A Holding a Steady Course... Zoom by Jayleana Borges, OSS 5th Grader At OSS we zoom into reading. We go right for it and don’t stop! We get great ideas for our writing through reading and we have great imaginations. Us girls are focused and concentrated because of our teachers and tutors. We thank them for everything , they are the ones to get us to read more. We learn about nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. It helps us with our writing. We learn about interesting facts and new words. It helps us with our reading. At OSS we zoom into reading. We go right for it and don’t stop! Inspired by ZOOM! ANNUAL REPORT July 1st, 2011 - June 30th, 2012 With the fourth school year having ended in June 2012, Our Sisters’ School, an independent, tuition-free middle school for the girls of Greater New Bedford continues to offer a rich academic program, community involvement and the opportunity for students to expand their horizons while being challenged and supported by all those who make the OSS voyage possible. 1 “Although I spend a fair amount of time at the school, I still get blown away by the wonderful things that they are doing for those adorable girls.” ~OSS Supporter & Volunteer OUR SISTERS’ SCHOOL MISSION The mission of Our Sisters’ School is to inspire and educate middle-school girls from the Greater New Bedford area to reach their full potential in a safe, supportive and challenging environment. Our Sisters’ School provides a quality education and welcomes girls from diverse faiths, races and cultures. Letter from the Executive Director June of 2012 saw the passing of a major milestone in OSS growth: the graduation of the first class of students to attend all four years (5th – 8th grades) at Our Sisters’ School – our second ever graduating class. These students and families took a brave, bold chance on enrolling in a brand new school for their 5th grade year and they became the pioneers and leaders who set the bar for all other classes who follow in their wake. Their special night of celebration brought closure to a year of focused and exciting activities throughout our 4th year of operation as a school. LETTER FROM THE BOARD On behalf of the Board of Trustees, I would like to start the New Year by thanking you all for your generous support of Our Sisters’ School. Whether you have volunteered your time, wisdom or financial resources, you are the reason the school continues to offer an excellent educational opportunity to the middle-school girls of New Bedford. Expanding Horizons for Students Throughout the 2011-2012 School Year, OSS continued to create access and opportunities for our students through the generosity, collaboration and support of our amazing community partners. Students enrolled in a variety of summer programs with the support of the United Way and Church Home Society, among others, and our ongoing partnerships with the YWCA, Lloyd Center, Summer Stars Performing Arts Camp, Tabor Academy and Trips For Kids keeping the girls engaged and learning throughout the summer months. We were also able to deepen our partnership with Lloyd Center thanks to a generous grant from the CHT Foundation and to launch a school savings program for students with support from SouthernMass Credit Union. OSS families coordinated the first-ever OSS talent show at the May Family Fun Night, English teachers hosted a Poetry Slam in April, and we brought students outside for Neighborhood Clean-Ups with Operation Clean Sweep and around our school campus. 7th and 8th graders and families prepared for secondary school applications in partnership with Nativity Prep and imagined what their futures might hold beyond OSS. Our 5th graders had a special sleepover at the YWCA, our 8th graders exhibited botanical illustrations at the Buttonwood Zoo and the girls stayed busy learning and experiencing new things all year long. Much growth has happened over the past four years. In 2012, we saw our second graduating class accept their diplomas with confidence and excitement for the voyage ahead. We have been gratified that so many have come back to visit, demonstrating that OSS is and will remain their extended home - a safe haven of nurturing staff and friends. Our Finance Committee continues to work vigilantly to make sure our operating budget of $850,000 reflects our size and is also sustainable over time with 75 percent of every dollar raised going directly into programming for our students. We continue to engage our Advisory Council of 30 able ambassadors and advocates for the school. Our ever-generous “Anonymous Angel” has allowed us take the “match” and start building a sustainability fund that has grown over the past few years through the kindness of many individuals and several grants. Education remains the most powerful way to break the cycle of poverty. Through your support, OSS is able to give our students the tools they need