Family Updates
Weekly Update: March 7, 2026
Here’s a weekly update for March 6, 2026
On Tuesday, March 3rd, our eighth graders performed The Fight for Our Rights, a play highlighting the history of the women’s suffrage movement. Despite an unexpected snow week, the students persevered—supporting one another with line cues, quick costume changes, and smooth scene transitions.
The play explored the decades of organizing that led to women winning the right to vote and offered a powerful reminder of the importance of building intersectional social movements that center the experiences and voices of those most marginalized. Their performances, for both the school and the broader community, brought to life the stories, successes, and struggles of suffragists of color.
On Tuesday, April 14 at 6:00 PM, we will host a family workshop titled The Science of Building Habits, exploring strategies that support the academic and personal habits students need for long-term independence and success.
This session is part of our family workshop series (see the poster below), which continued this week with a valuable conversation on Screens and Teens. These programs are thoughtfully selected for our community, and families who attend receive family service credits. If you can join us, we hope to see you there—it would be wonderful to fill the room.
Calendar Highlights:
Thursday March 12 ~ AHA! Night (OSS tabling at Star Store 5-7pm, in partnership with Women’s Alliance.)
Friday March 13 ~ Cozy Craft Corner hosted at OSS by the Family Engagement Committee, 5:30-6:45pm. Join in!
We made a special request for co-ed youth league basketball, and our wish was fulfilled! Now, we hope you’ll sign up and enjoy the game!
Our Grade 5 students are engaging in the ThinkGive Circles of Care curriculum, where they reflect on the people and places—from themselves and their families to friends and the broader global community—and explore how care strengthens these connections. Through interactive lessons, meaningful dialogue, and creative reflection, our students build empathy and develop a deeper understanding of their impact on others. Be sure to check out the link in this newsletter for family resources that extend this learning at home and invite you into your child’s Circle of Care journey.
Many community organizations offer amazing summer programs for students – we invite you to explore options on the Local Day Camps page of our Summer Programs website. Some are open for registration now, and others will open for registration soon. We will continue to update the website as more information becomes available. Some programs will fill quickly.
We are finalizing our OSS summer program schedule and will share our program options with you later in March, along with an online registration form. If you have any questions, please reach out to Ms. Sanders at asanders@oursistersschool.org or text 774.328.6694.
The brand new, still in the box couch illustrated above is available for $50 to any interested party. Email Ms. Herman for details.
New Bedford public has a PD day however, OSS does not. So, we look forward to seeing everyone for school on Monday.
Have a refreshing weekend!
Ms. Herman and the OSS Team
Weekly Update: February 28, 2026
Here’s a weekly update for February 28, 2026
We have to begin with a small collection of storm photos!
Downtown New Bedford, beautifully captured by our own Ms. Bowles.
Ms. Kozak’s tallest family member, “Frosty.”
Itsy-bitsy, teensy-weensy Mila bravely heading out for a quick “pee break.”
A snow mountain on the street in front of Ms. Herman’s home. A full week after the storm three front loaders and two bobcats were still hard at work—building and hauling away piles of snow from neighborhood streets!
Understandably, many are wondering: do these snow days impact our school year calendar? After careful consideration—and keeping in mind that our school days are already longer than a traditional schedule—the answer is no. Our calendar will remain unchanged. We will stay the course and stand by the thoughtfully crafted schedule already in place.
During our Zoom Community Meeting on Wednesday we enjoyed an impromptu show and tell of family pets including Fluffy the bunny, many curious cats, cuddly dogs, and even a bearded dragon! It is disappointing that we didn’t snap a screenshot to share the sweetness.
