I want to take a moment to acknowledge something important that I regret missing last week—National Library Week. While the dates may have passed, the gratitude we feel for our library and the incredible staff who run it deserves recognition every day. Our library is so much more than a place to check out books—it's a true hub of our school community. Whether it's offering a quiet, welcoming space to study or unwind, helping students navigate research, or keeping our school connected through essential tech support for Chromebooks, our librarians do it all. The library also provides valuable resources like our clothes closet, the prom swap, and the maker space—just a few examples of how it supports students in creative, practical, and meaningful ways. Simply put, our school would not be the same without their dedication and care.

We are now at the first progress report period for the 4th nine weeks of school year. This is a great opportunity for students to gauge how they are doing in each of their classes. For those who may be struggling, I encourage our students to take advantage of our FIT (Flexible Instructional Time) system to get the extra help they need. I also want to remind all students to continue putting forth their best effort and to reach out to their teachers if they have questions or need support. Our staff is here to help every student succeed.

Here are a few other items that came across my desk this week:

• The McCallum Orchestra competed at the UIL Concert and Sightreading Contest, and they turned in an amazing performance! All three groups recieved superior marks in both the concert and sight reading portion. Congratulations to Mr. Pringle Ms. Elder and all of our talented students for their hard work and impressive achievements!

• McCallum Theatre Troupe Advances to REGIONALS - Congratulations to our UIL One Act Play cast and crew for advancing to the Regional level competition with their moving and powerful rendition of Cicada! This is the first time our One Act Play has made it to the regional level in at least 20 years. We are so proud of our students and directors. Break a leg a Houston!

• Congratulations to all three of our concert bands who earned First Division ratings in both Concert and Sightreading at UIL recently — earning yet another UIL Sweepstakes year for the MAC Band! Our Band's continued success is a testament to the hard work, talent, and dedication of our student musicians and directors. Thank you to Ms. Nelson, Mr. Junkin, Mr. Pride and Mr. Rudy for your standard of excellence throughout the years.

• Seniors who attended Davis Elementary: Calling all Davis Elementary alumni! You are invited to attend our Senior Walk on Tuesday, May 27th, at 8am.  Seniors should arrive by 7:45am to check in wearing their graduaiton regalia.

•  Senior Walks for students who attended an elementary school within the McCallum vertical team will be held on Monday, May 19th. I will include more information on these walks in a future update.

  • McCallum Vertical Team:

    • Blackshear Elementary School

    • Brentwood Elementary School

    • Campbell Elementary School

    • Gullett Elementary School

    • Highland Park Elementary School

    • Lee Elementary School

    • Maplewood Elementary School

    • Oak Springs Elementary School

    • Reilly Elementary School

    • Ridgetop Elementary School

• Monday April 14th head out to Amy's ice cream on Burnet after school (4-8pm) to support MAC sports medicine! Mention MAC sports med when you check out and we will get a portion of the profits! Thanks!

• This past week, our track and field athletes competed at the Area Meet and represented our school with heart and determination. I am proud to announce that two of our athletes placed in the top 4, earning a spot at the upcoming Regional Meet!

  • Luke Dunham placed 3rd in the High Jump

  • Julia Lentz placed 4th in the 800 Meter Run

  • Congratulations on this incredible achievement, and best of luck at the Regional Meet.

Friday A/B Rotation

• Friday, April 18th is a student holiday

• Friday, April 25th will be an A Day

Calendar Highlights

• Tuesday, April 15th, Campus Architectural Team Community Meeting, Time 5 pm, this will provide an update on the 2022 bond projects including timelines for completion and the latest architectural renderings.

• Friday, April 18th, Student Holiday/Staff Development, Front office will be open on an adjusted schedule.

• Monday, May 5th, CAC and PTSA meeting. CAC will start at 5:30 pm.

• Tuesday, May 13th, Trustee Awards Knight in the MAC Theater

• Friday, May 30th, Class of 2025 Graduation - 10 am at the Toney Burger Activity Center, doors open at 9 am.

Round Table Preview (included as part of the 2nd block class [2/6]) Begins at 10:41 am

• Mon 4/14: Academic Advising

• Tue 4/15: NO ROUND TABLE LESSON for EOCs

• Mon 4/21: Academic Advising

• Tue 4/22: NO ROUND TABLE LESSON

Flexible Instructional Time (FIT).

• Week of April 14-18

  • FIT sessions on Wednesday and Thursday.

• Week of April 21-25

  • We will have FIT sessions on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday

This week I received two RAVE awards, heralding the amazing efforts of a member of our staff.

