Hello All, my name is Sophie and I will be writing this day’s blog. Yesterday was a big day for the students here at The Island School. In the morning we all gathered up at the flagpole for our daily circle where we sing the national anthem. Then both the students and faculty began to make their way down to the dock for our first Run-Swim! All along the way each student was cheering each other on and doing their best to push themselves and really challenge their bodies. It was so exciting seeing every student and faculty member at the end of the race lined up, encouraging one another as they reached the flagpole. Right after chores and breakfast, the IS members headed over to the boathouse to share meaningful “snapshots” of our life that lead us to where we are now. Hearing everyone in the group open up and talk about their past was something that I never thought would happen within the first three weeks. I already feel so close to everyone and so comfortable talking to them about what I am thinking and what my ideas are. This applies to everyone in research too. This is an opportunity to try new things and really connect with others. The research groups are all working really hard to test out new ideas and help the scientists further develop their theories and their studies. During the student’s class time, some were able to go diving during marine ecology and really had a blast! They saw many different types of algae, fish and coral. Peter lead the group to go exploring and “adopt a coral reef” to study throughout the semester. Later that day the students were given exploration time where a few went out to explore the water towers. When we returned for dinner circle, we had our new group leaders update us on what the plan of the night was and what the quote of the day was. Then the evening settled off and we had a histories night class that was presented to us by our teachers Brady and Emma. The purpose of the night class was to prepare us for Settlement day today and what to do when visiting a different community. We are all so excited and nervous to have our first settlement day and cannot wait to see what it will bring us! We will continue with the updates!