Pop Up Science Fair!
/PGIA hosted a pop up science fair and invited students from the Montessori Elementary classes to view their work.
Blog
Nurses Notes: Rising Cases
/Good Day VIMSIA Families - The VI Department of Health reports a concerning rise in COVID-19 cases on St. Thomas. Despite vaccination efforts, we are still dealing with the potential for infection and transmission within our community. I want to take this opportunity to ask that we all step up to do our part to keep ourselves, friends, neighbors, co-workers, classmates, and family members safe!
Please adhere to the VIMSIA Covid Honor Code and the VI Government's mandates. Even if you are vaccinated, it is still possible to contract and transmit COVID-19 unknowingly. It is important to keep safe distancing, handwashing, and mask protocols when in public places. Ask other members of your "pod" to do the same.
If your child is experiencing moderate to severe cold symptoms (runny nose, sore throat, cough, with or without fever), please keep them home from school until the symptoms have resolved.
For those 12 years of age and older who have not yet been vaccinated, we at VIMSIA strongly encourage you to consider doing so as soon as possible. The closer the territory gets to herd immunity, the less chance of having spikes, as we see now. You can schedule your appointment with your own medical provider, or go to https://www.covid19.usvi.care/... to schedule with the VI DOH.
Please know that VIMSIA continues to prioritize the health and safety of our students, teachers, and families while making every attempt for everyone to safely enjoy pre-Covid activities such as Prom, Graduation, End Session, and Musicales. We appreciate everyone's commitment to helping us reach our goals and end our school year COVID-FREE!
PGIA Students Named Scholar and Finalist in National Cyber Scholarship Competition
/The National Cyber Scholarship Competition (NCSC) is a rigorous 48-hour online cybersecurity competition sponsored by The National Cyber Scholarship Foundation (NCSF). Qualifiers competed against over 5000 other high school students in challenges such as solving computer security problems and capturing and defending computer systems.
Qualifying for the competition is an excellent achievement within itself. In total, 50,000 students nationwide sought to qualify for the NCSC, with just 10% meeting the requirements!
Our Qualifiers and Finalists
Congratulations to all our students who qualified for the National Cyber Scholarship Competition and won their badges! We’re so proud of your achievements and for representing VIMSIA
In particular, we would love to celebrate the achievements of the following students:
Amelie Zucker, a 9th grader, has been named a Finalist in the National Cyber Scholarship Competition. In recognition of her achievement, Amelie earned an invitation to participate in the Cyber Foundations Academy – a multi-week online program based on the nationally recognized SANS Foundations training course and certification – valued at more than $3,000. A huge congratulations!
Mimi Boumedine, an 11th Grader, has been named a Scholar in the National Cyber Scholarship Competition. In recognition of her achievement, Mimi has earned a college scholarship as well as an invitation to participate in the Cyber Foundations Academy – a multi-week online program based on the nationally recognized SANS Foundations training course and certification – valued at more than $3,000.
This is in addition to the 10 PGIA students who were previously named semi-finalists (Gabe, Audrianna, Vidhika, Sakari, Natalia, Destiny, James, Ian, Divina, and especially notably Lindsay, who received the Silver award recognition and was almost a finalist), and six Bronze award recipients Sy, Maia T., Ariana, Kai, Chase and Noah. Ms. Hoffart says, “ Most of our students were competing in this type of competition for the very first time - I can't wait for next year!”
We’re so excited to hear about our students’ experience at the Cyber Foundations Academy and where their cybersecurity skills take them next! If you are interested in competing in the competition next year, you can qualify by signing up and playing in CyberStart America – one of the qualification paths for the National Cyber Scholarship Competition.
Flower Arranging
/Flower arranging is a lovely part of the Practical Life work in a Montessori Classroom.
(VIDEO)
VIMSIA receives gift in honor of Mr. Waring Partridge
/The Virgin Islands Montessori School and Peter Gruber International Academy would like to extend a thank you to an anonymous donor for their gift in honor of Mr. Waring Partridge.
