Hi everyone! This past week has been midterms for Island School students and the campus is pretty busy as we reach halfway in the semester. The midterm process here at The Island School is unique in that you have one on one time with all of your teachers to discuss how each individual is doing in each class. Tuesday afternoon, from 1:15 until 5:45 teachers had 10-15 minutes to discuss with their students.  I really enjoyed this process, as it allowed me to connect with my teachers on a personal level about what was going well and what could be improved upon.  Each student wrote letters home about this process, so parents you should receive this letter soon.

This is our last week before we start on Kayak rotations, so it was a great time to reflect on our classes before things start to change up a little.  On Sunday, the first Kayak group will head out on their adventure for eight days, while the rest of the student body stays on campus for regular classes, or goes on the Down Island Trip.  Each kayak group will leave every week, so there will be a period of three weeks where we won’t all be together.  On the eight day kayak group we will have a two-day solo, so there are a lot of adventures and new challenges coming up for students here.

Today, however, we have the opportunity to attend the Sustainable and Tourism Symposium that is happening here on campus.  We will be listening and talking all day to a group of adults who are a part of the Kinship Fellows program, Island School staff, and One Eleuthera. They all are coming together to discuss the development of South Eleuthera, while discussing how to make it sustainable. The students here at The Island School have prepared questions to ask the adults that relate to creating a sustainable future for this part of the Island.  It is a unique opportunity to be a part of this conference and play a role in the discussion about this Island.  Another aspect of this conference is to bring awareness to the culture and tourism of the Eleuthera. Last night, at dinner circle, we were surprised with a Jukanoo rush out done by our Deep Creek middle school buddies.  We all gathered around the flag and danced our way to the dinning hall for a celebratory meal. This was a great way to start out the conference with guests from around the world ready to discuss the tourism and sustainability of South Eleuthera.