Yearly Archives: 2011

Uncategorized

Fall Island School Receptions!

The Island School is going on the road! In September and October we will be hosting receptions in New York City, Connecticut, Maine, and Boston. These events are for anyone interested in The Island School: perspective students and parents, upcoming students and parents, Island School alums and their parents, former faculty, and anyone who has questions and wants to learn more.

Bring along friends or send invites on to anyone who may be interested! You can read more about the events and their specific locations and dates by clicking here.  Please RSVP to Hannah Mauck at hannahmauck@islandschool.org  and we hope to see you there!
– The Island School

Deep Creek Middle School, Uncategorized

DCMS Students’ Day at the Sandbar

[slideshow]

Students from the 8th grade class at DCMS stepped out of the classroom and into a boat to further investigate the formation of the islands of The Bahamas. The trip was organized by the social studies, math and science teachers to give the students to chance to get their feet wet and their hands dirty with a practical application of their classroom lessons. Students dug with their hands deep into the sand to learn that for miles and miles below the surface they would find the same thing: limestone ooids. They discussed with Mr. Maxey where the raw materials for the ooids came from and how wind, currents and tides had brought them to this place. Students also had the chance to act out a small play on the formation of ooids with students playing the roles of calcium atoms, carbonate molecules, microscopic dust and even evaporating water molecules. Finally, students were asked to gaze out at the horizon and ponder how far away it was and to think about how the Pythagorean theorem could be used to find the answer. It was a great experience for the students to see how the different subject areas are connected and to spur further questions to be investigated back at school.

Cacique Update

Cacique Update September 18, 2011

by Caciques Benji Beardsley and Anabelle Florio

Sunday is the only day of the week that we get to sleep in, relax and have exploration time for the whole day. One thing I immediately noticed was the fact that I wasn’t able to sleep in. I woke up at 8 and tried to sleep more but it was impossible.  Yesterday, however, most of the students did homework. Normally, all of us would have loved to go out and explore, but we were all swamped. There was the occasional study break at the marina store for an energizing snack, but for the most part, we all spent our time glued to our computers either writing our Eleutheros paper or finishing up our math assignment.  Since I wanted to be outside on the only free day I had, I wrote my Eleutheros paper under the gazebo in the poo-poo garden.  Continue reading →

Cacique Update

Cacique Update September 17, 2011

By Cacique Alex Spring

Today, September 17, 2011 was our first settlement day! It was an awesome experience, in which we got to only explore more of Eleuthra, but to also get to know the people who live here a little better. Our student body was split into 4 groups, each going to a different settlement. When we arrived at our designated settlements (Rock Sound, Deep Creek, Tarpin Bay, or Wemyssbight) we set off in pairs to explore the settlement and conduct our first interviews. My buddy and I had a wonderful time interviewing four really interesting people. It was a life altering experience for me to be able to simply sit and talk with people who I had never met before and learn their life story. I can’t wait to learn more about Eleuthra, Bahamian culture, and the people who inhabit this fascinating place. The rest of the day inculded querencia (solitary reflective time), a dance party and a movie! Altogether it was an amazing day, jam-packed with what makes the Island School what it is- enriching, non-traditional education and fun.

by Cacique Jack Foote

Tonight was the first Saturday Night, which meant that we were able to decide on an evening activity and have some fun.  After some deliberation we were able to come up with great idea, we would hold a “school dance” themed sustainability/neon rave, hosted by Griffin and Carter, followed by popcorn and a movie of our choice, coordinated by yours truly.  After dinner everyone went to their perspective dorms to put together some costumes.  After the costumes were constructed we met in the Prez. Room go over rules for the dance and then vote on a movie.  It came down to three choices Mean Girls, The Incredibles, or Ratatouille, The Incredibles won in a landslide.  After the voting was all said and done we filled out and into the Dinning Hall.  Inside had almost the exact atmosphere of an actual nightclub, it was dark, the music was loud, and headlamps were set up around the room on the strobe function.  With Griffin as the DJ the dance was on its way.  After an hour and a half of fist-pumping music and energetic dancing, the dance was done so we all got ready for the movie.  I had pinned up a sheet in the Boathouse to act as our movie screen.  Once the projector was up and running and everyone was all nestled in we started the movie… but for some reason The Incredibles wouldn’t play so we settled in for Ratatouille.  Through all the chaos and scrambling to set everything up today was a good day.