to continue to pursue an education. Today our first graduates stand out in the community as examples of young women well launched toward a future that is productive for themselves, their families and the entire community. Single sex education is a powerful way to advance opportunities for women. As Anna Pollina, head-of-school at all-girls Westover in Connecticut, said in a recent speech: “We are a girl’s school by intention. It is not the absence of boys that defines us. It is the celebration of girls!” Today, OSS celebrates its students as well as its community, of which you are all a vital part. Please come visit for a first -- or second or third -- time. The atmosphere remains as effervescent as always and hope is ever in the air! Lisa Schmid Alvord President, OSS Board of Trustees Supporting the Crew As a more established school program, OSS staff spent time this year focused on expanding the professional expectations for our staff by expanding staff professional development opportunities and formally implementing a new performance review system. We acknowledged the tremendous contributions made by our faculty during teacher appreciation week and challenged our teachers to be role models for others as presenters at the Greenlight for Girls Conference. Our Board and staff teamed up to plan and develop a new staffing model for implementation in the 2012-2013 school year including teaching fellows and a professional classroom teacher in addition to our AmeriCorps Volunteers. Our staff also acknowledged the high level of commitment demonstrated by families and students with certificates of appreciation for family service hours, student community service hours, attendance, chairing family committees, and family attendance at meetings. In addition, we planned for and recruited a Family Liaison to work with administrative staff members and family committees for the 2012-2013 school year. We were also excited to help launch a collaborative of leadership from local schools such as the Global Learning Charter Public School, Alma del Mar and Nativity Prep. This group is working to share professional development opportunities, partner on student recruiting and discuss other future ways we can support each other in mutually beneficial ways. Charting the Course for the Future of OSS Even as we celebrated the successes of this year, we continued to push ourselves to develop new goals and strategies for our future work as a school. Frequently our alumnae visited, ran events at the family picnic, greeted guests at graduation and shared their secondary school stories with students and staff. Building upon their experiences and a careful further analysis of assessment data (meticulously compiled into Excel by our UMass Dartmouth Endeavor volunteers) we made plans for our new teaching model, curriculum development and increased student admissions for the 2012- 2013 school year, now bringing enrollment up to 18 for both 5th and 6th grades. Our Board has also been supportive of and involved in plans for the Head of School Search and Transition following my announcement that the 2012-2013 school year will be my final one at OSS. Our sincere thanks to each of you – our loyal crew members – for all that you do to keep OSS going and growing each day. We look forward to our 5th year as a school beginning in the fall of 2012 and to celebrating the successes and sharing the stories of our students and our school in the exciting year ahead. Thank you for sailing with us on this wonderful adventure. With gratitude, Lisa Yates, Executive Director 2 Highlights Year Four List of Schools the Class of 2012 Applied to: Bishop Feehan Bishop Stang Bristol Agricultural Concord Academy Cushing Academy Deerfield Academy Falmouth Academy Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational Technical High School Loomis Chafee Lincoln School Master’s Regional Academy Milton Academy Moses Brown School New Bedford Public High School Nobles & Greenough School Northfield Mount Hermon Phillips Andover Academy Phillips Exeter Academy Portsmouth Abbey School Providence Country Day School St. George’s School St. Mark’s School St. Paul’s School Tabor Academy Wheeler School (Bold letters indicate schools where OSS alumnae are enrolled) • • • • • • • • Held four alumnae events throughout the year, welcoming back OSS graduates on and off campus. We had the support of over 120 volunteers this year that helped contribute to over 4,000 hours of service. OSS introduced and established an online grading system for ease of teacher and staff use! Scheduled mandatory drop-in tutoring for students over the summer to provide additional support for students in need. Planned for and hired for a new teaching model for the 2012-2013 school year. Student Community Service Program logged over 730 hours. Over 80% of OSS students were placed in summer programs in the community and afar. OSS