Bon Voyage - Amsterdam End Session on their way!

Bon Voyage to our "Math in Amsterdam" End Session group.  They are off for a week in Amsterdam with former PGIA Math Teacher (and self-proclaimed Math Geek) Mr. Donovan Carroll.  Mr. Carroll has developed a program called, you guessed it, Math in Amsterdam!  Five of our PGIA students are traveling with Ms. Elger to meet up with Mr. Carroll in Amsterdam and get their own personal course, direct from the Master!  They return to PGIA campus with Mr. Carroll in tow, to bring his math skills back to St. Thomas for another week of Math in St. Thomas?!  

Mr. Carroll will also be presenting a Mathemagics presentation on campus June 6 or 7 - watch for details.

Safe Voyage, to our PGIA international travelers!

Volts Culinary Team wins VI Ultimate Flavors Culinary Competition

On Saturday May 21st, three of our students competed in the VI Ultimate Flavors Culinary Competition:  Eyad Hamed, Aneesh Chandiramani and Anna Lola Williams.  They were given a list of ingredients and expected to prepare a hot appetizer that would impress the judges.  Just before cooking time a secret ingredient was announced and the students were expected to incorporate this secret ingredient into their already decided appetizer. The secret ingredient was bok choy.  

       Our team prepared fried shrimp with a curry-cilantro sauce accompanied by a bok choy salad topped with toasted peanuts.  Not only did they wow the judges, but the judges commented that their dish was very "grown-up" for their age level and they were impressed at how well they communicated with each other and worked together.  

        As the results rolled in we did not hear our name called for 3rd place, we did not hear our name called for 2nd place but we did hear our name called for 1st place!  Out of six schools that have actual culinary arts programs at their institutions we came out on top! Congrats to these three students! It was an honor to coach and mentor them. Go Volts! 

Submitted by Ms. Weichman - way to go Coach Weichman!

Notes from Head of School - Year End Update

Each year at VIMSIA, we strive to improve…student learning is the litmus test.  We do not always get it right, but I view “problems” as “learning opportunities” to grow by. As another school year is coming to a close, it is a time for thoughtful reflection about how to build on what we have done right, and how to improve in areas that have fallen short.   Read more....

Spring Magic Recital - Brava, Bravo, Bravi!

The Spring Magic Production: a Celebration of Music and Dance was a true success. Ballerinas, tap dancers and jazz dancers dazzled the crowd.  Piano players also performed melodiously and were a wonderful addition to this year's celebration. 

Our programs begin in September and continue through May.  The students meet once a week to learn a specific dance genre and work towards creating a showcase at the end of the year to share their newfound skills.  

We have an amazing group of talented performing artists sharing their gifts with our VIMSIA youth.  A special thank you to our instructors: Jessica Alvarado, Mary Capellas, Katie Zaytoun, Luba Dolgopolsky and Artistic Director Helen Sidiropoulos for putting this magical production together. The instructors would also like to thank all administrative staff for supporting the programs, teachers and students throughout the school year.  It takes a village!

Volts History in the Making - Tomorrow!

The CAHS win over Kean yesterday puts CAHS and Volts in a playoff for the IAA St Thomas/St John Soccer Varsity Championship.  They will play Charlotte Amalie HS tomorrow, Thursday May 19th at 4:30pm on the Eudora Kean HS Soccer Field. 

This will be a great matchup as our Varsity Volts Soccer Team will be fighting for their first ever championship!  Please consider bringing your student athlete to this event as it will motivate them to seek the same championship when they are at the Varsity level here at VIMSIA. 

Thank you for your support of the VIMSIA athletic program. 

GO VOLTS! 

Submitted by: Coach Nurse

NASA Visits VIMSIA - Join us Tonight at 5:00

NASA's Community Outreach event is tonight under the awning at VIMSIA.  The event starts at 5:00 and should wrap up by 8:00.  What a great opportunity to have a photo op with an astronaut and chat with NASA engineers.  All are welcome to attend - no admission fee.

Our six NASA guests arrived on island Saturday and have been busy preparing for the week ahead.  They spent the day with us here at VIMSIA today.  MIddle and High School students from around the island joined our PGIA students for a full day of NASA Science.  In addition to these NASA engineers, Dr. David Morris and Andy Watts brought solar telescopes so that the students could see the transit of Mercury across the sun.