[slideshow]

Cacique Update, Uncategorized

Cacique Update September 16, 2011

by Caciques Jamie Perritt and Hallie Coon

Today started out with run and swim tracks. Split in half, 24 of us had the fortune of being able to run the four mile loop; starting and ending at the flag pole in the center of campus. Classes resumed as usual with math and histories followed by our first 5 hour research block. All of the research groups set off into the field to collect data for numerous experiments being conducted by the students. We battled through strong currents to collect water samples, we took out boats in hopes of finding conch, and we dove in search of invasive lion fish. The long hours were spent sweating in the sun over expansive creeks and sitting in wet labs organizing tedious data in hopes to reach conclusions on the filtration of the water surrounding the mangroves. Continue reading →

Uncategorized

Cacique Update September 15, 2011

1 Comment

by Cacique Annie Blanc

Rolling backwards off my SCUBA boat, watching my world turn upside down and fill with bubbles, I thought again about what I would be doing had I been at home right at that moment. Probably sitting in math class, being talked at by a teacher who still doesn’t know my name. I begin my descent into the underwater world, buddy by my side, still finding it difficult to realize that I’m in class right now. My Island School experience has been a series of challenges, like gathering the courage to jump off of High Rock, or go SCUBA diving for the first time. When I think about my two and a half weeks all together, I find it hard to pick out particular moments. There are too many moments to choose from – they all just form together to make a journey that I’ve only just begun, but can already tell will be one of the most important journeys of my life. I haven’t even been here for three weeks, and I already feel as if this community has been eating lunch, doing dishes, and having Harkness discussions together for three years. My Island School experience so far has been one of new beginnings, perfect blue skies, and more laughter than I ever could have imagined. It’s been one of bugs, warm water, sand (EVERYWHERE), and extreme heat…and I wouldn’t change a single second of it.

Uncategorized

Lville Office Going for Gold!

Hello Hello!

As many of you know, there is an Island School gem located in NJ called The Island School Lawrenceville Office (aka “The Lville Office”).  It’s a small but lively place that has been there since the beginning of the IS journey in 1999.  These days we are growing and there are 4 awesome employees that make the Lville Office tick: Pam Maxey (co-founder), Mary Assini (S00), Hannah Mauck (F04) and Scott Aland (S05).  You may or may not notice that alumni are slowly taking over…

But lets get to the important business of this post–The Lville Office (plus Chris Maxey and Christian Henry) are doing a sprint triathlon for charity on October 2nd and we want you to join us!!!!  You can run, swim, bike, do all three, or just cheer!  Us office mates will be completing the full event but you can find some pals and do it as a relay group.  The event is called the Treasure Island Sprint Triathlon and you can read more about it and register by clicking here.

So dust off those half-marathon shoes, pump up your tires, and find your good ole pair of IS board shorts and meet us on the Jersey Shore on October 2nd!  And don’t worry, this is just the first of a number of Lville Office events so if you can’t make it this time, there will be another.

Hope to see you there and don’t be stranger and drop by the office some time!

–The Island School Lville Office Team

p.s. Also, if anyone is doing the Philadelphia Rock n Roll Half Marathon on Sunday September 18th, let us know!  Both Scott and Mary are summoning their IS experience and training, and giving 13.1 another shot and would love to meet up with you!

Uncategorized

Use GoodSearch.com to Support The Cape Eleuthera Foundation!

Want to make a big difference in small way? It’s easy, especially with GoodSearch.com! Instead of using Google or other search engines, you can use GoodSearch and with each search, a penny is donated to your charity of choice. The Cape Eleuthera Foundation is lucky to be one of those charities, so each time you search you can help us out down on the Cape. It’s amazing how fast the pennies can add up! Have a good weekend and happy searching!

Cacique Update

Cacique Update September 14, 2011

By Caciques Brendan and Marius

Today was a particularly important day at The Island School. It was the first time showers were turned off and strong restrictions were placed on water. We were starting to run out of it! In an effort to be more sustainable, the school collects rainwater run-off from the roofs and stores it in large underground cisterns for future use. Since our semester takes place during the rainy season, we usually don’t have to strongly conserve water. But something happened a few days ago. There was a leak. Over the weekend, toilets in the library ran; the school lost 15% of the water supply. Sea showers are now enforced; we have to bring biodegradable soap and shampoo into the ocean with us and bath there instead of our indoor or outdoor showers. As lovely as it is to wake up in the morning and then go bathing in the sea, my peers and I quickly realized that the salt stays on. All day. I learned a lesson today; every resource here is valued.