families completed 930 hours of service at the school. Reflection from AmeriCorp Teacher, Kristina Dolce When I graduated from the University of Connecticut in 2010, I had no plans to become a middle-school teacher. I actually had no plans at all! I had spent an afternoon packing my apartment into boxes when I got an e-mail from the Women’s Studies department head about teachers needed for an all-girls’ school in New Bedford, Massachusetts. I applied, and then I rode in a car, a train and a bus to visit Our Sisters’ School. As soon I walked in the door, I fell in love. When I observed classes, girls were falling over themselves to answer math questions and write on the blackboard. Girls came right up to me and shook my hand, looked into my eyes and confidently asked me questions. “Do you like school here?” I asked, and the answer was always an enthusiastic “YES!” When it was time for me to say good-bye, one of the students asked me, “Are you going to be our teacher next year?” How could my own answer be anything but an equally-enthusiastic “YES!”? Teaching at Our Sisters’ School has been both the most challenging and most rewarding experience of my life so far. I have taught seventh-grade girls English and Social Studies for two years. During this time, I have watched two classes learn how to be critical, analytical readers and to feel confident in their own voices while writing. By the time they are in seventh grade, OSS girls aren’t afraid to ask questions, to take up space, or to trust themselves while tackling challenges. Every day, my class challenged me to be a better teacher, to reflect on my actions and to set new goals. Every day, through their own efforts, my class inspired me to never be afraid to ask questions, and never to settle for good enough. VOLUNTEERS The volunteer community is an integral part of the success of Our Sisters’ School. Each year, OSS volunteers perform many different roles during their time at the school. They cover the office, tutor our students, conduct small group music lessons, clean the school and give support to the staff and students. OSS volunteers invest time and energy to ensure a successful program for the students and school. Giving back to the community has become part of the educational program OSS has created and our students are reminded how important it is to give back by watching the many volunteers who give their time and energy to the school. We thank each of you for all that you have done and continue to do to make this school and community a safe and supportive environment for learning. If you are interested in learning more about volunteer opportunities please contact us at (508)994-1255 or by emailing info@oursistersschool.org. Thank you to all of our 2011-2012 volunteers for having such an incredible impact on Our Sisters’ School. Ahluwalia, Tara Abella-Bowen, Meghan Adams, Susan Albert, Meg Alpaugh, Kiley Alvord, Joel Alvord, Lisa Schmid Ash, Chris Baker, Jr., Talbot Baldwin, Christine Barrett, Laurie Bascom, Christina Bichsel, Chuck Bichsel, Jan Blake, Claudette Bousquet, Jackie Boreiko, Alison Coolidge Brooke, Debbie Bullard, Laurie Burke, Brenda Canning, Peter Canning, Gaelen Cho, Yul-mi Claes, Frieda Corin, Sarah Costa, Bethany Dabney, Kate DeMello, Casey Denker, Jen Denny, Joe Edberg, Donna Ehrens, David Ehrens, Deb Fabian, Betty Fallon, Sally Fernandes, Nick Finn, Betty Flint, Alice Forbes-Hoyt, Felicity Fortes, Gail Francis, Kimberly Frantz, Cherie Gorfinkle, Cheryl Griswold, Nancy Healy, Ann Hickey, Barbara Hood, Tucker Howard, Leslie Huidekoper, Elizabeth Hunsche, Mary Hunt, Genevieve Jennings, Julie Kalisz, Marlene Kang, Chan Keene, Andrea Kennedy, Judy Kennedy, Priscilla Kurtz, Nancy Lambert, Amethyst Lim, Mali Lopes, Doreen Lopez, Danielle Marques, Helena Marshall, Sophie McGetrick, Peg McNamee, Jim McSweeny, Margaret Melli, Rosemary Meredith, Elaine Mitchell, Jannine Mitton, Dave Mozaz, Teresa Nichols, Wally O’Brien, Joan O’Neil, Mary Paradis, Caroline Park, Amy Pedersen, Christine Penney, Celeste Perry, Dan Perry, Sue Pina, June Pinarretta, Maria Poyant, Susan Prentiss, Dave Prescott, Bill Roberts, Stephanie Robitaille, Steve Rodrigues, Maria Sands, Patty Schmitt, Kate Schultz, Gale Sears, Martha Silva-DaRosa, Vanila Souza, Bernadette Stone, Cathy Stone, Margot Strunk, June Taylor, Terri Thomas, Megan Thomas, Sarah Tripp, Liz Tschaen, JoAnn Tse, Wendy Vasconcellos, John Veiga, Taylece Waite, Marge Wayss, Judith Weigel, Russ West, Janet Westgate, Emily White, Amanda White, Elizabeth Wood, Victoria Wotka, Sarah Zhang, Haiying 4 Visual and Performing Arts Program Impacts OSS Melanie Luperon, 7th Grade “High school so far has been a great and exciting experience. The work is intense but proper time management has helped me to find time for friends, sports, clubs and academics. With my schedule I am never bored. Overall, I love my school and I thank OSS for