Highlander Gymnastics Team Wins Liberty District Championship!

McLean Boys Swim & Dive Win District Championship!

McLean Quiz Bowl Wins Regional Championship!

McLean Orchestra's German Adventure!

Last week, the McLean Philharmonic Orchestra traveled to Detmold, Germany to participate in their annual exchange program with the Grabbe Gymnasium. While in Germany, students played side-by-side rehearsals with the Detmold Youth Orchestra daily, while also sightseeing and learning about German history and culture. Students were welcomed to Detmold with visits by both the Mayor and Prince of Lippe, both of which educated students on the region’s rich history of music. The small city of Detmold is most well-known for its world-renowned Conservatory for Music, featuring a state-of-the-art wave field synthesis system, where students learn about the power of acoustics. The trip came to its peak with a side-by-side concert featuring the American and German orchestras performing Schubert’s “Unfinished Symphony,” Grieg’s “Sigurd Jorsalfar Suite,” Polar Express, and more. The trip ended with a day trip to Cologne as well as a day trip to Amsterdam before returning home.

McLean Choir's Icelandic Expedition!

The Choir department's tour to Reykjavík, Iceland, was an unforgettable adventure filled with breathtaking landscapes and inspiring performance. We explored vast lava fields and marveled at powerful geysers, immersing ourselves in the country's raw natural beauty. Touring Hallgrímskirkja, we were in awe of its striking architecture before performing in its magnificent space.  

Experiencing whales playing in the harbor while we performed outside of the capital was truly awe inspiring as we watched these majestic creatures in the waves of the Atlantic reminded us of the majesty of the natural world. We caught a mesmerizing lava show, experiencing the heat and glow of molten rock up close. A sudden blizzard added drama to our journey, contrasting with the stunning 15-hour nights that bathed Reykjavík in an eerie, ethereal glow. Through it all, our voices echoed in harmony with Iceland's wild and wondrous spirit. It was an unforgettable experience.

FBLA Regional Competition

On Wednesday, January 29th the regional competition for Future Business Leaders of America was held at Edison HS. FBLA is the largest business career & technical student organization in the world. The following McLean HS students competed and placed in events:

• Accounting – 3rd place – Henry Mobley
• Broadcast Journalism – 1st place – Emily An and Chelsea Gong
• Computer Gaming & Simulation Programming – 2nd place – Atticus Cheng
• Financial Statement Analysis – 2nd place – Prashim Rijal and Georgio Skordalakis
• Future Business Educator – 1st place -Aryan Rathour
• Graphic Design- 1st place – Alan Wang
• Human Resource Management – 3rd place – Sara Ridjanovic
• Insurance & Risk Management – 5th place – David Zeng
• Introduction to Information Technology – 5th place – Nahom Kidane
• Introduction to Programming – 5th place – Caleb Green and Nahom Kidane
• Mobile Application Development – 2nd place – Hemish Prateek Malekar and Aditya Thakuria
• Public Policy & Advocacy – 3rd place – Diego Lowe
• Public Speaking – 1st place – Diego Lowe
• Sales Presentation – 1st place  - Maged Al Qabany, Giri Allamsetty, Sophie Zhang
• Securities & Investments – 2nd place – Chrysostomos Tsiglifis
• Social Media Strategies – 3rd place – Yara Hamandi and Riya Jain
• UX Design – 3rd place – Wonwoo Do   
• Visual Design – 2nd place – Deren Dervis and Youssef Malty

Students will move onto to competing at the state competition in April.

McLean High School Artists Sweep the Scholastics Regional Art Awards!

McLean's Visual Arts students had another successful year at the Scholastics Regional Art Awards. Over 1400 teen artists submitted 3500 artworks to the awards in our region. McLean students earned a total of 136 awards including gold key, silver keys, and honorable mentions, which is more awards than any other school in the county!

