Shakespeare is Alive at VIMSIA

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On Friday, April 15, VIMSIA was the location to be at for the annual Vento Shakespeare Workshops and Festival. This event, presented by Pistarkle Theatre, strives to educate, engage and entertain students on the literary works of Shakespeare. With over 130 students from schools around the islands the VIMSIA campus was filled with love, laughter, and dramatic deaths as each group brought their own spin to the Bard’s words.

VIMSIA entered three different acts for the festival – “Taming of the Shrew” performed by the 8th grade; another group consisted of our drama enrichment students under the direction of Ms. Pamela New presenting “King Lear”; and our third was an independent monologue by 10th grader Darby, “Edmund" in King Lear.

Our 8th graders won an award for best supporting ensemble and Darby won an award for her monologue. All our students worked for months to create their presentations and we are so proud of them all!

NASA Visits VIMSIA May 9

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VIMSIA is proud to host a group of six NASA scientists and engineers for a Student Science Day during our regular school hours.  Students will see and experience great science and tech throughout the day courtesy of our NASA guests.  Topics to be covered include: Environmental Engineering, Applied Physics, Medical Science, Structural Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Software Development and Computer Science.

Register for events and/or read more about NASA's visit and how they will be reaching out to USVI students and educators during the first week of May.

Preview of "The Gruffalo" for Montessori Students

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Montessori students were treated to a preview of "The Gruffalo, wit' a Lil' Virgin Islands Seasoning....Me Son!"  The play will be presented by the UVI Theater Class at UVI's Little Theater over Thanksgiving.  The UVI students discussed theater and set design with VIMISA students and read the book, which is written by Julia Donaldson.

UVI professor and PGIA parent, Pamela New directs the production, which takes the original play and adds some great Caribbean flavor.  

Ms. Paul has tickets available for sale.  $5 children, $10 adults.  The play will be performed at UVI's Little Theater.

Veterans Day Remembrance

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Students at VIMSIA observed a moment of silence at 11:11 yesterday to honor our U.S. Military veterans.  Staff members Barbara LaRonde and Kandeah Brooks, who are veterans of the Army and Air Force respectively, shared their thoughts with Montessori students and answered student questions about what being a veteran means and why it is so important for us to take time to honor those who have served.

Ms. Boyle's classroom made thank you cards for Ms. Brooks, and for Zian and Azaera's dad, Staff Sgt. Lazarus Toussaint.

PGIA students honored veterans by sending letters, poems and artwork to Private 2nd Class David Ortega and his unit, now stationed in Qatar.  Ms. Weichman corresponds with Private Ortega through the Adopt a U.S. Soldier organization.

Librarian Kathy Schlesinger found a great video about Veteran's Day from PBS Learning which many of the teachers shared with their students.

“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.”
— John Fitzgerald Kennedy

Astronomy Night - Lunar Eclipse

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8th grader Diego Zakers took this amazing photo on his iphone through the lens of one of the telescopes that was set up on the soccer field Sunday.  Dr. David Morris of the Etelman Observatory and our own "bow-tie physicist" Mr. Andy Palmer were on hand all evening to share their knowledge and help us get a great view of the Super Blood Moon Eclipse .  With Mr. Palmer giving mini-lectures in the planetarium and Dr. Morris on the field with the telescopes, our first Astronomy Night was a huge success.  Many thanks, Dr. Morris for sharing your vast knowledge with us - it is always a pleasure.  Kudos and thanks to Mr. Palmer for making it all happen.  Looking forward to the next one!

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"

/ VIMSIA - Under the Awning/
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!