All posts by teamcomm

This Holiday Season, Think Tiny

December 26, 2016 teamcomm

George Giannos, Fall 2010 Alumnus, took what he learned at The Island School and built on it. This fall, with a team of engineering students at Santa Clara University, he won a Tiny House Competition.

All the universities and colleges in California were eligible to compete in a Tiny House Competition modeled after the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon. Rather than building solar powered houses that generally cost upwards of $250,000, the Sacramento Municipal Utility District decided to host a competition to build smaller houses that could be financed under $50,000. Ten California schools accepted the challenge to design and build a tiny house. Convened in Sacramento, after up to two years of work, each tiny house was judged on four categories: Architecture, Energy Efficiency, Communications, and Home Life.

The Santa Clara University team took first place as best tiny house overall. Giannos served as construction manager for the fourteen engineering students that built the rEvolve House. This 238-square-foot, off the grid house not only rotates with the sun, has reclaimed maple cabinetry from the old Santa Clara basketball court, and a roof deck, it was built for an organization called Operation Freedom Paws. A non-profit that works with veterans and service dogs.

Since graduating from Lawrenceville, Giannos has returned to The Island School in many ways. He has traveled back to Eleuthera for many summers and internships at The Center for Sustainable Development. Last year, he joined the admissions team by reading applications for Fall, Spring, and Summer Term. Giannos read over 150 Island School applications during his spring semester of his junior year at Santa Clara.

To read more about the rEvolve House:

http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2016/10/07/santa-clara-students-put-spin-on-solar-power-for-tiny-house-contest/

https://magazine.scu.edu/webonly.cfm?b=439&c=24003

http://www.curbed.com/2016/10/20/13338338/tiny-house-eco-friendly-solar-powered-competition-smud

Alumni, Events, Island School

New England Road Trip: The Island School Admissions Team is in Full Swing of Travel Season

November 22, 2016 teamcomm

Last week our admissions team, Taylor Hoffman (SP‘06), Maggie Nichols (F‘09), and Glenn Hartman-Mattson (Faculty‘14-15), visited high schools and colleges throughout New England! We spoke with prospective students and caught up with alumni throughout Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine.

Monday:

We went to Burr and Burton Academy and their Mountain Campus where we found a faculty alumnus from some of the first semesters on Eleuthera. Ben Freeman is now the Director of BBA’s Mountain Campus, a semester program focused on environmental education and sustainable living.

We then found a couple alums to have lunch with at Middlebury College!

Harrison Rohrer (F '13), Glenn, and Will Cembalest (SP '14) — Harrison Rohrer (F ’13), Glenn, and Will Cembalest (SP ’14)

For dinner we found Libby Schwab (F ‘14), Emily Peters (F ‘11), and Kyle Titsworth (SP ‘12) in Burlington, VT. All students at UVM, we loved talking with them so much that we didn’t have time to get a photo!

Tuesday:

Onto to New Hampshire! We visited Hanover High School, Thetford Academy, and Kimball Union Academy during the day.

Thetford Academy: Clara Hoffman (F ‘15), Taylor, and Kia O'Connor (F’15) — Thetford Academy: Clara Hoffman (F ‘15), Taylor, and Kai O’Connor (F’15)

We had dinner at Molly’s in Hanover with some of our alums at Dartmouth and living in Hanover!

Starting from the left back row: Amelia Lubrano (SU ‘ 15), Ruby Spitz (SP’ 16), Maggie, Maisie MacMillen (F ‘15), Avery Vanacore (SP’14), Noelle Henderson (SP ‘15), Taylor, and Glenn

Wednesday:

A visit to The Mountain School! We met up with Kareen Obydol-Alexandre, a teacher who attended the Summer 2016 Teachers Conference.

Taylor and Glenn made some new lady friends

That night we met up with a couple of our alums at Bates College!

Glenn, Sam Hastings (F’12), Jake Atwood (SP’14), and Taylor (Sam’s Advisor while at IS)

Thursday:

Taylor drove up to Camden Hills High School and visited our partners at Hurricane Island Outward Bound. Glenn visited Freeport High School and Yarmouth High School. That night we had a small gathering of prospective students and alumni families in Falmouth, ME!

Glenn and her advisee, Jessie Gray (SP’15), in Falmouth!

Friday:

We drove up to Colby College for a cup of coffee with our last group of alumni!

Chase Goldston (SU ‘13), Hannah Piersiak (SP ‘12), Melinda Edie (F ‘14), Glenn, Taylor, Eleonor Bauwens (SU ‘15)

Overall the admissions team connected with amazing alumni and prospective students all of New England and the trip was a giant success. But the highlight of the week was Maggie Nichols finding a camel in the middle of Vermont!! Even camels can try to live better in a (foreign) place.

