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    Welcome to the Happy Valley High School English Department
     
    Willa CatherFyodor DostoevskyE.E. CummingsMark Twain
    The goals of the Happy Valley English Department are to provide an environment where students can explore different aspects of life through literature, gain strong communication and writing skills, and achieve a better understanding of themself through a combination of reading, creative writing, and self-reflection.
     
    The study of language and the literature that has been created with it should be an integral part of any education.  Verbal or written communication is a way of expressing internal thoughts, feelings, ideas, and observations, and a strong background in the rules governing the language will help the student to efficiently and clearly communicate with others. 
     
     
    Additionally, the study of literature allows the individual to receive communications from authors throughout the ages, and demonstrates that the concerns of the individual in our current world are much the same for others both now and long ago.   Life, love, fear, laughter, compassion, and pathos have always existed in the heart of humanity, and the written word is one of the most effective tools to demonstrate that. 
     
    The HVHS English Department strives to provide a curriculum that allows the student to decide their own path, based upon his or her experiences and interests.  Studying literature from a diverse collection of authors will demonstrate that the human condition is truly a universal phenomenon, and that geographical borders do not define the soul of the individual. 
    		Rene DescartesSylvia PlathJane AustenTruman Capote
     
    Please explore our web pages for additional information about our faculty, classes, and department.  If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us. 
     
    Sincerely,
     
    The English Department
    Happy Valley High School
    330 Rolling Ridge Dr.
    State College , PA 16801