Bri Kozior, a finalist on the popular cooking show MasterChef , visited our school this past month. Here to visit long-time family friends Pam Engle (our very own Advancement Director) and her family, Chef Kozior kindly agreed to visit our school and talk to the students about pursuing their dreams.
Bri Kozior, MasterChef finalist
Dr. Xuri Maurice Allen visited our Diploma Program students during College Seminar this week. Dr. Allen (current VIMSIA parent) has over 20 years of experience in higher education and has served as the Director of Recruitment and Admissions at the University of the Virgin Islands. He spoke to our students about the transition to college and preparing for the college application process. Thank you for supporting our students, Dr. Allen! For more information or ways to get involved please contact Kara Ebe at kebe@vimsia.org
How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. Out of chaos comes opportunity.
The Story of the Lights:
VIMSIA's soccer field is now lit with LED lights. Thus the electricity consumption is nominal. The poles supporting the lights are discarded utility poles from the hurricanes...recycled poles.
And that’s not all this very “GREEN” field has to boast about:
The retaining wall and seats on the south side of the field are built from discarded poles from the hurricanes...recycled materials;
The poles and lights were installed by Haugland Energy... donated labor;
The field is watered with water captured in our road run-off collection system. The system not only waters the field but reduces the road run-off into the ocean from surrounding roads...an environmental system helping to preserve ocean quality;
The pump system and lighting are powered by our solar system and battery storage system, (off grid system)...no energy payments to WAPA.
Pit fall: the lawn mower used to mow the field is gas powered.
But, maybe we can fix that, too. CAS hours anyone?
8 students from Casvi-Boadilla school in Madrid, Spain arrived on island Wednesday for their six week visit to St. Thomas and the PGIA. They were met on the basketball court by their host families and a myriad of welcome posters! Our six PGIA Spanish Exchange students are now hosting the Casvi student that housed them earlier this year. Lots of smiles and hugs all around. The students were sincerely happy to see each other and the Casvi students are very anxious to “Go to the Beach!” Any families that are part of an excursion related business and would like to volunteer to take these visitors out for some Caribbean adventure - please, let us know! We are actively looking for great (and inexpensive) things for them to do while not in school.
Wednesday afternoon was a Black History celebration through music and dance!
Lower Elementary teacher Jessica Di Franceso, students Lilly Tulk, Erica Simcic, Natasha Webster and Morgan Tolud participate in a traditional basket dance with Mama Azia.
"The Echo People" vocalist and drummer, Ital Anthony explaining Moko jumbies to an assembly of children.
Students Lilly Tulk, Patricia Cannon, Erica Simcic, Morgan Tolud and Evelyn Wilson wait for instructions from Mama Azia.
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.
This week everyone has been raving about Ms. Summer's newly created outdoor space. By rearranging plants and providing a comfortable rug, Ms. Summer was a able to create an inviting outdoor space for her children to work. "Some of the oldest photos of Maria Montessori are of her working with children in an outdoor space" Ms. Summer recalled. Dr. Montessori described the ideal learning environment as having an indoor space with an adjoining garden, believing that children work better in a natural environment promoting a healthy lifestyle, and boosting mental acuity and creativity while strengthening relationships.
This week Zia Gibbs, Zach Mitchell, Erica Simcic and Miles Tolud were welcome into the PGIA as guest visitors to familiarize themselves with the program and have an opportunity to get a foot in the door.
Students in Ms. Mattingley's lower elementary class have been working on group cooking projects. Here you see Lily, Nicholas, and Jocelin preparing sushi for their classmates.
On Thursday, December 13, 2018, PGIA students in grades 7-10 had the unique opportunity to take part in Digital Citizenship workshops from the National Center on Computer Education (NCCE). These workshops took place at school on Thursday and Friday.
These pictures show some grade 7 students working with the professional presenters (from the Pacific Northwest). They built circuit boards using bananas! And also learned many other topics of digital citizenship, including some neat tools for school and being safe online.
