March 2023

Building Community

Parents and Grandparents – Welcomed and Engaged

What do a retired grandmother, a firefighter, moms, dads, and a service dog have in common? They are each part of building the MacLaren community and investing in students of all ages.

MacLaren invites parents – and grandparents – to invest in the life and success of the school. For some, that means a regular volunteer slot in the classroom. For others, it's assisting with special events, providing supplies for classroom activities, or bringing snacks for the staff lounge.

For Danielle Mellema, jumping into the MacLaren community provided an inside look at the school's mission in action. She explains, "I've seen how the school's mission to 'know truth, create beauty, and practice goodness' is lived out day-to-day. I can say that it is not just a lofty ideal. It is the heartbeat of every single educator, administrator, and staff member I've had the pleasure of interacting with, and it is forming our students' hearts and minds in the most beautiful way."

Volunteers from different stages of life model citizenship and help foster a supportive school environment.

Marilyn Mahar (top left) is a grandma to three Lower School students. She shares, "Volunteering at MacLaren is amazing. I get to surprise my grandkids, and they are thrilled to see me." At MacLaren, Mahar has found meaningful places to connect, including organizing donations for the summer uniform sale, aiding classroom activities, and providing lunchroom support. She loves asking students about their day and getting to know them.

Volunteering allows parents to see inside their child's daily school life. Manitou Springs Fire Department's Lieutenant Michael Willie (top middle) is a MacLaren parent to a kindergarten student. As a classroom volunteer, he shares, "I knew my daughter would be really happy to have me in her class. She was so excited to introduce me to her friends." He will later visit kindergarten classes to talk about fire safety.

Mom to two Upper School students, Purvi Sittner (top right), has served the MacLaren community in a variety of capacities. Whether helping in the classroom, in the parking lot, or at a social event, parent volunteers give the gift of time and kindness. Sittner explains, "You're building up the community with your presence and showing kids that you care about them and their wellbeing."

A MacLaren grandma supports third grade students in reading groups. A MacLaren dad reads to a kindergarten class.

Classroom volunteers provide tangible academic support for students, often in small groups. Volunteers encourage students in kindness with their peers and foster a love of learning. Visiting the classroom gives parents a deeper understanding of their child's school day and can be a springboard for connected parent-child conversation back at home.

Classroom volunteers assist students with reading, spelling, and hands-on projects.

Danielle Mellema (top left) serves as a reading group facilitator in her son's first grade class. She explains, "I ask questions as the students play games that sharpen their reading, phonics, and spelling skills, and celebrate the progress I see from week to week." Appreciation for MacLaren teachers is a recurrent theme expressed by volunteers. Mahar says, “The teachers are wonderful to work with. Everyone is so appreciative.”

Volunteers serve as Music and Muffins hosts. Service dog Desi visits students.

A variety of special events set the stage for growing friendships and understanding. Music and Muffins events invite parents to connect with one another before their students' musical performance. Lauren Banuet brought joy, visiting Ms. Farrington's kindergarten class with Desi, a medical alert dog for epilepsy. Students learned how Desi assists their classmate, growing in empathy and compassion.

Community events provide opportunities for student citizenship and learning.

Lower School parents rallied to assist students in assembling care packages for local people experiencing homelessness. It was beautiful to witness student excitement through community service. This allowed parents to encourage children to tangibly care about the needs in the world around them. 

At MacLaren's Stargazing Night, volunteers invited children and adults alike to explore their sense of wonder through hands-on science activities.

Did you know that MacLaren parents are automatically members of the Parent Service Association (PSA)?

PSA Steering Committee member Purvi Sittner explains, "You're invited to volunteer, invited to be part of the community, and invited to have a voice."

Every parent brings something special to MacLaren's community of learners and is invited to contribute according to their interest and capacity.

The PSA's efforts support MacLaren faculty, staff, students and families. These can be simple ways to brighten someone's day, such as ensuring faculty have cream for their coffee. Other efforts focus on helping families get connected and fostering friendship at social events.

As a volunteer, Sittner says she's grateful to observe some of the qualities that make MacLaren's environment so unique. She shares, "There's a sense of peace at MacLaren. You see the kindness and respect students show each other, the teachers, and everyone in the building. It's almost tangible."

Serving at the school also gives parents the opportunity to model the qualities they desire their children to embrace. Sittner explains, "I want my kids to be better citizens, better human beings. I want my kids to be compassionate and care about the people around them. How do you do that? You model it."

Elyse Holmes echoes these thoughts. She says, "Our kids' futures depend on their education, their education depends on their teachers and school, and our teachers and school depend on our willingness to donate time and stay engaged."

Save the date – the PSA is hosting a special parent night Tuesday, April 4.

Mandi Fuller lends support to fourth grade reading groups. Judith Kimbrell shares her time and love of photography as an Upper School club host.

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.