Monthly Archives: September 2012

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Student Leadership Update – New Cacique Council

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Nathaniel, Kaitlin, Hope, Maren, and James. This week’s Cacique Council.

Each week, a group of students is selected for their unique potential as leaders to come together as the 5 student Cacique Council, “Cacique” meaning leader in ancient Lucayan. During that week, the group will plan special activities for their peers, run morning and evening circles, facilitate communication between students and faculty, and fulfill other important roles as needed. Members of the council are welcomed into the new role during Community Meeting, in which a public acknowledgement of each individual’s leadership qualities is read aloud. Enjoy these “Cacique Pass-Offs” written below. Join us in welcoming the first Cacique Council of the semester, and look forward to more student leadership updates in the coming weeks. Continue reading →

Cape Eleuthera Institute, CEI

CEI’s Kristal Ambrose as Guest Speaker at Bahamas National Trust

Last week the Bahamas National Trust hosted Kristal Ambrose, Aquaponics Technician at Cape Eleuthera Institute, as a public meeting guest speaker. The topic for the evening featured her internship to study plastics in the North Pacific Western Garbage Patch, an area highly concentrated with plastic debris and an environmental issue only just beginning to be studied by scientists. Kristal recounted her expedition, which sought to answer questions that explore what happens to plastics that enter the ocean, from ingestion by marine life, to absorption of harmful pollutants. The opportunity to share this experience with a Bahamian audience was especially important to Kristal, as her primary goal following this study is to find real solutions through education, research and outreach projects in her home country. After peaking the interest of one attendee at the BNT meeting, Kristal was approached to also share her experience with students at St. Andrews School where she spoke to two classes on Friday.

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Kristal’s study was supported by the BNT, Bahamas Reef Environment Foundation (BREEF) and The Nature Conservancy, all of whom were represented at the meeting Continue reading →

Student Update

Student Update September 13, 2012

The first academic week has kicked into full-swing here at the Island School. It’s hard to believe that it’s already Thursday! We’re all starting to realize that there is more than a little bit of truth to what we’ve been told all along; the days here seem to last forever but the weeks just fly by. With the first full academic week has come the some-what reliable schedule that many of us have been craving. With all the strangeness of being in a new place doing all of these crazy things, it’s nice to have a bit of a routine to rely on. Today, for example, we had exercise in the morning, chores and tidying up is being done right now, breakfast is in about a half hour, and right after that we have class. After morning classes and lunch, we will all go out in the field with our respective research groups for the first time. This is a somewhat typical day at the Island School. Granted, a “typical” day may look different for every student on any given day but that’s what keeps things interesting. Continue reading →

Cape Eleuthera Institute, CEI, research

Island School Students’ First Week of Research Class

Research classes kicked off this week for The Island School students. On Tuesday, students broke into their 8 different research groups and spent the afternoon getting to know their research advisors–members of the research team at the Cape Eleuthera Institute (CEI). They also learned about the study they would be working on for the next 3 months. Thursday afternoon was their first field block, where they got out on the water or into the lab for the first time! The 8 studies being conducted this semester focus on shark ecology & physiology, the impact of climate change on bonefish & mangrove flats species, lionfish & reef fish population ecology, and sea turtle & conch abundance & distribution around South Eleuthera. These studies are well-established areas of research at CEI and as a result, many visitors and collaborators will be visiting our campus over the next few weeks to share their knowledge and expertise with the students.

Research class is an exciting opportunity for students to gain new skills in the field – from fish identification and handling to public speaking and PowerPoint creation. Students learn about and contribute to global conservation issues, work in small groups, and ultimately, have the experience of a lifetime!

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Deep Creek Middle School

DCMS Campers in New England

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This summer DCMS grade 9 student, Lance Pelecanos, received a scholarship to return to Camp Dudley in New York for a month of camping fun and personal growth. He was very excited to once again be paired with lead counselor Tom McDonough (S’08).  Here is a picture of the gentleman outside of their cabin.

