• In case you missed this change, @austinisd has changed Friday from an asynchronous day to a regular A Day.
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    In case you missed this change, @austinisd has changed Friday from an asynchronous day to a regular A Day.
  • Principal Nicole Griffith sent out an email to McCallum students and families last Sunday announcing a new final waiver policy.  The number of final exams students can waive varies by grade level. Freshmen can exempt one exam, and seniors can exempt up to eight in the spring semester. Grades, attendance and behavior also factor into whether students are eligible to opt out of their finals; students must have at least a 70 average, 90 percent attendance and no serious behavioral issues. If students opt out of a final, the exam grade will be replaced with the average of their three grading-period final averages, and they will be expected to complete an alternative assignment.  The waiver policy does not extend to ACC and On-Ramps classes. Students in year-long AP classes will not be allowed to opt out of their fall-semester final exams.  English teacher Diana Adamson was one of the teachers who volunteered to be on the committee that created the waiver policy. Adamson is hopeful that the policy will help students improve their attendance. “What I think we are hoping to achieve is to bring the attendance up—maybe for some of the kids who don't attend class as regularly as they should—thus, allowing them better grades and maybe more choices after high school,” Adamson said.  Freshman Beatrix McDaniel is excited about the new final waiver policy. While she claims her first high-school finals week ran smoothly because she was online, she believes that taking finals in person will inevitably be more stressful. “It [the final waiver policy] is a good opportunity because final exams can cause a lot of stress,” McDaniel said. “This could be a really good thing.” Adamson is also optimistic about how this new waiver policy will serve McCallum students now and into the future.  “There is never going to be a perfect fit for everyone, and I think this is fair and solid,” Adamson said. “The district exam weight is really high, and the longer I teach, the more I realize that having to earn 25 percent of your entire semester grade in one two-hour sitting is overwhelming. It is an endurance thing rather than a learning thing.” Caption by Alysa Spiro. Photo by Will Tyree.
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    Principal Nicole Griffith sent out an email to McCallum students and families last Sunday announcing a new final waiver policy.  The number of final exams students can waive varies by grade level. Freshmen can exempt one exam, and seniors can exempt up to eight in the spring semester. Grades, attendance and behavior also factor into whether students are eligible to opt out of their finals; students must have at least a 70 average, 90 percent attendance and no serious behavioral issues. If students opt out of a final, the exam grade will be replaced with the average of their three grading-period final averages, and they will be expected to complete an alternative assignment.  The waiver policy does not extend to ACC and On-Ramps classes. Students in year-long AP classes will not be allowed to opt out of their fall-semester final exams.  English teacher Diana Adamson was one of the teachers who volunteered to be on the committee that created the waiver policy. Adamson is hopeful that the policy will help students improve their attendance. “What I think we are hoping to achieve is to bring the attendance up—maybe for some of the kids who don't attend class as regularly as they should—thus, allowing them better grades and maybe more choices after high school,” Adamson said.  Freshman Beatrix McDaniel is excited about the new final waiver policy. While she claims her first high-school finals week ran smoothly because she was online, she believes that taking finals in person will inevitably be more stressful. “It [the final waiver policy] is a good opportunity because final exams can cause a lot of stress,” McDaniel said. “This could be a really good thing.” Adamson is also optimistic about how this new waiver policy will serve McCallum students now and into the future.  “There is never going to be a perfect fit for everyone, and I think this is fair and solid,” Adamson said. “The district exam weight is really high, and the longer I teach, the more I realize that having to earn 25 percent of your entire semester grade in one two-hour sitting is overwhelming. It is an endurance thing rather than a learning thing.” Caption by Alysa Spiro. Photo by Will Tyree.
  • Tired of bad news on your Instagram feed? Well, we have the cure for you. @austin_monthly and @txst have teamed up to create the Thank a Teacher Contest, encouraging community members to nominate outstanding teachers from the entire Austin area. There were 184 nominations throughout all grade levels, and no fewer than 10 of the metro Austin nominees are Mac teachers: Anderson, Hutcheson, Moore, Nelson, Pew, Angie Seckar-Martinez, Amy Smith, Travis, Wachsmann and Wood. That's amazing. The teacher who receives the most votes wins $500, but this showing is already a victory for the Maculty and the community that supports it. You can vote for these amazing teachers at austinmonthly.com/thank-a-teacher-contest/.