Mr. Partridge is a telecommunications expert, management consultant, and investment advisor. In addition to being a Director of The Peter and Patricia Gruber Foundation, Mr. Partridge is a Gruber Member of the Board of Directors of The Gruber Foundation (at Yale University), with a lifetime appointment. He first visited the US Virgin Islands as part of a grand sailing adventure in the late nineties.
At VIMSIA, we are so grateful for this gift and Mr. Partridge’s contribution to the advancement of mathematics education.
PTA Movie Night - Resounding Success!
/“Thank you to everyone that came out to support our Movie Night Fundraiser. Details to come, but we met our fundraising goal!
For those that couldn't make it, and for those that want to see it again, here is the student produced video about the PGIA End Sessions and what it means to them.” - Steve Tulk
Grade 12 Global Politics complete Flashpoint Simulation
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The Grade 12 Global Politics recently class completed a three-hour simulation to deepen conceptual understanding as they prepare for IB exams. FlashPoint is a simulation game constructed as a teaching tool for the topics of conflict analysis and resolution, collaboration, negotiation, mediation, and public international law. It is set against the background of the ongoing crisis in Syria, offering students the sense of applying their analysis and skills to real-world problems.
Students were given specific roles to play that consisted of government representatives from Syria and Turkey and UN mediators. Teams laid out rules at the outset and proceeded with negotiations. New information was added at the midpoint of the simulation that forced teams to amend their strategies. In the end, teams agreed to mostly mutually beneficial terms that they then evaluated. During the debriefing session, students reflected on the negotiating process as well as their specific negotiating skills.
Flashpoint: Syria 2014
Syracuse University
Maxwell School
Authors - Noam Ebner, Yael Efron, Nellie Munin
Creativity and Play
/Students in Ms. Summer’s Primary class demonstrate creativity and teamwork during their outdoor play time.
CAS Project Alert: Earth Day Beach Clean Up
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Summer and Mimi invite you to join their Earth Day Beach Clean Up.
“As you may know, Earth Day is coming up on April 22nd, and so for our CAS project, we have collaborated with Clean Up V.I and Antilles to put together a trash cleanup on the island. The cleanup will take place on Saturday, April 24th, the weekend after Earth day. It will start at 10:00 am on the west side of Frenchtown. Volunteers are encouraged to bring their own supplies (reusable gloves, buckets, etc.); however, supplies will be available at the clean-up as well. This activity is a great opportunity to gain some more CAS hours as well. So come out to show your support and celebrate the Earth!
If you can join us in cleaning up our beautiful planet, please respond yes to our evite so that we can be sure we have enough supplies for everyone involved. And if you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to email either one of us to ask.”
- Summer and Mimi
National Semifinalists for National Cyber Scholar Competition announced!
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The national finals round of CyberStart America's National Cyber Scholar Competition began on Monday, April 5 at noon and continued through Wednesday, April 7 at noon. This is a competition for individual students attending U.S. high schools. Challenges cover a huge range of real-world cybersecurity and programming skills. More information about the competition can be found here: cyberstartartamerica.org
Students Eligible to compete in the finals!
Gr. 11:
Mimi
Sakari
Vidhika
Gabe
Audrianna
Gr. 10:
Lindsay
Destiny
James
Natalia
Gr. 9:
Amelie
Ian
Divina
Deja-Marie's Art is a Hit Once Again
/Virgin Islands Council of the Arts Names Deja-Marie as First Place Winner in Black History Month poster contest.
Deja-Marie has seen resounding successes with her art and has even started her company - https://www.artbydejaboo.com/
Poetry Out Loud Success - De'Vanese takes 2nd pace in territorial competition.
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In a virtual Poetry Out Loud competition, De’Vanese an 11th grader took 2nd place. If you did not get a chance to watch the program live a recording is available here on the VI Council of the Arts website.
Screen shot of the competition - VICA
As you may remember last month, De’Vanese was recognized by the Region-at-Large program of the 2021 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards last month for a short story she wrote, which you can read more about here.
