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English
Our Mission & Philosophy
With a reputation as one of Arizona’s premier secondary education programs, the English Department functions as a nexus for Xavier’s academic, spiritual, and cultural communities. We maintain a strong commitment to traditional areas of study such as reading, writing, and critical thinking while employing innovative approaches to the classroom.
Our outstanding faculty offer an integrated array of Honors, Advanced Placement, and Great Books courses that reflect the great diversity of literatures in English and of the global community, while at the same time developing writing and analytical skills. Graduates of Xavier’s English program will enter the college classroom with the foundations to excel in reading, writing, and critical thinking at the world’s leading universities.
Our outstanding faculty offer an integrated array of Honors, Advanced Placement, and Great Books courses that reflect the great diversity of literatures in English and of the global community, while at the same time developing writing and analytical skills. Graduates of Xavier’s English program will enter the college classroom with the foundations to excel in reading, writing, and critical thinking at the world’s leading universities.
Distinguished Faculty
The English Department’s ten distinguished faculty hold multiple master’s degrees, countless professional certificates, and two doctoral degrees. English faculty moderate publication of the Pierian Spring literary magazine, the XPress online newspaper, and the Xavierian yearbook. We coordinate Xavier’s campus-wide Summer Reading program, and moderate clubs such as Mock Trial, Poetry Out Loud, Toastmasters, and Key Club. We organize campus-wide activities ranging from the Creative Writing in Ireland program to the Xavier Fashion Show.
We engage with our students through conventional methods of instruction, as well as the latest student-centered, adaptive technologies that enhance student abilities in vocabulary, grammar, and cognition. In addition to our Honors, AP, and Great Books courses, English faculty teach classes in American Government, Theatre, and Journalism. Four of our courses are eligible for Rio Salado Dual Enrollment Credit.
While we hope to encourage our students as they grow daily in their reading, writing, and analytical thinking, we believe that the greatest treasure our students can gain through our department is a lifelong love of books. Books can instruct us as we learn through life’s experiences, guide us through our emotional growth, and serve as a source of comfort in times of distress. Books offer us access to history’s greatest minds and concepts. According to a 2016 issue of Social Science and Medicine, people who read books even live longer than those who read only periodicals, or do not read at all.
We look forward to helping Xavier Gators find their love of books in the English Department at Xavier College Preparatory.
Our Classroom Reading List
List of 4 items.
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Freshwomen
English 1:- Mirrors & Windows Level IV
- Mythology
- Antigone
- The Odyssey
- Great Expectations
- Romeo and Juliet
Honors English I:- Mirrors and Windows Level IV
- Antigone
- Night
- The Odyssey of Homer
- Twelfth Night
- Romeo and Juliet
- Great Expectations
- Greek Mythology
- The Book Thief
English I Great Books:- The Odyssey of Homer
- Frankenstein
- Klara and the Sun
- Bless Me, Ultima
- Romeo and Juliet
- How to Read Literature like a Professor
- Night
- Voices: The Final Hours of Joan of Arc
- Just Mercy
- 1984
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Sophomore
English II:- Mirrors and Windows
- How to Read Literature Like a Professor
- Rebecca
- Of Mice and Men
- Othello
- Pride and Prejudice
- Mythology
- The House on Mango Street
English II Honors:- Mirrors and Windows Level IV
- How to Read Literature Like a Professor
- Frankenstein
- Pride and Prejudice
- A Separate Peace
- Julius Caesar
- Mythology
- Othello
- Brother, I'm Dying
English II Great Books/AP Seminar:- Introduction to Great Books - Third Series
- Julius Caesar
- Mythology
- Pride and Prejudice
- Othello
- Various Journal Articles - Teacher & Student Selected
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Junior
English III Honors:- The Norton Anthology for American Literature
- The Scarlet Letter
- Ethan Frome
- The Great Gatsby
AP English Language & Composition:- Conversations in American Literature
- The Scarlet Letter
- Ethan Frome
- The Great Gatsby
- The Crucible
AP English Language & Composition Great Books:- Conversations in American Literature
- The Scarlet Letter
- The Age of Innocence
- The Great Gatsby
- The Crucible
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Senior
AP English Literature & Composition:- Essential Literary Terms with Exercises
- The Tempest
- Persuasion
- Their Eyes Were Watching God
- Jane Eyre
- Hamlet
- Wide Sargasso Sea
- The Awakening
- Never Let Me Go
- Girl with a Pearl Earring
- Raisin in the Sun
AP English Literature & Composition Great Books:- Essential Literary Terms with Exercises
- The Tempest
- Jane Eyre
- Persuasion
- Invisible Man
- The Memory Keeper's Daughter
- Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
- Girl with a Pearl Earring
- Raisin in the Sun
- All the Light We Cannot See
- Where the Crawdads Sing
- Atonement
- Have You Seen Luis Velez?
- Their Eyes Were Watching God
Department Highlights
List of 4 items.
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Mock Trial
Xavier's Elias Romley Mock Trial team competes every year in the Arizona High School Mock Trial Regional and State Competitions. One of the top teams in the Valley, Xavier often places in the top four in competition. Students learn real courtroom procedure and legal concepts with the help of volunteer attorney coaches and judges, as well as skills to succeed in competitive, fast-paced environments. Most years, a select team of Xavier mockies also travels to New York to compete in the Empire Mock Trial Invitational along with teams from around the country and around the world! -
Pierian Spring
Pierian Spring is Xavier’s annual student-produced creative arts magazine. The magazine is produced by the Pierian Spring club, which encourages and supports Xavier students in their creation of visual and literary art. Over its history, Pierian Spring has won numerous awards, including a second-place commendation from the American Scholastic Press Association in 2016. -
Summer Reading
Freshwoman- To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
- Uprising by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Sophomore- To Kill a Mockingbird by Betty Smith
- Uprising by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Junior- When the Emperor was Divine by Julie Otsuka
- Uprising by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Senior- Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson
- Uprising by Margaret Peterson Haddix
All-School Read for 2025- Uprising by Margaret Peterson Haddix
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Journalism - XPress
Xavier's XPress is our school's and community's news outlet. We serve to communicate all news in all of its forms to better tell Xavier's, the community's, and the world's story. Students are introduced to and utilize different mediums on our online platform. We are both a class and a club - everyone can get involved in the ever- changing and fascinating world of journalism.
The course is structured in a workshop format, is conducted during a class period, and requires time outside of class to finish assignments which often include attending events and activities.This is an amazing opportunity for our students to learn and grow.
Meet Our Faculty
List of 9 members.
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