English Department

The MICDS English Department believes that literacy in the 21st century moves beyond the skills of reading and writing. Our goal is to support our students as they engage, create, and consider a wide range of texts and genres. We ask them to constantly question the text as well as their responses to the text, considering the author, the era, and the audience while contemplating who has the power in the text and who may be excluded. Communication in the 21st century requires students to grapple with language and mode from rhetoric to visual analysis to presentation design: our students understand that sharing their ideas and conclusions can come in the form of a five-paragraph essay or a wide variety of other modes. The foundation of all of this work remains the deep need for empathy and commitment to our Mission to “embrace all…[the world’s] people with compassion.”

English Faculty

Meet Our Faculty

Independent Reading

Extracurriculars

Department-related Extracurriculars

In the Upper School, students have opportunities to participate in the following department-related extracurricular activities:

Beasley Reading Initiative

Beasley Reading Initiative (BRI) aims to spark a lifelong love of storytelling by pairing engaging stories with passionate upper-school readers during reading periods. BRI provides Upper School students with an opportunity to make a positive impact on their school while fulfilling community service requirements by going to Lower School and reading to younger students. We believe every child can find a story worth listening to, and our goal is to nurture curiosity, empathy, and creative thinking through read-alouds and discussion.

Book Club

What strengthens your brain and is a great source of entertainment? Reading!! The MICDS Book Club is a safe and relaxing space for students to share their favorite novels, analyze books, and connect with one another.

Classics Club

Bene venistis! Classics Club exists to connect students with the ancient world, the languages of Greek and Latin, and with one another outside of Latin class. Come for culture, certamen (competition), and classical fun!

Speech & Debate

Speech and Debate Team is a competitive team that offers various speech, debate, and acting formats. It teaches critical thinking and research skills, gives students a sense of confidence and empowerment, teaches students to think on their feet, improves communication skills, promotes leadership skills, and improves students’ knowledge of current events. Students will compete in MSHSAA and NSDA tournaments per year and will be expected to spend time researching and preparing for competitions. Those that qualify, may compete for the state and national title in March.

Greenleaves (Lit Magazine)

The Greenleaves Review is a student-run literary and arts magazine published once each year. Work is solicited, edited, and published by a staff of Upper School students under the leadership of an editor-in-chief and various genre editors (poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction). Students may volunteer to serve on the production staff or literary staff or both. The Greenleaves Review is a year-round activity. In addition to producing an annual issue, we host regular, open writing workshops to provide time and space for writing and to build a visible community of writers. We also host occasional events, such as Poem-in-Your-Pocket Day and refreshing the “poetree,” related to language and literature.

The Voice (Newspaper)

The Voice is the Upper School’s student-produced newspaper. Staff members are committed to reporting serious news, highlighting MICDS community events, and providing an opportunity for student voices to be heard. This year we will focus on growing the newspaper staff and increasing timely publication—more staff members, more newspapers for the community to enjoy. We are always on the lookout for new members who have an interest in journalism, creative writing, photography, art, and layout design.

The Phoenix (Yearbook)

The yearbook is an annual student-produced publication that records and commemorates the life of the school during that year. Students learn how to lay out pages, write and edit copy, take, edit, and crop photos, and meet deadlines while being creative and having fun! Editors and staff should plan to attend an annual yearbook camp in July. Being a member of staff requires a significant time commitment.