Monthly Archives: October 2013

Deep Creek Middle School, Educational Programs

Round Square Students Join DCMS Eco Club for Plastics Seminar

TeamworkA group of 17 high school student visited DCMS for the first ever DCMS-Round Square Plastics Seminar in early October. Round Square is a world-wide association of schools that works to develop young people and their approach to life through experiential learning. Visitors were paired with DCMS Eco Club members to share perspectives on plastics pollution and have some fun.

New Friends“My buddy goes to boarding school in Massachusetts, but she’s originally from China,” said Eco Club member Marinique Leary, grade 8. “She is going to make posters for beaches and spread the word about preventing plastics pollution back in Massachusetts.”

Students got to know one another through ice breakers and games. “Mingling with the students was a nice experience because we got to teach them some of our customs and show them some of the activities we do at school when we have free time,” said Eco-Club member Patrick Johnson, grade 9.

Students Meet BuddiesThe seminar was an opportunity for round table discussions on plastic pollution and how it is affecting the environment and our bodies. Students spent the afternoon at Wemyss Bight beach conducting plastic surveys for researcher Kristal Ambrose’s ongoing comparative research project on South Eleuthera’s beaches.

“It was great to have different ideas about how to handle plastic pollution. I think it was really fun to show the Round Square students a native beach and how clean it looks, but then show them how dirty it actually is,” said Eco Club president Zachary Carey, grade 9.

During their four days on island, Round Square students also spent time with researchers at CEI assisting with experiments, such as lionfish dissections with the lionfish crew. Students and educators alike are hopeful about the possibility of the seminar becoming an annual event.

Alumni, Alumni Spotlight

IS Alumnus Releases Debut Album

willoverman2Fall 2010 alumnus, Will Overman, recently released his debut album, “Son”, available on iTunes (https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/son/id725616876?ign-mpt=uo%3D4) and cdbaby. Will has an impressive resume both within the music world, having opened for the popular band MGMT, as well as outside the music world. Last year, Will backpacked the entire Appalachian Trail and shared with us his story. Will played a ton of music while he was a student at The Island School in Fall 2010 and is excited to now share his music with the rest of the world. Congratulations, Will!

Student Update

Student Update October 17, 2013

by  Haeyeon Jang

Wednesday was the first sleep-in the girls have had in a while (due to the unfortunate circumstances of the previous weeks in which food turned up in the dorm and we had to have multiple deep cleans), and they made the most of it. Quotes from the morning include “I feel alive.”—Lexi Merison, Girls North ‘Wing and “I love this, I’m never waking up.”—Maya Sands Bliss, Under my Bed.  Looking around the circle at the other 50% of the current student population on campus, it was apparent that the boys had enjoyed their sleep-in equally if not more than their female counterparts. They had rolled out of bed 2 minutes before circle—as was suggested initially by their bedraggled figures, and confirmed later by Chris Teufel.

Research was invigorating as usual. In the project I am affiliated with, the Flats Program, today was data analysis day. Also known as crash course in college statistics day. Also known as mixed joy and pain. After an eventful three hours involving markers bleeding red life-juice all over the board, various statistical terms, and tears of incomprehension, the Flats team, or those of it left on campus—Dale, Krissy, Andrew, and of course, me—was relatively confident in our capacity to create comprehensive graphs on the effect of predatory presence on the thermoregulatory behaviors of juvenile schoolmaster snapper. We’ll explain it to y’all when you get here for Parent’s Weekend. Plus I’ll make sure to show you my awesome new fly-fishing skills.

Lunch resulted in what may have been the happiest moment so far of my young life. The Human Ecology project I am in, Solar for Our Superheroes (made up of Alliea, Haeyeon, Kiley, Krissy, Nani, and Will) met with Christian Henry(co-founder of the Island School and our advisor for the project) and came away with the glorious news that Christian would be on our Board of Directors!! Christian, everyone on campus loves you, but I love you most. We’ll extrapolate on what Solar for Our Superheroes is on a later blog post, be excited, especially all those of you in MA!

We also received letters today! After Art class, all of us flooded in to the faculty office, and there was much rejoicing. Many of mine dated back from September 23rd (oh mail system, you so silly), and it warmed my heart to know that my friends back home really cared.  Many of the letters were for students still on kayak and down-island trips, and will end up a pleasant surprise for them when they get back.

All in all, a typical Island school day. After a mass sharing session, we all went to sleep a bit earlier than usual, still thinking of the letters we’d read. I dreamed of my laptop falling into Current Cut for some reason though.

