On September 8th, Highlanders attended Celebrate McLean. This annual event is hosted by McLean High School the first Friday of September before the football game to promote the many clubs and activities offered at the school while also providing students and their families a welcoming atmosphere accompanied by food, music and fun.
“I think Celebrate McLean is a great environment for everybody to be open to new things,” Environmental Club Co-president Greer Walby said. “You can walk around [the field] and find things that you may not have considered before, but you find an interest in.”
Among the academic opportunities were various family-friendly entertaining activities. In the midst of the many club booths were two bouncy slides, a balloon-animal station, a DJ, food trucks and much more.
While all of these activities are enjoyable for the variety of ages at the event, the most popular among them is the paint that McLeadership offers to students wearing white shirts.
“My favorite part [of Celebrate McLean] was definitely the paint, but I also loved the chance to get new members for my club,” Walby said.
This paint-out theme is among the many traditions that McLean upholds annually, as students get paint splattered onto their white shirts before attending the home football game that follows Celebrate McLean.
Accompanied with the traditional booths and entertainment offered at the event was a new booth targeted especially to seniors who are eligible to vote for the upcoming presidential elections.
In collaboration with the Social Studies Department at McLean, the Class of 2024 Council held a booth in which seniors or students who were eligible to vote for the next election could register themselves.
“It was great to be able to share information to students on how to register to vote, what the ballot looks like, the deadlines for state, national and local elections among many other things,” 2024 Class President Aidan Shaughnessy said. “I had a sign up sheet where students where anyone who was at least 16 [years old] could sign up to attend a voter registration drive at McLean.”
This booth was rather successful, as it informed young voters of the several aspects of voting and voting registration while also achieving around 60 student sign ups from juniors and seniors who were of age.
Outside of this additional booth, Celebrate McLean has maintained its traditional annual form, varying slightly to adjust to the new classes at the school.
“[Celebrate McLean] is a very nostalgic experience because you get to experience it every year that you attend McLean,” Shaughnessy said. “It’s also very beneficial because you have the entire school there, and you have the upperclassmen interacting with the lower classmen.”
Among the subtle changes and improvements at the event are the increase in various creative and immersive clubs that students have introduced to McLean.
“This year, I noticed so much more diversity in the club booths,” Shaughnessy said. “The food truck, bouncy castle, music and planning overall has gotten better [over the years].”
