Deep Creek Middle School

The Deep Creek Middle School (DCMS) is an independent school for Bahamian students in grades seven through nine located on the southern end of the island of Eleuthera. DCMS, a grantee of the Cape Eleuthera Foundation, offers an experiential approach to the Bahamian curriculum for students in South Eleuthera.

DCMS was founded in September 2001 with the goal of increasing access to educational resources for people of South Eleuthera. DCMS works closely with The Island School and the Cape Eleuthera Institute to offer students and staff a unique experience that connects them more intimately with their environment and on-going efforts for sustainable development and environmental stewardship in South Eleuthera.

The cost of education for a DCMS student for one year is $8,500.  Families of students contribute up to $1,500 per year; the rest of the tuition is financed by generous individuals or foundations who choose to sponsor a student during their time at DCMS through the Cape Eleuthera Foundation.

Over the past several years, DCMS has had 16 alumni attend boarding school in the United States. Five of the current grade nine students will travel to the US this fall to study at The Lawrenceville School (NJ), Wilbraham and Monson Academy (MA), Lawrence Academy (MA), The Pennington School (NJ), and Perkioman (PA). These students will receive in total almost $1,000,000 in scholarship and aid packages over their four year high school studies.

Students at The Island School work with the students of Deep Creek Middle School on community outreach projects each semester. The partnership offers Island School students the opportunity to serve as mentors to DCMS students and to develop strong bonds with local families. This semester the students are working together on community initiatives developed by grade 9 students at DCMS, ranging from raising awareness for the need for better medical care on Eleuthera to developing a speaker series directed at young men on Eleuthera to reduce school drop-out rates.

Cacique Update May 8, 2011

by Caciques Adam and Caroline S.

On Sunday, May 8, the Island School community was finally back together again; the Bahamian National Anthem was twice as loud, and the count off was twice as long. Having the day off was much needed in order to get back into the swing of Island School life. Despite the exhaustion caused by our action packed adventures and academics, there was an overwhelming aura of excitement on campus. Stories were exchanged, and Island School’s meals were eagerly devoured as we celebrated our eternal friendships. Our Island School family is finally back together, and the 10-day count down until parent’s weekend has begun.

Cacique Update May 4, 2011

Sometimes, for various technical or motivational reasons, Cacique Updates come late, or (very very occasionally) not at all.  I am happy to say that this one did not get away.  Due to media-uploading problems, this Update from last week comes to you late. Enjoy this very worth waiting for Cacique Update from last Wednesday…

by Caciques Nick M and Ami

Inoculation of the Digesters: Third Time’s the Charm…We Hope

[slideshow]

On May 3, 2011 the inoculation of the manure/glycerine mixture happened for all of our digesters. Our original four digesters, Sam, Jake, Dave and Taylor, have now been replenished three times, and the new addition to biodigester family, Haldrew, has received its second filling. We also spent time constructing our next two digesters, which will contain a mixture of 9% and 11% glycerol, respectively, but we’re saving their inoculation for class on Thursday so that their seals can set properly. Ample drying time is crucial to the sealing process—it maintains the anaerobic environment that we need to make biogas. Continue reading

Cacique Update May 6, 2011

by Caciques JP  and Bronte

Extended morning exercise was this morning and although it was long, we came back to campus with pancakes waiting for us for breakfast! After filling up on our flapjacks, we drove to Princess Cays, a cruise terminal relatively close to The Island School. We received a tour by the director who runs Princess Cays with his wife. We felt overwhelmed by the processed food, the amount of tourists, and how many beach chairs there were. After our trip to Princess Cays, we had a “Slow Meal” for dinner. Continue reading

Girl’s Empowerment Project Looking for Your Involvement

Jayneka Brown, a ninth grade student at the Deep Creek Middle School has witnessed first hand the effects of teenage pregnancy. She believes that this is a problem, preventable by education. For this reason Jayneka decided to propose a girl’s empowerment project in the middle school as well as the community in which she lives. The 2011 Girl’s Empowerment Project was joined by a small group of Island School students at the start of the semester. All of these individuals have contributed to the planning of an event which will be held on Saturday, May 14th. Teenage girls from Deep Creek Middle School as well as the communities of Southern Eleutheraare invited to attend this event Continue reading

First Seining Experience with the Flats team

[slideshow]

As we walked past the death rock, Dave Philipp (advisory board member) spotted a school of bonefish. We quickly ran back to the boat with much excitement, our hearts pounding in our ears, and grabbed the seine net to began encircling the oncoming fish slowly and carefully  As we enclosed the entire school of over 200 bonefish they erupted in a frenzy of silver flashes and tails splashing. We quickly had to grab each bonefish with either a dip-net or our bare hands and transfer them into a holding net. Continue reading

Cacique Update May 3, 2011

by Cacique James C.

We get down and dirty in Archaeology, especially since we’ve started the Phase II part of our project. We’ve completed the Phase I portion, which is a surface survey, and now we’ve begun Phase II, which are the more glorified Archaeological practices: digging and sifting. The “A-Squad,” as we’ve come to call ourselves, dug with reckless abandon today. We machetied our way through dense forest, clearing the north and south axis of our site, Continue reading