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 →

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 →

It is yet another day on Eleuthera and the wind continues to blow with the promise of a storm, and hopefully more much-needed rain to fill the cisterns. Just the other day, as I walked onto sunset beach with a group of my classmates, we were joking about tourists and how we are now past the point of being considered one by ourselves and hopefully those around us. After this brief conversation none of us really gave another thought as to our role here on Eleuthera and the role of a tourist; that is, until Literature class. With all the craziness that kayak rotation brings, it also includes the switching around of classes, schedules and even curriculum  In Literature class, we have temporarily put our reading of Omeros on hold and embarked on a new task (reading Omeros is quite a challenging task), the reading of A Small Place by Jamaica Kincaid. I certainly was not expecting to be significantly impacted by this short, 80 page book; however, to my surprise the words within the two covers of A Small Place had far more meaning than most likely any other book I have ever read. Continue reading →

by new blog contributor Phoebe Shaw:

Last night forty-six of us sat quietly in the library, hurriedly trying to finish our mountains of work. Though this past week has been one of the most difficult yet in terms of academic stress, with our oral histories project due as well as another complex marine ecology essay, none could focus solely on homework. There was a sadness lurking in everyone’s mind that after breakfast today, only 24 of us will remain in our small community here on campus. Given the intimacy of this environment, in just over one month we, the students and faculty, have grown closer than I could have ever imagined. With that said, the departure of kayak and down island groups this morning with undoubtedly leave a conspicuous gap in this place that I think we all can now call home.

As I sat on my bunk last night thinking and reflecting on all of the goodbye hugs we had given each other in the girls dorm just in case we didn’t get the chance today, a terrifying thought struck me. This coming Friday marks the end of our seventh week here at The Island School; the halfway point. Continue reading →

Yesterday was not a typical Monday. After a morning of Literature and Histories class we headed to Deep Creek Middle School for our community outreach. Like always, it was great to work with our DCMS buddies on achieving something that will actually make a difference in South Eleuthera. Unfortunately, it was the last time we would see them for three whole weeks due to kayak and down island trips. Because we’ve only had community outreach four or five times one might think that saying goodbye to each other for three weeks wouldn’t be hard; it was. Another memory I have from yesterday that really showed me how much of a bond we have built with our buddies is when Emily and I gave our buddy Demetria cake and cards for her birthday. Her face lit up and I’ve never seen a smile that wide and bright in my life. She threw her arms around us and thanked us, we hugged her back and thanked her for being such a great and positive buddy. Continue reading →