Maggie and the leading expert camel in maple syrup production

Daily Update, Educational Programs, Sailing

HIOBS Update #3

November 20, 2016 teamcomm

Though it has only been a few days since our last check in, the crews of the Eliza Sue and Avelinda have accomplished and experienced a lot since our stop at Soldier Cay. Surveys have been conducted by both the reef fish and elkhorn coral research teams at multiple sites within the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park. The large elkhorn colonies and populations of reef fish at Cambridge Cay and Rocky Dundas provided the perfect opportunity for the teams to put their research skills to use, and snorkeling these vibrant reefs was an incredible experience. We also had the opportunity to snorkel into two caves on Rocky Dundas which were an amazing display of the geology of The Bahamas. During the night following our big day of research, we rafted the two boats together so the two crews could share dinner and enjoy a lesson on stars from Sockeye.

Yesterday we got news of a cold front heading our way which would bring rain and potential thunderstorms, so both boats sailed to a protected cove on the southern end of Pipe Cay and hunkered down beneath our tarps for the day. After a few hours of reading and playing word games, the skies cleared enough for some snorkeling and island exploration. As one group explored the driftwood strewn beach, another snorkeled the rocky shoreline where we successfully captured a lobster (which provided a delicious appetizer for the crew of the Eliza Sue) and swam with a nurse shark. Before dinner, Andrew gave us an informative lesson on weather so we could better understand phenomena like cold fronts and low pressure systems.

Today our crews are re-energized after our relaxed storm day and are ready for more sailing in the sunny and breezy weather that the cold front brought once the rain had passed. We’re looking forward to restocking whatever fresh produce we can get at Black Point and then beginning our journey back north and the adventures that will bring!

Educational Programs, Sailing, Student Update

HIOBS Update #2

November 20, 2016 teamcomm

This morning the crews of the Avelinda and the Eliza Sue woke up to another beautiful sunrise in the Exuma Cays. After 6 days of sailing, snorkeling, island and cave exploring, and taking in the beautiful views of crystal clear blue water of the Exumas, we find ourselves anchored at O’Brien’s Cay. Today we’re refilling our water jugs thanks to the generosity of Sandy MacTaggert on Soldier Cay, and our research teams will finally be able to put their skills to use at a snorkel site called “Sea Aquarium.” We’re looking forward to conducting more research in the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park (the oldest marine protected area in The Bahamas) over the next few days and continuing to explore the islands over the next 11 days. See below for some daily journal entries from the group!

Nov 9: Day 2 – Eliza Sue

Crossing the Sound Part 1: The Exumas Strike Back

We’ve made it to…well its a “U-shaped island thing” exclaimed Hannah as we sailed into harbor amongst the Exumas. About 85% of the boat watched Andrew fillet a bar jack as the other 15% managed to weave us through deep, deep, treacherous waves and reefs. Grant was coughing (about to puke?), Kyle was still steering after 4 hours of bring stuck at the tiller, Tom was somewhere in the dark depths of the head, and Hannah was resisting the urge to sing songs about hippos as we finally dropped anchor. We had woken up at midnight, learned about stars, invented a blue sail formation, got concerned about the possibility of trump being president, laughed about the idea of Trump being President, then realized the joke was on us and Trump was going to be president.

Crossing the Sound Part 2: Revenge of the Bar Jack

Got concerned again, eventually saw land, fished and caught nothing, fished and caught something, arrived at anchor, ate our fish (shoutout to our cooks Marcus and Jacob), swam, swam with iguanas, found crafty new spoons (shells), then began dinner prep.

Crossing the Sound Part 3: A Donald’s New Hope

We laughed together, we slept together in a PG sort of way, we excelled together. Tom ate cheese and maybe almost liked it, Kyle rocked his aviators and put everyone else on board to shame, Ben wore her superman hat like all experienced sailors do, Kelly didn’t get spit on by Tom and successfully answered a barrage of consecutive questions about her gopro attachment lens. Jacob continued to do as Jack Sparrow does and made the power move of not swimming (he knew the poop was coming

#avelindaspoopincidentwasaninsidejob).

PS: Today was actually the day Donald Trump became president. Thank god we’re in a protected area because he’s building a wall and the parrotfish are paying for it.

PPS: Today was absolutely epic- one of the most memorable days of my life, and I’m glad I got to spend it with the young motley crew of the Eliza Sue.

