We are excited to announce that our very own Katie Romanov (F05) has been declared the winner of America’s Next Eco-Star Competition through SmartPower! After a long process of voting and judging all the entries of the young energy leaders who have committed themselves to sustainable practices on campus and beyond, Katie has come out on top. We are so proud of you, Katie!
Yesterday was our first research block. To begin it, all research groups met to listen to a guest speaker who gave a presentation on his extensive work with sea turtles. Stephen Connett described the different species, their ecology, history with human interaction, and his personal work with turtle conservation.
After this inspiring presentation, the groups broke apart for their individual class time. We continued to study background information, then I, 
along with my Lionfish group, dissected lionfish. In dissecting lionfish, we were able to learn the ‘do’s and don’t’s’ for handling these venomous fish. We also got familiar with identifying their gender, stomach contents, fat content, and checking their brain cavity for otoliths, a marker of age. We felt like real researchers learning the most recent scientific methods used on lionfish. In addition, we sent samples of our fish to a lab for DNA testing, and otolith examination. Continue reading
This Wednesday, during exploration time, eager Island School students arranged a water polo match and invited members from throughout the foundation. Featuring the newly constructed goals installed in Water Polo Cut, crafted by CEI’s Matt Poss, students and faculty together enjoyed a little spirited competition using ocean as our playground.
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Prince Harry, during his recent visit to The Bahamas in celebration of the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II, held a Youth Leaders Luncheon for a select group of outstanding students chosen for their exceptional leadership skills. Those in attendance represented several organizations throughout The Bahamas including three Island School alumni and one DCMS student were present at the luncheon. IS alumnae and BESS scholars Alannah Vellacot (F’08) and Truranda Cox (S’11), IS alumna Aly Boyce (F’10), and DCMS student Moesha Leary were among the lucky few to meet Prince Harry last week. They had the opportunity to discuss environmental initiatives with the Prince and had a great time!
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Here is a detailed account from Alannah of her experience at the Youth Leaders Luncheon:
“Along with his buzzing entourage of assistants and photographers, Prince Harry made his way around the room, visiting each table that represented various clubs and organizations, shook hands with each member and had a short but sweet conversation. Finally he approached our table, Continue reading
This fall, two world travelers from Italy from an Italian program called Donnavventura made their way to our home on Cape Eleuthera. During their tour of The Bahamas, they came to The Island School and Cape Eleuthera Institute to highlight our environmental conservation program. Their time with us culminated in this video. It has great footage of the campuses, as well as students, faculty and researchers. It is important to warn you, however, that not only is the clip spoken all in Italian, but also that Donnavventura was on campus on Pirate Day, a great, yet unconventional Island School morning exercise tradition. So please don’t be alarmed by the fireworks featured at the end of the video…enjoy!
Yesterday, Wednesday Island School students joined Chris Maxey for a free dive even on their sleep-in. Before the sunrise and in the rain, the divers rode their bikes to Hammerhead Hole, where they stopped to do yoga. As the sun rose, Maxey led us in the tree pose, where one stands on one foot and sways in the wind. The relaxing yoga helped us all with our breathing so that we could be more successful at holding our breath. After a surprising amount of ‘yoga push-ups’, we stepped into the water. Hammerhead Hole is special because it is about forty feet deep, but only 15 feet off of shore. In free-diving, one joins with a buddy, and one buddy at a time will hold his breath while he calmly and steadily kicks his way to the bottom. A few students made their way to the deepest point of the hole. However, heads turned when Maxey free dove to the bottom, took his fins off, grabbed a rock, and ran along the bottom before coming up for air. After a good sample of free diving, we biked back to campus to start the day.
After breakfast, we began our third day of classes. Continue reading
Today is almost another first day of classes. Yesterday, after half of the students completing their first timed Run/Swim, we began Math and Human Ecology classes. However, today will be the start of a whole new set of classes including Histories, Literature, and our first research classes! The students are very excited to divide into the groups that they selected to work on and to begin their learning. Continue reading
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On February 26th, three students from Deep Creek Middle School departed for Denver, Colorado to attend the National Green Schools Conference where they had been invited to present their work to students from all over the United States. Eighth graders Keniesha Pinder (Tarpum Bay), Shanice Symonette (Rock Sound) and seventh grader Zachary Carey (Tarpum Bay) delivered poster presentations on “How to Create a Recycling System at your School” and “Middle School Aquaponics.” The audience was students and teachers who were interested in creating sustainable changes in their communities. “People were really excited about our ideas, a lot of people said they wanted to try aquaponics at their schools”, explains Shanice.
DCMS students also had the opportunity to attend workshops given by student and professionals that pertained to environmental topics that interested them. “I’ve learned all kinds of things that I want to do at DCMS and in my own settlement” says Zachary Carey of Tarpum Bay. Some of the more impressive workshops had students dreaming up ideas to use to improve their school and island. Some of these ideas include: developing Continue reading
Today, the Island School Community awaits the beginning of classes. Both faculty and students wait to see how they can work together to learn. Over the weekend, we jumped into the semester from High Rock and held a Commencement from Orientation ceremony, where we all pledged to work form a dynamic and tightly knit community. On Sunday, the students, and faculty, enjoyed their first day off. Adventures ranged from snorkeling and diving, to exploring, to enjoying the coffee shop, and getting rest on the beach. This morning, we will enjoy our first timed Run/Swim, as well as our first Math and Human Ecology classes. The anticipation is strong, but the community is excited for their more regular schedule. Though the first day is classes is normally a thing of dread, the community is eager and happy to begin their academic journey.
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Now that the semester course has transitioned out of the orientation period, we begin a more rhythmic academic schedule. For the rest of the semester, look for Daily Updates about the Island School experience. Every two weeks a different student will be in charge of Daily Updates and he or she will use chore time to write and publish these. Look for updates all “chore days” including Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. For the next two weeks, student Eric Witte will be giving you his personal, thoughtful, detailed descriptions of the Island School Journey. First, enjoy a thoughtful reflection he wrote last week about his shifting perspective. Later today, look for his very first Daily Update…
Erik Witte: Arriving at the Island School has pushed me to make a lot of changes in my habits. Continue reading