Hi my name is Matti McAlpin and I am new on blog chores this week. I am excited to be given the chance to share some of our final memorable experiences at The Island School as the Spring semester comes to a close. As parents weekend came to an end we took some time as a community to ease our way back into our hectic final weeks. This past Sunday we started our morning bright and early with an extra extended workout in preparation for our big athletic events in the coming week. I started the workout feeling particularly worn out and honestly quite discouraged. Two hours of running was not motivating this morning but as the run progressed and sweat began to drip down my every limb I became more and more confident in myself. The Half Marathon was just a week away and I’m feeling great! The CEI bridge was in plain sight and I pushed with all my might. I propelled every muscle in my body to the finishing pole and laid on the ground beaming up at the sky ready to take anything that was to come that day.

Although we were finishing up an exhausting weekend students were still feeling motivated to sign up for a variety of activities ranging from yoga in the floating gazebo to spearfishing and diving in the afternoon. I am ready to face these final weeks with as much confidence and hard work as I can as I cherish every moment we have left. This morning as we returned from our morning exercise workouts almost the entire student body came to jump off of the dock, dripping in sweat. This moment felt right, felt comfortable. We are supposed to be here together. Then, someone stared off into the distance and spotted a few dolphins swimming freely just nearly off shore. Their gleaming arch hovered over the horizon. Each moment they emerged from the glistening water I could feel more and more excitement electrifying the surrounding water, filled with the cheers and yells of delight from my animated peers. I couldn’t think of a better way to start of my day, in fact I couldn’t think of a better way to kick off our final weeks as a community.