Many Deep Creek Middle School students spend their summers at camps locally and in New England.  The school and camps work to obtain sponsorships for the students and many Island School families support the program by hosting students on their way to or from camp, serving as chaperones, providing gear or sponsoring students.  Many thanks to the following families for their contributions this summer:

  • Family of Simon Mann-Gow (F08)
  • Family of Julie Thomsen (F07)
  • Christian Henry
  • Rachel Shapiro

If you would like to support DCMS campers in their future adventures, please contact principal Joanna Paul at joannapaul@dcmsbahamas.org

Student Update

Student Update September 11, 2012

Every semester, one of the special things we do at The Island School is pair up with students at the Deep Creek Middle School (DCMS) to work on community service projects. Every student gets a buddy, ranging from ages ten to thirteen. Last week we wrote an introductory letter to our DCMS buddies and since then we’ve all been very eager to meet them. Yesterday was the big day. At lunch we got letters that our buddies had written for us, and then around 1:15, our buddies came to campus. As the buses pulled in, we all stood in the driveway waving madly. When the students climbed out of the buses and we all circled up around the flagpole there was an air of anxiety and nervousness, but that soon dissipated as we found our buddies and introduced ourselves. The teachers had three stations set up with games and activities for us to play, and the energy of the DCMS kids was soon overflowing into all aspects of the afternoon. We played tag games and a twenty-questions sort of game, and we had three-legged relay races where half-way through, a teacher would ask each buddy questions about their new friend. Everyone – and I mean every single person – was smiling and laughing, more so than I’ve seen so far all semester. [slideshow] Continue reading →

Student Update

Student Update September 10, 2012

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Hi everyone, I’m Kelly, a student here at The Island School and I’ll be writing the Student Update Blogs for the next two weeks. I write new updates during chore times on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. So look forward to those in the coming days. A little bit about myself; I enjoy creative writing, snorkeling blue holes and finding massive spiders on kayak trips. I’m really excited to have the opportunity to be your window into our lives here at Island School…

Today marks the first day of academic classes. It’s a pretty important day as you might guess, because not only does it mean classes and homework but it also feels like a sort of… beginning. Orientation ended on Saturday, and to celebrate we all jumped off High Rock (which is, well, a really REALLY high rock). While it may not seem like much, it was very meaningful to a lot of us. One by one we leapt off the rock and into the sea; out of orientation and into the semester. Even for those of us who are afraid of heights didn’t hesitate. As we stepped to the edge of the rock and looked down into the water, into the scary unknown of the next couple months, we heard the voices of all of our new friends and classmates cheering us on. And we just closed our eyes and jumped.[slideshow]

I’d like to share a little story with you all, a story that to me, really highlights what makes the Island School Community so special. Continue reading →

Alumni, Alumni Spotlight

Alumni Spotlight: Jan Shi (F’09)

Fall 2009 alum, Jan Shi graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy this past spring and instead of going straight to college this fall like most high school graduates, Jan deferred his acceptance to the University of Virginia and has taken the opportunity to spend the year traveling. As the recipient of the Phillips Exeter Academy Perrin Fellowship, a $10,000 fellowship awarded to an Exeter senior that supports a year of independent travel before college, Jan now finds himself preparing for his journey. On September 12th, he will begin his trip by traveling to Southeast Asia where he will stay for roughly nine months. Jan’s exact itinerary is flexible at this point, but he has plans to visit Thailand, Myanmar, Sumatra & Sulawesi (Indonesia), Borneo, and the Philippines. Jan hopes “to wander around the coastal regions and jungles of Southeast Asia to learn about the sea, environment, and other themes from my time at the Island School” and encourages people to contact him at jan.shi@me.com with suggestions or ideas for his trip! Good luck, Jan, and congratulations on this amazing opportunity!

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More Meaningful Moments…

Lexi Welch

I still wake up and can’t believe I am here. Every morning I wake up and see the ocean outside of my window and it doesn’t seem real. I have been here at The Island School on Cape Eleuthera in the Bahamas for a whole week and I have learned more than I ever could have imagined. In the past week, I have met new people and made new friends, explored the island of Eleuthera, went night snorkeling, watched the sunrise over the ocean, took a three day kayak trip, listened to local people tell their stories, taken risks, challenged myself, and looked at the moon and the stars in a night sky that wasn’t disturbed by city lights. On our three day kayak trip, which we just returned from today, a black tipped shark swam under my kayak, we ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in the rain, we snorkeled and explored blue holes, I tried lionfish for the first time, and for the first time in my life I laid on my back in the cool sand and looked up at the clearest night sky I had ever seen. It took my breath away and I found it was hard to pull myself away from looking up at the sky. All the stars looked like perfect little twinkling diamonds in the black sky. It made me feel so small, so little in the world we live in. All of the sudden, everything seemed so much bigger, like the possibilities in this life were completely endless, like some of the blue holes that we explored on our kayak trip. It seemed as if life’s opportunities spun deeper and deeper every time I looked up at the sky. Continue reading →