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    Tired of bad news on your Instagram feed? Well, we have the cure for you. @austin_monthly and @txst have teamed up to create the Thank a Teacher Contest, encouraging community members to nominate outstanding teachers from the entire Austin area. There were 184 nominations throughout all grade levels, and no fewer than 10 of the metro Austin nominees are Mac teachers: Anderson, Hutcheson, Moore, Nelson, Pew, Angie Seckar-Martinez, Amy Smith, Travis, Wachsmann and Wood. That's amazing. The teacher who receives the most votes wins $500, but this showing is already a victory for the Maculty and the community that supports it. You can vote for these amazing teachers at austinmonthly.com/thank-a-teacher-contest/.
  • GETTING THE BAND BACK TOGETHER: Yesterday evening marked the first in-person concert rehearsal for the Mac band since March of 2020, with sectionals held to prepare the group’s UIL competition pieces. The practice was optional for all band students and included instrument-specific masks, temperature checks and seating spaced six feet apart to ensure students’ safety. For seniors such as clarinet player Kyle Davis, these rehearsals allow a chance to finish off high school back in the band hall. “It felt super reassuring to be honest,” Davis said. “My favorite part of the experience was being able to walk through the halls of the band hall after practice and just act like everything was normal again and it was just the end to another wonderful day at Mac… It felt like I was back at home.” Photos by Dave Winter, reporting by Madelynn Niles.
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    GETTING THE BAND BACK TOGETHER: Yesterday evening marked the first in-person concert rehearsal for the Mac band since March of 2020, with sectionals held to prepare the group’s UIL competition pieces. The practice was optional for all band students and included instrument-specific masks, temperature checks and seating spaced six feet apart to ensure students’ safety. For seniors such as clarinet player Kyle Davis, these rehearsals allow a chance to finish off high school back in the band hall. “It felt super reassuring to be honest,” Davis said. “My favorite part of the experience was being able to walk through the halls of the band hall after practice and just act like everything was normal again and it was just the end to another wonderful day at Mac… It felt like I was back at home.” Photos by Dave Winter, reporting by Madelynn Niles.
  • In response to Gov. Greg Abbott's press conference earlier today announcing he was lifting a statewide mask mandate with an executive order, @austinisd superintendent Dr. Stephanie S. Elizalde has released a statement tonight that the district's mandatory mask policy will remain in place. #covid_19
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    In response to Gov. Greg Abbott's press conference earlier today announcing he was lifting a statewide mask mandate with an executive order, @austinisd superintendent Dr. Stephanie S. Elizalde has released a statement tonight that the district's mandatory mask policy will remain in place. #covid_19
  • By executive order today, Gov. Greg Abbott lifted the mask mandate in Texas and increased the capacity of all businesses and facilities in the state to 100 percent.  At a press conference at Montelongo's Mexican Restaurant in Lubbock in which he addressed the Lubbock Chamber of Commerce, Abbott said the state’s effort to vaccinate citizens played a large role in his decision. Nearly 5.7 million vaccine shots have been administered to Texans, he said, and the state is now administering almost 1 million shots each week. By next Wednesday, he said, about 7 million shots will have been administered in Texas and over half of seniors in Texas will have received a vaccine shot.  He also touted the state’s ability to test for COVID rapidly and the preventative habits of citizens as further reasons to justify the executive order. The order allows a county judge to enact mitigation COVID measures if any of the 22 hospital regions in Texas experiences COVID-19 hospitalizations of 15 percent or higher. Judges may not impose jail time for failing to wear a mask nor may they restrict capacity of any institution to less than 50 percent.
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    By executive order today, Gov. Greg Abbott lifted the mask mandate in Texas and increased the capacity of all businesses and facilities in the state to 100 percent.  At a press conference at Montelongo's Mexican Restaurant in Lubbock in which he addressed the Lubbock Chamber of Commerce, Abbott said the state’s effort to vaccinate citizens played a large role in his decision. Nearly 5.7 million vaccine shots have been administered to Texans, he said, and the state is now administering almost 1 million shots each week. By next Wednesday, he said, about 7 million shots will have been administered in Texas and over half of seniors in Texas will have received a vaccine shot.  He also touted the state’s ability to test for COVID rapidly and the preventative habits of citizens as further reasons to justify the executive order. The order allows a county judge to enact mitigation COVID measures if any of the 22 hospital regions in Texas experiences COVID-19 hospitalizations of 15 percent or higher. Judges may not impose jail time for failing to wear a mask nor may they restrict capacity of any institution to less than 50 percent.
