It's hip! It's cool! It's Marina's Java Night where local poets, musicians, and artists (MHS students) gather to share their works. Java Night is held every other month in the Marina High School Cafeteria.

The Freshman English program introduces students to the study of literature through an examination of five literary genres: short stories, novels, poetry, drama, and nonfiction. Students develop their essay skills by writing papers bases on the literature they have read. Class activities emphasize speaking. listening, reading and writing skills.

Literature List:
Aeschylus, House of Atreus
Anaya, Bless Me, Ultima
Ciscernos, House on Mango Street
Dickens, Great Expectations
Knowles, A Separate Peace
Lee, To Kill A Mockingbird
Mowat, Never Cry Wolf (non-fiction)
Orwell, Animal Farm
Shakespeare, Merchant of Venice, Romeo and Juliet, Midsummer Night's Dream
Selected short stories and poetry

The Sophomore English program expands the literature base to include the classics; students study Homer, Shakespeare's tragedies and comedies, and analyze recurring themes in world literature. Students investigate poetry, plays, and novels using a comparative literature approach. They practice writing essays about the literature they have read. In addition, students refine their speaking, listening, and researching skills over the course of the year.

Literature List:
Bronte, Jane Eyre
Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities
Dumas, Count of Monte Cristo
Homer, The Odyssey
Ibsen, A Doll's House
Remarque, All Quiet on the Western Front
Rostand, Cyrano de Bergerac
Shakespeare, Julius Caesar, Macbeth, Taming of the Shrew
Shaw, Pygmalion
Sophocles, Œdipus Rex, Antigone
White, Once and Future King

Junior English is a year of America's literature, 1620-1900, college-level essay writing, and a review of grammatical principles. The research paper, individual and group oral presentations, and student-created visual support round out the "American" year.

Literature List:
Anderson, Winesburg, Ohio
Crane, Red Badge of Courage
Dickenson, collected poems
Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby
Hawthorne, Scarlet Letter
Hemingway, The Nick Adam Stories
Hughes, Harlem Renaissance
Lewis, Babbitt
Melville, Billy Budd
Poe, Selected stories and poems
Salinger, Catcher in the Rye
Sinclair, The Jungle
Steinbeck, Grapes of Wrath
Twain, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

The Senior English program is divided into two areas: semester classes (which include understanding Film, Sports, Literature, Speech Communication, and Creative Writing), and year long classes which focus on on the study of British Literature. The class surveys the general characteristics of each literature period and studies in depth one or more works from each period. Students practice their analytical skills by writing literary essays and a final research assignment.
Additionally, Advance Placement students will practice AP essay topics and AP multiple choice exams. This level also reads 8 - 10 novels throughout the year.

Literature List:
Bronte, Wuthering Heights
Conrad, Heart of Darkness
Dostoyevsaky, Crime and Punishment
Hardy, Tess of the d'Urbervilles
Kingston, Woman Warrior
Scott, Ivanhoe
Shakespeare, Machbeth, Hamlet, Othello, King Lear
Shelley, Frankenstien
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
Swift, Gulliver's Travels
Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray

Each year Marina's English Department produces a book of student creativity called Runes. All students at Marina are encouraged to submit entries for publication. A group of student editors meets bi-weekly to review submissions, edit selected pieces, type and page layout the book for eventual publication during Golden Shields week in May.