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English Department

Welcome to the English Department!

 A-G Requirements

Four units (equivalent to four years or eight semesters) of college-preparatory English composition and literature required, integrating:

  • Extensive reading of classic and modern literature and content-rich works of non-fiction
  • Frequent writing, from brainstorming to final paper
  • Practice listening and speaking with different audiences.

More information: A-G Guide

Dr. Mary Stevens

AP Capstone Research, AP English Literature, and English 2 Honors Puente 

B.A. English, UCSB; M.A.Ed. Teaching & Learning and Secondary Teaching Credential, Point Loma Nazarene University; Ed.D. Educational Leadership, Teacher Education in Multicultural Societies, USC.

Favorite quote: "This above all, to thine own self be true."  -Shakespeare, “Hamlet”
Favorite book: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

W. Richard Boling

AP English Language, AP American Government, and AP Macroeconomics

B.A. cum laude Harvard University in English & Economics (minor), M.A. Vermont College in English

Favorite quotes: “The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science.”  -Albert Einstein. “It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that ain’t so." -Mark Twain
Favorite books: Gravity’s Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon, The Making of the Atomic Bomb by Richard Rhodes, and The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe

Norwin Gardner

Math 3, Math 4, English 3, English 4, and Middle School Academic Assistance

Dip. in Mild to Moderate Disabilities Special Education, Sam Sharpe Teachers’ College; B. Ed (Primary Education Major). International University of the Caribbean

Favorite quote: "Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars.” -Norman Vincent Peale
Favourite books: All Stephen King material and The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne

Gretchen Gingher

English 2 and English 3 

BA in English and Minor in Education from Roanoke College, M.A. in Curriculum & Instruction from Concordia University: Irvine

Favorite quote: “Responsibility to yourself means refusing to let others do your thinking, talking and naming for you; it means learning to respect and use your own brains and instincts; hence, grappling with hard work.” -Adrienne Rich
Favorite books: The Harry Potter Series by JK Rowling, Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Fences by August Wilson, The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

Margie Keith

BA Scripps College; MA University of La Verne

Favorite quote: “Mischief managed!”-Harry Potter series
Favorite book:  Too many to pick!

English 7 and English 7 Honors

 

Summer Homework 2024  for Seventh Grade Honors 

Incoming Seventh Grade Honors students must complete the following work: click here. At the
beginning of the school year, you will be assessed on your reading and the written assignment will be submitted on
Canvas for a grade. Testing of the vocabulary will begin with the first twenty vocabulary words and will continue throughout the school year in groups of twenty. 

 

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Summer Homework 2024 for Seventh Grade Honors 


Incoming Seventh Grade Honors students must complete the following work: click here. At the
beginning of the school year, you will be assessed on your reading and the written assignment will be submitted on
Canvas for a grade. Testing of the vocabulary will begin with the first twenty vocabulary words and will continue throughout the school year in groups of twenty. 


 

Sang Lee

Expository Reading and Writing Course (ERWC) and English 2

B.A. English, UC Irvine; M.A. Secondary Education, Loyola

Favorite quote: “I’m starting to think it might be harder to be a good man than a great man.” -Randall Pearson 
Favorite books: Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse and Kokoro by Natsume Soseki

Marti MacInnes

English 2 Honors, English 8, and English Language Development (ELD) 9-12

B.A. English, UCLA; M.A. Education & Secondary Teaching Credential, UC

Favorite quote: “It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends.” -Albus Dumbledore - Harry Potter                                                                  Favorite books: The Dispossessed by Le Guin, Hyperion by Dan Simmons, and The Harry Potter Series by JK Rowling

Remote Learning: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcrasv9ABbchvjYsGWV8fZQ

Jessica Maker-Bilandzija

English 8 and English 8 Honors

B.A. English, Sonoma State University; Secondary Teaching Credential, San Francisco State University, Clear Credential UCSD

Favorite quote: “Though the problems of the world are increasingly complex, the solutions remain embarrassingly simple.” - Bill Mollison
Favorite books: East of Eden by John Steinbeck and The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

Larryssa Perry

Math 6, English 7, English 8, and Middle School Academic Assistance

B.A. Loyola Marymount University

Jack Stapleton

AP English Language, English 2 and English 2H

Earned his Teaching Credential - from Cal State Los Angeles.

English Faculty