Notre Dame de Sion School () is a

preschool A preschool, also known as nursery school, pre-primary school, or play school or creche, is an educational establishment or learning space offering early childhood education to children before they begin compulsory education at primary sch ...

through grade 12 certified college preparatory school located in Kansas City, Missouri. This

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

school was founded by the Sisters of Notre Dame de Sion in 1912. The all-girls

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 ...

campus is located in South Kansas City, and the co-educational grade school campus is located in the Hyde Park neighborhood. The two campuses are about 10 miles apart.

History

Hyde Park

In 1892, the

Congregation A congregation is a large gathering of people, often for the purpose of worship. Congregation may also refer to: * Church (congregation), a Christian organization meeting in a particular place for worship *Congregation (Roman Curia), an administr ...

arrived in the United States when four Sisters of Sion began educating young children in Auburn and

Lewiston, Maine Lewiston (; ; officially the City of Lewiston, Maine) is the second largest city in Maine and the most central city in Androscoggin County. The city lies halfway between Augusta, the state's capital, and Portland, the state's most populous ci ...

. By 1904, the number of Sisters had grown to sixty. In 1907, the Sisters transferred to

Marshall, Missouri Marshall is a city in Saline County, Missouri, United States. The population was 13,065 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Saline County. The Marshall Micropolitan Statistical Area consists of Saline County. It is home to Missouri Val ...

, where they taught at Sion Academy until 1925. In 1912, Bishop

Thomas Francis Lillis Thomas Francis Lillis (March 3, 1861 – December 29, 1938) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Leavenworth in Kansas (1905–1910) and as bishop of the Diocese of Kansas City in Missouri ...

invited seven Sisters to Kansas City. Two taught in the Annunciation School. The others began a French

kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th ce ...

and gave private sewing, music and French lessons, which grew into the Notre Dame de Sion School. For decades to follow, the Sisters continued managing and growing the institution, building their first campus in Kansas City’s historic Hyde Park. In 1953,

Bobby Greenlease Robert Cosgrove Greenlease Jr. (February 3, 1947 – September 28, 1953) was a six-year-old from Kansas City, Missouri, United States, who was the victim of a kidnapping and homicide on September 28, 1953. His father, Robert Cosgrove Greenlease ...

was kidnapped from the Hyde Park school by a woman claiming to be his aunt. The $600,000 ransom paid by his family was the largest paid to that point, although Greenlease had been killed before the ransom was paid. The original campus at 3823 Locust is now co-ed and includes PreK Montessori, and kindergarten through middle school.

South Kansas City

In 1962, the high school moved to south Kansas City at 10631 Wornall Rd. Six years later the Sisters invited lay members to serve on the school's board of trustees, and in 1990 the ownership of the school was transferred to the Board.

Sion today

Notre Dame de Sion is still located in the South Kansas City campus. Sion has a musical and plays. It also has a drum line and choir. Sion's dance team won 10th overall in the nation in 2019 and has won 1st place in the state of Missouri for ten consecutive years. Other sports include basketball, softball, cheerleading, swim, dive, soccer, volleyball, field hockey, lacrosse, cross-country, and track.

Governance

Notre Dame de Sion in Kansas City is one of seventeen Sion schools worldwide. Notre Dame de Sion in Kansas City is affiliated with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph as well as the Congregation of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Sion. The school is owned by a lay corporation and governed by a board of trustees.http://ndsion.edu/mission/history-and-traditions.cfml

Notable alumnae

Heidi Gardner Heidi Lynn Gardner (born July 27, 1983) is an American actress, comedian, and writer. She has been a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' since 2017, beginning in season 43. Early life Gardner was born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri. Sh ...

- actress on

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock (streaming service), Peacock. ...

Megan Barry Megan Christine Barry (née Mueller; born September 22, 1963) is an American businesswoman and politician who served as the seventh mayor of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County from 2015 until March 6, 2018, when she resi ...

- former Mayor of Nashville *

Maggie Williams Margaret Ann Williams (born December 25, 1954) is a former director of the Institute of Politics at Harvard University and is a partner in Griffin Williams, a management-consulting firm. She was the campaign manager for Hillary Clinton's 2008 ...

- Former Chief of Staff for

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...

, one of the early African-American graduates in the 1970s

External links

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Notre Dame De Sion High schools in Kansas City, Missouri Catholic secondary schools in Missouri Educational institutions established in 1912 Girls' schools in Missouri Private middle schools in Missouri 1912 establishments in Missouri Roman Catholic Diocese of Kansas City–Saint Joseph Preparatory schools in Missouri