A Reflection on Math in Montessori
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For Montessori Education Week, Ms. Burkett highlighted both the excitement and logic involved in our Math materials.
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Blog
Celebrating Montessori Education Week
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Each year the last week of February is designated for “Montessori Education Week” worldwide. Starting next week, we’re excited to share videos, tips, anecdotes and more to help parents and children on their Montessori journey!
Read MorePrimary Students Take the Reigns
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On Thursday night, Primary students ages 3-6 had the great opportunity to demonstrate their class activities to parents and guardians.
Read MoreMontessori Parents Uncover the Mystery
/Montessori Parent Orientation has not taken place in person in 2 years at VIMSIA, and the night was a magical return. Parents and teachers alike felt overwhelming pride and excitement over our Montessori program. Teachers shared anecdotes and explained how we teach independence, self control, and conflict resolution through our daily routines.
Parents also had a chance to see and understand materials around the room and the work of the students. The mystery of what your children do all day was uncovered! If you were unable to attend, we invite you to reach out to our teacher. They are more than willing to catch you up and encourage you to ask. Keep an eye out for upcoming Montessori Parent Education and Classroom Observations sign-ups. This year is one about being together and learning together.
Stay tuned for more!
Ms. Boyle sharing the daily routine (Primary)
Ms. Lopez, Ms. Sandy, and Ms. Fisher speaking on supporting Independence in the classroom and at home (Grade 4/5)
Ms. Bolinger previewing language materials in the Montessori classroom and the purpose behind learning cursive (Primary)
Señor Araujo leading Elementary children through red light green light during Parent night childcare
Ms. Burkett orienting parents to the Prepared Environment (Primary)
Mr. Ben classroom previewing the children work (Lower Elementary)
Ms. Lemar discussing their weekly Class Council on Fridays (Lower Elementary)
Nobel Prize Winner’S thoughts on Montessori
/“I do not believe there is a method better than Montessori for making children sensitive to the beauties of the world and awakening their curiosity regarding the secrets of life.”
From Montessorieducation.com
Gabriel García Márquez was a Nobel Prize winner in literature. In his autobiography, Living to Tell the Tale, he talks praisingly of his time there. Read the full article from Montessorieducation.com.
Social Media Changes
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Arash Pahlavan, CEO of "Go Viral Social Media," has been hired to work with Pamela Engle, Director of Advancement, to see how we can improve our online social marketing. Arash comes with years of experience handling various big and reputable accounts not only on St. Thomas, but internationally. He brings new perspective and is a breath of fresh air to work with.
Although we are one school, we really provide two unique products: Montessori and IB education. After taking a thorough look at our social media pages and analyzing some data, it was suggested that the business page be split in two to create segmented landing pages. Post on both business pages will be kep light and speak to the heart.
Peter Gruber International Academy
Virgin Islands Montessori School
So where are we going to see all the regular stuff? In the Bulletin Board groups. People who WANT to be bombarded with information, highlights, blog posts, announcements, are welcome to join the group. This way, if you're a PGIA parent you can go to your page and know EVERYTHING you need to know without seeing Montessori stuff. Vice versa for Montessori. Yes, there are some parents with kids in both schools, but the beauty is that we're tending more to their specific needs of a wider audience.
Peter Gruber International Academy Bulletin Board
Virgin Islands Montessori School Bulletin Board
We plan to work with the PTA as well. Effective immediately we will be asking the PTA to only post regarding PTA related materials in the PTA page. NO sharing of community events, NO posting volt news - no SPAM. The only information in the PTA group should be PTA related.
Random Acts of Kindness
/For October's random act of kindness, the PTA gave all teachers free tickets to spend at last Saturday's Fall Fest. The tickets had another purpose too, they were entered into a raffle for a gift certificate to Amber Day Spa. Congratulations to our winner, Helen Sidiropolous, we appreciate you and all the hard working teachers at VIMSIA. Thank you!
First General PTA Meeting
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On Wednesday, September 26, 2018 the VIMSIA PTA held it’s first general meeting led by President, April Baynes. Special guest speaker Mara Brownell helped provide behavior tips and strategies to VIMSIA parents.
Parenting With Grace, Presented by Patricia Ludick
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Elementary parent night guest speaker, Patricia Ludick.
Montessori Directress, Norma Bolinger and Patricia Ludick.
Even in torrential downpour, Virgin Islands Montessori School & Peter Gruber International Academy parents pushed through and made their way to the "Parenting with Grace" seminar presented by Montessorian and guest speaker, Patricia Ludick. Parents were thankful and re-energized with feelings of optimism for the school after hearing various tips and tricks on parenting with Montessori values. Watch Ludick's presentation on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VIMSIA/videos/249649962421712/
Patricia Ludick with daughter Kate Ludick.
VIMSIA staff with Patricia ludick.
Introducing the 2018-2019 VIMSIA PTA
/Introducing your 2018-2019 PTA Board! We want the PTA to work for you, so please contact us with any ideas, questions, concerns, suggestions for projects, volunteer opportunities, or anything else you think the PTA should know about. We look forward to a great year!
President - April Baynes ptavimsia.pres@gmail.com
Vice President - Sarah Smith Williams ptavimsia.vp@gmail.com
Secretary - Mone Taylor ptavimsia.sec@gmail.com
Treasurer - Darian Hairston ptavimsia.tr@gmail.com
Public Relations Officer - Aldeth Lewin ptavimsia.pr@gmail.com
PTA Liaison to the Board of Trustees - Enrique Rodriguez ptavimsia.lo@gmail.com
General Board Members - ptavimsia@gmail.com
Jennifer Lazuka, Kichael Miller, Jeanne Walters, Andrew Brown, Marcela Ferreyra
The Three Legged Stool
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Written By: Melissa Bump
As Mr. Bornn loves to remind us, student success is like a three-legged stool. The three legs are the student, the teachers, and the parents. When these three are working well together, the student will reach their maximum potential!
The "teacher" leg can mean the school as a whole. Everyone working at VIMSIA - the administration, the teachers, the office staff, the maintenance and custodial staff - are dedicated to creating an environment that will be welcoming, safe, and academically rigorous for each student.
The "parent" leg can refer to the family as a whole. Everyone in a student's family has an impact on that person's growth. If the family is supportive of the goals set by the school, and lovingly reminds the student of the family's expectations in regards to behavior, classwork, and homework, it will have a dramatic impact on that student's success in school.
The "student" leg needs the other two legs to be standing strong in order to be successful! Imagine a stool with only one leg - very wobbly. For his part, the VIMSIA student is urged to be attentive in class, kind to his peers, and diligently completing every assignment honestly and to the best of his ability. Of course, this is sometimes a daunting task, and that's when the student needs their support system the most.
Last week, there was a welcome back night for the PGIA - it was wonderful to see so many parents in attendance, excited to learn about any new changes for the school year. This week, there are numerous back-to-school nights taking place. This is an opportunity for the family and school legs to join together in support of all of our students!