Monthly Archives: October 2012

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Another Successful Admissions Reception & Day on the Road!

Sadly, our week-long New England road trip is nearing its end. We have been having a blast linking up with our alumni and establishing connections at our sending schools. Today, we met with students and guidance counselors at both Yarmouth High School and Freeport High School. Afterwards, we had a two-part lunch with alumni enrolled in Bowdoin College: Molly Rose (SU’10), Henry McNamara (F’06), Emma Beecher (SP’11), and Julia Rew (F’10).

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We were fortunate enough to get some down time to explore Continue reading →

Alumni

Day 3 On The Road!

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We woke up to yet another gorgeous fall morning in Vermont, ready to take on day three of our week-long New England tour. The Fargo family (Taylor Fargo, F’04) had been generous enough to welcome us into their Burlington home for the night and although it was difficult to leave the warmth and coziness of their beautiful house, we were excited for the day ahead! We arrived in Hanover, New Hampshire in the late morning in time for our meeting at Hanover High School, which has sent a number of Island School students over the years, including Continue reading →

Alumni

Days 1 & 2 of The Island School Road Trip!

Good evening from Burlington, Vermont! Your Island School roadtrippers have had a busy yet successful first two days on the move and wanted to update you!

We set out from Boston, Massachusetts on the most gorgeous fall day yesterday morning. First on our list of stops was Rocky Hill School in East Greenwich, Rhode Island. This sending school has sent a few students to us in the recent years (Chelsea Frost, SP’09; TJ Thran, SP’11) and we had the opportunity to meet a few prospective students, including Read Frost (brother of Chelsea Frost, SP’09) who will be joining us on Eleuthera in the spring! Although it was difficult to leave the beautiful coastal campus of RHS, we had another appointment at The Wheeler School in downtown Providence, RI! At Wheeler, it was great to meet up with alum Kyle Titsworth (SP’12) who recruited his younger brother and another fellow student, Bella, to come to our informational session.

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We hopped back in the car, dutifully following the directions of our Continue reading →

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Grade 7 Community Outreach Update

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“Tingum in da bush ain’t gat no name!” – Grade 7 students and their buddies explore the native plants found in Eleuthera’s “bush”

Petron plants native trees as part of a community service project
Petron plants native trees as part of a community service project

Grade 7 Students of DCMS and their “buddies” from The Island School are on a journey to educate themselves about the natural heritage of our islands. We are partnering with 40,000 schools around the world in the eco-schools federation to make a brighter greener future. Bahamian schools are focusing on the often-overlooked issue of native biodiversity.

To date we have:

  • Planted more than 100 native seeds.
  • Carved out a forest trail in the native forest behind the school.
  • Educated ourselves and each other, on the medicinal uses of native plants. High lights include – the cascarilla bark used to make Campari liquor, sage, which can treat measles and “chick pops” (as we call them here), the delicious pigeon plum, the ubiquitous gum elemi and its dangerous companion poison wood.
  • Identified the key invasive species threatening the Bahamian ecosystem.

We look forward to: Continue reading →

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Down Island Magic

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I tend to be sentimental, but I would not consider myself overly-fantastic or dreamy. I am a reasonable thinker, I think. So, I do not usually find myself using terms like “magical.” But, waist deep in an inland salt lake, surrounded by more seahorses than students, it was the single word that kept running through my mind. I first heard it described that way by our Marine Ecology teacher Peter Zdrojewski. He told students about a magical pond full of seahorses that they would encounter on their Down Island Trips. Having lived and traveled in a number of Caribbean countries, and having studied and engaged in a variety of regional ecosystems, Peter is familiar with local organisms and not one to overly-idealize experiences here. So, as we first stepped into the pond, to wash the Hatchet Bay Cave mud off of ourselves, and as we strapped our masks to our faces, in anticipation of underwater magic, we were admittedly a little disappointed when at first, we didn’t see anything. Silty bottom. Algae. “I was imagining a small pond and a lot of seahorses,” admitted James Boyce, adding that the apparent “pond to seahorse ratio was a little disappointing.” But, then we looked more closely, just as Peter had instructed. Taking careful steps to ensure we did not step on the algae patches, just as Peter had instructed. And then… the underwater enchantment began. The tiny curly seahorse bodies appeared, from the slimy green underwater clouds, just like magic.

