English
“The love of learning,
the sequestered
nooks, and all the sweet
serenity of books.”
--Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Reading great literature is the cornerstone of a Marian education. It is the single-minded goal of the Marian English Department to provide a plethora of opportunities for Marian students to engage actively with classical and contemporary works of literature, including writings from American, British and world authors.
"The best book is a collaboration between author and reader."--Barbara Tuchman
Students and teachers develop a common vocabulary for discourse; experience writing and revising; strengthen their language, speech, listening, study and research skills; and engage in the formation of "a philosophical habit of mind" (John Henry Cardinal Newman).
"The book to read is not the one which thinks for you but the one which makes you think."--James McCash
Underlying all English course offerings is the Marian commitment to Christian Catholic social ethics. The department promotes awareness, understanding and appreciation of world cultures and the skills necessary for life-long learning in an increasingly complex and specialized future. Therefore, Marian English courses enhance student understanding of social, cultural and geographical differences and emphasize language as a powerful tool for thinking, learning and communicating. Marian students are continually preparing to communicate as informed, thinking, ethical individuals.
"Language exerts hidden power, like the moon on the tides."--Rita Mae Brown
College Preparatory Writing
Marian’s school-wide writing program supports and enhances the English Department's college preparatory writing curriculum. All students take four years of literature and composition. In addition, they may elect to take a four-year program in competitive speech, a two-year program in journalism or a one-semester program in creative writing. The English Department has been commended five times by the National Council of Teachers of English for excellence in its instructional program. Both the elective speech and journalism programs have won state and national recognition and awards. The English teachers teach in their areas of expertise and have more than 148 years of combined teaching experience. 86% have earned Master's degrees.
Course Offerings
Honors Composition & Literature
Composition & Literature
Honors American Literature & Composition
American Literature & Composition
Honors/AP English Literature and Composition
English Literature and Composition
Honors/AP English Language and Composition
World Literature & Composition
Honors Journalism II
Journalism I
Novice Competitive Speaking
Check out the Journalism pages here.
Honors Varsity Competitive Speaking
Creative Writing
National English Honor Society
On February 27, 2013, Marian’s National English Honor Society inducted 39 juniors in the Marcella Chapter, the first and only in the state of Nebraska. This chapter was established in the spring of 2009. It is named in honor of Sr. Marcella Sitzmann, a Servant of Mary, English teacher and the first principal of Marian High School. The NEHS national motto, “Gelast sceal mid are,” is Old English, and means “duty goes with honor.” This represents the calling to which Marian’s Marcella Chapter responds: the responsibility of sharing the best of language and literature with others. As a result, the Chapter adopts a school with which it can share its love for literature and English. To become a member of NEHS, a Marian student must hold a 4.0 GPA in five semesters of required English courses.
The 2012-2013 NEHS Officers:
Emily Fisher
Lauren Gibbs
Maddie Lambert
Katie Lodhia
Writing Center
As one of its service projects, the Marcella Chapter of the National English Honor Society hosts a writing center designed to help Marian students with essays and papers. The Marcella Writing Center will be open from 7:20 to 7:40 on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday mornings in the Student Advisory Department to answer questions about writing papers. Students who may be struggling with MLA formatting, embedded citations, Works Cited pages, or direct and indirect quotations are encouraged to stop in the writing center. A senior, who is a member of the NEHS, will be available to work with students. The NEHS members will not help write the papers or essays but will answer technical questions and direct students to places where the students could find the answers to their questions.
Writing Resources
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All Marian students submit writing assignments to Turnitin. This website improves student writing by preventing plagiarism and providing rich feedback to students.
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The Marian High School English Department uses MLA citation for research and writing assignments. Click here to view a Formatting and Style Guide.
Writing Contests
The America Library of Poetry has announced its 17th Annual National
Student Poetry Contest. Students in grades 9-12 are invited to write an
original poem, no more than 20 lines in length, on any subject. Poems
can be submitted to their website at http://www.libraryofpoetry.com/.
Deadline is April 30.
Nebraska Shakespeare is sponsoring a sonnet writing
contest. Click here for contest information:
http://www.nebraskashakespeare.com/education-programs/sonnet-contest.
Deadline for all submissions is May 13.
The 2013 VSA Playwright Discovery Competition is encouraging middle and high school students to explore the disability experience–in their own life, the lives of others, or a fictional character–through the art of scriptwriting. Young writers with and without disabilities are encouraged to submit a one-act script for stage or screen. Entries may be the work of an individual student or a collaboration by a group of up to five students. See www.kennedy-center.org/education/vsa/programs/playwright_discovery.cfm for more information. Application deadline is June 1.
*Are you interested in submitting your work to a writing contest, but you're not sure where to go? Check out http://www.pw.org/grants. The Writing Contests, Grants & Awards database includes details about the creative writing contests—including poetry contests, short story competitions, essay contests, awards for novels, and more—that have been published in Poets & Writers Magazine during the past year. Deadlines for submission vary.
Taylor Eicher '15 will have a poem published in the newest edition of Creative Communication's Celebration of Poets. Her poem is entitled "Unexpected Tragedy" and it was written as part of a current event poetry prompt in her Honors Composition and Literature class from last school year. Marian is the 2012 A2 State Journalism Champion. This is the fifth state title in six years. The CHAMPIONSHIP team truly consists of all members of the Yearbook and Newspaper staff!
Piernicky Presenting at CEA Conference
Earlier this fall,
Megan Piernicky submitted a paper for consideration to the
College English Association (CEA) annual conference. In April 2013, Megan will travel to the conference in Savannah, Georgia and present her paper, "The Value of Disputed Memoirs
Angel at the Fence and
Fragments as Historical Evidence of the Holocaust."