Aurelia High School was the senior high school of Aurelia Community School. It is located in Aurelia, Iowa, a town in Cherokee County, Iowa, United States. Following the 2011-12 school year, Aurelia was one of the smallest schools in the state, with a 9-12 enrollment of around 90 students.
Education
Aurelia had a National Honor Society program and was the smallest high school in the state with a DECA program.
Music and speech
In 2003, Aurelia was recognized nationally as one of the 100 best music schools in the country. Two representatives were picked from each state, with Aurelia being one of Iowa's top two schools.
The Aurelia Jazz Band is widely recognized as one of the best in the state. In 2007, the Jazz Band won the Class 1A State Jazz Championship and in 2008, they finished second after making their eleventh consecutive appearance, and 18th overall. After failing to qualify in 2009, the jazz band made it back in 2010. One of the songs Aurelia performed in the 2007 competition was written specifically for Aurelia's jazz band, and is titled "A-Town Blues." The Aurelia Jazz Choir, directed by Deb Peterson, has also seen its share of success, qualifying for the State Showcase in 2007, 2008, and 2009. Aurelia finished 3rd all three years.
Aurelia's Speech department has also been very successful over the years, with the majority of speech students advancing to the state level over the past few years, and even had at least one act qualify for the All-State Showcase in every year from 2004-2009. The Speech department also puts on a play every fall, alternating between musical and comedy. The 2007 production was the world-famous "Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella," which was seen as a major success by the drama department because of the lack casting available at Aurelia High School. Nearly half of the student body had some involvement in that particular production.
Athletics
The athletics teams in Aurelia have been known as the Bulldogs throughout the years. This name dates back to at least the 1940s. The girls' teams were once called the Atoms before the short-lived athletics-only consolidation with Alta from 1990-1996. At the time, Aurelia was the only school in the state with nonrelated nicknames for the boys' and the girls' athletics teams. Aurelia has produced successful athletic teams over the years, most notably football. The football team had a ten-year run in the 8-man class that proved very successful. Aurelia made the playoffs in 2001 (Losing to Adair-Casey in the 8-man football championship), 2002, 2003, 2006, and 2007 and produced a 67-19 record from 2000-2008. After a 1-8 showing in 2009, Aurelia decided that it would share football with Alta High School in 2010. During a 4-year run near the beginning of the 8-man era, Aurelia was a perennial state title contender, being eliminated by the eventual state champion in 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2004, and accumulating just 5 losses in that period. Longtime coach Myron Radke, who retired after the 2008 football season, compiled a total of 156 victories and 83 losses in 24 seasons as a head football coach at Aurelia. Aurelia first made it to state in 1986, during Radke's hiatus. This season they were coached by Neil Phipps and made a run to the state title game, where they lost 6-0 to Paton-Churdan, the 1985 state champs. The '86 team included (among others) running back Ryan Kolpin, who holds many records for, and is a member of the athletics hall of fame at Coe College. Following this appearance Aurelia would not make it back to state until its 2001 runner-up season. In 2002 and 2003, Aurelia lost in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively. Falling in both years to Fenton Sentral High School.
Aurelia did not qualify for the playoffs in 2004 thanks to a rule that allowed only district champions to advance to state. In a year that produced what was arguably the second most talented team in Aurelia Bulldog history, Aurelia fell short at the hands of lRemsen St. Mary's in the next to last game of the season. St. Mary's stormed to victory in the 8-man class, beating Adair-Casey 56-8 in the most lopsided final to date.