Huge Props to the Livacz Family for their Commencement Ceremony Support

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Many thanks to David and Leslie Livacz who made and donated the “Class of 2019” banners and the blue skirts that were hung along the back of the bleachers. They also provided a VERY large punch bowl! The picture shows it, but if you were there, we are sure you will agree that the venue looked wonderful..

Over the years the Livacz family has done so much for the school from canvas shade clothes to organizing LVN admissions, Fall Fest arcade games, concession cookery and more. Congratulations to Richie and thanks to this lovely VIMSIA family.

Summer Camps or Clinics

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Interest survey. We are looking into some of our staff providing camps or clinics this summer held here on campus. Ms. LeDee is considering a camp for 3 - 12 year olds to be held in BEC. Profe Ott is planning to offer a Summer Tech and Coding Workshop. Señor is putting the flyer together for his soccer clinic. In order to help them plan, please complete the quick survey below if you have an interest in some summer program for your child this summer. Include the age or ages of the children and what weeks during the summer you would like to have them attend. We will finalize the details next week to get information out to you.

Livingston Music Festival

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LIVINGSTON Music Festival to be held on Saturday, June 1, 2019 at VIMSIA. A music festival benefiting Dr. Mark Livingston's recovery! Bring a blanket or lawn chair and enjoy an afternoon with incredible music featuring seven bands, delicious food and drinks! Kid activities available until 8PM (moon bounce, face painting and crafts). Sponsored by ProSolar and Southern Glazers Wine and Spirits, all proceeds will help get Mark the highly specialized therapy he needs - six hours of rehabilitation per day. Our goal is to raise $150,000 and we need YOUR help! $35 adults, $10 children. Entry fee includes one food item and fun for the whole family! vimsia.org/events

Event Flyer

Note from HOS: New Building this Summer and Sustainability

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Sprung Building

Sprung Building

I am managing numerous priorities at this time of year.  Here is a quick update on a few of them.

We will commence construction on June 1 of a Sprung building to serve as a multipurpose temporary facility on the site of the old Art Trailer.  In addition, over the summer we will be replacing the existing Hibiscus Dance Studio (west end of the soccer field) with a permanent building.

Lithium phosphate battery

Lithium phosphate battery

We have also started the process of installing a new lithium phosphate battery storage system to facilitate the conversion of the entire school to “off-grid” status with no WAPA connection.  Presently 15% of the campus is off grid.  Over the next several weeks, these new batteries will be installed to give us a total of 30% campus off-grid. We are hoping to have the entire school off-grid by 12/31/2019.

Along the same lines of sustainability, we have just received a donation of four Nissan Leaf Electric Cars.  These cars will be made available to staff members along with the ability to charge them during the day from our solar energy system. 

Have a great weekend!

Yours in Education,

Michael Bornn, Head of School

International Museum Day Observance - Great Activities Planned

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International Museum Day will be celebrated on Saturday, May 18, 2018.  The chosen theme for 2019 is ‘Museums as Cultural Hubs:  The Future of Tradition’.  The objective of International Museum Day is to raise awareness of the fact that, ‘Museums are an important means of cultural exchange, enrichment of culture and development of mutual understanding, cooperation and peace among peoples.’

Both Fort Frederik Museum National Historic Landmark site (FFM) and Fort Christian Museum National Historic Landmark site (FCM) will be part of this global celebration.  FCM has planned a week long observance, which includes extended hours with several activities and presentations to include:

  • Storytelling by Glenn “Kwabena” Davis’ mentees

  • Presentation by Poetry Out Loud finalists

  • Music by local schools to include Bertha C. Boschulte Middle School’s Flambo Combo and Aben Marrero on the steel pan

  • Cultural presentations by Culture Shock, Enchantment Dancers, Mungo Niles Cultural Dancers, Pan In Motion, and St. Thomas Heritage Dancers

There will be extended hours on Wednesday, May 15th from 5:00pm – 7:00pm, Saturday, May 18th from 10:00am – 2:00pm and Sunday, May 19, 2019 from 10:00am to 2:00pm.  During these extended hours, there would be free admission for locals.

Kindly refer to the attached flyer for additional information.  Feel free to share and see you there!

Respectfully,

Arlene L. Pinney-Benjamin

Division of Libraries, Archives, and Museums (DLAM)
Department of Planning and Natural Resources (DPNR)

Bat Night at VIMSIA with Renata Platenberg - The "Bat Lady"

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Renata Platenberg and Ms. Silva have bee working to host a “Bat Night” here at VIMSIA. We are looking at a Tuesday, either May 28 or June 4 - likely to start about 5:30, but has to go until dark when the bats come out. Any feedback from families that would be interested in the best date, email right away so we can let Dr. Plantenberg know.

Here is an article about Dr. Platenberg which gives you some background. She has hosted these at Magens in the past, and I have personally heard great things! Also pop a quick email back if you are interested in attending, it will be nice to get a feel for numbers.