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Alumni, Events

Island School Alumni & Admissions Teams Hit the Road!

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The leaves are changing, fall is in the air, and The Island School is on the road! The admissions and alumni relations teams, made up of Sharon Jarboe, Hannah Mauck, and Cam Powel, are road tripping through New England this week visiting some of our students’ sending schools, as well as our Island School alumni enrolled in universities along the East Coast. We will be writing blogs at the end of each day, complete with pictures, videos, and tweets of our travels!

When we visit the secondary schools, we will make a presentation to the student body and meet with some staff members so they get a better idea of The Island School program. This week, we will be visiting the following schools: Rocky Hill School (East Greenwich, RI), the Wheeler School (Providence, RI), Middlebury Union High School (Middlebury, VT), Hanover High School (Hanover, NH), Yarmouth High School (Yarmouth, ME), Freeport High School (Freeport, ME) and North Yarmouth Academy (Yarmouth, ME).

At the various universities we visit along the way, we are getting together with our Island School alumni Continue reading →

Student Update

Student Update October 19, 2012

It has been yet another week of craziness here at The Island School! In preparation for the second rotation of Kayak and Down Island Trips, the academics have picked up and our schedules are busier than ever. This week has included everything from our first night dive and all-day research classes to 8-mile runs and triathlons. As always, this week we were introduced to a new and unfamiliar activity: legacy work. In the days prior to the 4 hour block on which the schedule read ‘legacy work’, the only clues our teachers would give as to what this mysterious task could be were the words ‘you’ll see!’ Even when we gathered at the flagpole in our familiar community circle to begin, none of us had any idea what was going on. After a brief explanation, we all came to the realization that, as the name clearly states, that 4 hours was a time for us as a semester to contribute to the physical campus and leave our own legacy for future generations of Island School students.

The project I was working on was clearing the area just outside of the dining hall of plants and vines which have woven their way all across campus. The ultimate goal is to create a long dining table between two palm trees, which will hopefully be finished by parents weekend so we can all enjoy dinners with our families that are a little less crowded. Continue reading →

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Fall in Love with Marine Ecology

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In order to demonstrate their newly discovered knowledge of marine species (the good, the bad, and the attractive…) Marine Ecology students have been creating original “Match.com” profiles for local marine life.  Check out these hot new profiles and ask yourself: who would you rather spend an evening with? The generous and independent Encrusting Fan Leaf Algea, the fancy dancing Pederson Cleaner Shrimp, or the overbearing Lionfish?

Encrusting Fan Leaf Algae Profile by Hope Logan:

Don’t be deceived by my phylum, a very attractive algae. I have large, round leaves a little  smaller than your hand. My pad is awesome, I live on coral reefs so there’s a ton of sunlight because I need it to live. But thats just about the only thing I need, I’m not a needy organism at all. In fact, I’m very self sufficient. So I don’t need to rely on anyone to bring home the bacon, I got it. Just gimme some some sunlight to photosynthesize with and I’m good, because I’m an autotroph. I provide well for myself, but, I’m a sensitive guy and I also like to give back to the whole community around me.  By fixing carbon into oxygen, I produce not only enough food for me, but also oxygen and nutrients for all the organisms on the reef around me. Because of this, they call me a Primary Producer, you see, I’m an important guy on the reef. I feed a lot of juveniles, beautiful fish, and everyone else who needs to be fed. I’m so generous I even feed those ugly Fuzzy Chitons. I make the reef a better place, and without me, the reef would not have the biodiversity that it has. I know my place and have found my niche. I fulfill my role on the reef and am confident in it. Continue reading →

Student Update

Student Update October 13, 2012

This morning marks about a week since we have begun doing chores before exercise, given the fact that it is still almost pitch-black dark at 6:30am when we all sleepily shuffle down to morning circle. It seems that this change in daylight is the only indicator of a changing season and the nearing of what would be winter months at home in Massachusetts. Here on Eleuthera, though it does remain darker in the morning, the days still seem to be summer and we continue to sport shorts, t shirts, and bathing suits…in the middle of October! Anyway, yesterday was a long and very full day, which is to be expected of every day on The Island School campus. A constant stream of activity, human ecology, history, math, Wemyss Bight Walkathon etc. made for a happy group of students who all flopped on their bed at check-in with that always welcome “tired in a good way” feeling. Continue reading →