Bishop McNamara High School
School in Forestville, Maryland, United States
- Brothers of Holy Cross
- Washington Metro Area Catholic High Schools
Bishop McNamara High School (BMHS, McNamara, or Mac) is a private, Catholic coed high school in Forestville CDP in unincorporated Prince George's County, Maryland.[3][4]
The school is in the Holy Cross tradition offering a college preparatory curriculum and a range of Fine Arts, athletics and activities. Founded in 1964 by the Congregation of Holy Cross, Bishop McNamara is located on a 14-acre campus in Forestville, Maryland, United States, just 7 miles south of Washington, D.C., serving students ranging from six different Maryland counties, Northern Virginia and the District of Columbia and is part of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington. The school bears the name of Bishop John Michael McNamara, a former auxiliary bishop to the Archbishops of Baltimore and Washington and the founder of St. Gabriel's parish in Washington, D.C.
History
Built on a site adjacent to Mount Calvary Catholic Church on Marlboro Pike in Forestville, Maryland, Bishop McNamara High School is a result of Msgr. Peter Paul Rakowski's plan to build a Catholic high school for boys, and one for girls in the southern part of Prince George's County. To that end, in 1962, Patrick A. O'Boyle, archbishop of Washington, D.C., extended an invitation to the Brothers of Holy Cross to administer and staff the new high school, which would serve the county and parts of Washington, DC. Bishop McNamara High School admitted its first classes (freshman and sophomore) of 334 boys in 1964.
In the academic year 1992–93, the school became co-educational when it accepted girls from La Reine High School, an all girls' school in nearby Suitland that had been closed.[5] Enrollment at both schools had been dwindling for some years, following a trend in private schools across the county as a result of the recession.[6]
Academics
Bishop McNamara High School provides a Catholic, college-preparatory education.
Bishop McNamara High School provides a variety of courses to help students meet the requirements for college admission or other types of professional preparation. The school boasts a 100% college acceptance rate for the Class of 2016[citation needed] and Class of 2016 graduates received over $14.4 million in scholarships to colleges and universities all over the country.[citation needed]
Beyond the core academic courses, Bishop McNamara offers:
- Honors courses offered in English, Mathematics, Science, Foreign Language, Information Technology, Social Studies, and each of the fine arts disciplines.
- Advanced Placement courses offered in English Language, English Literature, Calculus, Statistics, Computer Programming, Psychology, Chemistry, Biology, Physics, French, Spanish, U.S. History and European History, Music Theory, Latin Vergil, Latin Poetry, and foreign language literature when there is sufficient student interest.
- Dual credit course offered jointly with Prince George's Community College and open to juniors and seniors whose general academic profile meets Prince George's Community College admissions criteria.
- Online courses, in subjects like Honors Chinese, German, Japanese, and Latin, which complement traditional high school curricula.
Fine Arts
The Fine Arts Department at Bishop McNamara offers one of the arts educations in the Washington, D.C..[citation needed] The F.A.D.E. program, Fine Arts Diploma Endorsement, is unique to Bishop McNamara. With band, orchestra, choir, theatre, dance and visual arts course offerings, Bishop McNamara High School's Fine Arts Department provides opportunities for student participation.
The Fine Arts Programs include:
- Dance - Ballet, Jazz, Lyrical Jazz, and Tap ranging from Beginning to Advanced levels; Traditional African Dance & Music I through IV, and the Sankofa Company (performing African Dance & Music company).
- Music - (Band & Orchestra and Choir) Band & Orchestra: Concert Band, Symphonic Band, Wind Ensemble, String Orchestra, Jazz Lab, Jazz Ensemble, Percussion Ensemble, and Music Theory; Choir: Concert Choir, Honors Chamber Choir, Honors Madrigal Choir, Vocal Jazz Ensemble, and Show Choir
- Theater - Introduction To Theatre, Acting, Theatre Technology I & II, Great Stages Of Drama, Senior Seminar, Musical Theatre Production (Fall), Spring Theatre Production
- Visual Arts - Color, Drawing & Advanced Drawing, Graphic Design, Digital Photography I & II, and AP Studio Art 2D-Photography
- FADE Program - Students who graduate with the Fine Arts Diploma Endorsement receive a notation on their transcripts and a special honor certificate at graduation. Students have the opportunity to apply for this program at the end of their freshman year, concurrent with the selection of courses for their sophomore year. Students are then given a list of courses, tasks and events to complete in the fine arts by their senior year.
Athletics
Bishop McNamara competes in the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference at the Varsity and Junior Varsity levels in the following sports:
Fall - Football, Women's Tennis, Volleyball, Cross Country, Women's Soccer, Men's Soccer, and Cheerleading Winter - Men's Basketball, Women's Basketball, Swimming, Wrestling, Cheerleading, and Indoor Track Spring - Baseball, Softball, Men's Tennis, Men's Lacrosse, Women's Lacrosse, Track & Field, and Golf
Each year student-athletes are selected to the WCAC All-Conference teams, Washington Post All-Met Teams, Maryland All-State Teams, MSABC All State Team, as well as other national, state and conference awards.