VIMSIA Welcomes Ms. Hess Back and Wishes Ms. Ludick Well

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It’s that time of year when we say good bye to some of our teachers as they venture off on their next chapter and welcome in any new staff. Ms. Ludick will be moving on after this year to spend more time with her family in Ohio - we wish her all the best and thank her for her time with us. She moved on island about two weeks before the hurricanes hit us in 2017 - so we certainly welcomed her in with flair! Good luck Ms. Ludick! Enjoy this appreciation note from Erica…..

Ms. Neysa Hess will be coming back to VIMSIA to replace Ms. Ludick. Ms. Hess was with us for two years in Lower Elementary and was forced to leave island due to the storms. We welcome Ms. Hess and her children back to VIMSIA!

Yearbook Committee Advisor Needed for Next Year

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We are looking for next year's Yearbook committee advisor.

Mrs. Ethen was our advisor for the last 2 years and is ready to step down. Thank you, Mrs. Ethen, so much for all you’ve done these past 2 years!

We need an adult who will be able to motivate the students each week during Enrichment to take photos and complete necessary tasks, using the software provided by the school.

Enrichment is on Wednesdays from 1:25pm to 3:15pm.

In addition to Yearbook Committee Advisor, we are looking for anyone from the greater community that would be interested in volunteering their time and sharing their expertise with the students for the 2019-2020 Enrichment classes.

Volunteers can offer any type of classes from cooking, jewelry making & yoga to astrophysics, marine biology & robotics!!

Ideally, we'd love someone to replace our previous volunteer gardener, since our garden is looking kinda shabby these days.

Lastly, I am looking for anyone who can sew. Our Bhangra costumes need a little TLC after many years of use.

Please contact Ms. Helen, hsidiropoulos@vimsia.org, if you are interested.

Documentary on Hannah Upp's Disappearance

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Most of our families are aware that our beloved Hannah Upp went missing after Hurricane Irma. ABC Network has done a documentary on Hannah that will air May 16. Hannah’s family is asking that we spread the word - any connection could be the one that leads to Hannah. Below is the letter that they have written regarding the documentary and sharing it.

 From Hannah’s Family:

We want to let you know about the upcoming air date and time for an hour-long documentary produced by ABC about Hannah and the ongoing search for her.  We worked with the Lincoln Square Productions Team in extensive interviews, including filming on site in Saint Thomas, in the hope that wider knowledge about Hannah’s situation would increase awareness and could reach someone who might have some knowledge about her whereabouts. 

The program is currently scheduled to be aired on the Arts and Entertainment (A&E) network on Thursday night, May 16. It will be at 9 pm Eastern and Pacific time.  We do not know the time for Central or Mountain yet, and it is possible that there may be some variation in date and time due to cable company variations.  You may need to check your local listings for A&E in your area.

 The title of the documentary is:  “Vanished in Paradise: The Untold Story"

Description: "Elizabeth Vargas explores the mysterious disappearance of Hannah Upp, a 32 year old teacher from Oregon, who vanished in the U.S. Virgin Islands in 2017 in the time between two category five hurricanes.  Having previously been diagnosed with dissociative fugue, those closest to her believe her disappearance follows a pattern and that she may still be alive. Vargas will help retrace Upp's last known steps by sifting through clues from her past as well as speaking with Upp’s mother, friends and law enforcement who are still searching for her.” It will also include a discussion with Dr. David Speigel at Stanford University, who is described as the preeminent expert in the field of dissociative fugue.

 We would like to ask for your help in spreading the word about this program, if you feel comfortable to do so. We are not doing this for publicity purposes but simply in the hopes of continuing to create awareness and reaching a wider audience. We want you all to know that we struggled with the decision of whether or not to support and contribute to this documentary at all. Eventually, there were two key factors that led us to make the choice to do so. One, a program was probably going to be made whether we contributed or not, and we desired to do what we could to ensure that the information presented in the program was factually correct to the best of our knowledge. Two, if Hannah is still out there somewhere, we never know what unexpected connection may lead us to a clue to locating her again. All it would take is for one person to see the program and recognize her. True, there may be some erroneous reports as well, but we feel that it is worth the trouble to sift through them if it gives us a chance to locate Hannah.

 We should also mention that while we have contributed to the documentary, we do not have any creative control over the end product, nor will we have the opportunity to preview it before it airs. We are admittedly nervous about this, but are hoping and praying that the overall message of the program is accurate and consistent with our mutually expressed desires to help find Hannah without descending into sensationalism.

 In case you do not have these links and would like to share them, the Facebook group dedicated to finding Hannah is https://www.facebook.com/FindHannahUppUSVI. Any updates or developments will be posted here, and it is the primary resource hub to find products such as fliers or to leave a message for the organizers. Additionally, the link to the GoFundMe that is raising funds to keep the search going is https://www.gofundme.com/findhannahupp.

 Thank you so much for your love and support for Hannah and the ongoing search. The circle of friends and family who miss her is still wide and strong, and each link matters. We take hope from the connections that continue and all who join us in reaching out to find Hannah.   We appreciate what each one of you do to express in your own way your deep care and prayer. It means a great deal to us.

  Gratefully,

  Barbara Bellus & Dan Upp