So what has SPARK been up, to you ask?

We’ve been busy! Spark, our extended day program, has students been doing everything from gardening and cooking, to building cardboard mansions. We have planted tomatoes, cucumbers, radishes, and beautiful flower seeds. We are now eagerly awaiting our seeds to sprout, so be on the lookout for photos of that progress. And, we’ve spent some time in the kitchen recently, baking cookies and frying up johnny-cake—talk about yummy! I see some future chefs in the making. We are just having a blast and we are just getting started! See ya soon!

Latrica Y. Rogers
Spark Program Director

After School Program Schedule - Semester 1 2022-2023

After School Programs begin September 19, registration will be available early next week. Schedule is available online.

Sailing Team Rash Guards for Sale

$30 each to raise money to support the VIMSIA Sailing Team. Please see Charmaine Duncan to purchase.

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Message to Families Arrival/Dismissal - Sent March 22

Good Day VIMSIA Families, 

With the continued improvement of the COVID-19 scenario in the Virgin Islands, VIMSIA is changing the Arrival/Dismissal process for Montessori. There will be NO changes to PGIA processes.

Early on, we made necessary changes to Montessori for temperature checks and COVID-19 protocols. Starting on April 4th, Montessori Arrival will start at 7:30 am and end at 7:55 am. Instructional time will begin at 8:00 am. 

Arrival (7:30 - 7:55 am):

• Primary and Elementary students must report to the solar awning.  If necessary, parents should help their children out of the car and escort them to the ramp. 

• La Casa students must report to the car deck.  Parents are responsible for getting their children out of the car.

• There will be VIMSIA staff in the parking lot to help if necessary. 

Late Arrival (8:00 or after):

• La Casa and Primary students must be escorted to class by parents.

• Elementary and PGIA students may walk to class independently.

Montessori Dismissal will start at 3:15 pm and end at 3:45 pm, as instructional time ends at 3:10 pm. Students who are not picked up by 3:45 pm will be placed in the Spark program for an additional fee. This fee will be added to the parent’s tuition statement. 

Dismissal (3:15 - 3:45 pm):

• Primary and Elementary students will be dismissed from the solar awning.  

  • 11:30 am: Half Day Students are brought to the car deck by their teacher for parents to pick up.

• La Casa students will be on the car deck, ready for parents to pick up. (We highly suggest that parents of toddlers park and pick up their children)

Late Dismissal Procedure (3:45 pm):

• Students who are not picked up by 3:45 pm will be placed in the Spark program.

The new Arrival/Dismissal times/changes will go into effect on April 4th (following Spring Break). Please share the student expectations with your child/ren over the break.  



VI Archery Federation Re-Opening

The Virgin Islands Archery Federation is extremely happy and proud to announce the re-opening of the range on St. Thomas, which is located at Bertha C. Boschulte Middle School.

In order to celebrate this event, the VIAF has a week-long celebration planned that includes open shoots, archery classes, demonstrations, coaching classes, and informational meetings about forming a club on the island (which will be necessary in order to have open range times) and the island's homeschool archery group.
Please see the attached document for more information and tune into both Virgin Islands Archery Federation and Future St. Thomas Archery Club!

Archery Range Reopening.docx

Important Announcement: School Bus Service

Good Day Families,

The Department of Education (DOE) has confirmed that bus services will start on Tuesday, September 7th. The DOE has contracted School Bus, Inc. to provide the school bus transportation. Please note, If the public schools are closed for any reason, bus service is not available. Please evaluate the service and decide if your needs and concerns will be better served by you personally dropping off and picking up or if the bus service is suitable for you.

If you must use this service, please complete the School Bus Application and VIMSIA Liability Waiver and upload it to your student’s OpenApply profile, then email Charmaine Duncan (cduncan@vimsia.org) that it has been completed by Monday 09/06/21. These forms need to be uploaded prior to your child riding the bus. VIMSIA’s role is limited to the collection of student data and communication with parents and School Bus Inc. All school bus forms and information, including the rules, can be found here.

VI DOE School Bus Guidelines

• Students are required to wear a mask at all times while being transported on the school bus.

• Students may sit two to a seat on school buses.

• School bus drivers are required to wear masks.

As a reminder children must be 5 years of age to use this service. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Charmaine Duncan directly.

Photo by Reno Laithienne on Unsplash

Enrollment for the FCC’s Emergency Broadband Benefit

CUSTOMER NOTICE                                                                    
An Important Message to All Broadband VI Customers:

Enrollment For The FCC’s Emergency Broadband Benefit Begins Tomorrow, May 12th

The Emergency Broadband Benefit (EBB) Program is a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) program that provides a temporary discount on monthly broadband bills for qualifying low-income households.  If your household is eligible, you can receive up to a $50/month discount on your broadband service and associated equipment rentals, as well as other benefits.  Only one EBB monthly service discount and one device discount is allowed per household, but this program can be combined with Lifeline benefits if you have already qualified for Lifeline.

