At DCMS’s graduation, valedictorian Aleice Goodman spoke to her classmates:

“Three years ago, I embarked on a journey that would prove to be one of the most exhilarating experiences of my brief lifetime. After completing my education at Tarpum Bay Primary School, I was afforded the opportunity to attend Deep Creek Middle school where I would attain my junior school education. From Seventh to Ninth grade Deep Creek Middle School has challenged me to think at a more sophisticated level, to challenge myself beyond the regular standards that I had originally set for myself, and to be dedicated to everything that I put my mind to both in and outside of the classroom. Whether it was solving difficult south Eleuthera community problems in Community Outreach class, or finding a more eco-friendly fertilizer that local farmers can use in science class. Now that this chapter of my life has come to a close, I am very thankful that I have acquired these traits which I can now carry on into my high school education. Continue reading →

On June 10th, CEI researchers Annabelle Oronti and Edd Brooks tied the knot in England with potcakes Friendly and Biscuit as their witnesses.  The ceremony took place at a church in Edd’s home village where his parents also got married.  Several former IS and CEI faculty and staff were in attendance.  Congratulations to Edd and Annabelle!

Please join us in welcoming Cameron Powel (F04) to The Island School staff.  Cameron will return to the island this July as the Alumni Relations and Communications Associate.  This won’t be Cam’s first time back on campus since her Fall 2004 semester.  She interned in the summers of 2006 and 2007 and joined the Island School Summer Term staff last year as a Summer Term mentor.  Cameron recently graduated from Bates College in Maine with a BA in Sociology.  She hails from Shaker Heights, Ohio and enjoys running, traveling, being with friends, and playing tennis.  “I’m excited to return to Eleuthera in a whole new role and experience the semester from the faculty perspective,” says Cam.  We are thrilled to have Cameron joining the staff and look forward to her return to Eleuthera.

Check out this article from the New York Times – a great reminder of how our vision of “Leadership Effecting Change” applies to life outside The Island School.

“Most people don’t form a self and then lead a life. They are called by a problem, and the self is constructed gradually by their calling.”

As part of the Spring 2011 Human Ecology Course at The Island School, a creative group of students made this movie to help explain the journey students experience on Cape Eleuthera. Mario Sacca, TJ Thran, Lindsey Springs and Lizzie Ayoub describe the semester through a student lens as a way to share with world what a semester with The Island School entails. Don’t worry, they haven’t exposed everything so there are still plenty of surprises to experience for all future students on their 100 day journeys.

The oceanic whitetip shark (Carcharhinus longimanus) was once considered to be one of the most numerous large vertebrates on the planet. Yet ongoing exploitation of this species for it fins, for use in the Asian delicacy shark fin soup, has caused precipitous population declines in many parts of the world. This species has been especially hard-hit in the northwest and western central Atlantic Ocean, where it is now difficult to find them in significant numbers.  Despite the inherent difficulties in finding and studying large, relatively rare oceanic sharks, an international team of researchers successfully satellite-tagged a large number of these animals off Cat Island, The Bahamas, this month in order to track their movements to enable more effective conservation of this top ocean predator. Continue reading →