VIMSIA Mathletes take 2nd place in Team Round - MATHCOUNTS

Congratulations to the VIMSIA Mathletes, Amelie Zucker, Jackson Auchincloss, Miles Tolud, Stanley Trotman, Krishiv Amarnani, and Divina Kamra who participated in the MATHCOUNTS chapter Competition today at UVI.

Our students placed both as a team and individually.

VIMSIA took 2nd place in the Team Round
Jackson Auchincloss (Captain)
Miles Tolud
Stanley Trotman
Amelie Zucker

Jackson Auchincloss placed 3rd individually and then 2nd in the Countdown Round. Amelie Zucker placed 6th individually. Miles Tolud placed 9th individually.

We are very proud of all of our Mathletes for all their hard work with their coach Ms. Melissa Petrich

VIMSIA Carnival 2020 - I Love You So (Copy)

Final deadline is Monday, March 2nd for students interested in participating in the VIMSIA Carnival children’s parade entry.

If you or your child would would like to get involved, please email the PTA at PTA@VIMSIA.ORG using “Carnival 2020” in the subject line.

We are accepting volunteers for the planning, grounds and costumes/design committee. The Carnival Committee Chairperson position is also available.

Green Body & Home - Functional Movement vs Exercise Machines

Our final post for this month is about functional movement versus exercise machines.  Functional movement is movement that are natural movements for our body.  When done repeatedly, this strengthens and conditions our bodies to function better in our lives, whether it is lifting something, pushing something, or squatting, among other things. 
Children are amazing at functional movements, if you'd like a teacher just watch them!  Nowadays most gyms offer areas where you can do functional style movements that allow your body more range of motion and ability to stabilize itself, rather than a machine doing the stabilizing for you.  And then there are specialty workouts such as cross fit or TRX classes that offer functional training only.  Happy Moving!

https://www.rdellatraining.com/the-5-major-problems-with-exercise-machines

https://www.healthline.com/health/fitness/functional-fitness-adults#1

The “Green Body & Home” blog posts are brought to you by the PTA. They provide general information and discussions about health and related subjects. The information and other content provided in this blog, or in any linked materials, are not intended and should not be construed as medical advice, nor is the information a substitute for professional medical expertise or treatment.

"Aerobic Machines" by sirwiseowl is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

VIMSIA students represent USVI in U20 Soccer Tournament in Nicaragua

Last weekend four VIMSIA students, Devonte Duncan, Aidan Griffith, Isaiah Jarvis, and Jimson St. Louis, traveled to Nicaragua to participate in the CONCACAF U20 qualifying matches as members of the US Virgin Islands national team. They played in 5 games against other U20 National Teams.

Vidhika Khemani recognized by NCWIT

Making VIMSIA proud!  Vidhika Khemani '22, has been recognized by the U.S.V.I./Puerto Rico affiliate of the National Center for Women in Information and Technology (NCWIT).  Each year, NCWIT honors young women as part of their Aspirations in Technology program.  Among Vidhika's many accomplishments in technology creation is her Personal Project -- she has created an app which offers health information for first aid and emergency situations.  Vidhika will be honored along with other local awardees at a banquet and ceremony later this year.

MSA - Mission Statement

What is a mission statement?  Many definitions exist, and many examples - some better than others.  A school’s mission statement defines who they are, why they exist, and who they are serving...all this in a short, catchy statement that can be easily remembered and fit on the back of a business card.  Sound impossible? Not for Planning Team A! This subset of the Planning Committee met this week to review VIMSIA’s current mission statement, core values, and profile of a graduate. The team reflected on these founding documents and if they needed to be updated to reflect our evolving community.  Stay tuned to see the results!

VIMSIA mission statement as of August 2018

Green Body & Home - Exercise Guidelines

Last week we spoke about how movement is essential to not only fitness but brain development, learning and focus.  So how much should we be exercising anyhow?  Here are some great guidelines for kids:

Children aged 1-5 years should be physically active for at least three hours each day, with activity spread across the day. This includes energetic play like running, jumping or twirling. If your child is over three years, energetic play should add up to at least one hour a day.

Children aged 5-18 years should do at least one hour of moderate to vigorous physical activity each day. And at least three days a week, this should include activities that strengthen muscles and bones.

Moderate physical activity gets your child gently huffing and puffing. Moderate activities are about as intense as a quick walk.

Vigorous physical activity gets your child huffing and puffing a lot, and sweating. This could be running games or riding a bike fast.