preparing me.” ~Arianna, OSS Class of 2011 The art class at Our Sisters’ School will never be ordinary. From individual projects to the teacher herself, nothing will ever match the independent style the school has taken. I can honestly say I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s hard to come across something like what we have here and not be impressed. Twice a week we have visual arts classes for a full hour. We walk in and know to get right to work. We know exactly how to do this because our art teacher, Ms. Wayss, is unlike any ordinary art teacher. Ms. Wayss is that “favorite aunt” who will have you working diligently and laughing hard all at the same time. She is full of humor and possessed of an amazing ability to change people (and not just the way they draw). The art being done in our classroom is truly eye-opening. While making my own art, I have discovered more about myself than I knew existed. The class unlocks hidden and unhidden talent, and perfects them both. Most of us entered the fifth grade satisfied to draw stick figures for people and circles for spheres. Two years later, every lesson Ms. Wayss has given us has really paid off. The work done at Our Sisters’ School has been featured in many places. Thanks to Ms. Wayss’ amazing efforts, I have seen both my own and my school mates’ work presented at various locales in the community on multiple occasions. From the Ocean Explorium to our very own school grounds, our art work has had heads turning in excitement since the first day of OSS’s first year. Most schools don’t know that workers like Ms. Wayss exist; instead, they hire artists to teach students the same old lessons for 15 minutes once a month. Ms. Wayss not only has us create beautiful pieces of work, but educates us on these pieces as well. At my present age in a different school I would have no idea what a “Georgia O’Keeffe-style watercolor” is. I wouldn’t know that such marvelous pieces of abstract art could exist, or that they are being created afresh every day. I can honestly reveal that I used to believe that watercolor palettes were only useful for coloring water and decorating random objects. Now it is safe to say that Ms. Wayss has properly taught us things like how to create crayon “resists,” incorporate texture with plastic wrap or salt, “blot” a brush and many other techniques. But our art classes involve much more than mere watercolor. Pieces I have made since fifth grade include: wire sculptures, linoleum, soap and styrofoam relief carvings, mono-printing, clay totem poles, masks, abstract pastel eyes, three dimensional models of the first initial of our names using self-expression and symbolization, multiple charcoal drawings, and much, much more. Ms. Wayss always has something exciting and interesting to be completed. Even 5 our homework assignments are unusual. She has had us draw many things in the sketchbooks that we receive at the beginning of each school year. From our drawings, she is able to measure our progress over time, and to gauge our ability to improve. I have no doubt that when we graduate from Our Sisters’ School all of us will have gained much more knowledge and insight than we ever would have in a normal school. Ms. Wayss offers in-depth, hands-on courses that offer more useful information than one could acquire from some million-page textbook on famous art and its long history. One example is our recent alumna, Samantha. After graduating from OSS, Samantha went on to Tabor Academy here in Massachusetts. And in her first year she won one of the very few art awards given at the academy. Even my sister has artwork from us on her walls! We have been told that, with proper effort, we can create art at the high-school or college level. Ms. Wayss has shown us effort. And she has taught us to learn from our mistakes and to restart when necessary multiple times, with end results that are frequently astonishing. People tend to look wide-eyed at many of the works in our art classroom; some have even gasped and exclaimed, “I want that!” We have been taught since starting the art class how to apply our skill and knowledge, solve problems, and be responsible for our doings and our actions. These not only apply to the art we make, but to our real lives and everything in them. The art program at Our Sisters’ School should always remain just the way it is today. For all of us it has been fun, entertaining, eye-opening, mind testing, humorous and serious. All at once. “High school….all I can say is that it is BUSY. When you get your assignments, try to do them ASAP! Don’t procrastinate. “ ~Jarynette, OSS Class of 2011 6 COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS Our Sisters’ School is fortunate to have a wide variety of committed community partners sharing in the voyage each year. We are grateful to each and every organization for collaborating with us, exposing