Brien McMahon High School (BMHS) is a secondary school located in Norwalk, Connecticut, United States. It is named after

Brien McMahon Brien McMahon, born James O'Brien McMahon (October 6, 1903July 28, 1952) was an American lawyer and politician who served in the United States Senate (as a Democrat from Connecticut) from 1945 to 1952. McMahon was a major figure in the est ...

, a former

United States Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

from Norwalk. The school's mascot is a Senator and its colors are red, white, and blue. The school's first senior class graduated in 1962. The Center for Global Studies is a

magnet school In the U.S. education system, magnet schools are public schools with specialized courses or curricula. "Magnet" refers to how the schools draw students from across the normal boundaries defined by authorities (usually school boards) as school ...

within Brien McMahon High School. This is a magnet program for students in

Fairfield County Fairfield County is the name of three counties in the United States: * Fairfield County, Connecticut * Fairfield County, Ohio Fairfield County is a county located in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 158,921. ...

who want to learn Arabic, Chinese, or Japanese languages, and the respective culture and history. A

Middle Eastern Studies Middle Eastern studies (sometimes referred to as Near Eastern studies) is a name given to a number of academic programs associated with the study of the history, culture, politics, economies, and geography of the Middle East, an area that is gene ...

program was introduced in the fall of 2006. The diversity break down of the school is 40% Hispanic, 30% White, 23% Black, 5% Asian, and 2% other.

History

Constructed in 1956, Brien McMahon High School first enrolled students during the 1958–59 school year. The first graduating class was in 1962. In 2006 the school had a major reconstruction. On September 28, 2010, the school began a garden project to convert its center courtyard into a garden for the entire school to use. Volunteers from

Pepperidge Farm Pepperidge Farm is an American commercial bakery founded in 1937 by Margaret Rudkin, who named the brand after her family's 123-acre farm property in Fairfield, Connecticut, which had been named for the pepperidge tree. A subsidiary of the Camp ...

, the school's National Honor Society, teachers, and students began the garden, which is used for biology classes, cooking classes, and other classes around the school.

Athletics

The school's crosstown rival is Norwalk High School; they compete in an annual Thanksgiving Day football game. The boys'

lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensiv ...

team was the Division 2 state champion in 2000 and Division 1 state runner-up in 2005. The football team was state champion in 1994. The girls'

team was Division 2 state champion runner-up in 2007. The

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

team was Class LL state champion runner-up in 2009. Brien McMahon is a member of the

Fairfield County Interscholastic Athletic Conference FCIAC, the Fairfield County Interscholastic Athletic Conference, was established in 1961 and is made up of high schools throughout Fairfield County, Connecticut Fairfield County is a county in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Con ...

(FCIAC). BMHS has multiple co-op teams including boys' ice hockey, which is combined with Norwalk High School, the girls' ice hockey team combined with Norwalk High School and Wilton High School, and the swimming and diving team, which is combined with Norwalk High School. In their 2016 season the girls' volleyball team were FCIAC state runner-ups.

Notable alumni

Sarah Andersen Sarah Andersen is an American cartoonist and illustrator, and the author of the webcomic '' Sarah's Scribbles''. Biography Andersen graduated from the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) in 2014. While attending MICA, she started drawing t ...

, cartoonist and illustrator, and the author of the webcomic Sarah's Scribbles *

Jesse Bradford Jesse Bradford (born May 28, 1979) is an American actor. He began his career as a child actor at the age of five and received two Young Artist Award for Best Leading Young Actor in a Feature Film nominations for his performances in ''King of the ...

, actor and former McMahon homecoming king * Mitch Longley, TV, stage and screen actor, founder of the non-profit organization SOWOHO * John Mayer, musician * Kevin Morton, former MLB player for the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...

* Idris Price, former NFL player for the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The cl ...

* Travis Simms, pro boxer in the super welterweight division, former champion * Daniel Walsh, winner of a bronze medal in

rowing at the 2008 Summer Olympics Rowing competitions at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing were held from August 9 to August 17, at the Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park. Qualification Medal table Medal summary Men's events Women's events See also *Rowing at ...

Joan Wasser Joan Wasser (born July 26, 1970) is an American musician, singer-songwriter and producer who releases music as Joan As Police Woman. She began her career playing violin with the Dambuilders and played with Black Beetle, Antony and the Johnsons, ...

, indie rock musician *

Rita Williams Rita Williams (born January 14, 1976) is a former professional basketball player in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She was the 13th pick in the 1998 WNBA draft, selected by the Washington Mystics. She attended Mitchell Coll ...

, former professional basketball player in the

Women's National Basketball Association The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is an American professional basketball league. It is composed of twelve teams, all based in the United States. The league was founded on April 22, 1996, as the women's counterpart to the Natio ...

(WNBA)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brien McMahon High School Public high schools in Connecticut Schools in Fairfield County, Connecticut Buildings and structures in Norwalk, Connecticut Educational institutions established in 1960 Magnet schools in Connecticut 1960 establishments in Connecticut