While the older students were busy going through their NASA rotations throughout the day, a NASA astronaut made his way to visit the elementary students.

Visit the school website for information on the week's schedule for NASA.

Ms. Hess's Class gets a visitor!

Grade 10 Students Present Their Personal Projects

On Wednesday a sampling of Grade 10 students had the opportunity to present their Personal Projects for the MYP student body and parents. The Personal Project is a culminating activity for the IB MYP and serves to prepare students for the IB Diploma Program. The Personal Project is a significant body of work that is the product of a student's own initiative and creativity. It's goal is for each MYP Grade 10 student to develop a focus of deep personal interest that reflects the knowledge they have gained through participation in the IB Middle Years Program.

Some of the topics covered in this year's Personal Projects included: The nature and purpose of creative expression through writing, The effects of captivity on marine mammals, How Shakespeare is relevant to our lives today, Telling stories through animation, Launching and promoting an online identity, Learning to love yourself and the importance of positive self image, The relationship between diet and athletic training, plus many many more.

It was a wonderful afternoon and the students all did a stellar job presenting their research and products as well as answering a variety of questions from the attendees. 

VIMSIA Joins Open eBooks Inititative!

Screenshot of open ebooks app

Open eBooks is a new nationwide program with the goal of putting popular and award winning digital books into the hands of in-need children for free.  Because the USVI is considered a rural territory under federal guidelines, our students qualify for this program.

Every student will receive a note with instructions and access codes.  This program is currently accessible only through android or apple apps used on tablets and phones.

Ms. Schlesinger has gone to elementary and PGIA classrooms to introduce the program to the students.  Younger students will also have access to encourage family reading.

For more information, go to openeBooks.net.

Please email kschlesinger@vimsia.org with any questions.

Happy Reading!

Bon Voyage as Ms. Keating heads back to Ireland

Ms. Keating displays the gift her students made for her as part of their going away party on Tuesday.

It has been so lovely having Ms. Keating, who retired a few years back after 35 years in the Lower Elementary classroom, back on campus for the past several months.  We are so grateful that she was able to help us out by heading up Ms. Serje's classroom during her leave.  We love you Ms. Keating.  You are forever woven into the fabric of VIMSIA.  

It Feels Like Carnival

Ms. Hanna Upps Primary Class gets in the spirit of Carnival.  Wishing all our families a Happy and Safe Carnival!  

For the love of Spanish!

As students in Dean Vázquez's Upper Elementary Spanish class wrap up a unit on nutrition, they prepare displays, illustrating their knowledge.  Students are interested, engaged, and working collaboratively for the love of Español!

Art is a Verb! This Friday evening - Join us!!

Are YOU ready for Art is a Verb?!  Any guess what this student is cutting out of wood?  Come to Art is a Verb THIS FRIDAY @ 6pm to see if your guess is correct!  

Ms. Ferguson and her PGIA Art students cordially invite you all to our 3rd Annual "Art is a Verb" interdisciplinary art show.  

All proceeds go to the PGIA Arts Department for productions, costumes and art projects.  Feel free to share this poster with friends, family & our community.

Concession stand will be open for light refreshments.  

Spotlight: Ms. Zakers honored at Excellence in Education Ball!

Congratulations to Ms. Gloria Zakers, our PGIA Director.  Ms. Zakers is being honored along with seven other Virgin Island educators at the Classes of the 70's First Reunion Ball - whose theme is "Showcasing Excellence in Education".

The Ball will be this Saturday, May 7 at Frenchman's Reef.  Cocktails, dinner and dancing with Spectrum Band.  Tickets are $75 and are available for sale with Ms. Paul in the front office.

Kudos, Ms. Zakers, for this well-deserved honor.  

Shakespeare is Alive at VIMSIA

On Friday, April 15, VIMSIA was the location to be at for the annual Vento Shakespeare Workshops and Festival. This event, presented by Pistarkle Theatre, strives to educate, engage and entertain students on the literary works of Shakespeare. With over 130 students from schools around the islands the VIMSIA campus was filled with love, laughter, and dramatic deaths as each group brought their own spin to the Bard’s words.

