Cacique Quote: “Grow like a tree, not like a fire.”

Sunday, September 19

Caciques Brandon Gell and Sarah Sasek

Sunday: arguably the favorite day on campus. A day dedicated to relaxation, reflection, and a little extra sleep. Celebrating my birthday in the Bahamas last night, once again made me realize how lucky I am to be on this once in a lifetime adventure. With a newfound appreciation for my classmates and the faculty for making my birthday extra special I woke up bright and early, excited to dive into another great day at The Island School. During exploration, I joined a group of my friends at Sunset Beach, sitting on the hammocks and enjoying the view of the horizon (and gladly forgetting about trying to figure out the distance to it for Celestial Navigation class).  After a while, I departed from my classmates for some much needed alone time. As I rode my bike Continue reading →

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Congratulations to IS alumnus Carter Brown (S09) for completing the Philadelphia half marathon this weekend!  Carter, who placed first in the S09 Super Swim, returned to the States last June and decided to sign up for the 2009 Philadelphia half marathon.  Since then, he has completed a half marathon in Bermuda and this weekend completed his 2nd Philadelphia half-marathon, setting a personal record with a time just under 1 hour and 35 mins.  Carter is currently a high school senior at Shipley in Pennsylvania, where he co-captains the cross-country and the crew teams.  Well done Carter!

By Caciques Hannah Leeman and Gian Paul Graziosi

When woke up this morning, everyone was excited and eager to explore the settlements of South Eleuthera. As we each separated into our settlement groups, we set off on our journeys to discover more about Bahamian culture and find a stronger sense of place here on the island. As we passed through the island’s forests and mangrove flats, we saw settlements such as Deep Creek, Greencastle, Rock Sound, Tarpum Bay, and Wemyss Bight.  Through exploring the settlements we met friendly, welcoming people, visited shops, tasted local Bahamian food, and truly get a chance to know our community.
During my time in Rock Sound, my most meaningful experience was Continue reading →

By Caciques Heather Seeley and Jack DeVries

Today was the second day of sample run and swim tracks, in which half the campus split to run the 4-mile loop and the other half swam a loop around triangle cut. The run, though a challenge, proved rejuvenating for all participants. As for me, running on the flat, sandy roads with the Bahamian sun rising behind our backs was an experience like no other.  The samplings of morning exercise tracks seem to have given the students a better idea of whether they want to train to accomplish the 4-mile ocean swim or run the half-marathon (13.1 miles).

After a satisfyingly filling breakfast, we headed off to start our fifth Continue reading →

By Sasha and Chris P.

“I Never Thought I Could do That”

Although our tired bodies love the eight hours of sleep we get each night, we show up to morning circle bright and early to get a brand new start on the day. Today was the first trial of run track and swim track. This is one of the two days that we get split up into two groups; one group swims, while the other runs. The runners started off stretching and making sure their bodies were warmed up for the run, and then they started off on a four-mile adventure!

The whole group pushed each other forward and supported each other through the first of many runs to come. We all finished by Continue reading →

Check out this article from Energy Today about Eolian Energy, featuring Co-founder/CEO (and former IS faculty member) Jack Kenworthy!

Eyes gently shut, ears dipped beneath the surface to drown out the non-aqueous world. . .

. . .a series of long, deep breaths. . . relax.  One final breath to pack in as much air as possible, a pronounced bend at the waist, and I’m off. . .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ldg7nOQy5Vc

I recently reviewed my semester goals and I realized that one goal is always on the list–freedive more often.  Some semesters I have more than achieved that goal, and in others I have come up short.  Regardless, I put that one on the list semester after semester.  Spending the afternoon on Monday freediving my favorite reef with my extended advisory (led by Ashley Akerberg) forced me to consider this question: Why is freediving so important to me? Continue reading →