English

A sample of works and authors taught by the English department are:

• Romeo & Juliet, Othello, Macbeth, and Hamlet by William Shakespeare
• The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer
• Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
• The Odyssey by Homer
• Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
• Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
• As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
• Paradise Lost by Milton
• The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
• Fences by August Wilson
• Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
• Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
• The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
• Poetry by Robert Frost, Langston Hughes, Emily Dickinson, William Butler Yeats, T.S. Eliot
• Short fiction by Sherman Alexie, Edgar Allen Poe, Karel Čapek, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Yasunari Kawabata
• Essays and speeches by Amy Tan, Elie Wiesel, Firoozeh Dumas, George Orwell, and Martin Luther King, Jr.

The Faculty of the English Department includes a team of dedicated professional educators with a wealth of teaching experience on local, national, and international levels. Several teachers are BMHS alumni, a testament to our program's tradition of excellence.

Our literature and professional degrees come from universities such as The Catholic University of America, Columbia University's Teachers College, Georgetown University, Gonzaga University, Grand Valley State University,  Marquette University, Mount St. Mary’s, Sacred Heart Major Seminary, Salisbury University, Towson University, University of Maryland, University of Michigan, University of Mississippi, University of Tennessee, West Virginia University, and San Diego State University.

We are passionate about professional development. Department members have received grants or studied through institutions such as the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Folger Shakespeare Library, the American Society of Newspaper Editors, The College Board, the Touchstones Discussion Project, the Klingenstein Center for Independent School Leadership, the Radcliffe Institute at Harvard, Harvard University, the Penn Center on St. Helena Island, SC, the Smithsonian Institution, and the Mississippi Teaching Corps.  

Most importantly, we take profound enjoyment in our students and in the work we do.

The National English Honor Society (NEHS), founded and sponsored by Sigma Tau Delta, is the only international organization exclusively for high school students and faculty who, in the field of English, merit special note for past and current accomplishments. Individual high schools are invited to petition for a local chapter, through which individuals may be inducted into Society membership. Immediate benefits of affiliation include international recognition, scholarship eligibility, and opportunities for international networking with others who share enthusiasm for, and accomplishment in, the language arts. Eventually NEHS will hold conferences and provide ways to link NEHS with other honor societies and with organizations related to the field of English. Weekly sessions of The National English Honor Society provide after-school writing assistance to any student who seeks help.  For more information, contact the moderator: Mr. Garry Imes

Extracurricular clubs such as Poetry Club, Yearbook Club, Mock Trial, Fiction Writing Club, Book Club, and Broadcast Journalism (WMAC) exist for those who seek further opportunities to experience writing, literature, broadcast journalism, and debate.

What do Bishop McNamara students learn in their four years?

We offer a rigorous college preparatory curriculum. Freshmen begin with a broad study of literature, emphasizing short fiction, poetry, and the novel. The sophomore course features an added emphasis on non-fiction and persuasive writing. Juniors read classics of American literature, and seniors study the foundations of British literature. Vocabulary is studied all four years, and our seniors complete a thesis project. For students who want to go beyond the basics, we offer electives in topics such as journalism and creative writing.

Do you offer honors and Advanced Placement courses?

Yes, our department offers honors courses and every AP English course possible. Freshmen are placed into honors through standardized test scores. Sophomores, juniors, and seniors are placed according to teacher recommendation, which is made after evaluating each student's work in the prior year. Students in AP courses study an enhanced curriculum and may receive college credit for their performance on national examinations administered by the College Board. For more information on A

What is the average class size for English classes?

The average class size for English classes is 22.5.