CARNIVAL! ALL EYES ON VIMSIA (WE) for 2020

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Its that time of the year - Carnival is around the corner and we want you to meet us on the road.
The PTA is looking for interested parents and individuals to contribute to VIMSIA’s Carnival presentation for the Children’s Parade. Students in Lower Elementary up through PGIA are encouraged to join in.

Please email pta@vimsia.org if you or your child are interested in carnival!

From the Archives VIMSIA’s 2010 Carnival Presentation - courtesy of Celestina Carey

From the Archives VIMSIA’s 2010 Carnival Presentation - courtesy of Celestina Carey

PTA's Green Body & Home Initiative Kicks Off This Month

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Starting this month, the PTA will implement a Green Body & Home initiative to complement the Green Campus that our kiddos are so lucky to enjoy. We will be posting weekly in the Volt, which may be in the form of recipes, links, and quizzes (among other things).  At times we will implement Green Body & Home initiatives on campus as well.
Our goal is to give parents more tools to help them foster the growth and development of the most amazing humans they can!  
Here's a link to start off the year with a healthy treat

20 recipes for healthy homemade snack balls you can modify for any allergies/sensitivities.

These are a great way to sneak in lots of nutrition while keeping your kids taste buds happy!

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 Jony Ariadi on Unsplash

Photo by Jony Ariadi on Unsplash

Upper Elementary Holiday Feast

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Ms. Hess and Ms. Satter held a massive Holiday feast this afternoon. Students expressed how grateful they were to share in a meal all together before digging in.

"Double, double toil and trouble" - Macbeth

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The PGIA Theater Elective presented Macbeth this past weekend on Friday and Saturday.

Fifth Annual Alumni Lunch

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The PGIA hosted the fifth annual Alumni Luncheon on Wednesday, December 18.  We love this time of year as alumni return to campus and share wisdom and advice with current DP students!  Our alumni discussed everything from the transition to college and getting involved in a new community to academic choices and leveraging their experience in the IB.  It's so exciting to see our Volts making their way out in the world! 

Top row, from left to right: CJ Fahie '16 (Indiana Institute of Technology) , Naomi Laing '16 (University of the Virgin Islands), Gregory Christian '19 (High Point University), Ricky James '19 (Florida Atlantic University), Jalen McClean '19 (Jacksonville University), David Dawson '19 (Drexel University), Karl Dinang '19 (New College of Florida), Axel Bartsch '19 (Occidental College)

Bottom row, from left to right: Alison Bartsch '17 (Stanford University), Leah Trotman '17 (Agnes Scott College), Kiyalyn Bump '16 (Dalhousie University), Daicya Dawson '19 (Rider University) 

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Student Submission: School Finger-Knitting Record Broken

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On December 9, 2019 Jack Brooks and Kadmiel Warrell broke the school record of the longest finger knitting chain measuring 155 ft. and 73in. If you do not know what “finger-knitting” is, it is a form of knitting that you do with your hands and yarn. You take your yarn and you put it in between your thumb, then you wrap it 3 times around your pointer and index finger like a figure eight. Then you pull the bottom one up and over again. Next you pull the one that you put it in between your pointer and your thumb finger. Then keep doing that over and over again. Blake Pickett and Harper Strickland helped us measure it. It took about 3 months to complete.

Written by: Jack Brooks                    

Left to Right: Jack, Kadmiel, Harper, and Blake.

Left to Right: Jack, Kadmiel, Harper, and Blake.

PGIA Paints Smiling Festive Faces

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Lindsay Barr, Zia Gibbs and Maya Livingston volunteered to paint faces at the Lattes in Paradise Christmas celebration! Students were invited back to after a successful face painting session at the Lattes in Paradise Halloween celebration.

Kwanzaa in the Classroom

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On Friday, December 13th Leah & Lily Reffell's parents, Lamin & Shanell, visited Ms. Boyle’s classroom to give a Kwanzaa presentation. It's celebrated for 7 days, starting on December 26th and ending on January 1st.
They shared a little about the principles recognized throughout the celebration; each day has a different one. They are Umoja - Unity, Kujichagulia - Self-Determination, Ujima - Collective Work and Responsibility, Ujamaa - Cooperative Economics, Nia - Purpose, Kuumba - Creativity, and Imani - Faith. Shanell, Leah and Lily sang the class a song, while Lamin played a drum. Then they learned a few dance moves that are also done during the week long celebration. It was a wonderful opportunity to learn about Kwanzaa.
Thank you to the Reffells for sharing this celebration with Ms. Boyle’s class.

VIMSIA Hour of Code

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To celebrate Computer Science Education Week. 9th and 10th grade students volunteered to lead Hour of Code activities with 7th grade, 8th grade, and upper elementary classes during third and fourth period on Wednesday, December 11. VIMSIA joined over 119,000 groups hosting Hour of Code events in 2019!

