Monthly Archives: January 2014

Alumni, Alumni Spotlight

Alumni Spotlight: Jean Fernando (Su’13)

Last summer, the African Leadership Academy (ALA) sent a student to The Island School Summer Term, Jean Fernando. ALA is a member of our City Bride Program, which connects inner city schools to The Island School and gives them the chance to step out into a whole new world. City Bridge was born out of The Island School’s dedication to expanding our program’s reach and making it available to anyone who wants to apply. Our partnership with the African Leadership Academy is particularly special because it is our first City Bridge connection outside of the US or Bahamas.

We recently received an update from Jean who is so inspired by his learnings and experiences at The Island School, that collaborated with four ALA peers to create a fully functioning organic farm that produces vegetables for the community. Check out the video on their project:

Deep Creek Middle School, Events, News

DCMS and ELC Students Compete in Jr. Junkanoo

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Hours of practice and hard work paid off for Deep Creek Middle School students last Saturday night at The 2014 Eleuthera Jr. Junkanoo held in Governors Harbour.  Accompanying DCMS for the first time, the pre-schoolers at The Island School’s Early Learning Center joined in the annual competition, leading the group down the new Queen’s Highway route.  The group took home top prize in the Junior High category finishing with 948 points.  Congratulations team!

Below is a photo essay highlighting their journey:

(Photographs by Erik Kruthoff and Will Strathman)

A late night pasting session at DCMS
Mr. Will Simmons, a teacher at DCMS, served as leader of the group

 

A DCMS student pastes a head piece
Members of the entire Island School Community lent a hand in preparing for the event.
DCMS students teaching the ELC pre-schoolers the proper steps.
Practicing in front of school
Practicing at The Island School.
Cowbells and drums. The signature sound of Junkanoo
For many of the ELC students, this was their first Junkanoo rush.
A student tries his hand at the trumpet.
Dancers practicing.

 

After-school drum practice.
A student dancer showing off his moves.
A volunteer pastes a shoulder piece.
Adding the preschoolers to the group made for some laughs.
Assembling the group on the day of the competition.
Mr. Simmons making last-minute preparations.
DCMS dancers pose for a group shot.
Drums are warmed up next to a bonfire.
DCMS drummer crew.
A male dancer shows off his costume.
Ready to go.
The Early Learning Center students lead the way, showcasing the school’s core values: Exploration, Individuality, Creativity, Growth, and Imagination.
The DCMS Banner “The Future Leaders of the Bahamas” with their core values: Responsible Citizenship, Leadership, and Academic Growth.
Lead dancers with the banner.
DCMS dancers.
DCMS Core Values “Graduates”
“Prime Ministers of The Bahamas” piece.
A colorful shoulder piece.
DCMS brass section.
Trumpet player in the brass section.
DCMS Trombone player.
“School of First Choice” shoulder piece.
Dancers with cowbells and scrapers.

 

DCMS Drummers.

 

Drummers beat out the unrelenting sound of Junkanoo.
DCMS & ELC took home top place for the Junior High category, finishing with 948 points.

 

Alumni

Fall 2009 Alumnae Reconnect in South Africa!

Despite living only 2 hours away from each other back home in Massachusetts, it took Liza Morse (F’09) and Maggie Schneider (F’09) four years and thousands of miles away from home to finally reunite for the first time since their Island School semester. Through Facebook, they realized that they both were spending their fall semester abroad in South Africa and arranged to meet up at a farmers market in Cape Town!

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Have you reunited with any fellow Island Schoolers lately? If so, we want to know! Email alumni@islandschool.org with any photos or stories!

Alumni

The Cambridge Rindge and Latin School Connection

The Island School has many connections with Cambridge Rindge and Latin School in Cambridge, MA. One of their graduates, Emma Alexander, now is in her second year of teaching histories at IS. CRLS marine biology teacher, Paul McGuinness, attended the annual Island School Teacher Conference in 2004 and is responsible for connecting dozens of students to The Island School. Paul also guides CRLS’s Marine Conservation Club. Inspired by their experiences at The Island School, alumnae Tessa Tracy (F’11) and Danielle Heims-Waldron (Su’13) started the Marine Conservation Club, which has been so successful since its inception a few years ago, hosting numerous fundraisers and events in an effort to raise money for the North Atlantic Right Whales who are dangerously close to reaching distinction. Their hard work was rewarded by the New England Aquarium when they received the 2013 Ocean Stewardship Award. You can read more about their efforts, and watch a video on North Atlantic Right Whales in our alumni spotlight on Tessa Tracy here.

We always love to hear about how The Island School has helped clear a life path for our alumni. Continue reading →

Uncategorized

A 15 Year Celebration to Remember!

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Thank you to all our friends, families, alumni, and supporters who joined us this past weekend to celebration 15 years of The Island School at the New England Aquarium in Boston, MA! Check out photos from the event here. We are also selling 15 year books on our website. If you are interested in purchasing a book to commemorate the past 15 years, click here.

Happy New Year and cheers to another 15!

Deep Creek Middle School

DCMS Eco-Club Chosen to Attend 2014 POPS Youth Summit

Deep Creek Middle School students have been chosen to attend the 2014 Plastic Ocean Pollution Solutions (POPS) International Youth Summit to be held March 22-23, 2014 at the Ocean Institute in Dana Point, California. They are one of 21 teams, representing 5 countries, who won a bid to attend the comprehensive educational program designed to engage, mentor, and activate youth leaders across the United States and abroad in developing and launching action-oriented solutions to reduce plastic waste in their home communities.

You can learn more about the conference here: http://www.algalita.org/ship2shore/2012InternationalYouthSummit.php