Cornelia Connelly High School is a Catholic

Catholic school

Catholic schools are maintained parochial schools or education ministries of the Catholic Church. the Church operates the world's largest non-governmental school system...

 college preparatory high school

High school

High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....

 for girls in Anaheim, California

Anaheim, California

Anaheim is a city in Orange County, California. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was about 365,463, making it the most populated city in Orange County, the 10th most-populated city in California, and ranked 54th in the United States...

. Established in 1961 by the Sisters of the Society of the Holy Child Jesus

Society of the Holy Child Jesus

The Society of the Holy Child Jesus is an international community of nuns that was founded in England in 1846 by Philadelphia-born Cornelia Connelly. Cornelia converted to the Roman Catholic Church in 1835. The Society was approved in 1887 by Pope Leo XIII, and the rules and constitutions were...

, it is named after Cornelia Connelly

Cornelia Connelly

Cornelia Connelly , born Cornelia Peacock, was the born founder of the Society of the Holy Child Jesus, a Roman Catholic religious order...

, founder of that order

Roman Catholic religious order

Catholic religious orders are, historically, a category of Catholic religious institutes.Subcategories are canons regular ; monastics ; mendicants Catholic religious orders are, historically, a category of Catholic religious institutes.Subcategories are canons regular (canons and canonesses regular...

. Although located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange

Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange is a particular church of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church whose territory comprises the whole of Orange County, California, in the United States...

, it is an independent school, one of ten Holy Child schools in the United States. There are also thirteen other Holy Child Schools in England, Ireland, France, Ghana, and Nigeria.

Connelly's student body consists of approximately 300 students who represent a multitude of religious and cultural traditions from Orange, Los Angeles

Los Angeles County, California

Los Angeles County is a county in the U.S. state of California. As of 2010 U.S. Census, the county had a population of 9,818,605, making it the most populous county in the United States. Los Angeles County alone is more populous than 42 individual U.S. states...

, Riverside

Riverside County, California

Riverside County is a county in the U.S. state of California. One of 58 California counties, it covers in the southern part of the state, and stretches from Orange County to the Colorado River, which forms the state border with Arizona. The county derives its name from the city of Riverside,...

, and San Bernardino Counties

San Bernardino County, California

San Bernardino County is a county in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2010 census, the population was 2,035,210, up from 1,709,434 as of the 2000 census...

.

Connelly is a sister school to Rosary High School

Rosary High School, Fullerton, California

Rosary High School is a Roman Catholic Catholic all-girls college preparatory high school located in Fullerton, California. It is accredited by the Western Catholic Educational Association and the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and is a member of the National Catholic Educational...

 in Fullerton; Rosary is diocesan whereas Connelly is independent. Connelly also has a brother school; Servite High School

Servite High School

Servite High School is an all-boys, Roman Catholic college preparatory high school operated by the Order of Friar Servants of Mary . Located on a campus in Anaheim, California, USA, as of 2011 it had an enrollment of about 985 and about 9200 alumni. Its mascot is the Friar and its colors are black...

 in Anaheim. Servite High School and Cornelia Connelly High School are both independent single-sex Catholic college-prep high schools. Servite, Connelly, and Rosary unify at football games, Tri-School Theater, and school dances.

Academics

There is an average class size of 15-18. Cornelia Connelly High School is well known for its high academics. The school's Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores are among the highest in Southern California.
The first two female valedictorians from Harvard University were Cornelia Connelly School Graduates.

Cornelia Conllelly High School also offers national as well as international foreign exchange opportunities to their students. Students may attend various Holy Child Schools along the northern East Coast of the United States, and the Holy Child School in Killiney, co Dublin, Ireland. Students may spend eight weeks studying at a Holy Child School, as part of the Holy Child Network of Schools Exchange Program.

Athletics

Connelly, a member of the San Joaquin League in the small school division fields competitive teams in many sports including:

• Tennis
• Volleyball
• Cross Country
• Golf
• Basketball
• Soccer
• Softball
• Swimming
• Water Polo

Cheer leading and song-leading are also available athletic extra-curricular activities. These teams not only promote in-school spirit but also, together with Rosary High School, cheer at Servite football and some basketball games.

In volleyball, the Varsity team took the 2007 and 2008 CIF Division V single A championships. As well as the 2008 and 2009 Division V AA championships with Coach Garry Currier. They are playing for another this year with a strong team.

Choir

Besides athletics, Connelly has an Advanced Women's Ensemble Choir. The choir has been under the direction of Mr. Brian Dehn for about six years.

Many of the choir achievements are:

• Traveled and toured through Italy 2006
• Sang for the Pope at the Vatican City
• Traveled and sang at the other Holy Child schools in New York 2007
• Competed in The Festival of Gold in New York and has placed 8th in the Nation overall in 2007
• In San Francisco 2008, the Advanced Women's Ensemble has competed again in the Festival of Gold and won 1st place in the "Women choir" category and 2nd place overall.
• The choir traveled to China in 2008 and sang for the athletes in the Olympic village.
• In 2010, along with the Woman's Advanced Handbell Ensemble, the Choir performed throughout England and Ireland at many of the Holy Child Schools. They also performed at St. Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin, Ireland, Warwick Castle in Warwick, England, and at Greater St. Mary's Church in Cambridge, England while on tour. They also performed at two Masses, one at St. Mary's Pro-Cathedral in Dublin, Ireland, and the other at the Farm Street Church in London, England.
• Most recently, the choir performed at a Cornelia Connelly sister school in Pasadena, Mayfield School, in which the choirs from both schools performed for the Mayfield student body and faculty.

Notable alumni

• The first two female valedictorians from Harvard University were Cornelia Connelly High School graduates.
• Mary Kay Letourneau
  Mary Kay Letourneau
  Mary Kay Fualaau , formerly known as Mary Kay Letourneau, is an American schoolteacher who was imprisoned from 1997 to 2004 for having sexual intercourse with her 13-year-old student, Vili Fualaau. She gave birth to two of Fualaau's children while incarcerated...
  
  
• Gigi Ibrahim- Egyptian social/political activist who played part in the 2011 Egyptian Revolution