When we inquired about blizzard snacks we enjoyed during the blizzard and week-long storm clean up, the mouth watering listed included: ice cream, cookie skillet, chocolate bunnies, and Jag - a Portuguese/Cape Verdean food. Chips and queso, Dunkin’ Donuts, cookies and cake pops, apples and peanut butter – yum! Strawberry cheesecake ice cream, hot cheetos and nutella, banana pancakes, banana bread, and brownies. Chocolate cake, chocolate chip pancakes with a fruit salad, Biscoff tiramisu. I got hot cocoa and banana bread, ice cream sundae, lots of hot cocoa, chocolate cream pie, pesto with pasta and lemon ginger tea! Cupcakes, more cupcakes, green apples and ice cream from the snow. We made a yellow cake that finished baking one minute before the power went out. So yummy! And finally, “food - I ate too much to recall!”
On Thursday, February 12th, ten of our 7th graders participated in AHA! Night at the new Zeiterion Theatre. Students performed their Herstory! projects during the tabling portion of the event and shared their This I Believe essays at the Jazz Jam in front of a packed house. The audience was clearly moved by our 7th graders' vulnerability, authenticity, and courage, and our 7th graders felt held by the love and support of the community. It was truly a beautiful and inspiring evening!
Calendar Highlights:
Tuesday March 3 ~ Annual 8th grade Suffrage Play, 12:15 and 5pm showtimes.
Wednesday March 4 ~ Screens and Teens Workshop, 6-7:30pm. Join us (and earn service credit hours)!
Saturday March 7 ~ Admissions Presentation 10-noon, please do help us spread the word.
Many community organizations offer amazing summer programs for students – we invite you to explore options on the Local Day Camps page of our Summer Programs website. Some are open for registration now, and others will open for registration soon. We will continue to update the website as more information becomes available. Some programs will fill quickly.
We are finalizing our OSS summer program schedule and will share our program options with you later in March, along with an online registration form. If you have any questions, please reach out to Ms. Sanders at asanders@oursistersschool.org or text 774.328.6694.
We hope you will join us for either or both!
Abby’s capstone project is a website with links to food bank resources in our area. It is comprehensive, beautifully organized and super user friendly. Check it out, and share it widely! The photo above is intentionally partial since it is not clickable. The text link above, however, is!
The brand new, still in the box couch illustrated above is available for $200 to any interested party. Just email Ms. Herman for details.
We really look forward to seeing everyone again on Monday March 2nd!
Ms. Herman and the OSS Team
Family Update: February 14, 2026
Here’s a weekly update for February 13, 2026
If it is going to be COLD, at least it is SNOWY! And what better to do with snow than some FUN lunch time sledding!
The 8th grade students have been hard at work with living historian and actress Judith Kalaora to prepare for the Women’s Suffrage Play! Please join us on Thursday, February 26th at 5:15 pm at Our Sisters’ School for an engaging and inspiring performance, uplifting the undertold histories of the women’s suffrage movement.
Our 8th Science class collaborates with Mass Audubon:
Abby Abrahamson from Mass Audubon is joining 8th grade science classes for the Climate and Sustainability unit. Mass Audubon’s Climate Democracy Project (CDP) focuses on civic and climate literacy education. Students are learning to identify local climate justice issues important to them, then design and lead civic action projects that address those local issues. Most recently, students met with Chance Perks, a Conservation Agent for the city of New Bedford. Chance shared his knowledge of flooding solutions and New Bedford’s green infrastructure, particularly at Buttonwood Park.
Our 5th Grader Science students are Out-of-this-World!
As part of their Space Unit, 5th graders have chosen spacecraft missions to research. We’re very excited to learn more about these missions, and what they’ve helped scientists discover about the solar system and our universe.
Calendar Highlights:
February Break starts now and runs through the coming week. We’ll see everyone back on the 23rd, so check out the opportunities advertised below and stay engaged!
Also, FREE family tickets for March 13, 14 and 15th are available for the Bristol Community College production of Disney’s The Little Mermaid. To request tickets, please complete this form by February 20, 2026.
Abby’s capstone project is a website with links to food bank resources in our area. It is comprehensive, beautifully organized and super user friendly. Check it out, and share it widely! The photo above is intentionally partial since it is not clickable. The text link above, however, is!
This week, from our guest videographer Lulu Tian, who documented our students Community Partnerships.
Thinking about AI at OSS?