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SMURFs Research Update

On our first day of fieldwork, the team went out to our sites at the Patch Reefs. This was the first research dive for the SMURF team of Fall 2013. As half of the team dived, the other half observed from the surface while snorkeling. This dive was to learn the collection process and really get to know the overall feel of the procedure. It is generally a two or three person process: one person sprays clove oil over the unit to stun the fish, and the other two people move the basket to allow the first person to close the collection bag with our samples. We each were able to try both jobs and the whole experience was very interesting.

After collecting the specimens from two different sites, the team brought the samples in collection bags back to the lab. We sorted the specimens from each collection bag and took data of its length and species. It was really cool for us all to experience the research process from both the field in the water, and also the data aspect in the lab.

On our second research dive, the students got to lead the process and the teachers mostly supervised and advised. The collection was a success and the team found our target post-larval stage reef fish as well as some larger juvenile fishes. We also found some other interesting specimen, such as Mantis Shrimp. We can’t wait to get back in the water next week and see what else we can find!

Student Update

Student Update October 15, 2013

Good morning! My name is Eliza and I will be writing the blog for today. Over the weekend with K1 gone on their Kayak and K2 away on their three day down island trip to North Eleuthera, I along with the rest of K3 and K4 have been here on campus, taking most of our regular classes despite the twisted kayak schedule. Saturday afternoon started up our weekend fun. At 3:30 all of us on campus took the vans to a nearby settlement called Wemyss Bight to compete in the annual Chris Brown (Bahamian Olympic medalist) 4 mile race. After hanging around for an hour waiting for the race to begin all we could listen to was the MC saying over and over again “if you beat me you get $50, if you beat me you get $50”, so by the time the race started and ended with John Shatz coming in first, we still are waiting for him to receive his $50. After dinner at The Island School we headed back to Wemyss Bight for their Homecoming celebration. Although there wasn’t as much dancing as we expected, I think most of us Island School students were pretty content with the food stands where I got a virgin pina colada and conch fritters, finally allowing me to appreciate the Bahamian love for conch.

Over the past 24 hours the campus has been bustling with people coming and going. Yesterday K3 and K4 had our regular classes and a long research block. K2 made it back from their down island trip at around 2:00pm right before the rain came. As it started to pour all that we could think about here on campus, besides the fact that we were chilly for the first time all semester, was imagining K1 out on their 8-Day Kayak trip, trying to find shelter from the deluge. By the time everyone was back from our long research blocks, the rain cleared and K2 took advantage of their last time to shower before setting off for kayak. After dinner as K2 continued to pack up their belongings, I along with the rest of my class were working on our homework for the class we begin today called Humanities, which is a mixture of Histories and Literature. The other half of us who are in the second-class rotation, headed out for their first night dive at Tunnel Rock, dressed not in the usual bathing suit, spandex, sports bra, apparel but instead, for everyone’s first time, the wetsuits were pulled out! Everyone in racers got back to campus at around 9:30pm. All I heard was good things about the bioluminescence, swimming the tunnel and just the overall experience of diving in the dark. I can’t wait for my turn on Thursday! All right, I’m headed down to the dock to say bye to K2 as they head off on their 8-Day. Goodbye for now!

 

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Flats Research Project Updates

September 11, 2013: On a Wednesday afternoon, The Flats research group, consisting of Charlie, Dale, Andrew, Cam, Krissy, Haeyeon and Nani went on an exciting expedition to Paige Creek. There, we snorkeled amidst the mangroves with the inwards current and the rising tide, to do an analysis of the species in 50 meter areas. We conducted a rapid ecological assessment (REA) which consisted of taking the pH, salinity, dissolved oxygen, and temperature of the water, at different places in the creek, as well as noting the different type of species that called this area home. Snorkeling along, we came face to face with Yellowtail and Schoolmaster Snappers, juvenile Sergeant Majors, Red, Black, and White Mangroves, Turtle Grass, and many more species of algae, fish, and plants.

After conducting three REA surveys in various sections of the creek, we returned to the “base camp” we set at the mouth of the river. From there, the group split into two with Dale, Cam, Andrew, and Nani staying at the mouth of the river to test their fishing skills and hand catch some Schoolmaster Snappers to bring back to the wetlabs. At the same time Krissy, Haeyeon, and Charlie got onto the boat with Aaron, and went to check out a nearby reef patch. There, it was primarily made of Rose Coral with a lot of Mustard Hill Coral. There were hundreds of Schoolmaster and Yellowtail Snappers, as well as many Sergeant Majors. This awe-striking reef was incredible to see, with all the diversity living in such a small, shallow pocket of the ocean, with no Network Algae growing on it. Back at the mouth of the river, when we returned, nobody had caught any fish, even fishing master Dale hadn’t been able to get anything due to the fact that we were just using lines with a hook. But against all odds, as we were about to leave, Cam caught one Schoolmaster Snapper, and allowed us to go home not totally defeated in the fish catching aspect of our trip.