  • The boys swim team concluded an outstanding season with a strong showing Saturday at the @uiltexas 5A Swimming and Diving State Meet at the Bill Walker Pool and Josh Davis Natatorium in San Antonio. With only four swimmers (and two alternates) at the event, the boys of @swimccallum placed 14th in the state in a 66-team field at the event. “This is a year they will not likely forget,” swim coach Jeff Rudy said. “I couldn’t be prouder of each of them.” Seniors Izak Zaplatar and Jack Hester both made the finals in an individual event. Zaplatar placed seventh in the 100-yard breaststroke in a time of 58.10. In the final, he shaved more than half a second off his qualifying time. Hester placed eighth in the 50-yard freestyle in a time of 21.50. He also bettered his prelim time in his finals swim, missing his own team record in the event by a mere .04 seconds. The two swimmers also competed in a second individual event at state. Hester won the consolation final in the 100-yard freestyle, posting a new personal best and team record of 47.01 in the final. Zaplatar finished 12th in the 200-yard IM advancing one spot from his prelims ranking with a 1:57.27, a new personal best in the event. The boys 200-yard medley relay team of senior Kyle Larson (backstroke), Zaplatar (breaststroke), sophomore Luke Gordon (butterfly) and Hester (freestyle) won the consolation final to place ninth in the state. They moved up one spot from their prelims ranking by improving their time by 0.73 seconds to post a 1:38.73 in the final. “I couldn’t be prouder of each of them,” Rudy said. “I am looking forward to our girls swimming here in a few days.” The girls meet is this Saturday also at the Bill Walker Pool and Josh Davis Natatorium. Senior Madi Baylor is competing in the 50-yard freestyle, and junior Zoe Lynch is competing in the 100-yard breastroke. Photos courtesy of Coach Rudy. #txhsswim #txhsswimming #MACswim #MACswimming #KnightTime
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    The boys swim team concluded an outstanding season with a strong showing Saturday at the @uiltexas 5A Swimming and Diving State Meet at the Bill Walker Pool and Josh Davis Natatorium in San Antonio. With only four swimmers (and two alternates) at the event, the boys of @swimccallum placed 14th in the state in a 66-team field at the event. “This is a year they will not likely forget,” swim coach Jeff Rudy said. “I couldn’t be prouder of each of them.” Seniors Izak Zaplatar and Jack Hester both made the finals in an individual event. Zaplatar placed seventh in the 100-yard breaststroke in a time of 58.10. In the final, he shaved more than half a second off his qualifying time. Hester placed eighth in the 50-yard freestyle in a time of 21.50. He also bettered his prelim time in his finals swim, missing his own team record in the event by a mere .04 seconds. The two swimmers also competed in a second individual event at state. Hester won the consolation final in the 100-yard freestyle, posting a new personal best and team record of 47.01 in the final. Zaplatar finished 12th in the 200-yard IM advancing one spot from his prelims ranking with a 1:57.27, a new personal best in the event. The boys 200-yard medley relay team of senior Kyle Larson (backstroke), Zaplatar (breaststroke), sophomore Luke Gordon (butterfly) and Hester (freestyle) won the consolation final to place ninth in the state. They moved up one spot from their prelims ranking by improving their time by 0.73 seconds to post a 1:38.73 in the final. “I couldn’t be prouder of each of them,” Rudy said. “I am looking forward to our girls swimming here in a few days.” The girls meet is this Saturday also at the Bill Walker Pool and Josh Davis Natatorium. Senior Madi Baylor is competing in the 50-yard freestyle, and junior Zoe Lynch is competing in the 100-yard breastroke. Photos courtesy of Coach Rudy. #txhsswim #txhsswimming #MACswim #MACswimming #KnightTime
  • The @mhs_bluebrigade competed at the Central Texas Dance Festival in Georgetown on Saturday and won multiple awards. In a normal year, those awards might be the primary focus of a post like this one, but as we have long been aware, this is not a normal year. In this pandemic school year, just dancing at an in-person competition at all as a team was its own victory. “To me, the contest isn’t all about winning, especially this year,” junior lieutenant Charli Cevallos said. “It was more about spending as much time with the team as we can and working hard together to perform dances we love.”  That was doubly true for the seniors who, in returning to Georgetown’s East View High School, came full circle.  East View was the site of the first competition they entered as freshman four years ago. “We have had a lot of events get canceled this year due to COVID and weather inconveniences, but being able to be out there dancing to an audience with my Blue Brigade family meant so much to me,” senior co-captain Addie Seckar-Martinez said. “I always tell the team to go out there and just have fun and that’s exactly what we did.” The team elected not to enter any full team events in person and instead entered only ensembles, duets and solos. The day before, the team met in the gym and recorded team dances to enter in virtual competitions later in the year. Saturday at East View, McCallum swept all three top awards in the duet category for large schools. Sisters and senior lieutenants Andrea and Valentina Paredes finished first, co-captains Seckar-Martinez and Matthew Vargas placed second and juniors Elise Crouse and Anna Schlett placed third. “Andrea and I have always wanted to do a duet because we love to dance together,” Valentina told MacJournalism. “Our duet was about us growing up and reminiscing our moments together when we were younger.” She said they were nervous before performing but also happy to be dancing together and grateful to have won first place. Vargas had another multiple-award day in a Blue Brigade career filled with them. Caption continues on reply.