• Natalie Uehara - I have a child on the spectrum in her first year at McCallum. Ms. Nat has been so wonderful. She has gone above and beyond in every way possible to make my child, and every other child that crosses her path, feel included, important and valued. My child was scared to sing and dance in front of the class but Ms. Nat worked tirelessly with her to help build her confidence and trust. In just a few months my child had the confidence to audition for and receive a spot as a cast member of the McCallum musical! Ms. Nat is not only a wonderful person but one of those once in a lifetime teachers my child will remember with love and respect forever.

• Larry Featherstone - I appreciate Mr. Featherstone’s leadership at McCallum HS. He has the ability to relate to teenagers while balancing the academic and behavioral expectations appropriate for a Mac community member. Thank you, Mr. Featherstone!

I would love to hear more about the teachers or staff members who make a difference in your child’s life. Please take a moment to recognize their contributions using this link; AISD RAVE. 

Teacher Appreciation Week is May 5-9th, so McCallum PTSA has put together fun events and activities to shower our teachers with love and thanks!

We would love your help to make Wednesday extra special with a gift that will carry teachers till the end of the year...let's stock the Teacher's Lounge! Donate non-perishable individual snacks and canned drinks to the office now until May 5th. And on Friday, May 9th, we are asking all students and parents to send notes of appreciation, gifts, flowers, and/or treats to your kids' teachers.

Thank you for supporting our awesome teachers and staff!

Use the QR code below to sign up to donate snacks and drink:

The Gullett Elementary Alumni Scholarship is awarding $1,000 to a graduating AISD senior who once walked the halls of Gullett Elementary! This scholarship recognizes students who have excelled in academics and extracurriculars, and who demonstrate a strong ambition to continue their education beyond high school.

Our goal is to support and celebrate our alumni as they take the next step in their academic journey—while continuing to build the lasting bond between Gullett and its graduates.

Do you know a graduating senior who attended Gullett? Please help us spread the word!

Deadline to apply is May 2, but early submissions are encouraged.
Application link: Gullett Alumni Scholarship Application

Let’s cheer on our Geckos as they reach for their future!

This month marks the beginning of the STAAR End of Course (EOC) exams for our students. Over the next month, we will administer five important exams:

• English I on April 8th, with make-up tests on April 10th.

• English II on April 9th, with make-up tests on April 10th.

• Biology & US History on April 15th, with make-up tests on April 16th.

• Algebra I on April 22nd, with make-up tests on April 23rd.

Students will need to bring their charged Chromebooks with them on the day of their EOC exams.

Please take a moment to talk to your students about the importance of giving their best effort on these exams. Passing these tests is not only a graduation requirement, but student performance also plays a key role in our school’s accountability rating. We know McCallum is a special place, and I want our test results to reflect the incredible potential of our students and the hard work of our amazing staff.

Let’s show everyone what we’re capable of!

Join the McCallum Art Society and The City of Austin for Tree Tales: A Canvas of Nature, an art gallery opening celebrating the beauty of trees. Stop by on Thursday, April 17th, from 5–7 PM at the Mac Theatre for an evening of captivating art, free food and drinks, jazz music, and inspiring guest speakers. Experience nature’s stories through art!

The McCallum Youth Dance Company presents their student directed concert, "The Art of Being," on Thursday April 24th & Friday April 25th, at 7pm at the McCallum Arts Center. The concert is completely student directed & choreographed! Tickets can be purchased using the QR codes on the posters around campus. We hope to see you there!

The School Health Advisory Committee (SHAC) is a school board appointed advisory group of individuals who represent different segments of the community. By law, a majority of the members must be persons who are parents of students enrolled in the district and who are not employed by the district. The AISD SHAC is made up of parents, community members, students, and school staff working together to improve the health of all students and families through coordinated school health programs. Texas law requires all school districts to have a SHAC. The SHAC holds monthly meetings on the third Wednesday of every month with the exception of December and July. The meetings are from 6:00PM to 7:30PM. The meetings are held either on the 2nd floor of the AISD Headquarters Building located at 4000 S. I-H 35 Frontage Rd. Austin, TX 78704 or virtually.  

SHAC Meeting Dates and Locations

Thank you for taking the time to read the weekend update! At McCallum, we are always striving to improve, and I truly value the input of our parents and students. If you have any concerns or suggestions on how we can make McCallum an even better place, I encourage you to reach out. Your feedback is invaluable! Together, we can continue to make McCallum a place where every student thrives.

Congratulations to our exceptional Scholastic National Award Recipients!

• Conor Coco Gray – Gold Medal and American Visions Award (only 150 students in the nation received the American Visions Award with a scholarship) for "Don't Touch My Hair," Linoleum Print.

• Ruijia Xiong – Gold Medal for "A Day of Confusion," Watercolor and Colored Pencil.

• Stella Proctor – Honorable Mention Portfolio for "I Dream in Technicolor," Mixed Media.

These remarkable works were reviewed at the national level in New York City by panels of creative professionals. National medalists will be honored at an award ceremony at Carnegie Hall in June. We are incredibly proud of their achievements and wish them the best in the upcoming celebration!

