Museo de la identidad - Grade 11

The Grade 11th Spanish B students participated in "El museo de la identidad", after weeks of studying the overarching IB topic of Identities (Las identidades) and subtopics such as culture, traditions and languages. Students conducted presentations in Spanish about something that represents their identity and visited each other's stands in the classroom museum. They chose a wide variety of topics such as moko jumbies, Mardi-gras, Zydeco music, fishing, boat living, Quadrille, Carnival, and, of course, food (arroz con leche, pasteles, saltfish or tutmanik) to name some. The results were great quality Spanish speeches explaining how and why those things relate to their identity.

PTA October Newsletter

PTA October 2021 Newsletter by tarahcicirelli

Mexican Independence Day - Pais Presentations

On Thursday, September 16th PGIA students in Sra. Gonzalez and Sra. Bordieri’s classes gave presentations about Spanish-speaking countries as a part of a cultural celebration. Students also learned about Baile folklórico and even got up on stage to participate.

Spark Academy Newsletter

Our Spark Academy after-school program had an amazing first week. All of the students are getting to know each other’s interests, familiarizing themselves with the program, and are exploring their activity areas. We are excited to see the program continue to grow as the school year progresses!

STEM

During orientation, students were introduced to all the exciting STEM activities available at Spark. This week they engaged with Cubelets. These robot blocks help teacher important problem-solving skills such as collaboration, engineering, design, and computational thinking. Next week, we will bring out the microscopes to explore their environment at a microscopic level!

Let’s Get Physical!

Towards the end of each day most of our students spend their time on the field or under the Solar Awning. They are allowed to choose a sport or join in on a staff facilitated activity. This week student added a new challenge to soccer using the scooter boards.

Arts, Crafts & More

Students have free but monitored access to a plethora of art supplies. The VIMSIA School T-Shirt competition sparked an interest in design. The younger students were introduced to Magic Model clay - a unique lightweight modeling material.

Reading

To our delight, we found that every student in our program has already developed a love for reading. They were thrilled to see that we were located right next to the library and had free access to it! One of the highlights for the week was watching the older students willingly and patiently assist the younger students with navigating the library and checking out books.

What’s to come?

We will be starting on our garden after Fall Break! Students have already begun brainstorming and it will be the epitome of biodiversity with all their great ideas.

Beach Clean Up Takes Away Over 100 Pounds of Trash from Vessup.

On Friday, October 1st, PGIA students taking Biology, Chemistry, Environmental Systems & Societies went to Vessup for a beach clean-up along with their teachers, Ms. Kessler, Mr. Huston, and Mr. Pozen, during the second half the of the day.

The 47 students did an excellent job collaborating and powering through the heat of the day. They ended up picking up 122.12 pounds of trash and collected data about the types of marine debris that they will share with UVI. UVI will then use this information to support its goals of creating new legislation/mending current legislation to support our ocean's marine ecosystems.

VIMSIA Upper Elementary - Vlogs

A week in our Upper Elementary classes.

VIMSIA Sailing Team Launched This Week!

VIMSIA is happy to announce the launch of the Sailing Team and Program this week, coached by Tyler Rice! While the competitions are only open to 9th-12th graders we have younger students training so they are ready to take up the ropes. Our students will be sailing 420s. Their training days will be Monday and Friday after school and Saturday starting at 9:00 am.

Coach Tyler Rice was born and raised on St. Thomas. He attended Montessori for elementary school and then moved onto Antilles school through graduation. At Antilles, Tyler was honored with the Headmaster’s Award and Scholar-Athlete of the Year. He was part of the sailing team at the St. Thomas Yacht Club competing World-Wide and leading the Antilles Sailing Team at many District and National Championship Regattas. Tyler was recruited to Brown University where he Double Majored in Environmental Studies and Economics, all the while competing on the Varsity Sailing Team and receiving the Academic All-American award his senior year. Tyler is a certified yoga and tai chi instructor, a commercial US Coast Guard Licensed Captain, sailing instructor privately and at the St. Thomas Yacht Club, and is avid in nonprofit outreach throughout the Caribbean. Tyler will also be the Antilles sailing coach this year, too.

Mitochondria are Still The Powerhouse of the Cell - Grade 11 Biology

The Grade 11 Biology students created a labeled model of a bacterial cell this week with their teacher Mr. Pozen.
After following two simple instructions: Create a model of a bacterial cell and of an animal cell and Explain how each of the organelles inside of the cell work together. The class then divided up the work, assigned each person to help with different parts of the lesson, and then taught each other about the 2 different types of cells.
Mr. Pozen says, “I love seeing what students create when they are given ownership in their learning.”

