SCHOOL AND PHILOSOPHY
Connelly School of the Holy Child, founded in 1961, is a Catholic, independent, college-preparatory school for girls. The School is part of a network of 33 Holy Child schools in the United States, Europe and Africa, which promote academic excellence and stress social responsibility by providing an environment for developing the critical-thinking, problem-solving, and decision-making skills needed in a changing world.
Holy Child enrolls 290 girls in grades 6-12 from throughout the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. The Class of 2012 has 50 students. Extracurricular activities are varied and include a special emphasis on community service.
Holy Child is accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools and the Maryland Department of Education. As a member of the National Association for College Admission Counseling, the Potomac and Chesapeake Association for College Admission Counseling, and the College Board, the School is committed to the ethical principles of good practice that the associations require of their members.
CURRICULUM AND REQUIREMENTS
Book Of Studies
Honors courses include Calculus; Precalculus; Algebra II/Trigonometry; Geometry; ; Physics; Chemistry; Biology; Spanish III & IV; and French III, IV & V.
Advanced Placement (AP) courses prepare students to take the College Board AP exam. AP courses are available in English Language, English Literature, Calculus AB, Statistics, US History, Biology, Spanish and French Language. Students must have the approval of the School’s Curriculum Committee in order to take more than two AP courses per year.
English: Most seniors choose two one-semester electives. This year those courses are British Literature and Argument & Rhetoric.
Religion: Religion is required each year, and students must complete at least 30 hours of community service as part of the required junior-year course. Seniors may take the full-year religion course, Foundations and Skills for Ministry, or choose two one-semester courses. The one-semester courses are World Religions and Questions in Theology.
Science: All science courses have a required lab component.
Consortium Offerings: In conjunction with other area independent schools, Holy Child students have the opportunity to take yearlong, college-level seminars with students at other schools. Each year Holy Child students enroll in AP Psychology through the consortium program.
Graduation Requirements: Twenty-four credits are required for graduation, including: Four credits each in English and religion; three credits each in mathematics, social studies, and science; three levels in a foreign language; two credits in fine arts; and one credit in physical education. Seniors enrolled in Art II, Advanced Theater Production, or Advanced Music Theory are generally completing a graduation requirement.
GRADE POINT AVERAGE AND CLASS STANDING
A student’s cumulative grade point average (CGPA) includes only grades earned in courses completed at Holy Child or as an official consortium course. Honors (0.5) and Advanced Placement (1.0) courses receive extra “weight” in the computation of the GPA. Year-end grades are used in the computation of the CGPA, unless a course is one semester in length. The CGPA does not include grades earned in physical education courses. If a student repeats a course, both earned grades are used in computing the CGPA. The CGPA is the basis for determining academic eligibility for National Honor Society, awards, or other such programs or organizations. The CGPA is used when reporting the GPA distribution of a graduating class. In some cases, an All-Course Cumulative GPA (ACGPA) is reported on a student’s official transcript in addition to the CGPA. The ACGPA includes the grades earned in all courses reported on the transcript. The ACGPA is weighted and, in cases where a course has been repeated, includes only the last grade earned. Holy Child does not assign class rank.
CUMULATIVE GPA DISTRIBUTION, CLASS OF 2011 AS OF JUNE 2010
1st Quintile 4.240 - 3.663
2nd Quintile 3.626 - 3.310
3rd Quintile 3.295 - 3.095
4th Quintile 3.068 - 2.884
5th Quintile 2.800 and below
COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES ADMITTING MEMBERS OF THE HOLY CHILD CLASSES OF 2006-2011
American University
American University of Paris
Arizona State University
Auburn University
Barnard College
Benedictine College
Boston College
Boston University
Brown University
Bucknell University
Carnegie Mellon University
Catholic University of America
Christopher Newport University
Clemson University
College of Charleston
College of New Jersey
College of William and Mary
College of Wooster
Cornell University
Denison University
DePaul University
DeSales University
Dickinson College
Drexel University
Duke University
Duquesne University
Earlham College
Eckerd College
Elon University
Emmanuel College
Fairfield University
Fashion Institute of Technology
Florida International University
Florida State University
Fordham University
Franklin and Marshall College
Frostburg State University
George Washington University
Georgetown University
Gettysburg College
Goucher College
Greensboro College
Grinnell College
Hamilton College
High Point University
Hobart and William Smith Colleges
Hollins University
Indiana University at Bloomington
James Madison University
John Carroll University
Johns Hopkins University
La Salle University
Le Moyne College
Lincoln University
Loyola Marymount University
Loyola University Maryland
Loyola University New Orleans
Lynchburg College
Manhattan College
Marquette University
Marymount University
McDaniel College
McGill University
Miami University
Michigan State University
Mitchell College
Mount Saint Mary's University
North Carolina State University
Northeastern University
Northwestern University
Oberlin College
Ohio State University
Pennsylvania State University
Pepperdine University
Presbyterian College
Providence College
Rhodes College
Roanoke College
Rochester Institute of Technology
Rollins College
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Sacred Heart University
Saint Francis University
Saint Joseph's University
Saint Mary's College
Salisbury University
Samford University
Sarah Lawrence College
Savannah College of Art and Design
School of the Museum of Fine Arts
Shenandoah University
Shepherd University
Southern Methodist University
St. Mary's College of Maryland
State University of New York at New Paltz
Stevenson University
Susquehanna University
Syracuse University
Temple University
Texas Christian University
Towson University
Trinity College
Trinity University
University of Alabama
University of British Columbia
University of Connecticut
University of Dallas
University of Dayton
University of Delaware
University of Denver
University of Kentucky
University of Limerick
University of Mary Washington
University of Maryland, Baltimore County
University of Maryland, College Park
University of Miami
University of Michigan
University of Mississippi
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
University of North Carolina at Greensboro
University of Notre Dame
University of Oregon
University of Pennsylvania
University of Pittsburgh
University of Richmond
University of Scranton
University of South Carolina
University of Tampa
University of Tennessee
University of Texas
University of Virginia
University of Wisconsin
Ursinus College
Vanderbilt University
Villanova University
Virginia Commonwealth University
Virginia Tech
Wake Forest University
Washington College
West Virginia University
Wheeling Jesuit University
Wittenberg University