our girls to incredible opportunities and challenging our students to be active members of our local community. “I am learning things now that I already learned in 8th grade.” ~ Rabiet, OSS Class of 2011 “High school wouldn’t be high school without preparation, knowledge and support from OSS.” ~Nepherterrie, OSS Class of 2011 Alma del Mar Baker Books Boys And Girls Club Of Greater New Bedford Bristol Community College Buttonwood Park Zoological Society Café Balena Child & Family Services, Inc. Community Foundation of Southeastern Massachusetts Cuttyhunk Ferry Company Dartmouth Grange 162 Inc. Dartmouth Public Schools Friends Academy Gifts To Give, Inc. Global Learning Charter Public School Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational Technical High School HarbOur House Humane Society and Shelter-SouthCoast Immigrants Assistance Center, Inc. Junior Achievement Kaminhu Longi Dance Troupe Lloyd Center for the Environment Marion Institute Mass in Motion Nativity Preparatory School of New Bedford New Bedford Ballet New Bedford Half Marathon New Bedford Historical Society New Bedford Jewish Convalescent Home, Inc. New Bedford Public Schools New Bedford Symphony Orchestra New Bedford Whaling Museum New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park Ocean Explorium at New Bedford Seaport Office of Bristol County District Attorney Operation Clean Sweep Our Lady of Assumption Church Peace Works! Peter Pan Bus Lines RAPPP Program Rotch-Jones Duff House & Garden Museum Salvation Army New Bedford Sid Wainer & Son South Coast Hospitals Group South Coast Serves Steamship Authority The Five Growers Tifereth Israel Synagogue Tri-County Symphonic Band Trips for Kids UMass Dartmouth United Way of Greater New Bedford Women’s Fund of the Community Foundation of Southeastern Massachusetts The Working Waterfront Festival YWCA Southeastern MA Zeiterion Performing Arts Center OSS FINANCIAL SUMMARY Thanks to the generosity of our supporters, community partners and friends, Our Sisters’ School has stayed the course throughout Fiscal Year 2012. We continue to invest 75 percent of dollars raised directly into our program expenses. We thank each of you for your dedication to our school, community and program. As the OSS voyage proceeds, we are committed to giving our students the promise of a full four-year education at the school. Toward that end, we have been fortunate this year to be able to grow our sustainability fund … all thanks to the loyalty and generosity of every one of you. expenses Fundraising: 10% General Administration: 15% Program Expenses: 75% Monies Raised Events: 2% Grants: 21% Individuals: 77% “High school has been many things at once including hard and time consuming. With the skills I gained at OSS, I have been able to handle these tasks and focus on the fun parts of high school I was told I would be awaiting for us all. Thank you OSS!” ~ Irene, Class of 2011 8 Happiness Jaeliana Ortega, OSS Class of 2012 The way you see things The way you hear things It’s your perspective of a day That’s your point of view The way you feel about things If you think it’s good or not? The way you understand something from a point of view That’s your opinion Your opinion, it’s your judgment To help you make life decisions Will you enjoy your day? Is something worth ruining your day? Something will make you happy, every day But it’s how you see your day With your point of view And using your opinion to decide Whether you are grateful for it. But, you ask me, for my judgment? Or, my opinion? My point of view? Well, it depends on how you see it It’s how you live your day Will you laugh? Smile? It’s a new day! There’s room for new opportunity, new things to learn, There’s room for error, but we grow from that. Look around you. These girls? Don’t they make you happy? Do you not laugh all day with them? I do, these girls make me happy. I live most of my days with them! Are you happy about it? Well, use your point of view skills. What’s your opinion? Are you happy? Yeah, me too! 9 MANY THANKS TO THE FOLLOWING INDIVIDUALS WHO DONATED GOODS OR SERVICES DURING FISCAL YEAR 2012. July 1st, 2011 to June 30, 2012 Ace Hardware Advanced Auto Parts Advanced Marine Technologies AlphaGraphics Amaral’s Marketplace Arteaga, Peter Ashworth, Gary Avila, Stacey & Jay Azimi, Talat Baker Books Baker, Jr., Talbot Bawoh Family Bichsel, Jan & Chuck Blake, Claudette Brahmin Handbags Bruhn, Heather Busnengo, Frank Caballero, Myrna Cape Cod Chowder Company Cook, Mary & Sackett Cortez, Alicia Costa, Melissa do Carmo, Beverly & William DuBois, Trish Fabian, Betty Falmouth Academy Fields, Yolanda Freeman, Heidisue Gitlin, Ellen Gomes, Sylvia Gonsalves, Beverly Griswold, Nancy Healy, Ann Hirst, Lenny Hunt, Genevieve Joblon, Wendy Kennedy, Judy Knowles, Katherine Kovacs, Deborah & Nicholas Sullivan Letendre, Debra & Norman Lima, Elaine Mak, Meiyuk & Ka Sheung Mannix, John