by Caciques Margaux Burnham and CJ Easton

This week at The Island School most of the students are participating in a night dive as a part the advanced open water portion of PADI scuba training.  So, Tuesday night I, and the rest of the Limpets scuba group, participated in a beautiful night dive.  Every person jumped into the water at night to see the fluorescent coral reefs of Tunnel Rock.  Our group has visited Tunnel Rock before in the daytime but it was hardly recognizable while wearing this cloak of darkness. After one gets over the fear that some hidden predator is lurking in the darkness you can really enjoy the underwater world’s nightlife.  One moment that I thought was breathtaking was the fluorescence of the bioluminescent algae that occurs when you splash the water.  The only way to describe these bioluminescent algae is as Kristen Key says, “ the little Disney stars you see in the movies.”

-CJ

Today the community here at the Island School welcomed two groups of students from St. Andrews School in Nassau. A younger group, fourth graders, had come to study recycling and waste. The older group, eight graders, wanted to learn more about sustainable living. Both groups were cheerful and upbeat as we saw them partake in scavenger hunts this morning. My Human Ecology class even got to teach some kids about composting!

As the weeks quickly run away, the students are realizing the closeness of not only Parent’s Weekend, but also our Half-Marathons and Super Swims. To prepare for that, we had a long morning exercise in which we ran or swam for an hour and a half. Both groups achieved great distances and furthered their training for their endurance sport. The weather remains sunny with a slight breeze, as the “colder” months near, the mosquitoes bite less and less, which everyone is enjoying! It’s been an amazing semester so far, just 34 days to go!

-Margaux