CS Futures End Session Program Featured in National Publication

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PGIA's 2019 End Session program, CyberFutures, facilitated by Dr. Marc Boumedine of UVI and Ms. Rebecca Hoffart, was included in the National Cyberwatch Center's annual publication, 2019 Innovations in Cybersecurity Education on page 57.

 What is the National Cyberwatch Center?

Their website describes themselves as, " a consortium of higher education institutions, businesses, and government agencies focused on collaborative efforts to advance Information Security education and strengthen the national cybersecurity workforce." For more info https://www.nationalcyberwatch.org/

 In the three-week-long End Session program the students learned about, Computer Programming, Cybersecurity, and the Internet of Things. Students also completed independent projects using Raspberry Pi computers. The various projects included measuring the temperature or moisture in the room and programming LED light boards. 
Congratulations to the students and teachers in the CS Futures End Session Program for their hard work and national recognition!
Brianna Jordan 
Chris Griffith 
Diego Zakers
Divina Kamra 
Jayvyn Potter
Mikayla Kurtz 
Mireille Boumedine 
Riddhi Atmaramani 
Andy Yu
Ms. Hoffart and Dr. Boumedine

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End Session Presentations Take Us Around The World!

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PGIA End Session is one of the exceptional programs that sets VIMSIA apart from other schools. Each year, we put together several program options for these last few weeks of school. These are in depth programs that focus on language, the arts, STEM, history and international-mindedness. Some involve international travel, while others provide these experiences here on campus - with special field trips and events.

The students’ experience culminates with a presentation to our school community and this year’s groups did not disappoint:

End Session Students Turn Trash to Treasure

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As part of the Trash to Treasure End Session Course, students are re-purposing discarded waste into unique treasures with aesthetic and practical appeal. This week, the group teamed up with Sports & Nutrition to explore the mangrove lagoon and learn about the flora and fauna affected by terrestrial litter and marine debris.

End Session students kayaking in St. Thomas

End Session students kayaking in St. Thomas

End Session students enjoy VI Eco Tours on St. Thomas

End Session students enjoy VI Eco Tours on St. Thomas

End Sessions off and Running .... or flying - as the case may be.

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This year there are eight End Session programs including London, Iceland/Ireland, Panama, Film Making, Sports, Music and Expression, Computer Science and Trash to Treasures. See all End Session program descriptions for 2019.

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PGIA End Session is one of the exceptional programs that sets VIMSIA apart from other schools. Each year, we put together several program options for these last few weeks of school. These are indepth programs that focus on the arts, science and international-mindedness. Some involve international travel, while others provide these experiences here on campus - with special field trips and events.

VIMSIA Travel Map - pins indicate countries visited for educational travel

VIMSIA Travel Map - pins are places we have traveled for student education

VIMSIA Travel Map - pins are places we have traveled for student education

Bon Voyage London End Session Trip

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“This above all: to thine own self be true. ”
— Hamlet, Act I, Scene III

London Trip is off and running. How nice that they ran into Mrs. Gruber!

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Global Context: Orientation in Space and Time - London End Session

Discover how the shared history of British-American relations translate to our modern relationships throughout the world.

Explore the ancient wonder of Stonehenge, the early Renaissance cultural explosion of Shakespeare’s time, and modern theater and innovation.


Mr. Gribble Introduces Disc Golf

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The PDGA (Professional Disc Golf Association) and EDGE (Educational Disc Golf Experience) has awarded the Peter Gruber International Academy a $700 grant toward the purchase of supplies and curriculum to add disc golf to our school program.  It will be introduced in the 2019 End Session program, “Sports, Summits, and Seas – Healthy Lifestyles” led by Mr. Stocking and Mr. Gribble.  Last weekend, some of the staff came out to try out the new equipment.

Packed House At End Session

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Last night’s event had an excellent turnout; a full house with standing room only. The highly anticipated comeback of End Session 2019, brought much excitement to the families of the PGIA. This program which focuses on promoting International-mindedness has already brought students to over 40 countries. This year’s plan will provide students with 8 exciting course options, 5 on campus and 3 traveling. Topics include: film-making, computer science, up-cycling, Spanish immersion, outdoor adventure and more! 

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Experience Our End Session Presentations

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We at VIMSIA recently celebrated another wonderful series of End Sessions with your students. We invite you to our virtual End Session Presentations by reading and viewing below!

BOUNDARY WATERS

What an amazing trip it was to the north country. From May 22nd until June 2nd 2017 a group of 8 students and 2 adults from the Peter Gruber International Academy's End Session program left the Caribbean island of St. Thomas on a 12 day adventure to experience the history, culture and environment of the Upper Midwest and boreal forest of the BWCAW (Boundary Waters Canoe Wilderness Area). Students got a full taste of the region while experiencing Valleyfair, Lake Superior, Split Rock Lighthouse, North House Folk School, Grand Portage National Monument, the Boundary Waters Wilderness and a bit of consumerism at the Mall of America. Ms. Butler and I are so proud of each one of the students. Each of them met and overcame challenges as they traveled, camped, portaged, canoed, fished and experienced and entirely new environment. Well done!