Mary C. Wheeler School McNamee, Arlene & James Microsoft Corporation Montano, Honora Monteiro, Deanna Mozaz, Teresa Mystic Seaport New Bedford Symphony Orchestra O’Hara, Meaghan Olejarz, Nicole & Alan Onufrak, Marsha Pedersen, Christine Perry, Susan & Daniel Pina, June Pina, Mia Pingal, Cristina Torruella & David Pothier, Stacey Pratt, Michelle Prentiss, David Prescott, Suzanne & William Quansett Nurseries, Inc. RAPPP Program Regal House Furniture Rogers Gallery Roth, Eleanor & Bernard Ruiz, Geraldo Shaws Supermarket Sid Wainer & Son, Inc. Silvia, Neil Smith, Sue Soares, Desiree SouthernMass Credit Union Squibb, Robin Starr, Nan Stone, Amanda & Peter Stone, Cathy Sullivan, Stacey Thomas, Megan UMass Dartmouth, Women’s Resource Center Underwood, Joan Vasconcellos, John & William Barr West, Janet White, Elizabeth & Benjamin Please accept our apologies! Every effort has been made to make this donor report complete and correct. Please let us know of any errors we missed by calling OSS at 508-994-1255. Thank you. 10 THANK YOU TO ALL OF OUR financial SUPPORTERS WHO ARE DEDICATED TO THE MISSION AND VISION OF OUR SISTERS’ SCHOOL! July 1st, 2011 to June 30th, 2012 13 Striper Club Ackerman, Margaret & Robert Adams, Robert Adams, Susan & Clay Aisenberg, Kathy & Robert Alasso, Paul Aldrich, Sally Aleardi, Marguerite Alexander, Anne & Charles Almy, Anne Alvord, Lisa Schmid & Joel Ames, Elizabeth & Oliver Anchor Capital Advisors Anonymous Armstrong, Richard Bacon, Connie & Jim Bevilacqua Baker Books Baker, Barbara & Richard Baker, Jr., Talbot Baldwin Reyering Family Baldwin, Christine & Christopher Baldwin, Margherita & Michael Baldwin, Rose Ballou, Christy & Russell Brackett Barclay, Leslie & Rutgers Barrett, Laurie & David Bascom, Christina & Charles Bass, Sara Bauer, Renee Baum, Matthew Beauregard, Jacqueline & John Beckman, Marguerite & Charles Bedell, Barbara & Laurence Bennett, Joanna & Robert Benson, Lauren & Peter BER, Inc. Berg, Melinda Berntsen, Molly Bichsel, Jan & Chuck Bickford, Jewelle & Nathaniel Blake, Claudette Blake, Loretta Blasdale, Mary Jean & William Blumenthal, Nancy & Joseph Blumenthal, Nina & Scott Corin Blumenthal, Patricia & Eric Boes, Julie & Todd Boreiko, Alison Coolidge & Tom Boreiko Bourassa, Catherine & Paul Braitmayer, Eric & Jack Haney Braitmayer, Nancy & Jack Braucher, Nannette & William Brinkhaus, Cindy Bristol County Savings Charitable Foundation, Inc. Brooke, Deborah Brooks, Laura & Tom Brown, Stephen Bullard, Tia & Peter Burnes, Amy & Andrew Burr, Gertrude Busnengo, Frank Butler’s Hole Fund Candee, Lauren & Lawrence Canning, Gaelen & Peter Carey, Cindy & Chris Carignan, Nancy Carleton, Rena & Bukk Cederholm, Theresa & John Celini, Nancie Chapman Katherine & Tom Stemberg Cherofsky, Jessie Chopra, Roochi & Amit Tandon CHT Foundation The Church Home Society Citizens Union Savings Bank Claes, Frieda Clare Rose Foundation, Inc. Clarke, Marylou & Bruce Coleman, Janet & Bill Collery, Kevin Community Foundation of Southeastern Massachusetts - Acushnet Foundation Fund Community Foundation of Southeastern Massachusetts - Women’s Fund Philanthropy Initiative The Congregational Church of South Dartmouth Conkright, Sally & William Rogerson Connolly, Anne Marie & Richard Converse, Sheila Powers Conway, Merry & John Cook, Barbara & John Donaldson Cook, Mary & Sackett Coolidge, Deborah & Harvey Goldman Coolidge, Jane Coolidge, Lindsay & Charles Cooney, Elizabeth & Edward Cooney, Katherine & Daniel Corkery, Nancy Cormier, Rosanna Correia, Nancy & Paul Council of Women’s Organization of Greater New Bedford Coxe, Elizabeth & David Forney Crane, Loretto & Dwight Crane, Melissa Creevy, Jill Crocker, Cindy & Doug Crocker, Evelyn Crocker, Joan & Prescott Croll, Victoria & David Crosby, Catherine Crosby, Nancy Cummings, Mary & Clarkson Collins Cunningham, Victoria & Robert Cutler, Molly & Chris CVS Caremark Charitable Trust Cyr, Heather Dabney, Kate & Fred Daggett, Claudia & Clark Please accept our apologies! Every effort has been made to make this donor report complete and correct. Please let us know of any errors we missed by calling OSS at 508-994-1255. Thank you. Danforth, Susannah & Donald Denker, Mary & Bradley Desmond, Tommie & Jack DeWalt, Toby & Peter Dey, Janice Dildine, Carol & James Doggett, Joseph Dorman, Jan & Lawrence Doyle, Jeannette Ducas, Sarah & William Duff, Kathryn The Eastern Charitable Foundation Edward Goldberg Philanthropic Fund Edwards, Nancy & Jim Egan, Janet Ellanor & Matthew Fink Fund Enable Hope Foundation Evans, Helena Ewing, Annette Faulenbach, Helga & Walter Nichols Feldman, Marla Fentress, Kate & David Ferri, Barbara & Paul Finn, Margaret & Thomas Getz Fitzgerald, Melinda & Gregg Fitzgibbons, Janet & Jim Flint, Alice & Jon FLS Banners Forbes, Deedee & Stewart Forbes, Sarah & Charlie Ford, Tina Fordyce, Jean & Cameron Forrester, Edith & Peter Fors, Lyn & Steven Fortes, Gail Fowler, Viki & John Kelleher Francis, Kimberly & Carlos Cardoso French, Jill & Thomas Frisbie Family Foundation Fuller, Amy Gagne, Laurie & Michael Gallagher, Louise & Daniel Garfield, Natalie & John Garrahy, Patricia Gebelein, Louisa & Jeremiah Jones Gebelein, Suzanne & George Georgadarellis, Paul Gerlek, Alena Gidwitz Family Foundation Gitlin, Ellen Goldberg, Edward Goldin, Donna & Dave Usher Gonsalves, Mege & Jeffrey Goodman, Matthew Gormley, Beth & Charles Gouveia, Linda & Michael Graboys, Lois & George Graboys, Vicki & Tom Graff, Joan Grantham, Hannelore & Jeremy Grantham, Jennifer & Rubert Gray, Abby & David Gray, Elaine & Bob Gray, Gerry & Sam Greater Houston Community Foundation Greenup, Susanna & John Gregory, E. Jamison Greville, Marjorie & Nicholas Griswold, Nancy Gulbranson, Jean Guthrie, Anne & Paul Hale, Judith Hall, Myrna & Howard Halpern, Judy & Robert Riordan Hamel, Pauline & Tobe Berkovitz Harrington, Patricia Hartnett, Helena & Kenneth Harty, Sally & Mark Harwood, Corbin & John Hatfield, Carla Hawes Lees, Mary Ellen Hayes, Mary Ann & Stephen Hefferman, Margaret & Robert Hellman, Alvin Henry, Julie & Bayard Herlihy, Penny & Michael Hewitt, Sandra & Bill Hickey, Barbara & William Hicks, Lucille & William Hitch, Julie & Jordan Hobbs, Cela & Matthew Hobbs, Linda & Franklin Hobbs, Marge & Frank Hood, Joanna & Fred Hope & David Jeffrey Fund Howard, Jill Howard, Lauri & Frank Howard, Leslie & Jack Hoyt, Felicity & Austin Huguley, III, Heidi & Arthur Huidekoper, Elizabeth Huidekoper, Mary & Peter Hunsche, Mary Ann & Cynthia Cummings Hunt Alternatives Fund Hykes, James Island Foundation, Inc. Jacobs, Jared The James O. Robbins Family Charitable Lead Annuity Trust Jeffers, Donna Jenkins, Dottie & Geoff Hughes, Jim & Bess Joblon, Wendy & Kenneth John H. Deknatel Family Fund Johnson, Nan & Alan Minard Jolliffe, Ruth & Michael Jordan, Darlene & Gerald Julia & Seymour Gross Foundation, Inc. Kanter, Rabbi Raphael Keating, Martha & Michael Keches, Ann Keegan, Anna & Steve Keene, Abigail Keene, Andrea & Henry Kellogg, Betsy & Rusty Kemp, Lilian & David Marks Kennedy, Mary Kennedy, Peggy & Gene Kennedy, Priscilla & William Ketcham Supply Corporation Ketcham, Mona & Robert Kingery, Gertrude Klugman, Edgar Knetzger, Leonette Knowles, Katherine & George Vafiadis Knowles, Leslie & Bourne Please accept our apologies! Every effort has been made to make this donor report complete and correct. Please let us know of any errors we missed by calling OSS at 508-994-1255. Thank you. 12 Mathias, Dale & Ed Kunz, Elizabeth & Randall McBratney, Betsy, & Greer Kurtz, Nancy & Edward McDonough, Holly & Joe Kut-Best, Frances McElroy, Anne The Ladera Foundation McFadden, Nancy Laferriere, Gail McFerran, Freddy & Alex Lambie, Mary McGetrick, Margaret Lang, Kathy & Robert McKinley, Doreen & Arthur Lapalme, Lynne & David McLaren, Susan & Phil Guymont Larkin, Lee & Bob McQuillan, Linda & William Lauderdale, Edith McSweeny, Margaret Lauderdale,Marijean & Randy Mead, Susan & Kirtland Laughton, Sienna Melli, Rosemary & Tony Laughton, Susan Mendoza, Rose Lawrence, Betsy Merck, Katharine & Al Lawrence, Patricia & Robert Meriz, Inc. Layton, Anne & James Miller, Elizabeth & Elliot Lees, Albert Montague, Helen & Jim Lehtsalu, Liise Moody, Donna & James Lemelin, Sarah & Michael Leonard & Hilda Kaplan Charitable Mooney, Lucy & Ward Morningstar, Faith & Richard Foundation Morrison, Carol & Robert Letendre, Debra & Norman Moss, Barbara & Timothy Haydock Levin, Fran & Clinton Mota, Maria Levine, Kathleen & Melvin Nadler, Louise & Charles Levy, Allan Nau, Char & Bob Liebman, Rebecca & Charles Nelson, Lauren Lindsay, Elizabeth New Bedford Cultural Council Lockwood, Marie & Charles Nicholson, Diana & Peter Lofberg, Mouse & Per Notman, Chip & Bill Logan, Sharon & Craig O’Brien, Joan & Jonathan Lopes, Darci O’Neil, Laura & Mark Lopes, Doreen & Luis Orville W. Forte Charitable Ludes, Doris & John Foundation, Inc. Lyell, Trish & Bob Gilston Othote, Linda & Louis MacDonald, Dora & Peter Pakradooni, Regina Mace, Claudia Pappas, Kathleen & Robert Maciel, Margaret-Mary Paradise, Linda & John Mannix, John Parker, Hillary Margaret Parker Fund Parker, John Marques, Helena Parson, Ann Marr, Virginia & Richard Parsons, Sandria Marshall, Anna & Charles Patrick Carney Foundation Martignetti, Beth & Carmen Patullo, Betsy & Greg Torres Martin, Lucinda Paul, Emily Mason, Leigh & Jean Massachusetts Charitable Society Penney, Celeste & Jack Pennoyer, Christine Massachusetts Cultural Council 13 Pennoyer, Robert Pennoyer, Tracy Perkins, Maura & William Perkins, Polly & George Perrine, Laura & Frank Perry, Margaret Perry, Phoebe Perry, Susan & Daniel Persons, James Pfizer Foundation Matching Gifts Program Phillips, Eleanor & Richard Phyfe, Winnie & Jim Pierce, Eve & Leo Pingal, Cristina Torruella & David Pinheiro, Emily & John Pittman, Sheila & Robert Platt, Renia & Charles Polimeni, April & Bob Popik, Alexis & William Poyant, Susan & Richard Pozzo, Alexandra & Robert Pramer, Dorothy Prentiss, David Prescott, Suzanne & William Prevost, Ute & Patrick Price, Laura Prouty, Jennifer Purdy, Nancy & Richard Putnam Investment Garden Fund Putnam, Mimi & John Pyle, Cynthia & Jerry The Rands Foundation Rasmussen, Mark Reichenbach, Lynn & John Reidy, John Rhind, Julie & Ridley Rice, Alice & Mark Perkins Richard Jacobus Family Foundation Ricketson, Francie Righter, Anne & Jim Rioux, Jane & Peter Robert J. & Bonnie M. Stapleton Fund Roberts, Cathy & Henry Roberts, Cecelia & Stephen Roberts, Susan & Christopher Rockland Trust Please accept our apologies! Every effort has been made to make this donor report complete and correct. Please let us know of any errors we missed by calling OSS at 508-994-1255. Thank you. Rockwell, Linda & Hays Roher, Deborah Rubenstein, Carolyn & Jim Runnells, Gale Russell, Delia & James Saba, Deborah & Steven Samuels, Barbara Sapienza, Anthony Schmid, Tina & Paul Schmitt, Kate & Tom Scoville, Krista & Roger The Sea Breeze Foundation See, Frederica Selig, Renata Shachoy, MaryEllen & Norman Shapiro, Frima & Gil Shapleigh, Jane & Warren Shattuck, Dorothy & William Sheeley, Summer & Lesley Shepard, Richard Shuster, Martha & Steven Siegal, Daphne & Edward Siegal, Sue & Calvin Silverstein, Bonnie & Louis Simmons, Sloane & Hardwick Slaight, Barbara & Tom Smith, Mark Sommaripa, Leo SouthernMass Credit Union Souza, Bernadette Souza, Kim Spiegel, Genevieve & Steven Spongberg, Sarah & Andy Spooner, John Spring, Deborah & John Starr, Nan & Phillip Marshall Starrett, Marybeth & Steven Steen Realty & Development Corporation Stengel, Geoffrey & Alice Stevenson, Fredericka & Howard Stillwell, Trina & Newcomb Stites, Clara & Clay Stites, Nathaniel Stone, Lara & Jeffrey Stone, Lisa & Gregg Stone, Margot Strand, Sylvia & Eiv Stroud, Leslie & Jay Surdam, Lynda Swan, Carol & Chris Sylvester, Louise Taipale, Michelle & Lloyd MacDonald Taylor, M.E. & Stephen Teachman, Ron Thomas, Megan Thomas, Sarah Thomas, Shirlee & William Thye, Pamela & Renke Tifereth Israel Congregation Tobojka, Elizabeth & Andree Howard Toomey, Maryse & Charles Trautman, Tim Trippe, Pam & Charlie Trumbull, Helen & Walter Tschaen, JoAnn Ullian, Dora & Arthur Underwood, Charlotte & William Underwood, Joan Ungrady, Joan & Thomas Unhoch, Dagmar & George United Way of Greater New Bedford University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth The Upstream Foundation Vable, Adhiraj Vable, Madhukar van Heeckeren, Anna & Edward Baker Vasconcellos, Angela Vasconcellos, John & William Barr Vogt, Joanne Wadsworth, Annick & Eliot Wagner, Charlotte & Herb Wagoner, Mariana Wainer, Marion & Henry Waite, Marge & Neal Weiss Walker, Jane & Robert G. Wallace, Asha & Peter Walsh, Ellen & Larry Walsh, Terry & William Warburg, Stephanie & Jonathan Warden, Gail & Duncan Waterman, Mallory & John Watson, Susan & Keith Wattles, Kathy & Gurdon Webb, Anne & Richard Webb, Happy & Henley Weigel, Jane & Russell Weitzel, Pamela & Philip West, Christy & Chris West, Dorothy & Thomas Westphal, Sylvia & Christoph Whelan, Jean & William White, Anne & Alexander White, Constance & Kenneth Rampino White, Elizabeth & Benjamin White, Katherine & Chris White, Sonja & Gardiner Whitney, Anne & Jeremy Wilde, Sally & Peter William C. Bullitt Foundation Xifaras, Carolyn Yates, Lisa Yoken, Cynthia Yongping, Wang & Gao Guoping Zane, Eusie & Tony Ziegler, Ann & Hans Ziobro, Virginia & Peter Please accept our apologies! Every effort has been made to make this donor report complete and correct. Please let us know of any errors we missed by calling OSS at 508-994-1255. Thank you. 145 Brownell Ave. New Bedford, MA 02740 508-994-1255 info@oursistersschool.org www.oursistersschool.org Board of Trustees 2011 - 2012 OFFICERS Lisa Schmid Alvord, President JoAnn Tschaen, Vice President Bernadette Souza, Vice President Elizabeth Huidekoper, Treasurer William Prescott, Clerk TRUSTEES Talbot Baker, Jr. Laurie Barrett Christina Bascom Alison Coolidge Boreiko Gaelen Canning Kate Dabney Gail Fortes Kim Francis Barbara Hickey Doreen Lopes Helena Marques Margaret McGetrick Susan Perry John Vasconcellos Russ Weigel CONSULTANTS Gaelen Canning, Grants STAFF 2011 - 2012 Lisa A. Yates, Executive Director Carlene LeBlanc, Business & Operations Manager Abigail Keene, Director of Development Jill Howard, Secondary School Program Coordinator Hillary Parker, Administrative Assistant & Volunteer Coordinator Blanca Santiago, Administrative Assistant Mary Wayss, Visual & Performing Arts Coordinator LEAD & ADJUNCT TEACHERS David Ehrens Priscilla Kennedy James MacNamee June Pina Gale Schultz Elizabeth White AMERICORPS VOLUNTEER TEACHERS Heather Cyr Krissy Dolce Elise Edmonson Kara Gonnerman Courtney Hendrick Katie O’Hara Maria Sayed Caroline Sullivan VISUAL & PERFORMING ARTS TEACHERS Marcus Monteiro, Music Diana Puccio, Drama Mary Wayss, Art