Tsunami Drill
/VIMSIA completed our Tsunami drill on Wednesday, March 17th. This drill a part of the CARIBE 2021 Tsunami Preparation Events, during the previous week students watched the following videos. https://youtu.be/0Kh3iVvlnPg
8th Grade Service Project Brings Puppies and Kittens to School
/To help relieve school stress, the 8th grade Bats invited the Humane Society to bring loving dogs, cats, puppies, and kittens to VIMSIA to help "pet your stress away!
VI History meets Women's History
/The 9th-grade bats class is doing a project in honor of Women's and VI history month. They are in the process of creating a website to feature women worldwide and of the past and present and have an Instagram page that will be regularly posting about strong women of the USVI. If you can, give them a follow! The account is @womenofthevi.
(Posted on behalf of the 9th grade Bats)
Instagram post from womenofthevi
The First Great Story
/Ms. Jess DiFrancesco presents the first great story, “The Story of the Creation of the Universe” to a group of students under the solar awning.
Geography, the study of our home, the earth, opens the door to the elementary curriculum. It sets the stage for an unfolding drama, in many acts, of Earth's story, from its inception to its present state. The initial geography lessons are given to the six-year-olds as exciting stories. Each year the child hears this same story, gleaning more insight with every telling. Accompanied by scientific demonstrations and impressionistic charts, they strike the child's imagination. They instill in the emergent, reasoning mind a desire to embark on an exploration of our world.
We begin with the story of "The Creation of the Universe" to give a vision of the whole. Then we move to more detailed studies of Earth and its place in the universe. Geography is thus fully integrated with the physical sciences.
From The Elementary Curriculum Guide
Thank you to the PTA and our Families!
/Last Friday, VIMSIA’s PTA held a staff appreciation event - that was much appreciated! After a long day of professional development and work in classrooms. Teachers and staff gathered under the solar awning to enjoy music, food, and drinks provided by our generous parents and PTA! Thank you for the wonderful opportunity to connect with each other and relax after work.
Photos provided by Dionne Sinclair
De'Vanese John-Baptiste Receives Recognition for Short Story
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De'Vanese John-Baptiste (Grade 11) was recognized by the Region-at-Large program of the 2021 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, presented by the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers. Her short story, The Magical Vehicle, received a Silver Key Short Story Award.
De’Vanese says she was inspired when a close friend was diagnosed with schizophrenia in the 8th grade, “I was challenging myself to write something outside of my own experience, and this was a topic that I still had a lot to learn about. As a result, a lot more research went into this story than anything I had written previously. I would say my process really got started when I sat down and had a conversation with this friend about the diagnosis and how the disorder affected their lives, generally. Speaking to someone about their own firsthand experience was what I needed to move the story forward. Research told me everything I needed to know about the disorder but it took a first-hand account to figure out what that meant for a human being. Writing about the people and things I’m passionate about made the process much easier.”
Since 1923 these Scholastic Awards had recognized some of America’s most celebrated artists when they were teenagers. De'Vanese joins an esteemed group of Alumni, including Andy Warhol, Tschabalala Self, Stephen King, and more.
Congratulations De'Vanese!
Nurse's Notes: Masks
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Hello VIMSIA Families! I am pleased to report there remains NO staff or students under quarantine due to active or close contact with Covid-19. A REMINDER to please be sure your child(ren) come to school with a SPARE mask! We want to be sure everyone has a replacement available if a mask becomes soiled or wet.
As a courtesy to our teachers and staff assisting with arrival and departure, we respectfully ask that parents wear masks in the car when offloading or onboarding your child(ren). However, If you need to get out of your car for any reason during this time, wearing a mask IS absolutely required in accordance with our Covid protocols. We appreciate your cooperation and adherence to these requests! Have a safe and enjoyable weekend!
Senior DP Biology - The Rat Pack
/Senior DP Biology students applied their understanding of animal physiology and systems as they dissected rats. Students compared the anatomical similarities and differences between rats and humans throughout this hands-on learning experience, which will feed into future discussions related to evolution and cladistics.
