Monthly Archives: September 2012

Student Update

Student Update September 25, 2012

Hey everyone! It’s about that time again; when we transition from cleaning toilets to feeding pigs, from measuring cisterns to filling the GORP bucket, and for me personally, going from sweeping the girls dorm for morning chores, to sitting down watching the sunrise and talking to all of you! My name is Fiona Cerf, and I’m a student here at the Island School, and I’m from Seattle!  A little about me, I absolutely love getting to know new people, banana pancakes are my favorite breakfast meal (Mooch, if you’re reading this… please?!), I’m recently finding that I really enjoy creative writing, and I’m also having the time of my life here. I’m so excited to write the blog for the next couple weeks because it’s an honor to inform you all of what we’ve been up to here on Eleuthera. 

I guess it’s been a few days since my buddy Kelly wrote, so I’ll fill you all in! Saturday was a big day for everyone at the Island School; from students, to staff, alumni, visitors, scientists, you name it. Saturday was the MONSTER run swim! We had the option of doing the spring run-swim at 630 or participating in a 4 mile run – 2 mile swim, Monster. The feeling of support and energy we all experienced while participating in either was astounding. Continue reading →

Alumni

CONCHtribution Has Begun!

CONCHtribution, the annual alumni giving campaign that raises money for the Cape Eleuthera Foundation’s Annual Fund, has officially begun! This year, the theme is Look Back, Give Back. While reflecting upon your experience as an IS student, we encourage you to look through old photos from IS and send a photo of yourself to alumni@islandschool.org, along with a current photo and a short description of where you are and what you’re doing. We will then post them on our new Pinterest page where other alumni can “look back” and be inspired to “give back” to this place that means so much to them. Click here to “Look Back” and here to “Give Back” now! Remember, it’s all about PARTICIPATION!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=kEiG8Zpiiu0

Alumni, Aquaculture

SP’12 Human Ecology Project on CEI’s Aquaculture Program

At the conclusion of every semester, Island School students break into small groups to focus on a single final Human Ecology project based on an particular interested that has developed throughout the semester. Spring 2012 students Brendan James, Liz Ellinger, Paul Henderson, and Kyle Forness studied the Cape Eleuthera Institute’s Aquaculture program and its history and created an informational and professional video for educational purposes. Check it out!

Student Update

Student Update September 21, 2012

Happy Friday once again!! Today is the last day that I get to write for the blog; we switch every two weeks. I really love writing for the blog, but I’m sure the next writer will have some really great experiences and insights about the Island School to share with you all back home.

Yesterday was an absolutely incredible day. It was one of those surreal days that really make you consider how lucky you are. In the morning, I had a three hour long Marine Ecology block. Sounds kind of tedious doesn’t it? Wrong. We didn’t spend a second of it in the classroom. Er… not in the traditional sense of the word “classroom” anyway. We went straight to the boathouse to set up our scuba gear, and then all piled onto the boat to go out to Tunnel Rock, one of the reefs in the area. We were each given a dive slate – like an underwater piece of paper – and descended 35 feet to the sea floor. Each buddy pair chose a spot along the reef to sit and observe for 30 minutes. Our assignment: write an underwater essay answering the prompt  Continue reading →

Student Update

Student Update September 20, 2012

It’s hard to believe that we are already so close to the end of the second academic week. The days are flying by so fast, it’s crazy. We have some special guests on campus for the rest of the week and this weekend; The Island School Alumni Board is visiting for some meetings and to participate in the Monster Run-Swim this weekend. At meals they sit with us and share their experiences at The Island School as well as listen to us talk about what it’s been like thus far for us. It’s nice to get some insight from someone who’s already been where we are. They’ve been joining us in morning exercise to prepare for the (roughly) 5 mile run and 1 mile swim that constitutes the monster of an event. For those of us who are not quite as daring, there is also an option to do a sprint Run-Swim – basically a shorter version of the Monster – to try to beat our personal best times. Needless to say, this Saturday is going to leave both us and our guests pretty tired and ready for a Sunday of rest.