September 18, 2013: It was 4:20 at low tide and on the count of three, armed with flailing nets and kicking feet, our army of young researchers stampeded through the fish infested flats. Between the open ocean and the mouth of the creek, lay a 100 meter net which would engulf the schools of frightened fish.  Six Lemon Sharks, one giant Bonefish, countless Mojarras and Schoolmaster Snappers were caught in a panicked frenzy as the net trapped them from all sides. Immediately, Nani and Krissy ran to shore to grab some containers as Dale, Hayeon, Cam, Charlie, and Andrew began to sort out the captives one by one. Some of these fish were destined to be brought back to the lab for future experimentation, while others, like the sharks, were tagged and measured before being released back into the ocean. Everyone received a chance to touch, measure, record data, and tag the feisty, juvenile Lemon Sharks, an experience we are sure not to forget.

This field day was dedicated to capturing twenty Mojarras and Schoolmaster Snappers as well as two Lemon Sharks. We needed these fish for our wet lab experiments, which are geared towards studying the effects of climate change on our mangrove inhabitants. Wading around in the water, we could feel the stinging warmth of the shallow salt water and could only imagine how toasty it must feel for our ectothermic friends. The more we get to know about the habitat we are studying, the more we anticipate being able to contribute to their preservation.

 

Student Update

Student Update October 10, 2013

An editorial note to parents reading: though Morgen and Ella had some fun with writing this blog, rest assured that have been no fist-fights, sunk kayaks, or students forgotten on solo.

Hello parents and friends! This is Morgen and Ella, sorry if you are getting bored with our blog posts, but chores haven’t switched in a while! This past week we had Midterm meetings with each of our teachers who gave us on update on how we are doing up to this point. You also have a letter from your children coming your way, summarizing the feedback they received from Midterms.

After much anticipation, kayak groups have been posted! There is a lot of excitement around campus and only two fist-fights about groups. I (Morgen) was caught of guard by finding out I am leaving Saturday for 8-day, but I am very excited to be departing with a fun group of people led by Jon and Brady. Woohooo! Other groups will either be going on their Down Island Trip, or on campus for another academic rotation. Bombs of change are dropping all over campus after everyone’s Human Ecology Projects were approved. Projects include everything from creating underwater sculptures and cookbooks to growing medicinal herbs and revitalizing the Poo Poo Garden.

Random shouts out day!!

  • Shoutout to Chris Teufel for making all the way to Deep Creek on our Tuesday run, completing nine miles!
  • Shoutout to Eliza and Lyndell’s parents, your daughters had their birthdays this week in case you forgot
  • Shoutout to Caroline and Ella’s parents, they made some really good gorp a few days ago
  • Shoutout to Dale and Asher, leading swim- track kids on long exercise on Tuesday.
  • Shoutout to Max’s parents, your son is an extremely fast sprinter.
  • To Liahs parent: your daughter is a perfectionist.
  • Shoutout to this week’s caciques (Colin M, Carly, Duncan, Cutter, and Chris) for saying they have a lot of fun events planned but then not following through, but its ok midterm week is overwhelming!!
  • Shoutout to our very own Jason and Kate, for getting married today. The best of luck to you two.

Don’t fret if you don’t get a phone time from your child this week, they were probably forgotten at their solo, or their kayak sank. The events we have been waiting for all semester are approaching, and the mood around campus is very energized. Your children are happy and about to embark on new adventures. They miss you and are excited to see you for parents weekend. You probably won’t hear from us (Morgen and Ella) again, so it’s been nice writing to you. Bye!

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Celebrating Veteran IS Educators

It’s always good to give thanks to those who helped The Island School get off the ground! Last week a number of veteran educators who helped plan the original curriculum for The Island School (which much of it still stands today!) came by the Maxey’s to say hello and celebrate with the Cape Eleuthera Foundation board. Thank you to everyone who helped us get to where we are today!

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Chris Maxey, Sam Kosoff, Jim Jordan, Giant, Kari Ostrem, Leita Hamill, Allen Fitzpatrick, Christian Henry, Pam Maxey