Consumers can begin applying for and enrolling in the EBB Program on May 12, 2021.  The program will end when the fund runs out of money, or six months after the Department of Health and Human Services declares an end to the COVID-19 health emergency, whichever is sooner.

There are three ways eligible households can enroll:

• Directly with a local participating provider. The FCC maintains a list of participating providers, sorted by state and territory. Broadband VI is a participating provider.

• Enroll online with the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) at their website www.getemergencybroadband.org.

• Or download a paper application at the www.getemergencybroadband.org site, fill out the application, and mail it – along with supporting documentation – to USAC.

Find out more by visiting www.getemergencybroadband.org.

Already a Lifeline Customer?
If you are currently enrolled in the Lifeline program, you do not have to apply again for the Emergency Broadband Benefit. You can apply your Lifeline and Emergency Broadband Benefit to the same or separate services. Talk to your Lifeline provider about the services they may have available as part of Emergency Broadband Benefit, including options to apply the discounts to your existing Lifeline service or contact another broadband provider participating in the EBB Program to apply the benefit to a separate broadband service.

Kind Regards,
David M. Zumwalt
Chief Operating Officer
Broadband VI, LLC

VIMSIA Staff/Faculty Rewards Program

March 22, 2021

Good Day Parents and the VIMSIA community,

The VI Montessori School and Peter Gruber International Academy is always searching for ways to thank our incredible faculty/staff. Behind the scenes, they are very dedicated and hardworking professionals who never falter in their drive and focus on helping us move forward. Their commitment to this community became especially apparent during this last year when the pandemic forced them to keep altering their teaching methods following government restrictions while keeping the students safe and on task.

With this in mind, we are reaching out to local businesses and stakeholders in the community to support a Staff/Faculty Rewards Program where various businesses are willing to give various discounts to the VIMSIA community who patronize their establishments.

How will this work? We will promote your business via email and social media to all our staff and faculty members. In exchange, they will receive a discount when they show their VIMSIA ID as they patronize your business. This will be a year-long program, starting this spring and running through the Winter of 2022, with an option to renew after the year is up.

If you have any questions, want further information, or to sign up as a participant.

Please feel free to contact Liza Margolis at 340-626-8009 or lizajmargolis47@gmail.com.

Thank you in advance for your support!

Company Name: _______________________________________________________________

Type of Discount of Faculty/Staff: _________________________________________________

Donation Letter for VIMSIA Staff/Faculty Incentive Program

Openings in Chair Caning Classes with the St. Thomas Historical Trust

The St. Thomas Historical Trust has several unexpected openings for its chair caning classes, which begin this weekend. If you are interested, please call Pamela Montegut on 340-227-1842 with all haste.

The class dates are Saturdays, December 5 or Sundays, December 6 and 13, and will take place at the Trust Museum. Instruction starts promptly at 10 am and will run approximately until 2:45 pm. There will be a break for lunch. Please come early if you have not already submitted your form.Ms. Lavonne Wise, a Crucian caner from Fredericksted, has stepped up to help us out with teaching.
You will still be able to work on your stools at the Trust during the week between the classes and the week after.
Students will sign up for either Saturdays or Sundays to spread out enough to be socially distant. If you have a small piece of caned furniture that needs to be recaned, please bring it with you - you may learn on that one.

The class's cost is $125 per person, which includes materials and 10 hours of in-person instruction., payable before commencement of the class. You can pay in cash or via PayPal or credit card.

The class application is linked HERE - please complete it and return it to me by email - or text if that is easier.

Please don't hesitate to call me on 340-227-1842 with any questions.

Sincerely,

Pamela Reid Montegut

President

St. Thomas Historical Trust
Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 6707
St. Thomas, Virgin Islands 00804

Location of Museum & Office:
5332 Raadets Gade, St. Thomas, VI

Telephone: (340) 774-5541
Website: www.StThomasHistoricalTrust.org

*Our Mission: To identify, protect and preserve the history, sites and culture of St. Thomas.*

COVID Protocol Update - Close Contact

VIMSIA is following the guidelines of the VI Department of Health. If you have been exposed to COVID, whether on island or off island, please contact the COVID Hotline at 340.776.1519, and VIMSIA's Nurse Sally at 340.277.3841. You will be asked to get tested and to quarantine for 10 days from date of contact, regardless of test results. The testing component is critical to our mitigation efforts in that a positive result would initiate another layer of contact tracing and testing within the school. Provide Nurse Sally with your test information as soon as it is available. She will be your main point of contact for VIMSIA as it relates to your safe return to school and will work with you to confirm/approve your return to campus date.