A special congratulations to two students who were recognized as American Vision Nominees: Cindy Chan and Alan Wang. Our region only sends 5 such nominees to be reviewed during National adjudication when a panel of judges will choose one of these works to receive the American Visions Award for our region. The American Visions Award is considered the best individual artwork from our region so it is a huge honor to have 2 out of the 5 nominees come from McLean High School!

McLean Students Excel at All-District Band Auditions!

Congratulations to all our students who auditioned for the All-District Bands! McLean High School, once again, has the most number of students in All-District and the highest number of students eligible to audition for All-Virginia.

These students will be participating in the event January 30 - February 1 at Oakton High School and working with some of the best guest conductors in the United States. Dr. Kevin Sedatole from Michigan State University will be conducting the Wind Ensemble. Dr. Chris Cicconi from James Madison University will be conducting the Symphonic Band. William Owens, composer and conductor, will be conducting the Middle School Band.

Here are the results for McLean:

*denotes All-VA eligible

^denotes 1^st chair principal player

Piccolo:

• Aneek Mandall – Symphonic Band^

Flute:

• Michael Lee – Wind Ensemble*
• Dassine Aknine – Symphonic Band
• Kaylee Newgen – Alternate

Oboe:

• Sue Lee – Wind Ensemble*
• Vivienne Holly – Wind Ensemble
• Nora Yang – Symphonic Band
• Aleena Lan – Symphonic Band

Bassoon:

• Muyang Zhang – Wind Ensemble*^
• Lilia Vallo – Symphonic Band*^
• Karen Sim – Symphonic Band
• Enrico Guertin – Symphonic Band
• Emma Harmon – Alternate

Bb Clarinet:

• Tyler Jeong – Wind Ensemble*^
• Trevor Newgen – Wind Ensemble*
• Jamie Hosken – Symphonic Band^
• Anah Pho – Symphonic Band
• Claire Lee – Symphonic Band
• Kaitlin McWilliams – Symphonic Band
• Lisa Swers – Symphonic Band
• Alexa Krystopolski – Symphonic Band
• Isabel Christensen – Symphonic Band
• Luanne Zhang – Alternate
• Nicholas Whiteree - Alternate

Bass Clarinet:

• Kaitlin McWilliams – Wind Ensemble*^
• Will Vedder – Wind Ensemble*
• Ginevra Saunders – Symphonic Band^
• Gia Ayers – Symphonic Band

Alto Saxophone:

• Luke Callanen – Wind Ensemble^*
• Natalie Maraist – Symphonic Band

Tenor Saxophone:

• Hayden Schweikert – Wind Ensemble*^
• Evie Davison – Symphonic Band

Baritone Saxophone:

• Victoria Wauters – Symphonic Band

Horn:

• Blake Powell – Wind Ensemble*
• Britt Holly – Symphonic Band

Trumpet:

• Marco Femia – Wind Ensemble*
• Alvin Chen – Wind Ensemble*
• Michael Chung – Symphonic Band
• Joshua Lee – Symphonic Band

Tenor Trombone:

• Kyle Li – Symphonic Band
• Claire Baiyang – Symphonic Band
• Benjamin Zeng – Alternate

Bass Trombone:

• Jason Lin – Symphonic Band

Euphonium: 

• Andy Wu – Wind Ensemble*
• Andrew Foster – Symphonic Band
• Matthew LaPointe – Symphonic Band
• Dylan Branton – Symphonic Band

Tuba:

• Rishi Vinod – Symphonic Band
• Aditya Hathi – Symphonic Band
• Agathiya Ramalingam – Symphonic Band

String Bass:

• Anna Sargent – Wind Ensemble*^

Percussion:

• Jonathan Leong – Wind Ensemble^*
• Fintan Murphy – Wind Ensemble*
• John Farrell – Symphonic Band^

16 dedicated students attended the Virginia Model United Nations Conference hosted by UVA in Charlottesville. This is a national conference hosting 1000 delegates from across the country over a 3-day period. In a rare feat, all of McLean's students won an award. Not only did everyone win an award, McLean High School won the Best Small Delegation award! Please congratulate the following students for their outstanding achievements: Minsong Ha, Emily Ma, Maged Al Qabany, Arsen Hakobyan, Nora Venetianer, Ravi Reddy, Jane Hirschberg, Jad Osta, Daniel Kim, Lucas Jones, Aanya Jain, Andrew Egorin, Kyle Jang, Annika Singh, Artin Safaie, and Mia Mortman.

