Making Waves in Education at Our Sisters' School April 2018 Edition

Our Hands to Yours In February, Our Sisters' School was one of five finalists in the Jefferson Awards LEAD360 national competition, in which young people submit their solutions to problems they feel most passionate about. For this contest, the OSS students designed a project they called "Our Hands to Yours." They filled uniquely decorated tote bags with contents created to inspire, educate, support, and welcome recent immigrants and refugees arriving to the United States. Each classroom collected items such as educational materials, clothing, school supplies, and hygiene products, and wrote personal welcome letters.  Alejandra Mendez, the student-leader of this project, explained, “This project has a dual mission: first, to provide immediate physical comfort in the form of hygiene products and warm clothes and, second, to connect new arrivals to the services and community centers that will allow them to not only survive, but also thrive here in New Bedford.” In addition to the collection of goods, students also received product donations from a variety of organizations, including UMass Dartmouth, Domino’s Pizza, Dr. G. John Fraone Pediatric Dentistry, Perfect Smiles in Westport, the Workers’ Education Program, the Kennedy Donovan Center, and the New Bedford Main Library. Most notably, CVS Health Foundation made a significant contribution to the project by donating over $9,000 in products. The culmination of the “Our Hands to Yours” Project was the delivery of the tote bags and items to the New Bedford Immigrants’ Assistance Center, where OSS students got to meet some of the families they helped. Sarah Herman, Head of School, praised the project, saying, “I like everything about this initiative, ranging from the underlying theme of reaching out to and proactively supporting marginalized community members, to the student-driven aspect of the project.  This project is pertinent to what we stand for, and what we teach at OSS.” Students in the photo:  Kathy, Lyla, and Janie Our mission, as an independent, tuition-free, nonsectarian middle school, is to educate and inspire economically disadvantaged girls from the New Bedford area. Our Sisters' School empowers girls to step into the future with valuable life skills and a mindset of achievement and excellence by providing a safe, supportive, and academically challenging environment. To learn more about Our Sisters' School please click here.   April Calendar April 5 and April 6 Mrs. Eugenio & select students will present a workshop at the New England Middle Schools Annual Conference in RI April 7 Admissions Open House 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM April 12 Science Fair 5:00 PM to 6:00 PM April 16 to April 20  OSS Closed: April Break Office Hours 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM April 24 STEAM Fair and Community Engineering Day in collaboration with Sensata Technologies 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM April 27 Annual Volunteer Luncheon 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM May 4 Professional Development Day No School   Click here for information about the Morning Speaker Program and other details on our calendar.