University Bound FREE Virtual Tutoring

The University Bound Program is offering FREE virtual tutoring for students ages 14-17, offered by college students and high school teachers who work with this UVI-affiliated program.

UVI Virtual College Open House - Thursday, Nov 12th - 3:00pm to 4:30pm

On behalf of the University of the Virgin Islands, we would like to cordially invite your high school seniors to participate in our Virtual College Open House on Thursday, November 12th, 2020 from 3:00 – 4:30 pm.  Our Virtual College Open House informs prospective students about unique educational opportunities and builds awareness regarding the benefits of a college education at UVI.  This is an excellent opportunity to expose your students and their parents to information regarding admissions, majors, and scholarship opportunities at the University of the Virgin Islands.

Please share the enclosed flyer with your students, which includes the Zoom link needed to login to the fair.  We would like to thank you in advance for your support and look forward to your students’ participation at our Virtual College Open House.  If you need additional information, please send an email to admissions@uvi.edu.

Regards,

Charmaine Smith

INTERIM DIRECTOR OF RECRUITMENT & ADMISSIONS

ADMISSIONS OFFICE

RR 1 Box 10000, Kingshill, VI  00850-9781

P: (340) 692-4070

F: (340) 692-4115

E: hsmithc@uvi.edu  

UVI Social Work Program Invites 12th Grade Students

Greetings to all of the 12th-grade students from the University of Virgin Islands -UVI,

My name is Denisha Toussaint, and I am a Junior majoring in Social Work at the University of the Virgin Islands. Cristian Ayala Nunez, a UVI Senior who is also majoring in social work, and I invite you, the public high school, private and parochial seniors, to the University of the Virgin Islands Bachelor's Social Work Career Fair. This exciting venture will be taking place virtually on Tuesday, November 10, 2020, at 5:00-6:30 p.m. Via Zoom. 

The program's primary purpose is to bridge the gap between UVI and the VI community. We hope to have more community resources and showcase perspective agency internship opportunities at our Virtual Career Fair Day meeting next month. 

Dr. Guy-Cupid, a professor and academic advisor of the social work program, said that it is essential for you guys to come and join in this educational event. She encourages all of you to share your questions, opinions, and concerns about what you want to gain from the Social Work program at UVI should you be interested in our program.

Please contact Dr. Guy-Cupid at 775.219.2468 (What's Appt only) or email gailann.guycupid@uvi.edu for more information or to RSVP.

We are looking forward to seeing you at the event via Zoom on November 10, 2020. Have a wonderful day. Everyone!

Sincerely,

Denisha Toussaint

Ms. Helen's Online Dance Classes

Ms. Helen's  Online Dance Classes have begun on Zoom:

Ms. Helen Dance Class Registration Form

Tuesdays 

Beginner's Tap 

ages 3-6 

3:45-4:30pm

Tuesdays 

Jazz, Acro & Latin Dance 

ages 7 and up 

4:30pm -5:30pm

Wednesdays 

Beginner's Ballet 

ages 3-6 

3:45-4:30pm

Wednesdays 

Intermediate Ballet & Lyrical 

ages 7 and up 

4:45-5:45pm

Click on link to register:

Ms. Helen Dance Class Registration Form

Alpine SAT Prep Academy - Workshop on September 30th

Alpine Securities is excited to launch the Fall Session of the Alpine SAT Prep Academy! This time around, they are kicking things off with a virtual workshop on the college application process!

Register at www.collegeprepvi.org and email us at collegeprepvi@gmail.com with any questions!

This workshop is FREE and open to ALL VI juniors and seniors! See you on September 30th!

Virtual Academy Day - Oct 2 @ 6pm

On October 2nd  at 6:00pm The Office of Congresswoman Stacey Plaskett will be hosting an Virtual Academy Day seminar, which is intended to share information on the great opportunities afforded to students that qualify to attend U.S. Military Academies like the fact that if a student is accepted, their tuition and may other fees are paid for. Please note that all students are welcome and not only seniors or JROTC students.

These institutions are seeking well rounded students who have thrived academically but they also want that student to show leadership in sports and other activities outside of the classroom. Our very own, Kobe Sutton will be the keynote speaker who recently graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy. All students interested in attending the virtual seminar can register using the link provided below. I encourage anyone that needs more information about this process to attend this event or you can contact me if you have any additional questions. See you there !

