Bishop Connolly High School
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Bishop Connolly High School is a co-educational Catholic high school in Fall River, Massachusetts. It currently enrolls approximately 350 students.
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[edit] History
Fall River Bishop James L. Connolly of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fall River, Massachusetts began a campaign to build another diocesan high school in the early 1960's. The Highlands section of Fall River was chosen as the location for the new school which was initially planned to serve 1000 boys. Bishop Connolly first opened its doors in 1966, with the Jesuits staffing the school as teachers. In 1970, the Brothers of Christian Instruction joined the staff from the now closed Msgr. Prevost High School. Ten years later, in 1980, Connolly became coeducational after Bishop Gerrard High School, an all girls institution in Fall River closed its doors after many years of faithful service to the city and diocese. In 1995, the last Jesuit teacher left Bishop Connolly. The teaching staff is now primarily made up of lay persons, though a few members of the Brothers of Christian Instruction still teach. Connolly serves students from over 30 cities and towns in an extensive geographical area covering southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
Recently, Connolly retooled its administrative structure, adding a President's position above that of the actual school principal. Directly under the principal, there are now deans for attendance and student life.
[edit] Campus and Building
Connolly's campus is quite large at over 60 acres. The campus is bounded on the north by Langley St and Bristol Community College. It is bouded to the east and south by Route 24 and President Ave. to the west it is bounded by Elsbree St. B.M.C Durfee High School, Fall River's public high school is located directly across Elsbree St. The campus contains a football field with bleachers and a concession stand, a soccer field, an outdoor track, several tennis courts, a baseball field, a sofball field, and several practice fields.
The Building contains a 1000 seat gymnasium, an 800 seat auditorium, and 200 seat cafeteria at the far west end. The middle section contains the classrooms and most offices. At the far east end is the former faculy house, which is now the Cardinal Medieros Residence, a retirement home for former diocesan priests. The library is located in a circular building in back of the main building and is connected to the rest of the school by a small breezeway.
[edit] Academics
Bishop Connolly's academic structure is similar to that of most other high schools. There are individual academic departments (i.e. Mathematics, Social Studies), each headed by a department chair. There are approximately 3-5 teachers per department under the department chair. Aside from regular college prep classes, Connolly has extensive honors and advanced placement offerings. The average class size is 22 to 25 students. Honors sections average 15 to 18 students, while advanced placement courses tend to number 8 students or less.
Bishop Connolly High School is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges.
[edit] Athletics
Connolly offers 23 different interscholastic sports for boys and girls and 38 separate teams throughout the year. Connolly is a member of The Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Associations's Eastern Athletic Conference. The athletic squads are called the Cougars.
During the 1990’s Connolly athletic squads routinely qualified for state tournament play. The hockey program was the first to produce a state championship hockey team from southeastern Massachusetts. The student-athletes have also won state championships in baseball and tennis; as well as state sectional titles in basketball, hockey, baseball, cross country, and tennis. Currently, Connolly's basketball teams are heading into the state tournament.
In 2003 after years of speculation, Connolly fielded its first football team in school history.
[edit] Clubs and Activities
Students at Bishop Connolly have the opportunity to participate in a wide variety of extracurricular activities including:
- Liturgical Committee
- Food Pantry
- Habitat for Humanity
- Students Against Destructive Decisions (S.A.D.D.)
- Student Government
- Student Ambassadors
- Theatre Company
- Chorus
- Liturgical Ensemble
- National Honor Society
- Speech and Debate Team
- Math Team
- Mock Trial
- Yearbook
- ROV-Club
- French Honor Society
- Spanish Honor Society
- Portuguese Honor Society
- Newspaper*
*Connolly's student newspaper, Paw Prints, is now online at www.PawPrintsNewspaper.com*
[edit] President's Message
Excerpt from the President's Message:
"...Founded in 1967 by the Society of Jesus, the school maintains the original values and traditions of its Jesuit beginnings.
Long recognized for its excellent academic program, our school also provides extensive offerings in the arts as well as athletics. Serving students from the greater Fall River area and nearby Rhode Island , the Connolly campus is the largest of the four diocesan high schools and comprises over 72 acres. Playing fields, outdoor recreational facilities and environmental field laboratories are all available to our student body..."