VIMSIA entered three different acts for the festival – “Taming of the Shrew” performed by the 8th grade; another group consisted of our drama enrichment students under the direction of Ms. Pamela New presenting “King Lear”; and our third was an independent monologue by 10th grader Darby, “Edmund" in King Lear.

Our 8th graders won an award for best supporting ensemble and Darby won an award for her monologue. All our students worked for months to create their presentations and we are so proud of them all!

ELEMENTARY TRACK AND FIELD TEAM FINISHED THEIR SEASON!

The Girls and Boys Elementary Track & Field Teams finished their season this past Tuesday. The girls team placed 2nd and the boys placed 3rd in the island's elementary league. Participating teams on island were Abraham, Antilles, Dober, Lockhart, Ulla Muller, Montessori, Gomez and Homeschoolers.  Students that medaled were: 

Girls: 

N'Jheri Matthew 2nd 4x100 meter relay, 1st 100 meter dash, 1st 200 meter dash

Cassidy Caines 2nd place 4x100 meter relay

Isabella Supinski 2nd place 4x100 meter relay, 3rd place 100 meter dash

Lindsay Barr 2nd place 4x100 meter relay

Nyala Burke 2nd place 4x100 meter relay, 2nd place 200 meter dash 

Kaia Anspacher 2nd place 4x100 meter relay, 2nd place 800 meter, 2nd place 400 meter dash

Ava Jayne Parfitt 3rd place 800 meter run 

Azaera Toussaint 2nd place 4x100 meter relay, 3rd place Standing Broad Jump

Tianna Davis 2nd 4x100 meter relay, 2nd place Standing Broad Jump

Boys: 

Adian Griffth 3rd place 4x100 meter dash 

Diego Villegas 3rd place 4x100 meter relay, 1st place Standing Broad Jump

Lennon Richman 1st place Javelin throw

Ka'eo Brown 3rd place 4x100 meter relay, 3rd place Shot put

Amir Ottley 3rd place 4x100 meter relay

Christopher Griffith 2nd place 800 meter run

This is the first time any elementary Montessori Track team ever placed in the team competition.  Congrats to all students involved in VI Montessori's Track and Field! 

A "Going out" with Ms. Keating, Ms. Hess and Ms. Santiago

On Friday, April 15, our lower elementary students from Ms. Keating and Ms. Hess’ class had a “Going Out” trip to Vessup Beach. After hiking down to their final location, they enjoyed lunch under the shade of the National Park trees, spying objects in the water from the dock, and participating in individual and team-building activities. From the joy on the student’s faces when they returned and from the photos below, it was a fun afternoon for all!

NASA Visits VIMSIA May 9

VIMSIA is proud to host a group of six NASA scientists and engineers for a Student Science Day during our regular school hours.  Students will see and experience great science and tech throughout the day courtesy of our NASA guests.  Topics to be covered include: Environmental Engineering, Applied Physics, Medical Science, Structural Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Software Development and Computer Science.

Register for events and/or read more about NASA's visit and how they will be reaching out to USVI students and educators during the first week of May.

VIMSIA Wins Participation award and more at the Rotary Sunrise Triathlon

Saturday morning, April 9th, many of our VI Montessori and Peter Gruber International Academy students participated in the annual Rotary Sunrise Triathlon held at Magen’s Bay. The event, which hosts swimming, biking and running as the competitive events, had over 140 students starting their morning at the beach.

VIMSIA students joined the fun as individuals or as team participants and all did a fantastic job. The VIMSIA winners for the different age groups are listed below:

Age Group 12-15

Individual Boys: 1st Place Taber Helton 26:50; 2nd Place Teagan Kappel 33.13

Relay Teams: 3rd Place Max Wilson, Diego Viegas, Amir Ottley 29:03

Age Group 9-11

Individual Girls: 1st Place Kaia Anspacher 12:23; 2nd Place Gabriela Brunt 13:32

Relay Teams: 1st Place Thomas Brunt, Christian Belcher, Chris Griffith 12:43; 3rd Place Paschal Bryan, Rohan Nagi, Ka’eo Brown 13:40

Age Group 5-8

Individual Girls: 1st Place Sofia Kappel 8:23

Relay Teams: 1st Place Santiago Brunt, Alex Brunt, Andy Bornn 6:59; 3rd Place Fiona Dodson, Aurora Rodriquez, Mariana Brunt 8:01