In 2013, thirteen student-athletes signed with Division 1 colleges and universities, such as the University of Maryland College Park, Georgia Tech, Fordham University, VCU, UMBC, Sienna College, University of Toledo, Columbia University, University of Tennessee, and George Mason University.
Bishop McNamara's women's basketball team has established itself as one of the premier teams in not only the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (WCAC) but the entire nation as well. In 2005, the team was ranked #1 by USA Today, and the team finished with only one loss in the WCAC semifinals.[citation needed] In the 2008 and 2020 seasons, the Lady Mustangs became WCAC champions.[7]
Notable alumni
- Waine Bacon – NFL defensive back (2004–2005)[8]
- Todd Bozeman – NCAA basketball coach[9]
- Cameron Chism, CFL player[10]
- Brandon Coleman - NFL wide receiver for the New Orleans Saints[11]
- Chris Cosh – NCAA football defensive coordinator[12]
- Jerome Couplin III – NFL player[13][14]
- Timothy Creamer – NASA astronaut[15]
- Marlisa Goldsmith - Emmy award winner (2017)[16]
- Matthew Goldsmith - CFL player AFL player [17]
- Tyoka Jackson – NFL player[18]
- Jeff Kinney – writer of Diary of a Wimpy Kid[19]
- Ty Lawson - basketball player[20]
- Jason Reynolds - National Book Award finalist [21]
- Madison Scott - basketball player
- Marcus Thornton – basketball player[22]
- Keith Veney – NCAA Division I men's basketball record holder for three-pointers made in a single game with 15[23]
- Nicole Yeargin – Olympian and NCAA Division I sprinter[24]
References
- ^ "Find a School".
- ^ MSA-CSS. "MSA-Commission on Secondary Schools". Archived from the original on 2011-05-14. Retrieved July 31, 2009.
- ^ "2010 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP (INDEX): Forestville CDP, MD." U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on August 29, 2018. Pages: 1 and 2.
- ^ Home Archived August 29, 2018, at the Wayback Machine. Bishop McNamara High School. Retrieved on August 29, 2018. "6800 Marlboro Pike, Forestville, MD 20747"
- ^ "History of Bishop McNamara & La Reine High Schools: Educators in Faith Archived 2018-08-28 at the Wayback Machine." Bishop McNamara High School. Retrieved on August 29, 2018.
- ^ "Private Schools Hit Hard". Washington Post. August 27, 1992.
- ^ Hilgers, Kevin (February 28, 2008). "Victorious Mustangs play smart". The Gazette. Archived from the original on October 7, 2008. Retrieved 9 May 2011.
- ^ "Waine Bacon Profile on Indianapolis Colts Official Website". Archived from the original on December 18, 2005.
- ^ Mike Klingaman (March 9, 2009). "His Brother's Keeper". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved September 1, 2010.
- ^ "Cameron Chism". bclions.com. Archived from the original on April 19, 2014. Retrieved April 17, 2014.
- ^ Walker, Rod (August 1, 2017). "Brandon Coleman is standing tall at Saints training camp". The Advocate.
- ^ "Chris Cosh biography". umterps.com. University of Maryland Athletic Department. Archived from the original on 17 March 2012. Retrieved 9 May 2011.
- ^ "Jerome Couplin III bio". Football. William & Mary Tribe athletics. 2014. Retrieved September 9, 2014.
- ^ "Jerome Couplin III". Detroit Lions. NFL.com. September 1, 2014. Retrieved September 9, 2014.
- ^ "Astronaut Bio: Timothy (TJ) Creamer". jsc.nasa.gov. 2010. Archived from the original on 2009-07-23. Retrieved 2010-09-01.
- ^ "2017 Emmy Recipients | NATAS Mid-Atlantic Chapter". natasmid-atlantic.org. Retrieved 2017-09-28.
- ^ https://www.ottawaredblacks.com/2016/02/04/transactions-february-4-2016/02/.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ "Pro-football-reference.com bio: Tyoka Jackson". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
- ^ Stark, Georgina (October 8, 2014). "'Wimpy Kid' author returns to Bishop McNamara". Catholic Standard. Archived from the original on August 29, 2018. Retrieved August 29, 2018.
- ^ Byrum, Tyler (April 12, 2018). "5 things to know about the Wizards' new playoff addition, Ty Lawson". NBC Sports Washington.
- ^ Ghost: Finalist, National Book Awards 2016 for Young People's Literature
- ^ "Marcus Thornton bio". TribeAthletics.com. College of William & Mary. 2014. Retrieved February 19, 2015.
- ^ "Keith Veney". hoopmagicsa.com. 2010. Archived from the original on July 12, 2011. Retrieved September 1, 2010.
- ^ "Nicole Yeargin". USCTrojans.com. Retrieved July 17, 2021.
External links
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