By Meaghan K. and Noah

Shining Through the Rain

The sound of rain darting on the roof of the dorms jerked us from our sleep before the rise of the Bahamian sun. Because we had our Wednesday sleep-in, we could go back to bed until 8 o’clock circle. We all got a much-appreciated break from the heat as we gathered as a community in the drizzling rain. Some Island School jumping jacks woke us up to jumpstart our day. Throughout the day, we focused on the importance of knowing our surrounding environment. Half of the community had a 3-hour SCUBA block, while the other half went on an island exploration walk. On the dive, groups of 6 students went out to Tunnel Rock. In the chilly air, the tepid water held hundreds of fish and coral for us to explore. We got to see the queen angelfish, stoplight parrotfish, and blue-striped grunt that we had just studied in class! During Human Ecology we all got a tour of the inner loop. Knowing the Island School traditions our teachers left the teaching to us! Each pair of students taught the rest of the class about a certain plant and how it is used.  This was a great way to know the environment we are living in and how we can best interact with it.  At the end of the class we all gathered our plants and made a delicious tea!  A fun DJ dinner put an end to an awesome day.

As caciques, we had a lot of exciting tasks on our plates.  We balanced exciting plans for the community with classes and other commitments, and had a lot of fun doing it!