DIY- Do It Yourself!

Throughout the DIY end session, the students made many items ranging from small decorative art pieces to large pieces of furniture.  The students used simple hand tools as well power tools for their wood projects. They completed projects for both their own use, as well as items that they provided for use around campus.

View our slideshow here!

VI HIKING AND HISTORY

Ms. Montgomery and I thoroughly enjoyed the three weeks we spent travelling with students to various historic locations and beautiful hiking destinations. As residents of the Virgin Islands, it is easy to get caught up in our lives and forget how amazing this place is! 

Ms. Monti and I are both island girls, but even though we grew up here, we found ourselves learning new things about our history and unique ecology on every trip we took! 

I look forward to creating more end sessions that teach students about our world while exploring our fabulous back yard!

You can view our presentation here.

~Melissa Bump

NASA AND UNIVERSAL STUDIOS

Our time at NASA was great. We watched an IMAX movie about Mars, sat in on the opening ceremony of the robotic mining competition where we heard from the NASA Director and former astronaut, walked through the space shuttle garden, and saw Atlantis. We also met a current astronaut, saw inside Kennedy, and took part in a shuttle simulation which definitely tested one's love of turbulence and sense of balance. We attended a college fair, talked with some robotic teams, and saw one team's robot have a very successful run in the competition.

We arrived in Orlando and hit the Mall of Americas for food and shopping. We then spent three hours at the Sky Zone for glow night. Everyone had a wonderful time at Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure. We visited Hogwarts, took risks and rode rides that were way outside of our comfort zones. As we were leaving the park, we were treated to a water show and fireworks. Lots and lots of walking but so worth it to hear the screams and laughter!

Thank you for sending your children on this adventure with me.

ECUADOR AND GALAPAGOS

The main focus of this End Session was to provide students with an in-the-field experience of the natural history of the Galapagos Islands. Students had the opportunity to observe and reflect on the formation of oceanic islands through volcanic activity, as well as the unique biodiversity of the Galapagos through the process of adaptive evolution.  Prior to our 8-day guided trip in the Galapagos we spent two days in Quito and the surrounding area, where students were given the opportunity to explore the city and hike the world's second highest active volcano, Cotopaxi.

MAURITIUS

The focus of this End Session was to explore the unique island of Mauritius, off the east coast of Africa. This African nation has a diverse history of British, French, Portuguese, Indian and Asian roots.  This was a travel End Session that included experiencing the cultural offerings of the island, from “Surviving Forest” to a sacred Hindu temple to the ancient slave ruins of Le Morne Mountain to the city capital of Port-Louis.  Our premiere destination was Le Bocage IB International School where Mr. David Jenkins is Head of School!  Our students stayed with local host families and attend a few days of classes at Le Bocage.  The other days were filled with excursions all over the island and biodiversity research with Ms. Courtney Jenkins within the extensive natural environment of Mauritius.

Please view our end presentation here!

VIRTUAL TOUR OF JAPAN

Our Virtual Tour of Japan explored many topics. Students learned different Japanese crafts, cooked various dishes, and learned about the social, political, and environmental issues occurring in Japan right now.

We'd love for you to watch our full final presentation here!

Congratulations to everyone on another successful and exciting round of End Sessions!

End Session: Mauritius Adventure Continues!

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Dear MRU Families,

It's been a few days since we've written, but we've been so busy! Since we climbed Le Morne mountain, we attended classes at Le Bocage, worked on our presentation project, explored the Last Surviving Forest at Ferney Valley, went to the capital city of Port Louis and the marketplace, toured the sugar museum and learned about the history of the sugar industry, visited the tea factory, the vanilla factory and the rum factory, and ate amazing food the whole way!!
Phew.....

Now, this weekend was one for the students to just enjoy time with their host families and see what a weekend in their lives is like. The kids have been all over, from hotels, to petting farms to bowling alleys to the mall to beach houses, etc. We are so grateful for their hospitality!

Monday (tomorrow) will be our last full day, which we will spend at Le Bocage, finishing our project, attending classes and getting henna tattoos!

Tuesday we go to school in the morning, have lunch and then off to the airport for a 4pm flight to Dubai.

We are sad to see this experience come to a close, but what a fabulous trip it has been.

Here's some photos...enjoy!

I'll send more details soon.