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    The @mhs_bluebrigade competed at the Central Texas Dance Festival in Georgetown on Saturday and won multiple awards. In a normal year, those awards might be the primary focus of a post like this one, but as we have long been aware, this is not a normal year. In this pandemic school year, just dancing at an in-person competition at all as a team was its own victory. “To me, the contest isn’t all about winning, especially this year,” junior lieutenant Charli Cevallos said. “It was more about spending as much time with the team as we can and working hard together to perform dances we love.”  That was doubly true for the seniors who, in returning to Georgetown’s East View High School, came full circle.  East View was the site of the first competition they entered as freshman four years ago. “We have had a lot of events get canceled this year due to COVID and weather inconveniences, but being able to be out there dancing to an audience with my Blue Brigade family meant so much to me,” senior co-captain Addie Seckar-Martinez said. “I always tell the team to go out there and just have fun and that’s exactly what we did.” The team elected not to enter any full team events in person and instead entered only ensembles, duets and solos. The day before, the team met in the gym and recorded team dances to enter in virtual competitions later in the year. Saturday at East View, McCallum swept all three top awards in the duet category for large schools. Sisters and senior lieutenants Andrea and Valentina Paredes finished first, co-captains Seckar-Martinez and Matthew Vargas placed second and juniors Elise Crouse and Anna Schlett placed third. “Andrea and I have always wanted to do a duet because we love to dance together,” Valentina told MacJournalism. “Our duet was about us growing up and reminiscing our moments together when we were younger.” She said they were nervous before performing but also happy to be dancing together and grateful to have won first place. Vargas had another multiple-award day in a Blue Brigade career filled with them. Caption continues on reply.
  • We will be holding portraits on campus for students in grades 9-11 on March 4 and 5 from 9-4.    Use the link in our bio to sign-up for your appointment. Students will have their portrait taken at their appointment time, and will only need to be on campus during that time.    Pictures will be taken in the SMALL GYM. Students will report to the main entrance on Sunshine Drive for health screening and then follow signs to the Small Gym.  Exit Small Gym through outside doors to Sunshine Drive. Students will not have access to any other area of the building.   COVID Safety Procedures will be followed. Please wear a mask into the building keeping 6ft social distance.  Mask will be removed for the actual picture.   These portraits will be featured in the 2021 McCallum yearbook. For families who do not wish to have their portrait taken on campus, please be on the look out for an email with instructions to submit a portrait of your own for the yearbook.
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    We will be holding portraits on campus for students in grades 9-11 on March 4 and 5 from 9-4.    Use the link in our bio to sign-up for your appointment. Students will have their portrait taken at their appointment time, and will only need to be on campus during that time.    Pictures will be taken in the SMALL GYM. Students will report to the main entrance on Sunshine Drive for health screening and then follow signs to the Small Gym.  Exit Small Gym through outside doors to Sunshine Drive. Students will not have access to any other area of the building.   COVID Safety Procedures will be followed. Please wear a mask into the building keeping 6ft social distance.  Mask will be removed for the actual picture.   These portraits will be featured in the 2021 McCallum yearbook. For families who do not wish to have their portrait taken on campus, please be on the look out for an email with instructions to submit a portrait of your own for the yearbook.