Order your print books ahead of time, and pick up your order on the car deck.
To reserve books, go to our library and log in to your student account.
Full instructions are available through the library page and in the classroom folders on Google Classroom
Happy Reading!
Books can be dropped off and picked up in this new cabinet on the car deck.
Ms. Sampson choosing books for her students
Print books are available for check-out to go home. Enjoy some learning time off screen! Reserve books at our library. Books will be processed on Tuesdays and Friday afternoons, after which you can pick them up anytime on the car deck. Elementary children have had an introduction to using the catalog this week, and instructions are posted on the website.
Please return your books in a timely manner! Many students still have books checked out from last year - these should be brought back to campus now! There is a plastic return bin by the front office door for your returned library books.
Email library@vimsia.org with any questions.
Many students still have library books at home that they checked out before school went into distance learning mode. It is now time to return those books! Please place your books in the bin located near the office door on the car deck. Notices will be emailed to all students who have books checked out. Look for emails directly to students in grades 4-12, and to parents of students in CASA, Primary, and Lower El. Families are encouraged to continue to check out books over the summer, but PLEASE bring back books that you are not currently reading so that others may enjoy them.
Order your print books ahead of time, and pick up your order on the car deck.
To reserve books, go to our library and log in to your student account.
Full instructions are available through the library page and in the classroom folders on Google drive.
Happy Reading!
image from NASA
The pandemic slow down has made many of us look more thoughtfully at the world around us. It’s the perfect time to celebrate Earth Day! Go on a neighborhood safari with your children, create from recycled materials, or take action to help the planet. NASA also has amazing resources. Find all these ideas and more in our Earth Day 2020 Collection.
The print book giveaway continues with an infusion of lots more books for teens, and plenty now for adults as well, including popular fiction, literature and nonfiction. Now is your chance to read Dune before the new movie comes out – there are several copies available!
In the online world, you may have seen that Michelle Obama is the latest celebrity to be reading aloud to children. Check here to find more author and celebrity storytimes.
Please help yourselves to the many books available at the “No Backsies” book fair located on the car deck. There are hundreds of books for children, many new or gently used, and also some well-used ex-library copies. If you are stopping by to pick up a packet from a teacher, that’s a great time to take home some new reading material as well.
Rules:
-Use the hand sanitizer provided before touching the books.
-Take as many books as you like.
-Do not bring any books back.
-Please do not bring your own books to share. We can have a community book swap in the future when germ spreading is less of a concern.
Happy Reading!
We continue to add more collections of resources which you can find through our virtual library. New additions this week include health information from Coach Nurse, elementary science experiments from Ms. DiFrancesco, and a collection of online safety and digital citizenship resources.
Ms. Schlesinger will soon be offering zoom information sessions for families on how better to utilize the library and its resources. Stay tuned for dates and times.
image from DC Library/flickr
For help taming the firehose of resources out there, Ms. Schlesinger is continually adding and updating collections of favorite websites and activities through our library. There are selections for kids browsing, and for parents looking for resources to use at home. Warning: you may lose track of time if you start exploring Virtual Museums & Field Trips!
In these unusual times we are showcasing the online resources of our library. A 21st century library has much more than books, and here you will find links to vetted materials of all kinds. Check out our new collection of Fun Stuff to Explore and Do at Home, which will be continually updated. Ms. Schlesinger will be sending out new Open eBooks login codes for all students (old codes from previous years still work). Meanwhile, lots of free ebooks are available through other sites. If you lose track of these links you can always find your way to the library through the VIMSIA website.
“Reading gives us someplace to go when we have to stay where we are.” – Mason Cooley
Summer is a wonderful time for leisure reading. The Montessori & PGIA Libraries will be open through June 21, and families are welcome to come check out books for the summer. Allowing children to choose their own books is a proven way to make reading fun for even the most reluctant readers. We encourage all elementary students to take up the Read 5 challenge from the Governor’s summer Reading Program – each student has received a form and one free book to get started. Other ideas for summer reading activities can be found here. Happy Reading!
Jacob helping to introduce students to the Governor’s Summer Reading Program. One of the featured books is jacob and Jet, written by his mother Liza Margolis.
Jacob and Jet
Parent Liza Margolis has written a children’s book based on her son Jacob’s experiences with their hurricane rescue dog Jet. The book, titled Jacob and Jet , has been selected for this year’s Governor’s Summer Reading Challenge.
We are all so proud of Liza! The book will be sent home for the summer reading challenge and available in our library approximately the last week of school. After release this summer it will also be available from Amazon.
Liza says, “Jacob’s adorable relationship with this precious rescue dog inspired me to write this story. It has been one of the most fulfilling experiences of my adult life.”
