Our Sisters' School

RS’ SCHOOL TE IS S 2020 ANNUAL REPORT R U O Class of 2011-Class of 2020 Independent Secondary Schools: Colleges: Mt. Ida College* Bishop Stang High School Amherst College Pennsylvania State University Public Secondary Schools: Dana Hall School Awakening Leadership Center Roger Williams University Salem State University Bristol County Agricultural High Eagle Rock School Barry University Salve Regina University School Falmouth Academy Bates College Spelman College City on a Hill Charter School* The Hotchkiss School Brandeis University Stonehill College Dartmouth High School Lincoln School Bridgewater State University Suffolk University Fairhaven High School Loomis Chaffee School Bristol Community College UMass Amherst Greater New Bedford Vocational- Marianapolis School Bunker Hill Community College UMass Boston Technical High School Masters Regional Academy* California State University, UMass Dartmouth JobCorps: Chicopee Campus Milton Academy Fullerton University of New Hampshire New Bedford High School** Noble and Greenough School Cape Cod Community College University of Southern California Old Rochester Regional High Phillips Academy Andover Curry College University of Tampa School Providence Country Day School Dean College Wagner College Taunton High School Rosary High School Emmanuel College Wentworth Institute of Technology Westport High School St. Andrew’s School Fashion Institute of Technology St. George’s School Fisher College *This school has now closed. Tabor Academy Framingham State University **Including the Academy of Honors at New Bedford High School Westover School Franciscan University of The Wheeler School Steubenville 2020 GRADUATES Photo digitally composed by Virginia Sutherland he year 2020 really tested our mettle. A favorite word of Shakespeare’s, mettle refers to the quality and com- position of a person’s character, the strength of their spirit, courage and resilience. It’s a word that beautifully Tcaptures what our school, staff, students and families all share and value. It describes skill sets that underlie and inform our Community Core values and tools, and shape our day-to-day interactions. Above all, mettle defines what has helped us carry on, and even thrive, in this year of years. On a cold and rainy Friday last March, we learned that schools would be closing and our mettle was put to the test. We dove into a pandemic-driven retooling of our OSS program from stem to stern, and had only one long weekend to craft the foundation of our Distance Learning platform. First and foremost, we ensured that everyone had basics like food and secure housing, internet and technology for classes, and appropriate expectations around school work. Left to right: Alison Coolidge Boreiko, Students needed enough of a challenge to maintain engagement and learning, while recognizing the distractions Sarah Herman, Martha Sullivan and complications of learning remotely during a pandemic. It was a tricky balance. Figuring it all out felt like choreographing a modern dance, and our steps were careful, thoughtful, and grounded in care for one another. Our performance was strong because all of our stakeholders— staff, students, families and volunteers—demonstrated their courage, strength of spirit and character, their mettle. And they proved their mettle again when, in spite of our exhaustion from the pandemic, it was time to engage fully with the other defining struggle of 2020— our nation’s ongoing battle against racism. This long overdue awakening was especially relevant given the constituency of our student body and the very diverse city that we live in, New Bedford. And we tried, and continue to try, to face it head on, engaging in conversations about the state of our nation and what it could one day be. We hope that this report gives you a sense of our work this past year. It certainly hasn’t been simple, and we are proud of all we have accomplished. It was a true test of our mettle and, working together, we at OSS—every one of us—more than made the grade. Sincerely, Sarah Herman Alison Coolidge Boreiko Martha Sullivan Head of School Co-president Co-president Board of Trustees Board of Trustees 1 SPOTLIG M HT B LU U C I R Racial Justice at OSS R by Ariana Wohl, Academic Dean U and Humanities Chair C U Social justice has always been at the heart of our work at OSS. Cen- tral to our purpose is teaching and learning for freedom of opportunity I and growth. Over the last year, the urgency of our mission was mag- nified by events that showed how deeply racism is embedded in our society. These events increased L public awareness, intensifying our collective commitment to uproot injustice that shapes our school’s culture, methods, and curriculum. Culture D Caring for and loving our girls—the majority of whom identify as Black, Latinx, and multiracial—is our great- est responsibility and the foundation of the OSS culture. Adults here work Builder: Azyia ‘24; OSS E tirelessly to model what it means to students chose a word with which they identify most in the “SHE” portrait series. R attend to each community mem- Methods Curriculum encourages Sister Sailors to see ber’s humanity, make sure that Sharing power and joy, both funda- The humanities include a deep themselves as changemakers. all students feel truly seen and mental tenets of social justice, un- exploration of identity, critically Girls learn how to lift their voices heard, and celebrate where they derpin our teaching methods. We examining representation in liter- in public speaking, writing, and come from and who they want to do this by embracing and teaching ature and media, and probing the soon podcasting. They log Active become. to our students’ strengths and in- impact of both racism and activ- Civic Engagement (ACE) actions Our Community Core framework terests, harnessing their desire to ism on our nation’s history and driven by their own passions to provides a shared language and create and discuss, question and culture. Students analyze oppres- serve others and advocate for tool box for social and emotional investigate, perform and reflect. sion through the lens of the “4 I’s” justice. skills like Value Identity and Step For example, students design sci- (ideological, institutional, interper- OSS equips students with knowl- Up, Step Back. Students and staff ence experiments on topics they sonal, and internal) and Circles of edge and practice in social anal- maintain a learner’s mindset—es- care about, select diverse authors Oppression/Resistance. ysis, a sense of personal and po- sential to seeing and “unlearning” for independent reading, engage in This, and other explicit study and litical agency, and skills for social biases. We constantly listen to open studio art practice, unearth dialogue in humanities, dovetails action. A transformative place of and learn from our community. We their own family roots, and more. with teaching for racial literacy learning involves constant reflec- practice naming racism and white This year, eighth-graders chose, as and critical consciousness across tion and iteration, requiring us all supremacy when we see it and a group, to read aloud This Book our other content areas. In sci- to be both teachers and learners. acting to dismantle it. OSS staff is Antiracist by Tiffany Jewell, ence, students learn about envi- The work we do with each other, challenge ourselves to know more to question teachers and school ronmental justice and some In- within ourselves, and with com- and do better, so critical given that policy, and some to march against digenous ways of understanding munity partners is more impera- our staff is predominantly White. police brutality. Our fifth-gradersS the natural world. In math, they tive than ever. OSS students are Do we get it right every time? initiated “Feminist Friday” discus- explore how bias can affect the powerful and courageous, and Nope. Do we try really hard? Oh, sions at lunch. Other students and ways people display and interpret they know that the future is theirs. yes. Recently, we have grappled in graduates participate in the local statistical data. In health, the pan- Soon they will assume institution- new ways that have been uncom- NAACP Youth Council and have demic provides a case study for al roles of power. I believe they fortable and growthful. We try, we advocated for immigrant rights. students researching disparities will be ready, and we will all be learn, we keep trying. That is the When students trust in their own across racial and class identities. more free. essence of our culture and com- brilliant power to learn and lead, In art, the Powerful Women Art- To read a more detailed description mitment. they gain autonomy, competence, ists project elevates local women of our racial justice work, please visit and confidence. They learn they of color as artistic role models, www.oursistersschool.org. can change the world. and the “SHE” portrait series 3 MOMEN HE T T F G N I T Creativity and Resilience E E They have been the lifeblood of E M OSS since its founding. Over the past 10 months, their relevance and efficacy have been tested as never before. And never have they been A so urgently present in the day-to- day life of our school community. “We were flummoxed,” says Head R of School Sarah Herman, recall- ing the Friday in March when the governor issued a stay-at-home order and the Covid-19 pandemic L upended our world. “During our remaining hours in the building Fearless: Sasha ‘23; OSS we had lunch as a staff, made a students chose a word with which they identify most in spirited music video to appreciate the “SHE” portrait series. E our volunteers, and then everyone went home. We had three days to come up with a plan.” So began S a “constant conversation” about S how to meet the needs of students door Classroom.

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