Science club in full swing thanks to Ms. Kessler.
I can’t even begin to say how much I love that we have this class. No words needed - just check out below. Thanks Ms. Hoffart and Mimi - you guys are great!
A note from Ms. Christensen:
I had a wonderful time with these students!!! They catch on really fast and are enthusiastic!
I did mention that there is optional homework this week.
If appropriate for each individual family, I told them to watch one or all of the following:
•Newsies (on Netflix) for the song “seize the day”
•Annie for the song “it’s a hard knock life”
•The greatest showman for the song “This is me”.
We’ll be working on those songs with scene work and choreography and hopefully present them in a final performance.
Here is just a taste of some of the cool things going on in Ms. Helen’s Pre-DP Arts Elective Class. 24 9th & 10th graders meet twice a week to shake, rattle, roll and apparently “flip”. Can’t wait to see them perform!
4:28 PM (17 hours ago)
Bethany Miller and Bonnie Barr of Synergy Fitness and Wellness Center are heroes in physical education today. Bethany came as a guest speaker for an Exercise Science class at VIMSIA. A former Athletic Trainer turned Physical Therapy Assistant, she explained and guided our class through a Functional Movement Screen- exploring mobility and stability in our student athletes. It was an illuminating and entertaining day of class, and we are thankful for their involvement.
Ms. Stephanie’s After School Sewing Class
A note from Ms. Stephanie: For our class, we partnered with the Human Society of the Virgin Islands to take discarded T-shirts and make them into dog toys. I am going to donate these back to Donna at the Humane Society. The kids had so much fun and we’re going to do it again before the semester is out.
As the DP 1 Spanish class explores cultural identity and living a healthy lifestyle, students collaborated and made "taquitos de pollo", while communicating in Spanish in the kitchen. "Taquitos de pollos" are Mexican appetizers made from shredded chicken seasoned with chile, cumin, garlic powder and topped off with Mexican blend cheese wrapped in small flour or corn tortillas. Students enjoyed the "taquitos" while practicing their Spanish language communication skills. ¡Que viva el español!
Each year, Americans observe National Hispanic Heritage Month from September 15 to October 15, by celebrating the histories, cultures and contributions of Americans whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central and South America.
Pam Enlge, Director of Advancement and parent at Virgin Islands Montessori School & Peter Gruber International Academy (VIMSIA), visited the Lower Elementary classes to share a bit of her Peruvian culture. Children learned about typical Peruvian dances such as “la marinera” and “musica negra” and learned about the many ways Peru’s rich culture is found in textiles, food and in songs. Children listened to “El Condor Pasa” and learned about the “lost city of the inca”, Machu Picchu.
Hispanic Heritage Month started in 1968 as Hispanic Heritage Week under President Lydon Johnson and was expanded by President Ronald Reagan in 1988 to cover a 30-day period starting on September 15 and ending on October 15.
The day of September 15 is significant because it is the anniversary of independence for Latin American countries Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. In addition, Mexico and Chile celebrate their independence days on September 16 and September 18 respectively.
Admissions representatives from Vanderbilt University, New York University and Johns Hopkins University presented to PGIA students today! They shared information on each of their institutions, the college admission process and facilitated a great Q&A. The opportunity to connect with colleges is very important for students here in the Caribbean. This group will also provide a session open to the entire Virgin Islands community tonight at 6PM here at VIMSIA. We are so pleased to be able to provide this type of programming to our students and community!
Virgin Islands Montessori School and Peter Gruber International Academy - a Montessori and International Baccalaureate Toddler through grade twelve private school in the beautiful U.S. Virgin Islands. Ask for Admissions 340-775-6360.
VIMSIA 6936 Vessup Lane, St. Thomas USVI 00802 info@vimsia.org Phone: 340.775.6360 Maps and Directions Staff Portal
