After School Program Registration Open to VIMSIA Parents/Students

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After School Program online registration is now open for VIMSIA students.  Check it out!  We have the great programs we have so happily offered for many years, plus some great newbies!

New offerings include PGIA Drama Club with Ms. Pamela New; PGIA Robotics with Mr. Andy Palmer, Spanish Culture and Cooking with Senora Santiago y Senora Santana, Elementary Basketball with Mr. Stocking, Upper El and PGIA Martial Arts with Grand Master Edward Scott, MMUN Prep with Ms. Morrison and Ms. Batten.  Lots of great new offerings.

Some changes:  Gymnastics will be split into three levels instead of two, if there are enough signups.  Ms. Ferguson is picking up the Full Day Primary and Lower El Art Club, in addition to her Upper El and PGIA Art Club - look for great works!  Ms. Mary is taking the Jazz and Modern dance and it will be back to back with Adv/Intermediate Tap on Wednesdays.  Ms. Helen is back with our little ones for Wed afternoon Pre-Ballet for 3 and 4 year olds.  These students can come out of BEC, or for those of you that pickup at 11:30, feel free to bring them back for the class.

PGIA has added a plethora of new academic support options through their academic ATTACK program.  See the schedule for Spanish, Science, Math and Writing Attack offerings.  Ms. Butler continues her oh so successful Academic Circles for Math and Reading at the Elementary levels.

Ms. Ferguson's art clubs

Ms. Ferguson's art clubs

We also have some excellent new talent for individual music lessons.  In addition to James Anderson on guitar and Mike Barr for trumpet and brass, Ms. Luba Dolgopolsky is offering piano and voice lessons, Mr. Sheldon "attiba" Bernard is offering flute and bass lessons.  You can contact them directly to schedule:

Home school students over the age of 5 may be able to participate in our after school programs depending on space availability and instructor discretion.  Please contact Ms. Hunt or Ms. Huttel at VIMSIA - 775-6360 - if you would like more information.

Media-Smart Youth Video: Eat, Think, and Be Active!

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Media-Smart Youth is an after school program that focuses on building skills in media analysis and media production to help young people ages 11 to 13  understand the complex media world and how this influences their health and decision making in regards to nutrition and physical activity. 

This video is our school's Big Production.   The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), a part of the National Institutes of Health within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, created Media-Smart Youth to help empower young people to think critically about media and make thoughtful decisions about nutrition and physical activity.

This partnership was made possible by our sponsor WUVI AM 1090 Radio Station.  Huge thanks to our VIMSIA Teen Leaders Harsha Ramchand and Ca-Jani Fahie;  VIMSIA Staff Scott Williams and Erika Gomez; WUVI Radio Manager Christina Chanes.

Montessori Graduation

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Twenty two very grown up looking pre-teens took center stage on Friday, June 12 for the Montessori Graduation Ceremony.  This marks the completion of these students' Montessori years and signals the "Move up the Hill" to the IB program next year.

Speakers Soren Gibbs and Haley Rogers spoke eloquently and articulately, citing special memories of their Montessori years and giving special thanks to all of their Montessori teachers.

Special recognition to Ms. Jeanette Feracho in honor of her 46 years of passion and dedication to the students of VI Montessori School.  A "Ms. Boyle and Ms. Feracho Child" from each grade level plus her youngest son Malik, representing the Alums,  presented Ms. Feracho with a red rose, ultimately creating a lovely full bouquet - and hopefully a nice start to her retirement. 

Drama End Session Presents "Peter Pan"

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Click to view photo slideshow of peter pan, created by karen gauriloff

Click to view photo slideshow of peter pan, created by karen gauriloff

The Drama End Session put on their performance of Peter Pan on Friday.  This was the first play to be done on our Solar Awning Stage.  It was a great venue!  We had over 200 people attend - there was plenty of space, the concession stand was open and worked well.   I sat in the first row of chairs behind all of the younger children, who decided to sit cross legged front and center.  While up and running about during set changes, they were quick to pop back in their seats when the curtain went up - and seemed mesmerized throughout.

Kudos to Ms. Bump and the cast and crew!   

