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
Aaron Stark

Aaron Stark, Editor-in-Chief

Aaron Stark is a senior at Mclean High School. In his free time, he plays chess and spends time with friends and family.

All content by Aaron Stark
Senior Zachary Chung, Mclean's libero, bumps the ball. As a libero, Chung works as the main receiver of serves.

McLean boys volleyball endures heartbreaking loss in state semifinal match

Aaron Stark and Andrew Lohman
November 20, 2024
Team captain and outside hitter senior Luke Cowan flies into the air to deliver a powerful serve, which dropped unopposed between two Oakton defenders. McLean seemed to have noticeably improved in their serves, losing significantly fewer points from faulty serve than usual.

Highlanders maul Cougars to win regional finals

Aaron Stark and Andrew Lohman
November 14, 2024
Middle hitter Sawyer Dolina leaps to slam a spike into Herndon's defense.

Highlanders squash Hornets

Aaron Stark and Henry Katz
October 30, 2024

Walkout for Palestine and Lebanon rallies students but raises concerns over antisemitism

Aaron Stark and Andrew Lohman
October 29, 2024
Ten-year-old Ruhan Lee walks from his Multivariable Calculus class among a crowd of seniors. Lee has passed seven AP exams, fulfilling the high school graduation requirements for math.

10-year-old math prodigy Ruhan Lee’s limit does not exist

Minsong Ha and Aaron Stark
October 22, 2024
Love Like Adam founder Courtney White walks down the crowd of McLean juniors and seniors. The foundation spreads hazing awareness to schools and advocates for policies against hazing.

[Photo] Learn to Love Like Adam

Ryan Kang and Alex Li
October 7, 2024

McLean High School Graduation Highlights

Aaron Stark, Editor-in-Chief
June 8, 2024

Backroom Banter Episode 12: 2023-2024 Year in Review

Aaron Stark and Ryan Kang
June 8, 2024
Students threw their caps into the air following the symbolic turning of their tassels. Led by Senior class president Aiden Shaughnessy, the class of 2024 celebrated their graduation.

McLean graduation ceremony celebrates class of 2024

Aaron Stark, Editor-in-Chief
June 6, 2024
Students from the DMV area march towards the White House as part of a protest for Gaza. The protest attracted several police officers, who guided traffic and kept watch over the protest.

DMV students strike against U.S. support for Israel

Aaron Stark, Minsong Ha and Alan Tang
May 25, 2024
The rise of AI tools including ChatGPT has raised questions about the future of AI in education.

The A.I. Generation

Ryan Kang, Andrew Lohman, Zakareya Hamed and Aaron Stark
May 15, 2024
Safety and Security Specialist Bart Bailey discusses the significance of painting the school rock for Black History Month in a video shot by McLean's News Channel, WHMS News. Quietkid4 screenshotted a frame of the video and posted it to Reddit, claiming the rock was his school's.

McLean faces school shooting scare

Aaron Stark, Managing Editor
May 13, 2024
Lightspeed gives a teacher access to all information present on a student's laptop display. The program violates student privacy and has no place at McLean High School.

Spying doesn’t belong in schools

Andrew Lohman, Zakareya Hamed and Aaron Stark
May 8, 2024
Senior astronomy club member Ishaan Gurazada views the eclipse through a mounted telescope. Professional telescopes require extensive configuration to locate the sun.

McLean hosts solar eclipse viewing event

Aaron Stark and Ryan Kang
April 9, 2024
AP English Language teacher Valerie Puiatti walks her class through the agenda. Puiatti was hired midway through the year to replace AP English Language teacher Bridget Donoghue.

McLean in the thick of teacher hiring

Aaron Stark, Managing Editor
March 22, 2024
McLean students flood into the halls to head to their 8th-period class. Earlier, students enjoyed Highlander Time, which Principal Ellen Reilly is looking to change to a daily occurrence.

School administration considers remodeling bell schedule

Aaron Stark, Managing Editor
March 6, 2024

Backroom Banter Episode 8: Course selections

Aaron Stark, Alex Li and Ryan Kang
January 24, 2024

Backroom Banter Episode 7: Eleanor Ague interview

Aaron Stark and Zakareya Hamed
January 24, 2024
McLean High School is set to become a Lighthouse school, meaning it will champion innovative methods of teaching for FCPS in the coming years.

McLean to become ‘Lighthouse School’

Aaron Stark, Managing Editor
January 21, 2024
On Jan. 12, McLeadership put on a glow in the dark themed pep rally in anticipation for the Langley Basketball Game. The theme was very popular among the students and the pep rally was a big hit.

[Photo] The team behind the scenes

Helen Shields and Olivia Wood
January 20, 2024
The new bathrooms feature brighter lighting and replaced ceiling tiling, along with more sinks than before.

Bathrooms reopened following renovation completion

Zakareya Hamed and Aaron Stark
January 18, 2024
Student activism needs to change

Student activism needs to change

Aaron Stark, Managing Editor
November 28, 2023
Highlanders celebrate their triumphant win against the Saxons 12-7

Highlanders crush Saxons 12-7 in season-end game

Aaron Stark and Kavi Shah
November 3, 2023
Junior outside Goldie Woods practices her spikes during warm-ups.

McLean Volleyball suffers loss against Langley

Aaron Stark, Managing Editor
September 25, 2023

Backroom Banter Ep. 2: 2022-2023 School Year Rewind

Philip Rotondo and Aaron Stark
June 13, 2023
Junior Ella Templer hits a line drive that was caught by the Langley shortstop. Templer recently switched from playing outfield to shortstop.

McLean varsity softball suffers upset loss to Langley

Aaron Stark, Fact Checker
April 25, 2023

The Highlander Podcast Episode 3

Omar Kayali, Ty Goss, Madie Turley and Aaron Stark
April 11, 2023
Students flood the cafeteria, lining up for food during lunches.

McLean provides nutritious, affordable and decent lunches

Zachary Ammar and Aaron Stark
January 9, 2023
The album cover of Drake and 21 Savage's newest joint record, Her Loss.

Her Loss Review

Aaron Stark, Fact Checker
November 12, 2022
Z-Burger's food, featuring a cup of fries, a fairly middle of the pack burger, and a disappointing hot dog.

Z-Burger Review

Aaron Stark, Reporter
October 28, 2022
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