VIMSIA T-SHIRT STUDENT DESIGN CONTEST - DEADLINE 9/24/21

An example of a previous design. (For Inspiration)

VIMSIA is launching an online apparel store this fall, and we want YOU to help us and design the new school t-shirt. We are looking to capture the feel of our classic design (image) but revise it to represent our school today. Shirts will either be printed on blue cloth with white ink and/or on white cloth with blue ink. 

Specific Design Guidelines:

The Classic T-Shirt Design (For inspiration)

• Design must be able to be reproduced in one color. 

• Must include a sailboat.

• Must include the full name of the school, either VIMSIA or Virgin Islands Montessori School & Peter Gruber International Academy. 

• Dimensions: Not to exceed 8.5” x 11” (Portrait) but can be smaller!

Submission Guidelines:

Digital Submissions: Please email a high-quality image or another digital file (PNG, PDF, JPEG, SVG) to volt@vimsia.org. The Subject line should include your (the student’s) name and that it is for the T-Shirt Design Contest. Example: Alayna Belshe - T-Shirt Design Contest Submission

Paper Submissions: If you choose to submit a paper copy please include your (the student’s name) on the back of the paper. 

The Contest

Submissions will no longer be accepted after  FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 24th @ 4 PM.  But you can submit any time before then! This contest is open to all VIMSIA students. If parents are particularly inspired please reach out to Alayna Belshe - abelshe@vimsia.org while they cannot participate in the contest we would be happy to hear from them. 

After we have received the submissions a team will select the top three and we will send out a ballot to the students, families, and staff to select the winning design.

The Prize

The winning designer will receive a free t-shirt of their size and the gratitude of the school.

The Story of the Universe - Great Stories

The “Story of the Universe” is one of the first of the "Great Stories" told to Elementary students. The Great Stories are a series of lessons that lay the foundation for the exploration of all topics, with the first one laying the basis for Physics, Chemistry, Astronomy, and Geology.

Students in Ms. Hess’ class work on adding details to their volcano.

PGIA - First Day Back

Collection of photos of PGIA students’ first day on campus.

Ms. Boyle's Classroom - First Day

Ms. Boyle shares a video collage of her classroom after the first day of school.

Mimi, Lindsay and Amelie - Social Engineering Champions

Follow CARE Lab on Twitter.

Congratulations, Mimi, Lindsay, and Amelie!

They are the FIRST PLACE high school champions of the Temple University CARE Lab’s SocialEngineering PenTesting Competition.

What is the CARE Lab? “The Cybersecurity in Application, Research, and Education (CARE) Lab offers a social science approach to cybersecurity and seeks to foster a multidisciplinary dialog between academia, industry, and government. This intersectionality enables a creative, unique, and holistic means of understanding the phenomena of cyberattacks and cybersecurity.” Click here for more information about the competition and CARE lab.

The VIMSIA team was “hired” to conduct a social engineering penetration test on the CARE Lab and its (current) employees! Their pen test includes each of the three areas below. A strong pen test will demonstrate the effective connection between these three areas and the team submitted a formal report of their findings and make security recommendations.

Team Advisor, Rebecca Hoffart, says that“This competition was a lot of work. The team had to coordinate across multiple international time zones because the competition date happened when most of us were traveling. And, they had to submit a 40-page report on their competition experience, which was finalized and submitted mid-air during a plane flight!”

Campus is Blooming - Flamboyants Aflame

Shack-Shacks and mangos always make me think of summertime. While our mango tree only produced a few mangos this year, the flamboyant trees are showing off this season. VIMSIA is currently home to six flamboyant trees, and they demonstrate why some call them “flame trees” as they cast almost an orange glow on our campus.

To learn more about flamboyant trees and how they came to be in the US Virgin Islands check out this St. Thomas Source article from last summer. Did You Know Flamboyant Trees Are Originally From Madagascar?

Theory of Knowledge Exhibitions

Grade 11 students recently carried out their Theory of Knowledge Exhibitions. The Theory of Knowledge Exhibition is an important assessment for the IB. Students take the concepts they have learned about knowledge itself and apply them to real-world situations. Each student chooses a prompt about knowledge and then connects it with 3 real-world objects to create arguments about how knowledge exists in our world. I am so proud of the kids and their innovative ideas about knowledge in the world around them. Discover how the imagined ideas of the elusive mermaid caused human exploration of the sea or how the inevitability of bias causes one to see time differently from a busy city street to a swaying hammock between two palm trees. These ideas open your mind!