These guidelines help us communicate clearly about how AI may or may not be used as we engage in project work at school.
We must consider the purpose, whether to brainstorm, expand critical thinking, revise, or reflect with AI while working on projects.
For more reading on the topic, check out this article.
Family Survey Feedback:
98% of OSS families rated OSS very high (4 out of 4) for academically serving their learner well this year.
95% of OSS families rated OSS very high (4 out of 4) for socially and emotionally serving their learner well this year.
87% of OSS families expressed interest in summer programming to continue their student’s growth both academically, socially, and emotionally.
Did someone say summer camp?! We encourage you to explore sleepaway camps on our Summer Programs website!
OSS students were chosen to represent our school for Youth Art Month by having their work shown in a Virtual Online Art Exhibit.
Enjoy the break. We look forward to seeing everyone again on Monday February 23rd!
Ms. Herman and the OSS Team
Family Update: February 7, 2026
Here’s a weekly update for February 6, 2026
We are now three full weeks into our 3rd quarter. Report cards went home in Friday Folders last week and we hope families took time together to carefully look at grades and comments with their students.
A big highlight from this past week was our annual 7th grade HerStory presentation. Our students knocked it out of the park! In fact, it was a big week of performances. In addition to our own, we were also inspired by a field trip to the beautifully renovated Zeiterion theatre on Thursday. Our whole school enjoyed MOMIX’s modern dance performance of Alice in Wonderland. We are suggesting informal homework for the month of February: read or watch as many versions of Alice in Wonderland as possible, and talk about how they are similar and different.
On Wednesday Judith Kalaora, a professional actress and living historian, performed her original work I Now Pronounce You Lucy Stone, which shares the story of Lucy Stone, the Massachusetts suffragist and abolitionist. Judith has been working with the 8th grade students as a part of a joint Creative Suite and Humanities project, in which the 8th graders put on a play about the women’s suffrage movement. Judith's performance provided deep insight into the life of one suffragist who is featured in the 8th graders’ play, further enriching all students’ understanding of the intertwined struggles to end slavery and win universal suffrage.
OSS’s Winter SPARK program is a 4-week STEAM and art design program hosting eleven 3rd and 4th grade girls. So far, students in the program have joined fun and games with Project Adventure, been introduced to the world of digital art using Procreate, and most recently, practiced watercolor skills! Our OSS student mentors have done a great job welcoming and sharing the OSS experience with our participants!
8th Grade Science participating in Mass Audubon’s Climate Democracy Project: Abby Abrahamson from Mass Audubon is joining 8th grade science classes for the Climate and Sustainability unit. Mass Audubon’s Climate Democracy Project (CDP) focuses on civic and climate literacy education. Students are learning to identify local climate justice issues important to them, then design and lead civic action projects that address those local issues. Coming right up, 8th graders will head to the hurricane barrier to continue our discussion on the effects of flooding to businesses and properties in close proximity to the harbor.
Today we highlight the Penikese Nature & Science Discovery Camp for girls entering 7th or 8th grade. Penikese Island is a wildlife sanctuary located near Cuttyhunk. The one-week camp sessions aim to provide students with role models of women in STEM and to foster their confidence in science, in nature, and in themselves.
Camp sessions fill quickly and the application is only open Feb. 2-20. Please let Ms. Sanders know if you’d like to apply so she can help you register ASAP!
Week 1: July 6 –10
Week 2: July 13 – 17
Week 3: July 20 – 24
Week 4: July 27 – 31
Week 5: Aug 3 – Aug 7
Financial aid application – Scholarship applications are part of camp registration.
We encourage you to explore additional sleepaway camps on our Summer Programs website!
Calendar Highlights:
Spirit Week Info:
Monday – Regular uniform day (no dress up)
Tuesday – Decades Day
Wednesday – Wacky Day
Thursday – Three C’s Day (Character, Color, or Celebrity)
Friday – Regular uniform day (no dress up), Winter Carnival
Update: our January and February all school birthday party will happen Friday Feb 13th as part of our Winter Carnival. Treat donations appreciated!!
