Weekly Update: August 30, 2026

Aug 30

Written By Our Sisters' School

‍ ‍ **Summer 2026 included essential time for reflection, preparation and beautiful programming.**
All Things Art, Cape Verdean Culture Club, Cartoon Lab, Crafty Corner, Garden Care, Spanish Language Club, Safe Sitter Training and SPARK are examples of on-campus programming. Students also attended off-campus day and sleep away camps ranging from New Bedford’s very own Sea Lab, to residential sleep away camps in New Hampshire and Maine!
Enjoy photos below from our SPARK program, where OSS mentors help “littles” experience a taste of what we are all about.

Our 2026-2027 school year begins on Tuesday September 1st.

Remember your bag lunch and sleeping bag - we are going camping!

We will gather in the OSS Outdoor Classroom at 8am, and loaded busses depart promptly at 8:30am.

We will travel 2 hours north to the base of Mt. Monadnock and stay at Brantwood camp for 3 days of community building. We’ll enjoy nature, meals, games, activities, bunk life, camp fires and togetherness to set the stage for our school year. Wet weather is in the forecast so do plan for rain. You can see our packing list below. In addition to remembering a lunch for Tuesday and a sleeping bag, you should pack light (we only have so much space on the bus!) and bring stuff that can get dirty. Wear your old summer sneakers and leave the new ones for next week. Remember your pillow, hat, flashlight and warm layer.

Remember your lunch for Tuesday. Pack light - but dress for weather.
Pack old sneakers that can get dirty. A hat, rain coat and a warm layer will all be handy.

Perhaps while your child is at Brantwood you’ll have a rare moment to read this NYT Step by Step Tech Guide for Parents who Live in the Real World on the topics of managing social media and use of electronic devices with kids. Essentially, how to nurture a tech-wise teen. You can explore topics including: How to manage screen time. Assessing your child’s readiness for a smartphone. Helping your child develop healthy social media habits. We hope you’ll explore these ideas proactively.

**It is not too late to receive a fresh backpack stuffed with school supplies! Just fill out this** **survey** **and volunteers from Grace Church will have one ready for your family!**

This book collection box lives on our farmstand and we welcome everyone to help us fill it! If you have books to donate, just drop them into this box and your contributions will help keep our Little Free Library in Riverside Park stocked with pages to share!

Use your voice and follow the QR code above to share opinions about what type of programming the New Bedford Cultural Council should invest in.

Our staff did summer learning plans too! We read books, wrote summaries, attended workshops, practiced new skills, organized our school supplies and prepared lessons. As you can see below, we are wildly excited to get back into the rhythm of the school year and to spent our days with all of you!