Lycée Notre Dame de Sion Istanbul ( tr, Notre Dame de Sion Özel Fransız Lisesi) is a French

private high school Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

located in the

Harbiye, Şişli Harbiye is a neighbourhood of Şişli, Istanbul, Turkey. The neighbourhood takes its name from the ''Mekteb-i Harbiye'' ( Ottoman War Academy) that functioned here for many years, albeit with intervals, in the 19th and 20th centuries. Harbiye is ...

neighbourhood of

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

, Turkey. It was founded in 1856. The

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

was established in the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...

as a

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

school for girls only. It was later transformed into a co-educational status. The Medium of instruction from preparatory class through

twelfth grade Twelfth grade, 12th grade, senior year, or grade 12 is the final year of secondary school in most of North America. In other regions, it may also be referred to as class 12 or Year 13. In most countries, students are usually between the ages of 17 ...

is in the

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

and

Turkish language Turkish ( , ), also referred to as Turkish of Turkey (''Türkiye Türkçesi''), is the most widely spoken of the Turkic languages, with around 80 to 90 million speakers. It is the national language of Turkey and Northern Cyprus. Significant sma ...

, and takes four years after a preparatory class of one school year.

History

A group of eleven French nuns traveled to Istanbul arriving on October 7, 1856. They took over the administration of Maison du Saint-Esprit, a

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of " room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exte ...

in the Pangaltı neighborhood, which was named after the 1846-built Cathedral of the Holy Spirit next to it, and was run by the

Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul The Company of the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul ( la, Societas Filiarum Caritatis a Sancto Vincentio de Paulo), commonly called the Daughters of Charity or Sisters of Charity of Saint Vincent De Paul, is a Society of Apostoli ...

(french: Filles de la Charité), a society of apostolic life for women within the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

. The official opening of the French boarding school under the name Lycée Notre Dame de Sion took place on November 27 of the same year. It became the first ever girls' school in Turkey. Inıtially a boarding school for

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι� ...

girls, it shortly after attracted

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

pupils. From 1863 on,

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

girls attended the school following the interest of the notable families in the Empire and the approval of the Ottoman Sultan. The school closed down during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

when the French nuns left the country as a result of their country being at war with Turkey. In 1919, the school reopened. With the foundation of the Turkish Republic in 1923, the school was subordinated to the Ministry of National Education, and Turkish administrators and teachers joined the school staff. It began also to serve as a

day school A day school — as opposed to a boarding school — is an educational institution where children and adolescents are given instructions during the day, after which the students return to their homes. A day school has full-day programs when compa ...

. The

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...

section was closed in 1971, and the boarding school in 1972. From 1989 on, the head of the school administration was handed over to a secular rector while the nuns remained serving in the school as well. After a 140-year long tradition of girls only school, it went co-educational, accepting boys with the 1996–97 school year.

Cultural projects

An international piano contest was organized by the school in 2013. A

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small nu ...

concert was performed in the school in 2014 in commemoration of harpist Fatma Ceren Necipoğlu, who died at the

Air France Flight 447 Air France Flight 447 (AF447 or AFR447) was a scheduled international passenger flight from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to Paris, France. On 1 June 2009, inconsistent airspeed indications led to the pilots inadvertently stalling the Airbus A330 ser ...

accident in 2009. In 2015, the art gallery of the school hosted an exhibition titled "Osmanlı'dan Cumhuriyet'e Kadınlar" (literally:Women from the Ottoman Empire to the Turkish Republic) showing Christian, Jewish and Muslim women mainly on postcards from 1880 to 1930.

Notable alumni

* Three adoptive children of

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, or Mustafa Kemal Pasha until 1921, and Ghazi Mustafa Kemal from 1921 Surname Law (Turkey), until 1934 ( 1881 – 10 November 1938) was a Turkish Mareşal (Turkey), field marshal, Turkish National Movement, re ...

, including

Afet İnan Ayşe Afet İnan (30 October 1908 – 8 June 1985) was a Turkish historian and sociologist. She was one of the eight adopted daughters of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. She was known to be involved in the practice of physical anthropology, as she ...

(1908–1985) ), were educated in Lycée Notre Dame de Sion. *

Ayla Algan Ayla Algan (born 29 October 1937) is a Turkish film/stage actress and singer. Biography Ayla Algan was born in Istanbul and spent her childhood in France where she studied at Lycée Notre Dame de Sion Istanbul and Versailles Lycee. Then she m ...

(born 1937), film/stage actress and singer, * Adile Ayda (1912–1992), diplomat * Oya Baydar (born 1940), sociologist and writer * Aliye Berger (1903–1974), artist, engraver and painter, * Selina Özuzun Doğan (born 1977), lawyer and politician, *

Balçiçek İlter Balçiçek İlter, formerly also known as Balçiçek Pamir (born June 16, 1973, İstanbul), is a Turkish journalist, columnist and television presenter. Early years She studied psychology at the Middle East Technical University in Ankara after fi ...

(born 1973), journalist and television presenter *

(1908–1985), historian * Güzin Sayar (1922-2006), journalist and agony aunt known as 'Güzin Abla' * Nazlı Ilıcak (born 1944), journalist and writer, * Suzan Kahramaner (1913–2006), mathematician, one of the first Turkish female mathematicians with PhD *

Füreya Koral Füreya Koral (June 2, 1910 – August 25, 1997) was a pioneering Pottery, ceramics artist born into a prominent artistic family in Turkey. Known for her wall panels, Koral worked in a variety of media such as tiles and Figurine, statuettes, ...

(1910–1997), ceramist * Matild Manukyan (c. 1916-17–2001), businesswoman * Bedia Muvahhit (1897–1994), stage and movie actress, *

Türkan Rado Türkan Rado (30 October 1915 – 3 March 2007) was a Turkish professor of jurisprudence specializing in Roman law at Istanbul University. She was the first ever female professor of law in Turkey. Biography She was born on 30 October 1915 in Ist ...

(1915–2007), first ever Turkish female professor of jurisprudence *

Pınar Selek Pınar Selek (born October 8, 1971) is a Turkish sociologist, feminist, and author. She is known for her work on the rights of vulnerable communities in Turkey, including women, the poor, street children, sexual minorities, and Kurdish communi ...

(born 1971), sociologist, writer and feminist *

Princess Fahrelnissa Zeid Fahrelnissa Zeid (, ''Fakhr un-nisa'' or ''Fahr-El-Nissa''; 7 January 1901 – 5 September 1991) was a Turkish artist best known for her large-scale abstract paintings with kaleidoscopic patterns as well as her drawings, lithographs, and sculp ...

(1901–1991), painter, ;Fiction: * Feride, novel character

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lycee Notre Dame de Sion Istanbul 1856 establishments in the Ottoman Empire Education in the Ottoman Empire Educational institutions established in 1856 Catholic secondary schools in Europe Girls' schools in Turkey Private schools in Turkey Catholic Church in the Ottoman Empire France–Ottoman Empire relations France–Turkey relations High schools in Istanbul Şişli

History

Cultural projects

Notable alumni

See also

References

External links