Bishop McNamara High School, a college preparatory school in the Holy Cross

Congregation of Holy Cross

The Congregation of Holy Cross or Congregatio a Sancta Cruce is a Catholic congregation of priests and brothers founded in 1837 by Blessed Father Basil Anthony-Marie Moreau, CSC, in Le Mans, France....

 tradition, is in Forestville, Maryland

Forestville, Maryland

Forestville is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. The population was 12,707 at the 2000 census...

. It is part of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington is a particular church of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States. It comprises the District of Columbia and Calvert, Charles, Montgomery, Prince George's and Saint Mary's counties in the state of Maryland....

.

History

Bishop McNamara High School opened as an all male school until 1992 when its sister school LaReine High School for girls closed. This prompted the conversion to coeducational learning. The school is widely known for its Fine Arts. This genre of education has boosted Bishop McNamara High School into being known as a Private College Preparatory High School of Fine Arts.

Athletics

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. In the 2008 season, the Lady Mustangs became WCAC champions.

Fine arts

The Fine Arts Department at Bishop McNamara offers one of the most extensive arts educations in the Washington, DC. The F.A.D.E. program, Fine Arts Diploma Endorsement, is unique to Bishop McNamara. This program serves to refine students' talent and skill, cultivate a community of respect, appreciation and understanding of the arts, and acknowledge students' dedication to the Fine Arts throughout their high school career. With band, orchestra, choir, theatre, dance and visual arts course offerings, Bishop McNamara High School's Fine Arts Department provides opportunities for student participation in a wide array of artistic endeavors.

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.

Notable alumni

• Waine Bacon
  Waine Bacon
  Waine Bacon was an American football defensive back....
  
   – NFL
  National Football League
  The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
  
   player
• John Baltimore
  John Baltimore
  John Baltimore is an American conductor.-Career:In 1996, Baltimore entered college at the Peabody Conservatory of Music at Johns Hopkins University where he studied percussion with Jonathan Haas and audited the graduate conducting course with Markand Thakkar...
  
   – orchestra conductor
• Todd Bozeman
  Todd Bozeman
  Todd Bozeman is an American college basketball coach and the current head men's basketball coach at Morgan State University.-Berkeley:...
  
   – NCAA basketball coach
• Chris Cosh
  Chris Cosh
  Chris Cosh , is an American football coach and currently holds the position of defensive coordinator and assistant head coach at Kansas State University...
  
   – NCAA football
  College football
  College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
  
   defensive coordinator
  Defensive coordinator
  A defensive coordinator typically refers to a coach on a gridiron football team who is in charge of the defense. Generally, along with his offensive counterpart, he represents the second level of command structure after the head coach...
  
  
• Timothy Creamer
  Timothy Creamer
  Timothy "TJ" Creamer is a NASA astronaut and a Colonel in the United States Army. Creamer was born in Fort Huachuca, Arizona, but considers Upper Marlboro, Maryland, to be his hometown. He is married to the former Margaret E. Hammer. They have two children.- Education :Bishop McNamara High School,...
  
   – NASA
  NASA
  The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
  
   astronaut
• Tyoka Jackson
  Tyoka Jackson
  Tyoka Jackson is a former professional American football player. He played 12 seasons in the NFL as a defensive lineman for the Miami Dolphins, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, St. Louis Rams, and Detroit Lions...
  
   – NFL player
• Jeff Kinney
  Jeff Kinney (writer)
  Jeffrey "Jeff" Kinney is an American game designer, cartoonist, producer, and author of children's books including the Diary of a Wimpy Kid book series. He is also attributed to be the creator of the children-oriented website Poptropica...
  
   – writer of Diary of a Wimpy Kid
  Diary of a Wimpy Kid
  Diary of a Wimpy Kid is a realistic fiction novel by Jeff Kinney. It is the first book in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. The book is about a middle-school child named Greg Heffley and his struggles in middle school. Greg also had problems with his best friend, Rowley Jefferson. The books focuses...
  
  
• Martin Spain – CEO and founder of n-tieractive Incorporated
• Keith Veney
  Keith Veney
  Keith Veney is an American former college basketball standout from the Marshall University. He holds the National Collegiate Athletic Association  Division I record for the most three-point field goals made in a single game with 15...
  
   – NCAA Division I men's basketball record holder for three-pointers
  Three-point field goal
  A three-point field goal is a field goal in a basketball game, made from beyond the three-point line, a designated arc radiating from the basket...
  
  made in a single game with 15