Performing Arts Showcase:
We also warmly invite families to attend our Performing Arts Showcase, Friday Feb. 13, 8:45-9:45. We are so proud of our students’ hard work and would love for you to join us in celebrating them, but understand if you can’t make it as the event is during work hours.
Family Service Credit Opportunities:
February 10 from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm – Suffrage Play Costume Support
February 12 from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm – AHA Night
February 13 from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm – Winter Carnival
Please use link to sign up for these opportunities!
Fabulous resource!
Our Grade 7 and 8 math work this year has our older OSS students on the move! How are we getting there?
We are using Maneuvering the Middle and All Things Algebra curriculum materials, along with IXL practice, to frame a study of foundational pre-algebraic skills and algebra concepts. Each lesson offers a set of guided notes, independent practice and activities to engage students in the process of learning how to learn increasingly complex math ideas and skills.
So far seventh grade students have studied the properties of real numbers, how to work with algebraic expressions, and how to solve equations. Currently seventh grade students are using their developing skills to solve problems related to ratio, proportion and percent with an algebraic approach. Next, seventh grade students will move into an introduction to functions and linear relationships.
Eighth grade students have gone through a study of algebra basics, learned how to solve multi-step equations, tackled functions and function notation and have nearly completed an in depth study of linear functions. Next up, eighth grade students will extend their skills to include solving inequalities and systems of equations that have two variables!
All along the way we have been working to shore up foundational skills related to being able to add, subtract, multiply and divide whole numbers, integers, fractions and decimals. We also needed to help students understand exponents and roots. The students have come so far both in terms of skills and resilience. Now faced with a multi-step problem like long division of decimals there may be an initial groan of frustration but, on the whole, students know how to get started and dig in to the required work. We are so proud of them. We will continue to work with doing calculations by hand, on paper until we are very confident that these core arithmetic skills are solidified. They are well on their way!
Huge kudos go to all of our seventh and eighth grade students who were surprised to learn how quickly we were going to move in our study of mathematics. I am sure some students felt a little whiplash as we dug into our work together in September. So many students surprised themselves. They didn’t know that they could learn so much so quickly. What a celebration! For students who need extra support to access math learning there are many opportunities for extra help. Being able to teach in a team of two means there is a lot of individual attention available for students to ask questions, hear the lesson again or in a different way and get encouragement. We also see students in small groups during Genius Flex Block when we see they need help or they ask for additional support. Please reach out to Ms. McGonagle if you have any questions or want to learn more about our approach!
Save the Date: Mother’s Day 5k!
Stay busy during February break. Check it out and sign up!
Happy shoveling!! We look forward to seeing everyone Monday!
Ms. Herman and the OSS Team
Family Update: January 31, 2026
Here’s a weekly update for January 29, 2025.
You probably heard about OSS through a current or former family, a graduate or a community member. We ask that you help us build the strongest possible learning community and invite families with 4th and 5th grade girls to attend an upcoming Admissions Presentation. Also, ask Ms. Pires about how you can earn service credits by referring families:
Wednesday, February 4th at 5:30pm Spanish language presentation via Zoom
Saturday, February 7th at 10am English language presentation at OSS
Many students participated in a Spooky Story writing contest in October. They wrote short, 100 word, scary stories. It was recently announced that six students were chosen to be published! Luna, Mazalei, Larayah, Willow, Aria G-M, and Elise! Congratulations to our published authors! And speaking of spooky stories - Mr. Bones visited the math classroom recently!
Summer Stars, a sleepaway camp for the performing arts, will open their application on February 2. Students must be 12 years old by the start of camp to apply.
As part of the application process, students complete an essay and provide a recommendation, often written by a teacher. If your student plans to apply, please encourage them to check in with Ms. Sanders, who can help guide the application process.
We encourage you to explore additional sleepaway camps on our Summer Programs website!
OSS Good News is an annual news broadcast created in our Creative Suite, published by our 6th graders. This week we highlight: Dogs at OSS
Our guest videographer Lulu Tian followed OSS students on a Field Learning trip to Bridgewater State University.
