Notre Dame Girls Senior High School
Educating Young Women of the Bono Region of Ghana
Sunyani, Ghana — School Sisters of Notre Dame (SSND) arrived in Sunyani the capital city of the Bono Region in Ghana on January 22, 1986, at the request of late Bishop James Owusu. The sisters started Notre Dame Girls Senior High School (NDGSHS) at the temporary premises of the renovated technical school near St. Patrick’s Primary and Junior Secondary School located behind Christ the King Catholic Cathedral. On September 28, 1997, the school moved to the village of Fiapre on the outskirts of Sunyani. NDGHS has been given numerous awards and the performance of students is steadily going up. In fact, in 2017 it was named the “second best performing senior high school in Ghana”. The school has grown in staff and buildings to accommodate over eleven hundred students.
Presently, three SSND sisters are working in the school as teachers: Sister Irene Brookman Arthur as Headmistress, Sister Emelia Agana Ayambire as an integrated science teacher and Sister Helen Galadima as a teacher of English.
Precisely, the ministry is to be present to the people. By calling forth the potential in young women, they are taught to become what God wants them to be in life. Group and individual counseling, Religious & Moral Education and Catechism classes are offered to students. Students are also guided in the choice of careers they may want to pursue after high school. The staff helps them to understand why the school exists: to provide a holistic education to help develop the girl child in Ghana as was the original vision of Bishop Owusu.
Justice, peace and the integrity of creation is promoted as the mandate of Shalom. Shalom is the commitment the School Sisters of Notre Dame not only teach the students and staff about Catholic Social Teaching but also ensure that action follows education. Staff and students live Shalom within the premises. Among the actions undertaken is the planting of trees and disposing of plastics to assure environmentally sound practices. Notre Dame Girls Senior High School was chosen by the Bono Peace Council as the Pioneer Peace Center which gives the students the opportunity to work hand in hand with the Council to promote peace in the Bono Region. In conjunction with Shalom, The UN International Days are commemorated by staff and students.