Family Updates
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
Family Update: January 18, 2026
Here’s a weekly update for January 16, 2025.
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
Family Update: January 10, 2026
Here’s a weekly update for January 10, 2025.
At Community Meeting this week we reflected on the idea of belonging - a feeling of home. We were also introduced to the Latin phrase Carpe Diem, or - seize the day! May 2026 be productive, and may we feel deeply connected and supported.
As always, it was super charged week of learning. The 6th graders where exhilarated and visibly exhausted on Thursday afternoon when they came back to the building from a full day field trip to the New Bedford Whaling Museum, Fishing and Heritage Center and the National Parks Service in downtown New Bedford. It was the kick off to their study of the history of New Bedford. We eagerly look forward to the annual art opening which will take place in April at the Whaling Museum.
And never fear - we don’t have to wait until April to celebrate their learning. Over the past seven weeks, our 6th graders have been busy researching, brainstorming, designing and refining original inventions aimed at helping make our world more sustainable. This Wednesday Jan 14th, 3-4pm in the OSS Community Room, our students will showcase their creativity, problem-solving, and big ideas for the future. Everyone is welcome to come see their hard work, and hear directly from our young innovators.
Calendar Highlights
Tues. Jan 13 ~ All School Assembly with Rehearsal for Life 10:45-11:45
Wed. Jan 14 ~ Sustainability Symposium by 6th grade, 3-4pm
Fri. Jan 16 ~ End of 2nd Quarter
Mon. Jan 19 ~ MLK Day - No School; Gifts to Give service event
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
In the spirit of MLK Day, our students are invited to join an annual service event hosted at Gifts to Give. And, this community event hosted at Grace Church is another opportunity families may want to consider attending.
This week we did notice that we should review our drop off procedures. This is a friendly reminder that if you drop a student off later than 8:25am, you do need to park and come into the building to sign your student in as tardy. Also please remember our system of dropping 3 cars at a time with an efficient “stop, drop and roll” mindset. Thank you. Our goal is to keep arrival efficient for everyone.
Also, we have noticed that artificial fingernails are proliferating. Come Monday they must be removed as they are not uniform compliant. See page 21 in the Family Handbook for details. Thank you. Our goal is to honor the agreed upon uniform.
Looking back and ahead: a note from Ms. McGonagle:
The end of the calendar year is a great opportunity for reflection and expressions of gratitude. I am grateful for the warm welcome the OSS community has offered me as a new member of the faculty. My gratitude also runs deep for the work the math team did prior to my arrival, carefully choosing curriculum resources and materials that are well positioned to serve our students.
On December 11 & 12, five members of our math curriculum team participated in professional development training to deepen their understanding of how to strengthen our daily work to best meet the needs of our students and their growth in mathematics.
Next week, in this Family Update, we’ll explore our Open Up curriculum and explore what a problem -based curriculum is all about. Stay tuned!
Looking forward to seeing everyone again on Monday. May 2026 be productive.
Ms. Herman and the OSS Team
Family Update: December 20, 2025
Here’s a weekly update for December 19, 2025.
Take a glimpse of one day of learning at OSS:
These images showcase the wide range of experiences our students and staff engage in across different learners, spaces, and moments. You see students learning peer-to-peer, working on the floor or at tables, and engaging in community spaces like museums. Our classrooms are intentionally flexible, offering multiple points of access to support deep learning. Together, these moments reflect our commitment to student-led, challenging learning and growing minds every day.
Do you believe in the power of creativity to inspire young people? So do we - and that is why we hosted a Creativity Conference on December 16th, dedicated to inspiring the next generation of creators, makers, and innovators. This hands-on conference brought together local artists, designers, entrepreneurs, engineers, and innovators to lead workshops for our students in a diverse range of creative disciplines as wood burning, resin jewelry making, Chinese calligraphy and digital art. The conference allowed students to dive into new mediums, practice real-world skills, and discover their own creative spark.
This conference was supported in part by the Art is Everywhere! grant funded by the City of New Bedford through its Arts, Culture & Tourism Fund, and is facilitated by New Bedford Creative at the New Bedford Economic Development Council, which receives support in part from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.
5th grade students shared their final Hear Me Roar projects this week. They presented loudly and proudly, in front of their peers, teachers, and families. We appreciate all of the delicious food that was brought in to help us celebrate. Thank you to the families for all of their support and collaboration with this project!
OSS middle schoolers in grades 6, 7, and 8th grade recently headed downtown for an exciting field trip to Mass Escape, a local New Bedford favorite. Throughout their time at OSS, every student gets the chance to experience each of the venue's three unique themed rooms. To beat the clock, students relied on teamwork, creative problem-solving, and sharp communication to navigate the complex puzzles. Every group rose to the challenge, finishing with impressive times and leaving with plenty of laughs and shared memories.
Follow our regularly updated CALENDAR to see all events.
Calendar Highlights
12/22-1/2 ~ Winter Break
1/5 ~ Return to School
1/16 ~ End Q2
1/19 ~ No School, MLK Day Observed
1/20 - Begin Winter SPARK @ OSS
1/21 ~ Required Family Meeting 5:30-6:30 @ OSS -participate in our strategic planning efforts.
Even though it’s cold outside, it’s not too early to begin planning for summer fun! NOW is the time to apply for many sleepaway camp scholarships. Please consider options on our summer planning website and be in touch with Ms. Sanders (asanders@oursistersschool.org), who can support you with the application process.
Have a beautiful winter break. Stay off social media, and we look forward to seeing you in 2026!
Ms. Herman and the OSS Team