August 2023

Profile of a Highlander

Earlier this month, Thomas MacLaren School welcomed over 950 students to its K-12 campus. With a new school year comes new classes, new friends, and an invitation to grow, not just in academics, but in the qualities that define a Highlander. In these early days of the school year, students hear a lot about the ways they help make MacLaren a place of kindness, friendliness, and peace. Beyond a school mascot, or class identity, Highlanders are known for the ways they practice goodness together.

Whether assisting with campus clean-up, diving into math homework, or practicing orchestra scales, MacLaren's students demonstrate integrity through hard work. But that is only part of the story. As a community growing to be fully human, Highlanders work hard and play hard. Lower School students can be found forging new friendships through play before school on the plaza and through twice-daily recess breaks on the playground. Upper School students similarly enjoy the balance that encouraging play brings. High school lunch break is often filled with groups playing basketball or volleyball, and regular socials provide opportunities for a friendly game of nine-square or a dance-off. 

Another mark of integrity among MacLaren's students is the practice of treating others with courtesy and respect. As new coach to MacLaren's boys' and girls' high school volleyball program, Merissa Fleming was delighted to experience the Highlander way. She explains, "Every game, someone would comment on how kind and respectful MacLaren players are. Line judges would say, 'thank you for being such a good team.' MacLaren players thank the referees after a game. The boys began shaking hands with us after every practice. Many of the girls will make it a point to thank us for practice."

This commitment to integrity is also demonstrated by parents, students, and staff alike, who embody learning for its own sake. One such opportunity is through after-school clubs, which bring students and adult volunteers together to pursue a shared interest such as photography or swing dancing.

Generous people look for ways to contribute to the world around them. At MacLaren, Highlanders grow in generosity by speaking good things about the people around us and thinking about the needs of others.

As Upper School students gathered for their back-to-school orientation, they engaged in an intentional exercise to build up their classmates. After the class discussed some of their hopes for the school year, students took turns expressing appreciation for another classmate. Senior Lance Johnson explains, "Our class has been together since sixth grade. Honoring one another was a great way to stay connected. It really meant something to hear a classmate say nice things about you." Senior Liv Ruth shares, "No matter who you were assigned [to honor], you know enough about them to say something meaningful. Your classmates know and appreciate you."

Upper School students also have opportunities to serve younger students with generosity. Each spring, Upper School students meet with fifth graders to assist them in making instrument selections for their move to the Upper School. Putting themselves in the shoes of their younger counterparts, Upper School students demonstrate how to play their instrument, give fifth graders a chance to try their instrument, and answer questions about what it's like to play in the orchestra.

The idea of community evokes a sense of belonging, connection, and shared experience. The Highlander commitments to work toward the good order of our classrooms, our buildings, and our playgrounds, and to take pride in our work and our school, was on full display at the annual Campus Cleanup. Parents, staff, students, and even a few grandparents, rallied to complete a variety of campus beautification projects–together.

One of the largest efforts was to spread forty-five cubic yards of playground mulch across three playgrounds, providing a soft landing for student play. MacLaren's Facility Manager, James Armijo, explains, "These parents and kids just jumped in and finished the job in an hour and forty-five minutes. It would have taken our team weeks to accomplish that."

Mr. Armijo observed families working alongside each other, some even bringing wheelbarrows, shovels, and other tools to serve. Armijo continues, "I can't say enough about the group that came and the work they did. They were so gracious with their time. I could not be any more grateful."

Highlanders work to build community in a variety of ways. Interactive seminar-style class discussion and benchmark class experiences–such as drama performances in sixth, eleventh, and twelfth grades–help foster student connection and class bonding.

Whether befriending new classmates at the Back to School Social (K-12 event), welcoming incoming freshman to high school socials at the Party on the Plaza (ninth-twelfth grade event), or enjoying the Senior Sunrise (twelfth grade event), Highlanders display a commitment to be friendly, welcoming, and to include others.

Our Vision

We believe all students should be immersed in the best our tradition has to offer. We believe all students can be active and useful participants in the ongoing and enduring conversation that is a vibrant civilization. We believe all students can be formed in a habitual vision of greatness that makes lifelong learners of the doctor and the mechanic, the homemaker and the professor. Thomas MacLaren School strives to build a lasting community of learners in which each student is the agent of his or her education.



Our Mission

From the seminar to the science lab, from the music room to the playing field, we begin with the conviction that all human beings can know truth, create beauty and practice goodness. To that end, we expect students to develop basic tools of learning, ordered basic knowledge, moral seriousness, breadth and depth of imagination, artistic ability and sensitivity, and a sense of wonder.

We believe all students can be active and useful participants in the ongoing and enduring conversation that is a vibrant civilization. Jacques Maritain, the French philosopher, described education as a human awakening. The goal of Thomas MacLaren School is to develop young men and women who are fully human and fully awake to the world.