To give some background, the Hour of Code takes place each year during Computer Science Education Week. Learning computer science helps nurture problem-solving skills, logic and creativity, and the Hour of Code activities give an opportunity to practice the basics and help make coding skills more accessible.

Photo: A CyberPatriot - a Middle and High School Computer Science Program - practice session

Photo: A CyberPatriot - a Middle and High School Computer Science Program - practice session

Raffle Ticket High Sales Winners - 2019

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Congratulations to this year's top raffle ticket sellers, Michael Holt 53 books and Jayda Swim 38 books. Ms. Holt will receive $1,500 off of tuition next year and Ms. Swim will receive our second-place prize, $750 off tuition! Congratulations to our top sellers and to all of our families. Your diligent efforts produced a profit of $50,625 with 1,012.5 books sold.

Our raffle winners, 1st Place ticket #00075, 2nd Place ticket #00662, 3rd place 05380, and 4th place 02276 are all members of our VIMSIA family.

Thank you very much for your support.

Sincerely,

Mary Capellas, LVN Raffle Chair

Lower Elementary Educates about Pineapples

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Scarlett Jones, Aaliyah Howard, and Amelia Commissiong are educating our school community about pineapples! These students in Ms. Di Francesco's class have been learning about research techniques and sharing their findings with both Montessori and PGIA students. They used encyclopedias, dictionaries, support from our library and personal knowledge to put together a visual aid and written report about the tropical fruit. When asked why they chose pineapples, they said they were inspired by their teacher's necklace!

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PGIA Cyber Patriots Making their Mark!

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This year PGIA is fielding two teams in the Air Force Association's National Youth Cyber Defense Competition. Thousands of teams from all around the world compete online, securing virtual computer systems against hacking, malware, and all kinds of other vulnerabilities.

We know how important this is. Students are gaining real world, hard and soft skills.

In the first year, CyberPatriot teams rarely do well. There is a HUGE learning curve and it can be very frustrating for young people. The competition rounds are intense, last SIX hours, and require a lot of focus, teamwork, concentration and study. Our PGIA Middle School Team and High School Team have risen above all this.

Here's the good stuff. Our Middle School team has a real chance to qualify for the semifinals. Our High School team has placed at the GOLD TIER level (I still can't believe it, but it's true) and will try to get to semifinals as well - at this very tough level of competition. These are incredible accomplishments. I've never heard of first year teams reaching these levels.

Both teams competed against literally thousands of other teams. We have competed in two rounds of competition so far and have been holding regular practices. Our next round is this Saturday, December 7, and it is a MAKE or BREAK round which will determine our final placement in the competition. It will be tough going.

I am the proudest CyberPatriot coach ever!

High School Team

  • Mimi Boumedine

  • Ny'Kel Emanuel

  • Orin Hayes

  • Timothy Hayes

  • Alexander Pahlavan

Middle School Team

  • Krishiv Amarnani

  • Alessa Carty

  • Stanley Trotman\

  • Khalid Warrell

  • Amelie Zucker

Huge thanks to school admin for their constant support and instant response to any need! Huge thanks to Mr. Enright for getting us the best tech set-up possible! Huge thanks to Dr. Boumedine for serving as our technical mentor - he puts in a lot hours making sure we are ready for each round. Huge thanks to the families of the team members for their support - especially Mrs. Hayes for providing the amazing buffet for the teams!

Go Volts Go!

Mrs. Hoffart, Cyber Patriots Coach

Weizmann Travelers Initial Trip Report - November 26th

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After a long day of travel across the Atlantic, we arrived at the Weizmann Institute of Science outside of Tel-Aviv, Israel on Sunday evening. Our first 48 hours have been filled with science, from neurobiology to astronomy and everything in between. We simulated a moon walk and explored the physics of coupled swings, solar cookers, and rainbows at the Clore Garden of Science on our first morning, and then visited a research lab studying the effects of oxytocin and vasopressin on the behavior of mice and mole rats.

We spent the evening with astronomers, peering at the rings of Saturn and our nearest major galaxy, Andromeda, before getting some well-deserved rest. Throughout our second day we took part in several hands-on labs as we investigated the brain’s spatial awareness and ability to register change, experimented with properties of physics, including sound waves, and use liquid nitrogen to alter the state of different objects. We also toured the labs of researchers studying the regeneration of heart tissue and those seeking to understand pediatric cancers - all in one building!

Weizmann Travelers:
Tiffany Connor
Devonte Duncan
Celeste Hodge
Drake Nemeth
Toni Risker
Diego Zakers
and
Ms. Alex Silva

Ms. Boyle Reflects on World Children's Day - November 20th

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November 20th was a typically busy morning in the classroom. A morning of self-directed choices. Children displaying kindness, creativity, concentration, helpfulness, independence and joy. It’s as if I’m not even needed.

World Children’s Day was first established in 1954 as Universal Children's Day and is celebrated on 20 November each year to promote international togetherness, awareness among children worldwide, and improving children's welfare.

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