End Session Begins

VIMSIA's End Session began Today!

End Session is a unique adventure in learning created specifically for our Peter Gruber International Academy students (7-11th Grade)

This year we are offering 8 amazing courses!

VI Nature Explorations

Wellness Retreat

Sustainable Farming

SCUBA

Joy of Sailing

Chemistry of Cooking

Activism & Creativity

STEAM Patterns & Problem Solving

Senior Signing Day - Presenting the Class of 2021

Last week, VIMSIA celebrated Senior Signing Day. This event is inspired by Mrs. Michelle Obama’s “Reach Higher” initiative to inspire every student in America to take charge of their future by completing their education past high school, whether at a professional training program, a community college, or a four-year college or university. As a part of the event, students were inducted into the VIMSIA Alumni Association by some surprise guests!

To see where our students are going next year - check out this post.

Photo Gallery

Our seniors received recognition in the Daily News multiple times!

Pop Up Science Fair!

PGIA hosted a pop up science fair and invited students from the Montessori Elementary classes to view their work.

Nurses Notes: Rising Cases

Good Day VIMSIA Families - The VI Department of Health reports a concerning rise in COVID-19 cases on St. Thomas.  Despite vaccination efforts, we are still dealing with the potential for infection and transmission within our community.  I want to take this opportunity to ask that we all step up to do our part to keep ourselves, friends, neighbors, co-workers, classmates, and family members safe! 

Please adhere to the VIMSIA Covid Honor Code and the VI Government's mandates.  Even if you are vaccinated, it is still possible to contract and transmit COVID-19 unknowingly.  It is important to keep safe distancing, handwashing, and mask protocols when in public places.  Ask other members of your "pod" to do the same.  

If your child is experiencing moderate to severe cold symptoms (runny nose, sore throat, cough, with or without fever), please keep them home from school until the symptoms have resolved. 

For those 12 years of age and older who have not yet been vaccinated, we at VIMSIA strongly encourage you to consider doing so as soon as possible.  The closer the territory gets to herd immunity, the less chance of having spikes, as we see now.  You can schedule your appointment with your own medical provider, or go to https://www.covid19.usvi.care/... to schedule with the VI DOH. 

Please know that VIMSIA continues to prioritize the health and safety of our students, teachers, and families while making every attempt for everyone to safely enjoy pre-Covid activities such as Prom, Graduation, End Session, and Musicales.  We appreciate everyone's commitment to helping us reach our goals and end our school year COVID-FREE!

PGIA Students Named Scholar and Finalist in National Cyber Scholarship Competition

The National Cyber Scholarship Competition (NCSC) is a rigorous 48-hour online cybersecurity competition sponsored by The National Cyber Scholarship Foundation (NCSF). Qualifiers competed against over 5000 other high school students in challenges such as solving computer security problems and capturing and defending computer systems.

Qualifying for the competition is an excellent achievement within itself. In total, 50,000 students nationwide sought to qualify for the NCSC, with just 10% meeting the requirements!

Our Qualifiers and Finalists

Congratulations to all our students who qualified for the National Cyber Scholarship Competition and won their badges! We’re so proud of your achievements and for representing VIMSIA

In particular, we would love to celebrate the achievements of the following students:

Amelie Zucker, a 9th grader, has been named a Finalist in the National Cyber Scholarship Competition. In recognition of her achievement, Amelie earned an invitation to participate in the Cyber Foundations Academy – a multi-week online program based on the nationally recognized SANS Foundations training course and certification – valued at more than $3,000. A huge congratulations!

Mimi Boumedine, an 11th Grader, has been named a Scholar in the National Cyber Scholarship Competition. In recognition of her achievement, Mimi has earned a college scholarship as well as an invitation to participate in the Cyber Foundations Academy – a multi-week online program based on the nationally recognized SANS Foundations training course and certification – valued at more than $3,000. 

This is in addition to the 10 PGIA students who were previously named semi-finalists (Gabe, Audrianna, Vidhika, Sakari, Natalia, Destiny, James, Ian, Divina, and especially notably Lindsay, who received the Silver award recognition and was almost a finalist), and six Bronze award recipients Sy, Maia T., Ariana, Kai, Chase and Noah. Ms. Hoffart says, “ Most of our students were competing in this type of competition for the very first time - I can't wait for next year!”

We’re so excited to hear about our students’ experience at the Cyber Foundations Academy and where their cybersecurity skills take them next! If you are interested in competing in the competition next year, you can qualify by signing up and playing in CyberStart America – one of the qualification paths for the National Cyber Scholarship Competition.