by Sr Marie-Lise Adou
In France, the Guardianship Board is a statutory and mandatory body under the Contrat d’association between Catholic schools and the State, in accordance with the requirements of Catholic Education authorities. Its role is to safeguard a school’s mission and its link with the founding congregation.
While I was being appointed Autorité de tutelle (Guardianship Authority), a part-time Headteacher was also invited by the Congregation to act as Déléguée de tutelle (Guardianship Delegate). Together with two others – a former teacher and a former Headteacher – we form the Guardianship Board.
In this role, we serve the Notre Dame de Sion schools in France, working alongside school leaderships to nurture the Sion ethos and guide the schools’ identity.
We try to be as present as possible.
We are in regular contact with the Headteachers, and take part, either together or separately, in meetings of the Catholic teaching management bodies known as OGECs. We also respond to requests from schools for special events, such as the start of the academic year in September, anniversaries, or the inauguration of new buildings.
Each school has an educational and pastoral project, revised approximately every six years. These projects are based on the guidelines of the Congregation and draw on the charism of our founders. Their approval requires the endorsement of the Guardianship Authority. In 2025, the schools in both Évry and Strasbourg renewed their projects.
In 2025, we went to celebrate the 175th anniversary of the Notre Dame de Sion school in Evry, in the Paris region. In May 2026, we travelled to Marseille for the inauguration of a new building for the preparatory classes.
We try to be as present as possible in the various schools, meeting teaching teams, the administration, the students and the OGEC staff. (In Catholic schools in France, teachers are paid by the State, while other staff are paid by the school’s management body: the OGEC.)
One of our most important roles in offering support is to listen and to create spaces for dialogue.
I regularly bring together the Heads of Pastoral Care, for a discussion on pastoral life in their schools, the Sion charism, and related topics. Whenever possible, I visit a school to meet them on site.
Headteachers and pastoral care staff can contact us easily and do so regularly to take stock, and to share their joys, their questions and their difficulties. One of our most important roles in offering support is to listen and to create spaces for dialogue.
We also encourage international exchanges between Notre Dame de Sion schools around the world. On each occasion, we witness wonderful moments among young people and adults alike.
The guardianship group organises two competitions for NDS schools in France:
Improvisa’Sion – an acting competition
Pupils from each secondary school spend time together in the mountains with professional actors to learn about theatre. This experience enables them to forge links between schools, and to learn to work together collaboratively. In May, they meet in Paris for the final, before a jury which awards a prize to the best team. It is always a joyful occasion.
Élocu’Sion – a public speaking competition
Pupils from each sixth-form college prepare a public speech on a given theme during the course of the year. In June, in Paris, a jury listens to one pupil from each school and awards prizes to the top three. It is always difficult because the standard is always very high, but it is also a great moment of joy.
Every year, the Guardianship Board invites the Headteachers to Bartrès, just before the start of the new school year in September, to work together on a theme related to our charism; Deputy Heads and OGEC chairpersons also take part when they can.
To forge bonds between everyone and build a sense of community.
In October, the start-of-term conference is hosted by a different school, either in France or in Istanbul. These two events provide an opportunity to discover a region or a country, and above all to forge bonds between everyone and build a sense of community, including with the teachers at Sion Istanbul. The theme of the gathering is always chosen in line with our charism.
This mission in the service of our schools brings me great joy through all the encounters. It is an opportunity to raise awareness of the Congregation, and it also allows me to deepen my understanding of the Congregation’s charism by visiting the archives to discover the history of each school.