the lesson appeared to be a bust, however, a shy girl who hadn’t spoken much to that point raised her hand and called Kilday over to her desk, so she could check her work.“She did all the work right and really understood it,” Kilday said. “That was probably my favorite [classroom] moment.” In addition to teaching, (7) Kilday also helped to refurbish a second classroom by sanding and painting the walls. When she wasn’t working in the classroom, she enjoyed a chance to enjoy Tanzania’s culture and natural resources. She went on a safari, hiked part of Mount Kilimanjaro and shopped in local markets. (10) She and her nine colleagues from all across the U.S. also participated in a cultural exchange with local high school students from Tanzania. “[High school] is very different there,” Kilday said. “Instead of grades, there are different ‘forms’ you have to go through.” Students take an exam at the end of form 2 in order to advance to the upper forms. “Three and 4 are like an extensive high school, which is really hard to get into,” Kilday said. Students advance from form 4 to two years of university then a profession. Students who don’t pass the exam can still get a good job, or they can pay to repeat forms 1 and 2 and try again. Photos courtesy of Kilday. #macsummerknights2019 #tanzania #gla #globalleadershipadventures @glateens
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    TEACHING IN TANZANIA: Rising junior Naeda Kilday told MacJournalism she has a greater appreciation for her teachers after she spent three weeks in Tanzania teaching English to local fifth- and sixth-graders on a Global Leadership Adventure experience. “I got to see how much work really goes into being a teacher,” said Kilday, who planned her own lessons during a designated lesson planning time each day. “It was a lot of hard work especially with the language barrier, but when I had a student who understood what I was teaching, it was all worth it.” She recalled one particularly memorable lesson toward the end of her stay. “I was teaching about nouns, verbs and adjectives, and all of the students were struggling and didn’t understand it,” Kilday said. Just when the lesson appeared to be a bust, however, a shy girl who hadn’t spoken much to that point raised her hand and called Kilday over to her desk, so she could check her work.“She did all the work right and really understood it,” Kilday said. “That was probably my favorite [classroom] moment.” In addition to teaching, (7) Kilday also helped to refurbish a second classroom by sanding and painting the walls. When she wasn’t working in the classroom, she enjoyed a chance to enjoy Tanzania’s culture and natural resources. She went on a safari, hiked part of Mount Kilimanjaro and shopped in local markets. (10) She and her nine colleagues from all across the U.S. also participated in a cultural exchange with local high school students from Tanzania. “[High school] is very different there,” Kilday said. “Instead of grades, there are different ‘forms’ you have to go through.” Students take an exam at the end of form 2 in order to advance to the upper forms. “Three and 4 are like an extensive high school, which is really hard to get into,” Kilday said. Students advance from form 4 to two years of university then a profession. Students who don’t pass the exam can still get a good job, or they can pay to repeat forms 1 and 2 and try again. Photos courtesy of Kilday. #macsummerknights2019 #tanzania #gla #globalleadershipadventures @glateens
  • POSTING FOR POSTERS: At last night's Red Carpet Preview Night, media interns Rebekah Wood and Emily Robinett encourage audience members to promote the upcoming @austinisd Summer Theatre Series by posting messages to their social media accounts with the hashtag, #aisdsummertheatre. Before awarding signed cast posters to the raffle winners from those who promoted the show, Wood and Robinett shared that their positive experience as high school cast members in in @aisdsummertheatre shows led them to come back in their current roles as media interns in order to stay involved and help grow the program. The series opens next Thursday with the debut performance of In the Heights, which runs through Sunday. Disney's Aladdin: Dual Language Edition starts its four-show run on July 25. There are also two shows of Take Five: Shifting Perspectives on (Dis)Ability, directed by Noah Messer, on July 27 and 28. For show times and tickets, visit the @aisdsummertheatre Insta account and click the link in their bio. #aisdproud #summertheatre #austintx #atx
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    POSTING FOR POSTERS: At last night's Red Carpet Preview Night, media interns Rebekah Wood and Emily Robinett encourage audience members to promote the upcoming @austinisd Summer Theatre Series by posting messages to their social media accounts with the hashtag, #aisdsummertheatre. Before awarding signed cast posters to the raffle winners from those who promoted the show, Wood and Robinett shared that their positive experience as high school cast members in in @aisdsummertheatre shows led them to come back in their current roles as media interns in order to stay involved and help grow the program. The series opens next Thursday with the debut performance of In the Heights, which runs through Sunday. Disney's Aladdin: Dual Language Edition starts its four-show run on July 25. There are also two shows of Take Five: Shifting Perspectives on (Dis)Ability, directed by Noah Messer, on July 27 and 28. For show times and tickets, visit the @aisdsummertheatre Insta account and click the link in their bio. #aisdproud #summertheatre #austintx #atx