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The Student News Site of McLean High School

The Highlander

The Student News Site of McLean High School

The Highlander

The Student News Site of McLean High School

The Highlander

Stop Suppressing Speech

Stop Suppressing Speech

Clara Marcott and Alex Li May 13, 2026

When students at Centreville High School walked out in protest of recent actions by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, they were threatened by school administrators. Students were told that, because...

Emmanuel Beakal diligently refines MyCompass, working to perfect it as a tool to support youth mental health across FCPS. Reflected in his glasses is the MyCompass logo—its thoughtfully chosen name symbolizes the bot’s role as a guide for young users.

Coding a compass for mental wellness

Amelia Cho, Online Managing Editor April 9, 2026

For months, freshman Emmanuel Beakal spent his afternoons experimenting with code and conducting in-depth therapy research—all to solve a systemic issue he had seen go unresolved for years in his community:...

Rewriting Requirements

Rewriting Requirements

Rosie Liu and Julius Li January 17, 2026

Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL) tests is expected to undergo the most significant transition next school year. As these changes shifting examanation times for students, how exam scores are calculated...

FCPS's new CIP will cost the county billions over the next few decades. The current funding framework cannot sustain it.

Rethink the renovations

Alex Li, Editor-in-Chief December 23, 2025

On the surface, the future is looking bright for FCPS’s 199 schools. The $230 million yearly bond approved on Nov. 5 will ideally be the funds needed to provide shiny new buildings for communities across...

Suited Up — Senior Will
Terzaken poses in his
gymnastics uniform at
West Point’s media day.
He is looking forward to
participating at West Point’s
Conference Championship
for the program’s 100-year
anniversary.

A Will to Serve

Ela Patel-Euler and Zoe Robell December 19, 2025

Senior Will Terzaken has been doing gymnastics since he could walk. Now, he is taking his next steps to compete at the United States Military Academy, better known as West Point. Not only will he be a...

The future of content

The future of content

Siena Koerner and Sophia Zafar December 4, 2025

OpenAI, the parent company of ChatGPT, released its newest breakthrough in artificial intelligence on Oct. 1, 2025 with a video generating app called Sora AI. This app transforms written prompts into extremely...

Bombed Belongings — The bottom left and top right images show the remains of Sumud’s bedroom. The other two images show another demolished room in Sumud’s house and the destruction in the neighborhood.

Escaping from Gaza

Paghunda Ali, Online Managing Editor October 28, 2025

After years of effort by her father to save up money, Sumud* and her family moved into a new home in Gaza. It was a peaceful day for her family on Oct. 7, 2023, when abrupt shouts suddenly pierced the...

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