McLEAN’S PUBLICATIONS STAFFS EARN TOP HONORS FROM NSPA & JEA
McLean High School’s journalism programs were well represented at the National Scholastic Press Association / Journalism Education Association Convention in Boston November 7-9. 

2024 NEWSMAGAZINE PACEMAKER FINALISTS

The Highlander Newsmagazine from McLean High School was recognized as a Pacemaker Finalist. McLean was one of just 45 schools in the nation, and one of only two in the state of Virginia, to receive this recognition. (Adviser: Lindsay Benedict; Editors-in-chief: Tanner Coerr, Dania Reza, Philip Rotondo, Madeleine Stigall, Natalie Vu)

In the BEST OF SHOW COMPETITION, the following publications were recognized:

Literary Magazine

Fifth Place - The Tartan, McLean High School, McLean, Virginia

Lindsay Benedict & Seth Leblanc, Advisers

Yearbook (257-304 Pages)

Seventh Place – Caledonia, McLean High School, McLean, Virginia
Meghan Percival, adviser

Newsmagazine (enrollment of 1,800 or more)

Second Place - The Highlander, McLean High School, McLean, Virginia

Lindsay Benedict, Adviser

NSPA also announced their NSPA Individual Award Winners.. McLean’s yearbook, newsmagazine and broadcast staffs earned recognition in seven separate categories. The competition is rigorous with just nine percent of the 4,800 entries earning finalist status. 

Caledonia Yearbook, McLean High School
Adviser: Meghan Percival

FIRST PLACE - Category: Design of the Year: Yearbook Theme

Editors-in-chief: Sarah Beach, Hailey Buursink, Alexandria Greenstone, Kate Joo, Lainey Mallard, Lexi Reddy, Aidan Shaughnessy, Malia Solomon, 

HONORABLE MENTION - Category: Design of the Year: Infographics

Designers: Lexi Reddy & Annika Ryerson

WMHS Broadcast News, McLean High School
Adviser: Lindsay Benedict

HONORABLE MENTION - Category: Portfolio of the Year: Broadcast Journalist of the Year

Reporter: Karina Bhatt

FOURTH PLACE - Category: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: Reporting

Reporters: Tanner Coerr, Cece Harmon, Zach Jones

The Highlander Newsmagazine, McLean High School
Adviser: Lindsay Benedict

FIFTH PLACE - Category: Digital Story of the Year: Multimedia News Story

Reporters: Ella Herrera, Sakura Mogami

SECOND PLACE - Category: Story of the Year: Sports Story

Reporter: Tanner Coerr

FIFTH PLACE - Category: Reporting on Systemic Change: Fred Ross Journalism Competition

Reporter: Allie Deutsch

McLean had another great day at the DECA District Competition, held at Oakton High School on October 14^th. The following students placed Top Four, which earned them an invitation to attend States in Virginia Beach, February 28^th – March 2^nd, 2025:

Maged Al Qabany                          1^st place              Hotel & Lodging Management

Giri Allamsetty                               2^nd place             Retail Merchandising

Theodore Anishraj                         2^nd place             Marketing Communications

Atticus Cheng                                 2^nd place            Principles of Business Administration

Eric Chun                                        1^st place              Principles of Finance

Jack Davidson                                2^nd place            Business Services Marketing

Patrick Findlay                                1^st place              Business Services Marketing

Leah Fontaine                                4^th place              Principles of Entrepreneurship

Brooke Hawken                              1^st place              Principles of Entrepreneurship

Jane Hirschberg                             3^rd place             Principles of Hospitality & Tourism