Activities that strengthen muscles and bones make muscles work more than normal and put extra force on bones – for example, jumping, running, climbing and lifting. Moderate and vigorous physical activities often help to build muscles and bones.

Physical activity doesn’t have to be done all at once, or even in big blocks. Your child can do it in small blocks of time throughout the day.

Source: https://raisingchildren.net.au/

For adults, Dr Kristi Funk, MD, a celebrity surgeon who spends a lot of her time coaching women about how to prevent illness and disease, recommends exercising 30 minutes per day for 5 days a week at an intensity where you cannot carry on a conversation, or 1 hour per day (over 5 days per week) if you are able to carry on a conversation during the exercise.  

As we get older we should remember to focus on weight bearing exercises to build strong bones and muscles for long term strength and health. https://www.webmd.com/osteoporosis/features/weight-training

The “Green Body & Home” blog posts are brought to you by the PTA. They provide general information and discussions about health and related subjects. The information and other content provided in this blog, or in any linked materials, are not intended and should not be construed as medical advice, nor is the information a substitute for professional medical expertise or treatment.

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

The “Green Body & Home” blog posts are brought to you by the PTA. They provide general information and discussions about health and related subjects. The information and other content provided in this blog, or in any linked materials, are not intended and should not be construed as medical advice, nor is the information a substitute for professional medical expertise or treatment.

Rotary Club of St. Thomas Held Peace Workshop at VIMSIA

This past weekend the Rotary Club of St. Thomas held a series of peace workshops at VIMSIA titled “Building Peace Through Service” presented by Mr. Carlisi. Mr. Carlisi is a certified nonviolent communication trainer and founder of Building Peace Through Service, a Rotary Clubs initiative planting roots in the Virgin Islands.

There have been no studies of root of street crime in the territory in recent years, but educators, activists and others in the community nonetheless appear receptive to Mr. Carlisi’s message of peace-building through deeper listening through our own personal needs and those of others.

“Violence is a tragic expression of unmet needs,” Mr. Carlisi said, quoting the works of Dr. Martin Luther King and Mahatma Gandhi.

The Rotary Club’s Building Peace Through Service Program is in place in 165 countries, with outreach happening in the Virgin Islands, Tortola and the broader Caribbean, Mr. Carlisi said. Over the past week, he has visited the five Rotary Clubs on St. Thomas. He spent two days with students and educators at the Virgin Islands Montessori School and Peter Gruber International Academy and visited the Boys and Girls Club of St. Thomas.

VI Consortium Article

VIMSIA Mathletes Compete at MATHCOUNTS 2020

VIMSIA is sending a great team of 7th and 8th graders to the MATHCOUNTS Chapter competition at UVI next week!

Jackson Auchincloss
Divina Kamra
Amelie Zucker
Krishiv Amarnani
Zia Gibbs
Miles Tolud
Stanley Trotman
and
Coach Melissa Petrich

They have been holding practices during lunch once per week since the beginning of the semester. Last week, they practiced competing in front of an audience by holding a mock competition in front of the 7th and 8th graders during class.

MATHCOUNTS is a national competition series consisting of a sprint round, target round, team round and countdown round. The first competition in the series is the chapter competition.  Top students from each chapter, advance to their state/territory competition; the top 4 individuals from each state/territory competition advance to the national competition (all expenses paid) and the national champion receives a $20,000 college scholarship!

Avon Benjamin, the St. Thomas/St. John  Mathcounts Coordinator will be facilitating the St Thomas/St John chapter competition at UVI, in the ACC Building Conference Room on 2/27/2020 at 9 am.  I will be there, along with Mrs. Arpasi and our team of 7 mathletes. Parents are welcome (and encouraged) to attend as well. 

Going Outs - Groceries and Rabbit Food

Upper Elementary students in Ms. Satter's class planned a going out for supplies for the classroom rabbit this week. Students researched the best vegetables for rabbits to eat, the best place on island to buy the supplies and then did a going out to get the supplies. Classroom rabbit Jost is very thankful for their efforts! 

A Happy Valentine in La Casa

He has a big smile to go with his big heart!

Sea Lion Excursion

Dalton, Eli and Micah journeyed to Coral World to get up close and personal with Sea Lions.

This excursion was a “going out” an off campus experience that ties in with a research project they are working on in class.

Did you know that sea lions have one more whisker on the right side than the left?

The Salts - Charlie and Chocolate Factory

Veruca Salt (Layla Richman) and her family (Chase Rosenthal and Vidhika Khemani) are hard at work preparing to entertain you at Charlie and the Chocolate Factory May 8 and 9.

“Make time go faster, Daddy!”