Peace, Love, and Quesadilla Cheese,

Jeff the Cleaner

Nov 12 – Day 5 – Avelinda

8:30am, beautiful morning… 6:00am wakeup call for swimming lessons with Andrew and then pancakes and dessert rice for breakfast made by Jack & Jack. The boat smells of salty citrus and I love it.

8:30pm, enjoying a long anchor watch and remembering the great day we had… Exploring a rocky cave and getting in a short snorkel, “hiking” around a few ruins and adventuring through a poisonwood infested swamp to a beautiful beach (with just a bit of washed up trash scattered around (Andrew found a gopro from the Island School). It was an eventful day topped off with Jack and Jack’s calzones, which were delicious of course. Looking forward to more adventures tomorrow!

-Kali

Nov 13 – Day 6 – Eliza Sue

Part 1: The Tomcat Begins

This morning our fearless leader Tom bid the masses to rise and enter the water. The crew swam in somewhat of an organized circle for about half an hour. After the swim the group demolished part of a ration of cereal before setting off.

Part 2: The Tomcat Rises

We set off on our day, Tom steering and me at the bow watch. The trip began with me promptly getting us stuck on a sandbar and Ben getting stuck in the head yet again. She then fulfilled her quota of pushups on one arm by pumping the head for half an hour. Get swole Ben.

Part 3: The Plague

After sitting on the bow for approximately 5 hours I returned to seeing half the crew suffering from swine flu which was transferred from the ocean waves that hit Jacob, who then infected Grant, who then infected Marcus. So it goes. Marcus then orally donated his daily ration of food into the ocean. The ocean is used to, but not fond of such gifts.

Part 4: questionable

Marcus cooks after yacking hours before…questionable. A red-faced Tomcat swears he applied sunscreen…also questionable. Jeff completes his pushups as Jacob explains his very questionable driving habits, extremely questionable. Dinner is close to being made, will we eat it all? Not a question.

- Kyle

Nov 14 – Day 7 – Avelinda

The Journey So Far

Our journey began on November 8 with loading the Avelinda and Eliza Sue and preparing our groups for an 18-day expedition. Not knowing what to anticipate, we grabbed our oars and rowed away from The Island School. Over the course of the first day on the boats we learned how to rig and hoist our fore and main sails, read the wind, understand the tides, organize and take care of the boat, steer and rescue “Bob” our frequently overboard fender. Cooking on the boats posed a new challenge with our food stored throughout the bilge underneath us and our only stove located in the stern of the boat. With this challenge came delicious meals from night 1. After anchoring off the whale tail of Eleuthera we had our first of nightly stargazing and celestial navigation lessons led by Sockeye. After, we set up the boards and fell into a fitful 2 hours of sleep in preparation for our crossing of the Exuma sound. We sailed throughout the night giving us time to get to know our instructor Sockeye as well as admiring the stars and watching the glowing plankton light up the water as we sailed. This magical night sail was the perfect beginning to our expedition. After the first day on the boat we settled into a routine starting with a daily 6am wake up call followed by a morning swim workout and breakfast. Every day we rinse and sanitize the boat, make a navigation plan considering wind, tides, and bearings, and create a plan for the day. In the past week we have swam with stingrays, rowed through a mangrove creek, snorkeled reefs and a plane wreck, and explored countless islands of the Exuma Cays with breathtaking white sand beaches.

With our instructors’ extensive knowledge of marine science, sailing, and boat living, and overall guidance on important life skills such as self reliance, leadership, and compassion, we sail into our final 11 days of expedition. We are excited about taking full advantage of everything the Exuma Cays has to offer, most importantly our fish and coral research which is part of an ongoing coral reef monitoring project in The Bahamas.

Daily Update, Island School, Student Update

Reflections from the semester: Kyra Hall

November 14, 2016 teamcomm

Friends, Family, and Alumni,

The Fall 2016 semester is flying by. Because we’ve been so busy, it feels like only a few short weeks ago that we were unpacking our things and circling around the flag pole for the first time, but it only takes me realizing all that we’ve explored and accomplished over these past 70 days to realize just how long we’ve been here.

Time is definitely a challenging concept here. We often say, “Every day feels like a month and every month feels like a day,” simply because of how fast everything moves, but also acknowledging all that happens in one day. The way that I’ve learned to define time here is by the friendships and incredible connections that grow on a daily basis. The Island School is a really special place in that you are constantly surrounded by interesting, kind, and extremely supportive individuals that care so much about your own personal success. The friendships that I have created here with my peers are indescribable and so cherished, but my valued relationships aren’t limited to students. I find myself having a new, thoughtful conversation with a new member of faculty, a member of CEI, or a hardworking individual from the farm just as often as I do with my close peers. Both types of relationships are easily attainable and immensely valued by all of the students here. The community and connections that I have established here are two of the main reasons that I have become so attached to this place I now call home.

