We create community in many way here at The Island School. Tuesday, the Boys Dorm put together an afternoon of bonding and fun during their free Exploration Time. On their very own Boys Dorm Beach, students and male faculty got together to play Frisbee and other games. They also enjoyed a delicious variety of barbecued food, after a long afternoon of hanging out on the beach together.
Hi, I am Noelle and a student here at The Island School this semester. I will be writing this week’s blogs! Yesterday we woke up, all very excited for our first “psycho”, which is an intense and rapidly changing workout regiment. Although a little nervous about a workout given the name “psycho,” I ended up having a lot of fun. Not only did we run, but we also had piggyback and leapfrog races, did hopscotch over other students holding plank, and played blob tag. Not only was I getting really energized for the day, but I was laughing and watching a beautiful Bahamian sunrise the whole time. It was a perfect start to the morning.
Then we had out first lengthy research class. I am in the Queen Conch class and have to admit I was not excited about the project until yesterday morning. Hearing my advisors so passionately illustrate why this issue is so relevant and important made me realize that I am so lucky to have the opportunity to make an impact on the marine ecosystem. I could already feel my research group getting closer, with a shared feeling of excitement. Almost every other student felt the same way. Continue reading
The Island School’s alumni department is always trying to find the best way to keep up with our alumni–and for our alumni to keep up with us! In addition to this blog, our Facebook page, YouTube channel, and Twitter account, we have a group on LinkedIn just for Island School alumni. If you are not already a member, you can join here!
We also recently launched an Island School Alumni & Parents Network on LinkedIn. This group is meant to connect alumni and alumni parents professionally, whether it is a parent posting a job opening, or an alumnus reaching out to a parent who works in a field they are interested in. It is a mutually beneficial group for both alumni and parents. Please join here!
This was a fun and exciting weekend for students. It was our first “regular” Sunday spent here at Island School. We were able to sleep-in and join in some of the morning activities before our delicious Sunday brunch. Sundays are free days at Island School, and the students are able to sign out and go to different locations around the cape. A big group students decided to go to Fourth Hole. Fourth Hole was given its name because Cape Eleuthera hosted a big resort with a golf course forty years ago and this was where the “fourth hole” was located. After the resort closed down, the area became grown over by bush and now it lays adjacent to The Island School for us to explore. At Fourth Hole, we did plenty of sunbathing (don’t worry, faculty demanded we put on sunscreen before we left campus!), listened to some music, talked, and just had fun. There was even a small pickup soccer game that was going on near Sunset Beach. It was just a day of relaxing from our first few days of our academic week.
On Saturday, Island School students also had their first Saturday night activity. We all hopped onto our big yellow bus and traveled about 50 minutes north and arrived in Tarpum Bay for the Arts and Cultural Festival. Continue reading
The sun is shining, the water is glistening, and the gappers are getting antsy because we just finished our last full week here at CEI. This week saw the culmination of our intensive programs, and we all worked hard to finish out our independent work strongly. While a few of us spent time in the wet lab finishing up experiments or dissections, others worked hard to make their marks on campus through various projects. We also spent time working on our final human ecology papers, in which we all chose an environmental issue to research and discuss. Along with our papers, we began to plan our Demonstrations of Learning (DoLs), which we will be presenting to the greater community in a few days. It means a lot that we will get to explain what we’ve taken away from this island to those who are also lucky to call it home
Although our time on Eleuthera is coming to an end and we’re preparing to go our separate ways, we will carry the knowledge that we have acquired in the past super-awesome-cool eight weeks with us wherever we may end up.
Gapz forever.
Liza Wright-Fairbanks
Through introductions from our friends at Nobles, we had the opportunity to visit an inspiring educational program. Kliptown Youth Program in South Africa is bringing hope to the next generation of young people growing up in one of the most poor Soweto neighborhoods in the outskirts of Johannesburg, South Africa.
Yesterday at The Island School, we students were able to start our academic classes. We all went into our Research groups first this morning and they seemed fun, but are going to be intense! I am in the lionfish vs lobster research group with Jocelyn, Rachel, and Liz as our CEI Research Advisors. We were able to discuss what we already knew about lionfish and how they are harmful to their invaded environments since they are invasive. We also watched a video about the relationship between lobster and lionfish and if they might feed on each other. It seems like it is going to be a lot of work, but it is going to be so rewarding in the end. My Marine Ecology and Human Ecology class that I had in the afternoon seems like it is going to be a lot of fun. Peter and Becky teach Marine Ecology and since I plan on being a marine biologist when I get older, this class is going to be really beneficial to me. Our small group of twelve students also had to opportunity to capture an upside-down jellyfish called Cassiopia. Becky spoke to us about how they produce their own food as well as capturing it, which is fascinating. What a great start to our academic week.
Hello everyone, this is Liz and I’ll be on blog duties for the next week or so. Yesterday was a day of transition for the students here at Island School. Our academic classes are finally starting today, so the faculty decided it would be a good idea for us to be introduced to this unique activity called Querencia time. With Querencia time we are able to go off on our own anywhere on the cape around the school as long as we stay within our set boundaries. I was really excited for this time because it is a time of reflection on one’s self and honestly is the only time where I was finally and utterly, just by myself. I wanted to make this time really special so I searched for about an hour on my bike trying to find and discover just the right spot. I found some really neat places, but none of them really spoke to me or felt all that special. I discovered this really beautiful spot near sunset beach, a couple in the inner loop, but finally after an hour of biking I realized I was just happy to be on a small section of the beach on Fourth Hole. Continue reading
In partnership with the Bahamas Reef Environmental Education Foundation (BREEF), the students of Deep Creek Middle School (DCMS) has installed the firsts student created native plants nature trail. Watch as our local DCMS kids give a history of the project and a tour of the trail. They will soon have a laminated field guide for the trail, so feel free to drop by for a self-guided tour or spend time learning from one of our student experts.
Each week, a group of students is selected for their unique potential as leaders to come together as the 5 student Cacique Council, “Cacique” meaning leader in ancient Lucayan. During that week, the group will plan special activities for their peers, run morning and evening circles, facilitate communication between students and faculty, and fulfill other important roles as needed. Members of the council are welcomed into the new role during Community Meeting, in which a public acknowledgement of each individual’s leadership qualities is read aloud. Enjoy these “Cacique Pass-Offs” written below. Join us in welcoming the first Cacique Council of the semester: James Boelkins, Isabel Jamerson, Brayden Beardsley, Ivy Fasolo, and Shanika Foster, and look forward to more student leadership updates in the coming weeks:
This student emerged as a leader and great team member during 3-day kayak; his trip leaders were surprised and impressed when he jumped out of his boat for lunch on the first day and immediately had the tarp out, asking what needed to be done to set up lunch. Whether it was offering encouraging words out on the water or asking how he could help around camp, this student Continue reading