For the third year in a row, McCallum won the District 24-5A Academic Meet, and 29 students qualified for the UIL Region 3-5A Meet April 26 in College Station. 

At the district competition held on Saturday March 29, McCallum students scored a total of 728 points to win the district title in decisive fashion ahead of second-place LASA (280) and third-place Bastrop (182). As part of the event, the speech and debate team defended its district title, easily outscoring second-place Bastrop and third-place LASA. The journalism team earned its fifth straight district title dating back to the pandemic, finishing ahead of second-place Bastrop and third-place Crockett. 

In addition to winning the meet, McCallum hosted it on campus for the first time in more than a decade. Congrats to meet director Vaughn Stockton for hosting a successful event and to the volunteer teachers and students without whom the academic meet could not have happened.

On Friday March 21, the Columbia Scholastic Press Association announced that the Shield was one of 15 newspaper programs nationwide to win a CSPA Gold Crown Award in the hybrid news category. The Crown Awards are the highest recognition given by the CSPA to a student print or digital medium for overall excellence.The hybrid news category includes a school’s print and online newspaper.

It is the third straight year that the Shield has earned a hybrid news Gold Crown. The Shield earned Silver Crown Awards from 2016 through 2022 then earned the first Gold Crown in school history in 2023.

Other recent good news:

On Sunday, March 9, the Southern Interscholastic Press Association announced that the Shield had won a 2025 Scroggins Award for its print newspaper. The Scroggins Award is SIPA’s highest honor. The Shield print newspaper has won a Scroggins Award the past three years. In 2022, the Shield won the first Scroggins Award in program history for its online newspaper. The Shield also earned a total of 65 SIPA individual awards in the association’s Best Writing and Best Media contests.

On Friday, March 28, the Texas Association of Journalism Educators announced that Shield journalists had earned a total of 137 individual awards in the TAJE Best in Texas News and Broadcast Awards.

As part of our ongoing efforts to evaluate and improve the academic experience at McCallum, we are exploring the possibility of adjusting the way we rank our students. Specifically, we are considering a move to only rank students who fall in the top 10% of their graduating class, with students outside of that range not receiving an official class rank.

This potential shift follows the example set by four other AISD campuses—Austin High, Anderson High, LASA, and Ann Richards—that have already made the transition to an unranked system. We believe this change could provide a more equitable approach to ranking and better reflect the diverse strengths of our students.

Importantly, students who would like to know their class rank will still have access to it, regardless of whether they fall within the top 10%. This ensures that students can still apply for awards, scholarships, or other opportunities that require the disclosure of class rank.

To ensure we make an informed decision, we want to hear from you, our McCallum families. I have included the impact study completed by our staff, which outlines the potential effects of this change on our students and the overall academic culture. Please take a moment to review this information and share your thoughts.

If you haven’t yet, we encourage you to complete our brief survey, and we want to thank those who have already shared their feedback. Your input is invaluable as we work together to make the best decision for our students.

We are thrilled to announce the McCallum Fine Arts Academy has received 7 nominations for the Heller Awards for Young Artists for our outstanding performance of Tuck Everlasting!

Our nominations are:

• Best Choreography

• Lighting Design

• Best Technical Execution

• Best Scenic Design

• Best Featured Ensemble – Elora Clarke & Aydan Courtney

• Best Lead Female – Delilah Grad

The Heller Awards ceremony will be held at the Long Center on April 16th, and we couldn’t be more proud of our talented students and faculty. Best of luck to all of our nominees—your hard work and dedication have truly paid off!

Let's continue to support our amazing Fine Arts program as they shine!

Senior Parents! Donate NOW to Sponsor a Senior for Project Graduation!

The Sponsor a Senior Project Graduation Fundraiser is well under way, but we still need help to reach our goal of $25,000.00.

What is Project Graduation?

It is fully community funded and funds go to celebrate the Senior class of 2025! Things like a Senior Carnival and Breakfast, as well as providing UBER codes for a safe ride home after prom and graduation are funded through this group! The hope is that each family donates $125.00 for their senior, but ANY amount helps!  The new tally is 80 families donating so far, with donations ranging from $25 to $1,250!! If you haven't donated yet, here's the link. or you can drop off a check at the Mac office in an envelope marked "Project Graduation!" Help us reach the $20K mark this week!  

As promised, we will continue offering final exam waivers for this semester, but with a couple of important modifications. In order to qualify for the waiver program, students must now maintain 90% attendance in all of their classes. Additionally, students will need to have a minimum 80 average in any class for which they wish to use a waiver. These changes are aimed at encouraging consistent attendance and academic performance, ensuring that students are fully engaged in their learning throughout the semester. We appreciate your understanding and cooperation as we work to support student success!