Aanya Jain                                       4^th place            Principles of Hospitality & Tourism

Aleena Lan                                      4^th place             Food Marketing 

Henry Mobley                                2^nd place             Accounting Applications

Adeline Parrish                              4^th place              Accounting Applications

Titus Powars                                   2^nd place            Hotel & Lodging Management

Ravi Reddy                                      1^st place             Principles of Marketing

Artin Safaie                                     2^nd place            Quick Service Restaurant Management

Sydney Walker                               3^rd place             Sports & Entertainment Marketing

Konstiantyn Zakhorav                   1^st place              Accounting Applications

At this weekend’s VHSL Media Championship, McLean’s literary magazine, newsmagazine, online news, and yearbook staffs earned Trophy Class ranking for their 2023-24 publications from the Virginia High School League’s (VHSL) Publications Evaluation Services. Trophy Class is the highest ranking bestowed by VHSL.

McLean High School was the only school in the state to earn Trophy Class Ratings for four publications!

Trophy Class winners include:

Magazine Division

McLean High School, “The Tartan,” Lindsay Benedict & Seth LeBlanc, advisers

Newsmagazine Division

McLean High School, “The Highlander,” Lindsay Benedict, adviser

Online News Division

McLean High School, “The Highlander Online,” Lindsay Benedict, adviser

Yearbook Division

McLean High School, “Caledonia,” Meghan Percival, adviser

In addition, McLean students won the following awards in the VHSL Multimedia Contest:

LITERARY MAGAZINE CATEGORIES

Photograph - First – James Fatemi, McLean HS

Photograph - Third – Natalie Wang, McLean HS

Drawing - Third – Alan Wang, McLean HS

Painting - Third – Alexia Bodet, McLean HS

Prose Spread - First – Jiayin Zou, Laurus Wang & Angela Yang, McLean HS

Poetry - Third – Yinlin Zhao, McLean HS

Poetry Spread - Second – Mia Tran-Luu, Rita Dray & Angela Yang, McLean HS 

Poetry Spread - Third – Fern Fang, Seorin Kwak & Jiayin Zou, McLean HS 

Short Fiction - Second – Yinlin Zhao, McLean HS 

NEWSPAPER CATEGORIES

Straight News/News Feature - First – Alan Tang, Minsong Ha & Aaron Stark, McLean HS

Sports News - First – Tanner Coerr, McLean HS

Feature: Human Interest/Personality - First – Ryan Kang & Minsong Ha, McLean HS

Feature: Human Interest/Personality - Second – Tanner Coerr, McLean

Feature: In-Depth/ Informative - First – Nimera Shanil, Minsong Ha, Allie Deutsch, Zakareya Hamed & Sakura Mogami, McLean HS

Feature: In-Depth/ Informative - Third – Aaron Stark, Andrew Lohman, Ryan Kang & Zakareya Hamed, McLean HS

Bylined Personal Opinion/Column - Second – Philip Rotondo & Sophia Weil, McLean HS

Review - Third – Sandra Cheng, McLean HS

Photo: Sports-Second – Andrew Lohman, McLean HS

Inside Page Layout/Spread-First – Natalie Vu, McLean HS

Newsmagazine Cover - Third – Natalie Vu & Philip Rotondo, McLean HS 

YEARBOOK CATEGORIES

Sports Coverage - Third – Lainey Mallard & Sarah Beach, McLean HS 

Candid Photo - Third – James Fatemi, McLean HS

Sports Photo - First – James Fatemi, McLean HS

Infographics/Secondary Packaging - First – Lexi Reddy, Keely Solomon & Maddie Gorsline, McLean HS 

BROADCAST CATEGORIES

News Package- First – Nico Christofferson & Connor Lang, McLean HS

Feature Package - First – Karina Bhatt & Hannah Hadeed, McLean HS

Sports Package- First – Nico Christofferson, Jith Sequeira & Mikey Souza, McLean HS

Video Story - Joana Ramos & Hannah Hadeed, McLean HS