Get Moving for your Brain

We all know we need to move our bodies to be fit and in shape, but did you know that physical activity also contributes to brain development, emotional state, learning and focus, which can increase school performance? 
Our bodies are designed to move and be active.  According to Ben Medder, Movement Coach, in the U.S. physical activity has dropped by 32% in less than two decades.  When we are stagnant, all of the complex biological processes that are carried out by our body become stagnant too. 
Go run on the beach, play soccer with your kids, or have a water fight outside to increase family bonding while being physically active.  Your body, and your kids, will thank you for it.  Oh, and have FUN while doing it!  Those feel good hormones are pretty important too ;-)

Exercise and School Performance: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-athletes-way/201410/8-ways-exercise-can-help-your-child-do-better-in-school

All About Movement: https://www.benmedder.com/movement

Study on Exercise Improving Attention in Individuals with ADHD: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6333702/

The “Green Body & Home” blog posts are brought to you by the PTA. They provide general information and discussions about health and related subjects. The information and other content provided in this blog, or in any linked materials, are not intended and should not be construed as medical advice, nor is the information a substitute for professional medical expertise or treatment.

"Brain character large set" by Oksana Grivina is licensed under CC BY 4.0

Senior Support during Mock Exams

Our 12th graders have spent the last two weeks taking their MOCK IB exams, as preparation for the real exams at the end of this year.  This is a nerve-wracking time for these kiddos, and it has become tradition at VIMSIA for teachers to bring in small, but meaningful treats to the exam room, as a sign of support and care.

Pictured are seniors enjoying homemade breakfast waffles.

MSA Planning Commitee

The VIMSIA community has begun the process of our MSA Self Study.  The Middle States Association (MSA) is an accrediting body that provides schools with a framework to evaluate areas in which they are successful, and where there is room for growth.  The Self Study Planning Team had a successful first meeting this week.  The Planning Team is responsible for creating a plan to respond to the findings from our self-study, and acts as a champion for the work of our school community as we implement the plan for the next seven years until our next re-accreditation.  An ideal Planning Team has about 15 rotating members, so there are still opportunities to get involved!  If you enjoy collaborative work and affecting positive change, please contact Gloria Arpasi or Jess Di Francesco.

Green Body & Home - How much should my kid be eating?

How much should my kid be eating?

Rule of Thumb:

Children should be eating about 1000 calories per day plus 100 for each year of age.  So a 4 year old should be eating about 1400 calories per day, and an 8 year old should be eating 1800 calories per day, and a 16 year old about 2,600 calories per day.  They should also be eating about 1g of protein for every two pounds of body weight. So a 60lb child needs about 30g of protein per day.

To get ideas about things to feed your kids to equal that in calories visit www.eatthismuch.com and plug in your #'s. 

Children who don't get enough total calories show irritability, anxiety, lethargy, crying easily, difficulty focusing/inattention, behavioral rigidity and/or insomnia.    

Adapted from Judy Converse's book "Special-Needs Kids Eat Right"

Here's another link to great recipes that are yummy and can be adapted to food allergies/sensitivites/intolerances:

https://www.facebook.com/mykidslickthebowl/posts/

The “Green Body & Home” blog posts are brought to you by the PTA. They provide general information and discussions about health and related subjects. The information and other content provided in this blog, or in any linked materials, are not intended and should not be construed as medical advice, nor is the information a substitute for professional medical expertise or treatment.

Jaguars and their spots...

Akella, Amayah, and Karina are touring the campus today to share their presentation on Jaguars.

I learned that Jaguar’s spots are called rosettes!

Bon Appetit!

Three ninth graders are currently studying French as a third language option in the MYP program.  Last week Lindsay, Rosalie and Natalia immersed themselves in French culture by making crepes (from a recipe in French) while listening to French music.  Bon appetit!

Danish Student Exchange - An Adventure Packed Week

The visiting Danes have had an action packed week after arriving last Friday. The visitors, along with Bennett Ott and other VIMSIA community members spent Saturday hiking at Perseverance Bay and and discussing Botanical Colonization. On Sunday they went to Neltjeberg Beach to hike the Dorthea trail and explore reef damage and human impact upon those particular reefs. On Monday, Virgin Islands culture bearer Kwabeena Davis and local educator and writer Willie Wilson lead them on a journey through VI history, culture, story-telling traditions and musical forms. 

This Saturday, February 1st will the last full day of the exchange! Please join us at Magens to send our visitors off with VIMSIA community love. Mr. Ott will secure a spot on the far left side of the beach - please bring your own food and beverages.