Kyra leads the pack back into boathouse cut

These wonderful connections only deepened and expanded over our three-week Expedition period. As we were split up into four different Kayak or Sail groups, people were worried about leaving their beloved routine and friends for three weeks, but little did we know all that was ahead of us. I embarked on a 9-Day Kayak trip the first week of Expeditions and was really excited about the bonding of my group, the friendships I’d be able to deepen, the solo experience, and all of the adventures we had ahead. I knew it was going to be both a challenging and rewarding week, but what I didn’t understand was how happy I would be when I’d return nine days later.

Solo fell towards the beginning of my kayak trip and I couldn’t be happier that it had. The exciting 48-hour experience that all Island School students think about when they apply had finally arrived and it was more emotional than I’d anticipated. While leaving one of my best friends at the very beginning, we both broke down into tears, not from sadness, but from feeling so much excitement and anticipation all at once. Once I had settled into my spot and looked out at the beautiful beach and ocean in front of me, the tears immediately ceased. Where I was and the incredible opportunity that was lying in front of me instantly made me so appreciative. During my solo, I was forced to live in the moment, taking the experience minute by minute. I was so content for the duration of my solo as I was able to reflect, write several pages in my placebook, and recharge. Coming back together with my group afterwards was one of the happiest moments I’ve felt here and it enabled us to have finish our last 5 days on a really high note.

Kyra's kayak group after returning to campus — Kyra’s kayak group after returning to campus

As we kayaked back to campus the morning of Day 9, many of the faculty and students were out on the jetty cheering us on as we finished our final stretch. Seeing campus and the community we had missed so much filled our boats and bodies with pure excitement. As we reunited with the rest of the groups, the dorms and dining hall were full of nothing but stories and happy spirit. This energy carried over onto our Down Island Trip that followed. Exploring the island as a unit as we discovered the several impacts of tourism on this country was really interesting, eye-opening and our group was just overall excited to be back together for another 5 days.

All 50 of us are back on campus now, finding ourselves back into a pretty steady academic routine. As well as coming back together as a community, it’s crunch time for our research classes, we’re preparing for our art show, and our respective run and swim tracks are reaching our max-workouts before the 4-mile swim and half marathon. Campus is buzzing as we begin to prepare for Parents Weekend. We’re all very excited to welcome our parents to campus and share all that we’ve learned in just a few short days.

Kyra Hall

FA ‘16

Cape Eleuthera Institute, Island School, News, Sailing

HIOBS group prepares to head out

November 8, 2016 teamcomm

The HIOBS team in the Cape Eleuthera waters — The HIOBS team in Cape Eleuthera waters

Today marks the start of the Hurricane Island Outward Bound Maine to Bahamas sailing expedition to the Exuma Cays! After 10 days on campus learning about sustainability, the marine environment, and research skills, the students are ready to embark on their 18-day research expedition. They’ve also participated in many service projects over the past week with Deep Creek Middle School. From helping out with after-school sports and the Open Learning Center, to facilitating team building activities and a beach cleanup, to helping out at the community garden, these students have made a huge impact on our community!

Working at the community garden in Deep Creek

Here’s a quick note from the students about their time here thus far and what their expedition to the Exumas will bring:

“Our trip to The Island School and the Cape Eleuthera Institute is part of an Outward Bound 80 day Environmental Science gap year program. The Island School has not only been a great experience but also an amazing learning environment. The lifestyle at the Island School included ideals and ethics that are similar to those of Outward Bound and to our own. The efforts for sustainable living became a huge part of daily life on campus. From taking navy showers (60 second showers) to an intricate aquaponics system, the efforts made here to save our world for further generations is inspiring.

Another part of daily life here is a daily early morning workout, which is sometimes difficult but vital. These workouts boost both our physical health and advance our work towards a final goal of a 1.7 mile swim.

Hands-on learning is emphasized at the Island School. Our lessons include snorkeling, swimming, research, and engaging lessons with PhD scientists. The enthusiasm around this type of learning was both fun and effective, we all leave the classroom with a common understanding of the state of the world. These experiences provided us with a new way of learning and challenged us to apply our newfound knowledge.

