Family Update: January 18, 2026
Tomorrow morning we observe MLK Jr. Day with a service event hosted at Gifts to Give. If you are already signed up - wonderful! If not, you could email Ms. McSweeny (mmcsweeny@oursistersschool.org) and request to join. Every year we strive to honor the day as “a day on - not a day off” and so we hope that during this three-day weekend you have carved out time to honor Dr. King’s legacy and reflect on the idea of “beloved community,” and how we can all participate in this work.
Speaking of beloved community, last week we had the privilege of a visit from the Boston-based program Rehearsal for Life. We hosted an all-school assembly that explored the challenges of peer pressure, social media, and growing up. Together, we reflected on our OSS Community Core Values and imagined how we might respond in complex situations. Our RFL guests were impressed by our students’ maturity, thoughtfulness, and bravery—affirming the strength of our program. We recognize how challenging it can be to navigate relationships from a centered place and will continue to support reflective practice and growth.
On Wednesday, January 14th, our sixth graders teamed up with the Community Boating Center and our Creative Suite for a hands-on learning experience focused on sustainability. Students explored real-world environmental challenges connected to their Humanities and Science classes. They asked big questions and got creative by improving existing solutions or inventing brand-new ideas to help protect our planet. We were so proud to see them thinking like innovators, engineers, and problem-solvers. Thank you to all the families who attended and supported our students. Enjoy a small photo gallery below:
Calendar Highlights:
Tues. Jan 20 ~ Project Adventure Day in Creative Suite + After School Family Workshop; all welcome
Tues. Jan 20 ~ Winter SPARK begins
Wed. Jan 21 ~ Required Family Meeting, 5:30-6:30pm @ OSS
Thurs. Jan 22 ~ 8th grade trip to PPAC to see Suffs 9am-3pm
Thurs. Jan 22 ~ 6th grade to Whaling Museum 8:30-2:30
Fri. Jan 23 ~ Dendrites Conference 12:30-3pm
Mon. Jan 26 ~ PD Day; No School for students
Wed. Jan 28 ~ 7th grade HerStory + NBRR Showcase, 4:15-5pm
SAVE THE DATE!
Build confidence and learn about the importance of physical activity through a 10 week program! Students will meet with coaches for interactive lessons and physical activities where they can learn the value of teamwork, mind/body connection, confidence through accomplishment, and more. The program ends with a 5k!
Interested in becoming a coach and receiving service credits? Reach out to Ms.Cinnamond!
Check out the community opportunities below:
Last week Ms. McGonagle left us with a real cliff hanger… Did you stay up wondering what a problem-based curriculum is?! Now we can satisfy our curiosity:
In a problem-based curriculum, students spend most of their time in class working on carefully crafted and sequenced problems. Teachers help students understand the problems, ask questions to push their thinking, and orchestrate discussions to be sure that the mathematical takeaways are clear. Learners gain a rich and lasting understanding of mathematical concepts and procedures and experience applying this knowledge to new situations. Students frequently collaborate with their classmates—they talk about math, listen to each other’s ideas, justify their thinking, and critique the reasoning of others. They gain experience communicating their ideas both verbally and in writing, developing skills that will serve them well throughout their lives. Sounds fun, right?!
This kind of instruction may look different from what you experienced in your own math education. Current research says that students need to be able to think flexibly in order to use mathematical skills in their lives (and also on the types of tests they will encounter throughout their schooling). Flexible thinking relies on understanding concepts and making connections between them. Over time, students gain the skills and the confidence to independently solve problems that they’ve never seen before.
We all want the best for our students and know that they deserve excellence. Rigorous math education involves tackling complex problems in a supported setting. Knowledge of procedures and concepts grows step by step in the carefully constructed series of lessons offered by Open Up Math. We are excited about all the hard work our math students are doing and all the learning they are gaining.
Look for more information in the next Family Update about all the ways you can help your student be successful in their math classes.
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 that capture the sincerity, enthusiasm and sweetness of our students. This 90 second video about how to play with snow is appropriate for today!
We’ll highlight OSS videos here for the next few weeks, and the full collection is also all available on our website.
We deeply appreciate that the messages we posted in last weeks update about uniform norms specific to fingernails, and traffic patterns specific to morning drop off procedures, were read and heard. Thank you for being so responsive! We look forward to seeing everyone again on Tuesday morning for Project Adventure Day, and are happy that so many family members are joining us for the evening session too!
Ms. Herman and the OSS Team