Registration link:https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_kH49sYPuS2OpAjizzND4rg

Town Hall Meeting - 5pm Tonight

Please join us this evening for our weekly Town Hall Meeting on Zoom. The agenda for this evening is a Q&A session and a glimpse of what it looks like to have students back on campus. 

TGR Learning Lab Fall Virtual Classes - Registration Deadline September 2nd

If you are looking for free enrichment programming in STEM, registration is now open for the TGR Learning Lab's virtual STEM classes.
With two six-week sessions available, 6 through 12th grade students will have the opportunity to connect with their peers across the country and gain transferable skills for school and life.
Registration deadline is September 2nd. 

Welcome Back to School!

Welcome back to school! While we are heartbroken that we could not return to campus as we originally planned, we are very happy to be able to work with your children via distance learning and have the honor of teaching them. It is our passion and our mission, to create lovers of learning!
We are 100% committed to creating a viable and enjoyable learning experience for your kids, even amidst these challenging times. We intend to return to campus as soon as it is safe to do so. I wish to extend my gratitude to the administrative team, as well as the IB Coordinators, and the PGIA teachers for working so hard to reopen the Peter Gruber International Academy. It is truly a magnificent feat!
I have been off island for some very important family matters, but am returning to work next week and am SO excited to work with each and everyone of you. Nothing can stop us, let's do this!" Mrs. Arpasi, PGIA Director

Street Level VI Youth and Adult G-Clef Music Education Scholarships Seeking Applications from Youth and Adults!

USVI Contact: Priscilla Lynn/Founder, Street Level VI (340) 227-8451 plynn333@gmail.com

Street Level VI (SLVI) is accepting Scholarship Applications for St. Thomas and St. Croix youth and adults to receive one year of free music education US Virgin Islands - G-Clef Music Academy and Street Level VI want your dream of learning how to play your favorite instrument to come true. 
Street Level VI (SLVI) has partnered with G-Clef Music Academy to provide music education scholarship opportunities for youth and adult residents of St. Thomas and St. Croix.  Music education scholarships are open to St. Thomas youth (ages 3 to 17) and adults (ages 30 and up).  The following scholarships will be awarded based on each island:
ST. THOMAS One adult will be rewarded a one-year scholarship of weekly one-hour in-person group PIANO lessons that take place on Thursdays at 1:00 pm.  We are also seeking to award one youth (ages 3 to 17) a one-year scholarship of weekly in-person PRIVATE music lessons in either piano, guitar, drums, steel pan, voice (singing), ukulele or Music Exploration (for ages 3 to 5). 

ST. CROIX Two St. Croix youth (ages 3 to 17) can receive a one-year scholarship of weekly in-person PRIVATE music lessons in either piano, guitar, drums, voice (singing), ukulele or Music Exploration (for ages 3 to 5).

G-Clef Music Academy and Street Level VI are encouraging you to apply for a scholarship to receive free music lessons!!  
According to Street Level VI Founder Priscilla Lynn "SLVI is a 'go-to' source for the Live Music Scene in the USVI.  Musicians and bands are showcased in announcements of upcoming performances, news of accomplishments, and brief video clips on our Facebook Page.  In addition, SLVI awards scholarships and distributes donations to island youth music education programs."  G-Clef Music Academy, the U.S. Virgin Islands' premier music school, has been teaching students of all ages how to play music for over 10 years.  The academy has been teaching a variety of instruments to beginners and students of various levels.  SLVI will review all scholarship applications.  Winners will be notified regarding beginning lessons in September 2020.  SLVI Youth and Adult Music Education Scholarships are available at G-Clef's website and through SLVI's Facebook page.  All awarded applications must be first-time students of G-Clef Music Academy on St. Thomas and St. Croix.  Scheduling of music lessons is based on availability.   

Academy Director James H. Gumbs, Jr. said, "We are very grateful that SLVI is providing support to G-Clef Music Academy and VI residents to ensure that they receive the benefits of music education.  Scientific research has proven that playing a music instrument strengthens brain functions.  Music also brings a sense of discipline and builds self-confidence. Learning music as an adult has benefits as well.  Research shows that the brain maintains the ability to change, so older adults can learn how to play an instrument even if they never played one before."  G-Clef is located on St. Thomas in Mandela Circle and on St. Croix in the Sunny Isle Shopping Center.  The application and more information about Street Level VI Youth and Adult G-Clef Music Education Scholarships are available at G-Clef's website at gclefmusicacademy.com and Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/gclefmusicacademy as well as on SLVI's Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/groups/StreetLevelVI   You can also obtain more information by calling G-Clef Music Academy at (340) 344-6449.