The main portion of our expedition will be focused on adding to a long-term data set monitoring the health of reefs in The Bahamas. We, as a group, have been trained in research skills while on campus and are embarking on our 18 day sailing voyage, during which we will apply our new skills throughout the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park. One group will be focusing on the growth, population, and health of Elkhorn Coral (a vital part of the coral reef ecosystem) in the Exumas, while the other will collect data on fish populations in the reefs. We are extremely excited and can’t wait to experience this new type of expedition and apply our new knowledge!”

The HIOBS team on Glass Window Bridge in Northern Eleuthera

Sailing

Welcome Hurricane Island Outward Bound Fall Gap Year Students!

October 31, 2016 teamcomm

This Saturday, 15 students will be joining us on campus for a first-of-its-kind program taking place over the next month. This program is similar to the summer term expeditionary program but has some key differences: these students are all on a gap year and thus are in the 18-22 year old range. They started their fall gap semester at the HIOBS campus in Maine in September, and since then have been learning about leadership, wilderness skills, leave no trace principles, teaching methods, earning their Wilderness First Responder certifications, and completing two expeditions- a canoe and a backpacking trip. Pretty awesome students right? We think so too.

Their time on our campus will be the final leg of their fall gap year journey, which will be the marine research and sailing expedition portion of their experience. For the first part of their trip, they will be on our campus learning about marine science, developing field research skills with CEI researchers, and prepping for a sailing expedition where their newfound knowledge of the marine environment will be put to use. They will be heading across the Exuma Sound in two 30-foot sailboats where they will spend 19 days collecting data in the beautiful Exuma Cays. The data collected by the students will contribute to long term projects monitoring populations of reef fish and elkhorn coral.

After returning from the research expedition, the students will have a week back on campus to put together final research presentations based on the data they collected and to complete a final swimming event. After that, it will be time to celebrate a successful fall gap year semester and leave our campus with a wealth of new knowledge and skills to hopefully help guide their future endeavors.

We could not be more excited to welcome this pioneering group of students to our campus, and we hope you follow along on their adventure by checking back here for updates over the next month!

Island School, News

Fore the Ocean: Future Island School students clean up Monterey Bay

October 25, 2016 teamcomm

Monterey Bay is full of golf balls, Alex and Jack are the “somebodies” to do something about it.

Alex Weber and Jack Johnston will be students attending The Island School in Spring 2017. We can’t wait for these two leaders to join The Island School community. Make sure to watch their video, “Fore the Ocean.”

Read the article about them here

Alumni, Alumni Spotlight

Alumni Update: Ryan DeVos

October 17, 2016 teamcomm

We have a World Champion among us: Ryan DeVos (SP ’08) and his team are the 2016 Megles 32 World Champions!

Ryan DeVos, along with his seven teammates, secured the title of World Champion in Newport, Rhode Island on October 2! As our first Island School alumnus to be awarded this high of an honor we are very excited to announce our congratulations and immense pride to have Ryan as part of our alumni community. After a full year of sailing with the same teammates, four of which have sailed together since 2010, the team came together to stand atop the highest podium at the 2016 Melges 32 World Championship. Competing in half a dozen regattas this year, including a first place finish at a series in Fort Lauderdale and taking 2^nd at the National Championship, winning in Newport was the ultimate goal.

When asked about his experience at The Island School, Ryan spoke to how those 100 days gave him the confidence to do anything. He loved that his semester viewed every day as a day to explore. As an Island School student in Spring 2008, he, unfortunately, was not a part of the new sailing expeditions. When asked what he thought about sailing the Hurricane Island boats, a much slower sailboat than a Melges 32, he said, “it’s about the experience, not the speed in which you do it.”

Again, The Island School congratulates Ryan on the World Championship win and is wishing him good luck at his new job with the Orlando Magic!

http://www.mysailing.com.au/latest/ryan-devos-crowned-2016-melges-32-world-champion

Alumni, Cape Eleuthera Foundation, Events

Maxey in New England

October 13, 2016 teamcomm

Alumni at the Robinson's home (Fall 2012 Alumni Family) in Middlebury, VT — Alumni at the Robinson’s home (Fall 2012 Alumni Family) in Middlebury, VT

Chris Maxey and Cape Eleuthera Foundation Chairman, Ernie Parizeau, traveled to Hanover, New Hampshire and Middlebury, Vermont earlier this week. Alumni and families gathered to share stories and reminisce about their time on Eleuthera. The events were filled with pizza, laughter, and memories of the cape. Chris and Ernie are now headed to Boston for a board meeting and an Admissions Reception this weekend!

Alumni at Everything But Anchovies in Hanover, NH