We’ve started our first project in Art class and personally, I’m really excited (which is not something I usually am for an Art project). We recently watched a video about Andy Goldsworthy and his ephemeral artwork, so Continue reading →

Deep Creek Middle School

First Day of Community Outreach with Grade 9

In Community Outreach class this semester, grade nine DCMS students and their Island School buddies are tackling a topic that profoundly shapes all our of lives: food. How does food inform our cultural identities? How does what we eat affect our bodies and the environment? How do world events influence food availability? How is our current global food system unfair, and what can we do about it? By sharing home-cooked meals, taking field trips to farms, getting our hands dirty in the garden, and interviewing numerous Bahamian and international food experts, we look forward to exploring these questions.

We started things off today with a food scavenger hunt. In buddy pairs, students found examples of local and imported foods and interviewed Deep Creek farmers, storeowners, and residents—as well as had fun eating frozen tamarind cups and getting to know each other.

Check out these pictures of our first day!

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CEI, Educational Programs

GAP Program Update #3

By Calvin Clapp

Here in South Eleuthera, the past couple weeks have been somewhat of a blur. Whether the blame falls upon camping trips, scuba diving or research, there is no doubt that we have been fully engaged in life on the island. Last weekend, the interns organized a small camping trip to Surfer’s Beach. So we started bussin’ it down the island, making any of the necessary stops to make it a proper camping experience. After sharing stories and laughs, with the fire simmering down, we all headed to bed ready for a fun-filled day of aquatic activities. The last minute decision to camp was not regretted by anyone.

With drowsy eyes and with a trailing stench of campfire, we rolled back to campus ready to take on a couple days of learning in the field with our respective research groups. We soon realized that our recent camping trip was only a pre-game for our exclusive DIT (Down Island Trip) for the gaps and our leader, Scotty.

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This served as a great opportunity to explore and experience Continue reading →

Student Update

Student Update September 18, 2012

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Yesterday marked the beginning of the second academic week. Mondays are one of the busiest days of the week; we start the day with morning exercise, chores, personal space clean-up, and breakfast, and then head right into classes. After our three classes and lunch, we all piled into the vans and went to DCMS to visit our buddies and start brainstorming about our projects, and as soon as we got back to campus, we had meetings with our advisor about how the semester has been going for each of us individually. It was a pretty “typical” Monday, but I’ve mentioned before how un-typical a typical day here is. How often in a “typical” day back home do you get to go for a run along the beach with your classmates in the Bahamas? Or talk with visiting marine life photographers from Belgium? Or attend a presentation by Josh Goldman, the founder of one of the most innovative, new, sustainable fish farms?

I feel like throughout the last week, I’ve talked a lot about the Island School and what we do here, which I suppose is what I’m supposed to do given that I’m writing for the Island School Blog. But I would like to pay a little tribute to the island itself, as it really is a large part of what makes the experience. [slideshow]As I write this, I’m sitting on the dining hall deck, Continue reading →

Student Update

Student Update September 17, 2012

It’s been yet another busy but rewarding weekend at the Island School; Saturday was jam-packed with activities and yesterday, Sunday, we got a day to ourselves to relax and recover from the week. Saturday was our first Settlement Day, so we all went out to either Deep Creek or Tarpum Bay – two of the nearest settlements – to get to know some of the locals. Friday evening we were split into groups of anywhere from 3 to 6 people, and assigned to a local family. Our goal for the next two Saturdays is to interview and really come to understand the past of the families that we got to know this weekend. We’re supposed to record our semi-structured interviews and create a video presentation for History class. The idea is that the best way to learn the history of a place and a people is to learn from the people who actually lived that history. My group got to visit a woman by the name of Donna Lee, who works for the Ministry of Tourism. She offered us ice cold fruity drinks and we sat around her dining room table and talked to her for hours. Continue reading →

Alumni, Alumni Spotlight

Alumni Spotlight: Eliott Wellenbach (F’11)

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We are always encouraging alumni to give back to The Island School, Cape Eleuthera Institute, and Deep Creek Middle School in any way that they can. Fall 2011 alum and avid lacrosse player, Eliott Wellenbach, found a unique way to give back that combined his love for Eleuthera with his love for the sport of lacrosse.

As soon as he returned from his semester in December 2011, he contacted us about holding a lacrosse camp at Deep Creek Middle School for kids in the nearby Bahamian settlements and immediately started collecting old lacrosse sticks and other lacrosse equipment donated from friends and family. He began creating practice plans and designing drills for these campers–most of whom had never even heard of lacrosse or seen a lacrosse stick.

In August, Eliott, his older sister Lilly, and his mother Pat headed down to Eleuthera Continue reading →