VIMSIA Library Catalog - “Collections” page
Ms. Schlesinger has been working with a great new tool provided within our School Library Cataloging system (Destiny). Please click on the image above to check out this “collections” feature. It allows us to pull just about any kind of information (books, weblinks, articles, ebooks, pdf’s, etc) into one very easily accessible area.
Visit the College Resources Collection for all things college for VIMSIA. Great reference books for researching colleges, access to our own online tools like Naviance and Method Test Prep, tips and articles for SAT and ACT prep and more. Thanks Ms. Schlesinger and Ms. Ebe for their hard work on this.
All things Montessori Parent Education - Yep, we’ve pulled together great information to help you research what Montessori is all about.
Children’s books for your island child - visit the Virgin Islands Books for Children collection. With her many years of experience here and at Dockside, Ms. Schlesinger has a great grasp on books for our children that reflect their island roots.
Destiny - VIMSIA Library Catalog
The VIMSIA Library Catalog got a facelift as well - please visit it! If you want to find VIMSIA Library catalog on your phone, download the app - Destiny Discover.
The sun came out Saturday for our celebration of summer reading at Scoops & Brew in Crown Bay. Students who read at least five books this summer and completed their forms were invited to an Ice Cream Social where they enjoyed ice cream along with some reading-themed party favors. Participants who did not attend the party are receiving gift cards to enjoy their ice cream at another time. Ms. Schlesinger would like to thank Scoops and Brew for their continued support of literacy, seventh grader Divina Kamra who assisted at the event, and all families who took time out of their busy Saturday schedules to join in the fun.
After three long weeks of hard work, student authors and Lower Elementary students, Careem Peets Parfitt and Mary Hurson donated "Wendy & George: The Attack of the Bug Monster", a self-published comic book to Montessori librarian Ms. Kathy Schlesinger. With Ms. Schlesinger’s help, Careem and Mary managed to look up their comic book in the library database and were thrilled with excitement when they noticed their names noted as authors. Careem and Mary’s peers were all anxiously awaiting to be the first to check out the highly-demanded new book!
New Couch in PGIA Library!
Just in time for our seniors to relax between their IB exams, we have a new gorgeous couch in the PGIA Library. Many thanks to Jennifer Cannon, mother of Patricia and Sean as well as alum Zane Birnie '14, who generously donated her time, materials, and expertise to outfit our couch which was done in by Irma and Maria.
Lexi Harris representing both VIMSIA and Green Acres School
Like many of our students, fourth grader Lexi Harris temporarily moved stateside after Irma and Maria hit the Virgin Islands. She joined one of her cousins at Green Acres School in North Bethesda, MD. Every year Green Acres School organizes a book drive for a cause, and after hearing from Lexi about damages to our school and island they chose our library as this year’s recipient! Lexi’s teacher Allison Stearn led the efforts. They packed up four large boxes of specially chosen books, and the Harris’ company Impact Construction took care of the shipping. Each book contains a unique student-made bookmark, many with the phrase “with love from Green Acres School” on one side, artwork on the other. We are so grateful to the students, staff, and families of Green Acres School!
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One of the most exciting developments with our libraries this year was the opening of a new extension to the Montessori Library! Our collection of books has nearly doubled since Ms. Kathy Schlesinger joined us as librarian in 2010. The shelves had become so crowded that not all of the fiction books could be shelved at the same time. Ever creative in looking for space, Ms. Schlesinger had her eye on an adjacent storeroom, and with the help of Ms. Tess Williams, moved everything worth keeping and cleaned out the rest. The room was painted, and over the summer shelves were installed and books were shelved. We now have more room for our burgeoning fiction collection, as well as a new inviting space for beginning chapter books. The new room also provides cozy reading spaces and brings more light into the whole library. It is so exciting to see students’ faces when they see the new space!
The Danish National Archives’ digitization project “The Danish West Indies – Sources of History” is a fabulous collection of resources about Virgin Islands History. The site includes five million pages of digitized records from the colonial era which are now searchable.
#100for100USVI – Thank you for reading post number 2.
Happy Transfer Day! This lovely book, written by Anecia Sewer and illustrated by Karen Samuel, is a perfect introduction to Transfer Day for all students. It is a fitting opening entry for “100 for 100 USVI,” a collection of one hundred information resources about USVI history and culture that I am gathering in recognition of the Centennial.
#100for100USVI – Thank you for reading post number 1.
Virgin Islands Montessori School and Peter Gruber International Academy - a Montessori and International Baccalaureate Toddler through grade twelve private school in the beautiful U.S. Virgin Islands. Ask for Admissions 340-775-6360.
VIMSIA 6936 Vessup Lane, St. Thomas USVI 00802 info@vimsia.org Phone: 340.775.6360 Maps and Directions Staff Portal