Canada End Session - Women's World Cup

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End Sessions are just swimming along.  Here is an email just received from Ms. Elger.  She and Mr. Elger have the Women's World Cup - Canadian Cultural Experience End Session.  Sounds like all is well and kids are happy!  

“Good afternoon, everyone,

I hope this finds you well. I apologize I haven’t sent an update. The WiFi at our hotel was a bit spotty the last two nights. We are currently on the train from Quebec to Montreal.

Short story, everyone is fine. A few of us are getting a little sick, but we’re managing it with Advil Sinus, EmergenC, fluids and rest. We think it has a lot to do with the temperature change. It’s been cold and we had rain today, so we’re all adjusting to Canada from our sunny STT. Since the last email, we have seen sights, shopped, ate, went to a hockey game, and ridden buses and trains.

Long story, your students are just amazing! Joey and I have been inspired by their abilities to take risks. Each of you would be very proud. On Sunday, we started our day with discovering a beautiful bakery. The food was just delicious! It was an inspiring way to begin our glorious day. We took the bus to Old Town, and students had a few hours to explore and shop on their own. We then took the funicular to a plaza where we were entertained by a street performer. We had breath-taking views of the St. Lawrence River and got to see the Chateau Frontenac, one of the most photographed hotels in the world and where Churchill and Roosevelt planned the D-Day invasion. We then ate poutine for lunch, while a few students went to a Creperie. We ventured back to the hotel, had some downtime, and left for the hockey game. The Memorial Cup was amazing! The students really enjoyed their first live hockey game. It went into overtime, and the ending was very dramatic! It was a great game. We had lights out when we returned to the hotel, and everyone was tucked safely and soundly in their beds. The following day, the group went to an amazing market. Many of the students enjoyed the fresh tomatoes! Our plan was to go to a museum about the French/Indian War, but the restoration that should have finished in April was still on-going. So, we just enjoyed playing in a huge field. A few students rolled all the way to the bottom. We got some great videos of this! Afternoon naps and downtime at the hotel followed. We then left for our “fancy” dinner. What fun!! Everyone looked so precious all dressed up. Our waiter was fantastic, and the food was out of this world. Our party ordered everything from steaks to pate to rabbit to liver to truffles to homemade sodas and several things in between. Everyone really enjoyed themselves and each other. We then returned to the hotel for downtime before lights out at midnight. We knew today would be cold and rainy, so we planned a day inside at a local mall. Students shopped to their hearts content and ate from all the options at the food court. Mr. Elger and I saw an IMAX film in French and gave the students Krispy Kreme doughnuts. We took a bus back to the hotel, grabbed our bags, took a bus to the train station, and boarded the train. We will arrive in Montreal around 6:00 and check into our hotel. Tonight will be an easy and relaxing one. Tomorrow, we will be sight-seeing and spectators at an MLS game. The next day, we will be at an amusement park.

Again, I cannot tell you how fantastic your children are being. They are so polite when we are on any form of public transportation, always offering their seats to locals. They open doors for each other. They’re just really great young people. I know y’all miss them, but thank you for letting us have this experience with them.

Please text or email if you need us.

Take Care,
Elizabeth”

2015 Shakespeare Festival - VIMSIA

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Both Readers Theater and the 10th grade class performed at Pistarckle's 14th annual Shakespeare Festival.  Excellent MacBeth performances by both groups.   Kudos to Ms. Pamela for her Readers Theater efforts and Ms. Bump for her direction of the 10th graders.  

The Reader's Theater group under the direction of Ms. Pamela New performs Shakespeare's MacBeth.

The 10th grade class under the direction of Ms. Bump performs MacBeth as well.  

Montessori Model United Nations

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We have been attending the Montessori Model United Nations in New York City since its inception in 2007.  This year, our students represented the United Arab Emirates, Romania and Namibia.  After much research and preparation (not to mention fund raising!), 18 sixth graders were able to step into the shoes of delegates from each of these countries to discuss their proposed referendums.  From global warming to poverty and hunger, the students learned how the United Nations deals with issues relating to Global Peace and Social Consciousness.  Jessica Paiewonsky accepted the honor of presenting her committee's resolution to over 1600 student delegates on the floor of the UN General Assembly.  Very brave - Kudos to all.  Well done.

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