Love from the Indian Ocean,
Ms. Z & Mr. E

End Session : Boundary Waters Out from the Wilderness

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Wow, what an adventure! I must say that Ms. Butler and I are so proud of this group and they should be very proud of themselves. We had an amazing four days in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness where they paddled and portaged canoes, set up camp, slept and lived outdoors, swam, fished, saw the Northern Lights and experienced all the beauty of the northern boreal forest. There were ups and downs, frustrations and celebrations, and through it all this group of eight students showed true grit!

Today we are heading back to Minneapolis and along the way we will visit the International Wolf Center to learn more about the animals we heard during our nights in the woods.

End Session: Mauritius

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All the kids did great, acting very respectfully and easily making it to the top and back down. The teachers on the other hand… well, let's just say, it was a little humbling.

Tomorrow we are off to the "Last Surviving Forest" Ferney Valley, where we will finish up our biodiversity research. And have a very traditional Mauritian lunch prepared right in front of us.

We are having a wonderful time, more updates soon!!

Ms. Z and Mr. E

End Session: Mauritius

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Dear All,

We had a great day in Mauritius, highlighted by a trip to the Albion Tide Pools and Lighthouse.  The students did some biodiversity research and enjoyed the spectacular Indian Ocean scenery.  While jet lag definitely was still in effect, their effort was admirable.  Tomorrow sees us off to the Black River Gorge to see some of Mauritius' most endangered species up close.  Enjoy the photos!

Mr. E and Ms Z.

End Session: NASA Day 4

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What a blast we've been having...pun intended. 

On our way out of the Space Coast, we visited the Space Coast Fab Lab. We saw many huge 3D printers and other amazing equipment that will be used in this maker space. We also learned about hydro phones. Hopefully our school will develop a further relationship with this group to conduct research in the VI. 

We arrived in Orlando and hit the Mall of Americas for food and shopping. We then spent three hours at the Sky Zone for glow night. LOTS of laughter (and good exercise) had by all. 

We rose yesterday bright and early to reach Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure. We started the day at Hogwarts playing quidditch, defeating dragons, and drinking butter beer. Some of us took risks and rode rides that were way outside of our comfort zones. We met transformers, Thing 1 & 2, and Cat in the Hat. One of the scariest rides was Mummy as you can tell from the picture. We rode the Hogwarts Express to Kings Cross Station Platform 9 3/4 and spent some time in London, San Francisco, and New York. We ended the evening with exploring Gringotts Bank and fighting Voldemort. As we were leaving the park, we were treated to a water show and fireworks. Lots and lots of walking but so worth it to hear the screams and laughter!

We started our today going to Volcano Bay which opens at 9:00. By 9:30, they had reached capacity so no one else was allowed in. This is probably a blessing in disguise as we were all pretty tired from yesterday! Today we are relaxing, playing putt-putt and beach volleyball, maybe swimming in the pool, shopping and perhaps seeing a movie. Tomorrow, we are leaving bright and early to make sure we will get into Volcano bay! 

I am absolutely loving spending time with these kids. I am so blessed to have such an amazing group. Thank you again for sending your children on this adventure with me. 

Major hugs,

Ms. E

End Session: Mauritius Continued!

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Helllloooo MRU Parents!

Your kids are troopers! They have already well adjusted to new sleeping patterns and are doing a wonderful job of being respectful members of this group. The kids seem very happy with their host families and have everything they need. Let me know if you have any concerns whatsoever!

Today we did biodiversity research in the Black River Gorges. It was absolutely beautiful. We saw several endemic species of birds and bats, and had a talk from "Nate", a bird biologist from the Mauritian department of Wildlife.

Tomorrow is a trip to the Colorful South coast of MRU and the sacred Hindu temple. It will be very memorable.

I am beyond humbled with how we have been welcomed here and the hospitality that the Mauritian families have given to us. We would like to set up an exchange to have these kids come stay in the VI. Please let me know if you are interested in hosting a Le Bocage student!
 

:) Ms. Z

End Session: Mauritius

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Dear MRU Parents,

We took Dubai by storm! We stumbled upon an opportunity for complimentary hotel rooms and dinner from Emirates Airlines and then decided to purchase a city tour. So, after hot showers and the lights of Dubai, we are back at the airport and on our plane to MRU! 

Everyone is safe and sound. The people here are warm and welcoming. What a fantastic start to our adventure!

We will check in again soon ;)  Ms. Z

End Session: NASA Day 3

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Our final day at NASA was pretty awesome. We saw the Atlantis and learned all about the history of the shuttle program. Pretty spectacular. We rode the shuttle simulation which definitely tested one's love of turbulence and sense of balance. We attended a college fair, talked with some robotic teams, and saw one team's robot have a very successful run in the competition.

Tomorrow, we'll visit the Space Coast FabLab and then settle into our villa in Orlando, probably followed by shopping and a movie. 

I have laughed so much today at each of your children. They say the wittiest things...especially when they don't think you're listening. I've also learned a lot about music and Snapchat!

Hugs, Ms. E