Calendar Highlights:
Wed. Feb 4 ~ HerStory Living Museum Community Showcase 4:15-5pm
Thurs. Feb 5 ~ All School MOMIX @ the Z
Our Grade 7 and 8 math work this year has our older OSS students on the move! We are building our students' skills up to be able to offer a full Algebra 1 course for our 8th grade students. That means offering a fast paced and rigorous pre-algebra foundation in seventh grade, including a deep study of functions, including quadratic functions in eighth grade.
Why you might ask? Our quest to empower our students to step into the future with valuable life skills means we focus on algebra. Empowerment can mean taking charge of one’s life to create opportunities for oneself and others - and access to algebra does just that. Algebra 1 acts as a gatekeeper. Beyond the gate are opportunities. A student who takes Algebra 1 in eighth grade has more opportunity to take and succeed in math and science courses in high school and are more likely to pursue a STEM related major in college. And as a matter of practical and financial empowerment, students with early access to Algebra 1 are likely to make more money over the course of their career.
Even careers and life paths that do not directly use algebra skills, all exist in a complex and quickly changing and data driven world. Learning how to manage complexity, apply reason to difficult situations and how to conjure up resiliency in the face of challenge are all reinforced by the practice of thinking algebraically. Next week we’ll tell you how we do it!…
Stay warm!! We look forward to seeing everyone Monday!
Ms. Herman and the OSS Team
Family Update: January 23, 2026
Here’s a weekly update for January 23, 2025.
On Tuesday our entire school joined in activities with Project Adventure, a Challenge by Choice experience. Through fun, hands-on programming, students practiced teamwork, communication, and perseverance while building their confidence and growth mindsets. After school, we were excited to welcome families to join the experience too! Thank you to everyone who participated and helped make the day even more meaningful. Your support and involvement truly enriched this special community-building event!
This afternoon students participated in our Learn to Learn Olympics ~ a hands-on, home grown “Dendrites Conference” focused on how the brain learns best. Through interactive games, movement, and team challenges, students explored strategies for focus, memory, metacognition. They learned how everyday habits can either build or drain their brains. Teachers acted as "Cognition Coaches” for cognitive development, supporting students in building habits and skills they can use across their learning. It was an energizing and empowering experience for all!
OSS Good News is an annual news broadcast created in our Creative Suite, published by our 6th graders. This week we highlight: OSS Good News ~ Healthy Eating
Wednesday evening we hosted a Required Family Meeting and the topic was considering the positive and negative aspects of artificial intelligence (AI). Here are some videos we shared and discussed:
Calendar Highlights:
Wed Jan 28 ~ 7th grade HerStory + NBRR Showcase, 4:15-5pm
Wed Feb 4 ~ Lucy Stone performance 8:30am-12:20pm
Thurs Feb 5 ~ All School MOMIX @ the Z
Sat Jan 31 ~ 84 Youth Power Summit, 8:30am-3pm
Mon Feb 2 ~ Creative Writing Club, 4:15-5:15pm
SAVE THE DATE!
Our Math curriculum exploration continues:
Fifth grade students have been studying Multiplying and Dividing Fractions. Family support materials for this unit can be found on the Open Up Math site. Here you can find a section by section overview and a helpful math glossary.
Our sixth grade students have been studying Fractions and Decimals with a focus on multiplication, division and application to problems involving areas and volumes. Family support materials for this unit can be found on the Open Up Math site. You can find a section by section overview and a helpful math glossary.
Next week? You guessed it! Specifics for grades 7 and 8!
Guest artist Lulu Tian co-led a Video Production Club with Ms. Pires earlier this winter and helped a small group of OSS students create a collection of videos. This sweet video is about our very own Ms. Pires. Check it out.
(We’ll highlight OSS videos here for the next few weeks - the full collection is also available on our website.)
Stay warm and dry during this weekend scheduled to bring us plenty of snow. We look forward to seeing everyone Tuesday!
Ms. Herman and the OSS Team