January 2023

Knowing Truth

At MacLaren, the invitation to know truth is woven throughout subjects of study and expressed through both individual and collaborative pursuits. The first week of the second semester affords new opportunities to explore truth through Upper School Project Week and Lower School Project Days. A purposeful part of MacLaren’s curriculum, Upper School students devote thirty hours of at-home study engaged in academic research and produce a final presentation which demonstrates findings from science, history, or mathematics, depending on the student’s grade level. Lower School students enjoy two in-class Project Days which immerse them in hands-on projects, experiments and scientific discovery. 

What conditions cause a volcano to erupt? How do scientists monitor weather systems and what conditions contribute to extreme weather? How do simple machines show up in everyday life? As budding scientists and mathematicians, each grade explored a variety of such questions with their classmates. Students delighted in collaborative experiments which allowed them to test their conclusions and make revisions based on their findings. 

First graders developed marble tunnels, built and sent parachutes flying, while third graders crafted erupting salt-dough volcanos.

Kindergarteners learned about tornadoes from a guest meteorologist.

Hands-on dissections engaged second graders in scientific discovery. They also built balsa wood cars, testing designs in a race with their classmates.

During Project Week, students learn, with growing sophistication, the steps of academic research. Immersing themselves in an assigned topic, Upper School students gather evidence from reliable sources, develop conclusions, and present their content in a final paper. Sixth through eighth graders also display creative project models gallery-style to parents, classmates, and teachers. Lively discussion of project topics was overheard as guests asked questions and students delighted to share interesting discoveries from their research. 

Sixth graders presented dioramas, sharing facts and artistic representation of their assigned endangered species. Projects included discovery of scientific classification, characteristics, habitat, and life cycle.

Seventh graders constructed aspects of medieval life, exploring the purpose, historical context, and materials of their chosen topic. Projects included examples of buildings, tools, jewelry, clothing, and transportation.

Eighth graders researched developing nations, learning about a country's government, culture, industry, and major events in history. Students demonstrated the geography and key facts of their assigned nation in a poster presentation.

For ninth and eleventh graders, Project Week focused on a lengthy research paper which they will present later in the semester. Ninth graders explored a significant event in American history. Students considered the impact of their assigned event in its historical context and its contribution to modern time. Eleventh graders researched a current event and developed their ability to analyze research, draw conclusions, and defend a thesis. Tenth graders were immersed in mathematical discovery, testing various methods to solve calculations. They will present pictorial and written conclusions in-class.

Seniors conclude their Project Week career with the well-loved "breaking bridges" tradition. Students research bridge design, construct a balsa wood bridge, and describe the physics of their chosen design.

Seniors gather for two bridge-breaking events. They first test a prototype,

gathering insights for improvement. At the final event, students test the strength of their revised model.

Bridge-breaking displays both intense competition and celebration.

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.