During Hope College’s winter break, a group biology and geology students came down to The Island School to learn about geology, biology, and sustainability on a small island like Eleuthera. Check out the article here: Hope College Students Study Ecology on Eleuthera.
Thank you to Chip Wierda (F’09) for sending this along!
Exactly two years ago, Helen Bourdeaux (S’10), was just beginning her Island School journey as a student. Last week, Helen, now an alumna, stopped by the Cape with her family to check out the school and reconnect with some familiar faces. It was great to see you, Helen! If any other alumni are going to be in the area for spring breaks, please let us know by emailing alumni@islandschool.org.
Ernie Parizeau, parent of IS alumni Kate (F’03), Doug (S’06), and Molly (S’10), gave a great TED talk at Middlebury College this fall titled “Fortune Favors the Bold”. Check it out!
We are always encouraging students to make presentations about The Island School when they return to their sending schools after their semester. Not only does it help make their transference back home a bit smoother to have others understand some of their experiences from this semester abroad, but it also gets the word out about The Island School, Cape Eleuthera Institute, Deep Creek Middle School, and all the amazing things we are doing here. We are especially proud of Katie Harpin, a recent Fall 2011 alumna, for sharing her Island School experience with her Taft School peers. Each Tuesday and Thursday during the school year, all Taft students gather for Morning Meeting. In addition to talks by the headmaster, chaplain or other members of the faculty, students themselves often address the school. You can listen to Katie’s speech during a January 26th Morning Meeting here. Great job, Katie!
After leading Middlebury’s Solar Decathalon team to an impressive fourth place finish in 2011, Katie Romanov (F05) is now in the running to be America’s Next Eco-Star, a contest sponsored by Smart Power. You can watch Katie’s video here, where she not only talks about the impact her Island School semester had on her passion for the environment, but the many other activities she has been involved in throughout her high school and college careers that would make her the most qualified candidate for this contest. Be sure to vote for Katie so that she can become America’s Next Eco-Star! Good luck Katie!
Hey all you alums out there! We are still accepting applications for Summer Term 2012 Alumni Mentors. Island School is looking alumni who want to come back to the Cape, gain teaching experience, and support high school students through this intense summer journey. To read more about the job description, responsibilities, and to apply, click here. The application deadline is February 15. If you have any questions, please contact alumni@islandschool.org.
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Island School Fall 2005 alumni, Drew Fink, Dave Seamans, Jaclyn Battjes, Colton Coughlin and Lucas Cherrington, managed to find some snow during this mild winter we’re having in the US. The crew met up for some skiing and snowboarding out west in Beaver Creek, CO. Yeah Island School!
…click here to find out!
As a collective alumni community, we reached 33% participation and raised over $110,000! Way to go! While we did not meet our goal of 45% overall participation, we did see much improvement from last year’s CONCHtribution campaign. 2010 recorded 32% participation, or 294 alums, raising $103,000. This year, 368 alums donated, which is over 70 more than 2010! We also raised $7,000 more than we did last year! Thank you to all who “Donated Once and Gave Back Twice!” We appreciate your support of The Island School.
As CONCHtribution 2011 comes to a close, we’d like to highlight a few alums who have not only donated to the Cape Eleuthera Foundation Annual Fund, but took that act of giving a step further by making a difference in their community. Here are a few alums who have “Donate Once and Give Back Twice”:
Madeline Hansen (S’07) is helping to build and organize a winter solar greenhouse on her college campus, College of Saint Benedict, in central Minnesota so students can have an opportunity to learn while growing food for the campus cafeteria. So far they have secured the majority of funding and have created all the building plans. Now, they’re just waiting for spring to come to tie up loose ends and start building! Good luck, Madeline!
Tom Weaver (F’06) and his friend have been running a bike co-op at Colorado College. They were granted some money from the school, with which they bought all the major equipment one would find in a bike shop. The co-op is open a few hours every week and Tom and his friend teach CC students and Colorado Springs community members how to fix their own bikes. All the bike mechanics at the co-op are volunteers. Tom says, “Our philosophy includes how fun it is to ride a bike around town, the convenience a bike provides to run nearby errands, the exercise benefits, and the very low carbon impact in the grand scheme of things.” Great work, Tom!
Brit Hastings (S’06) participated in a service day Continue reading
Island School has given me leadership skills and confidence I need to take control of my own education. These skills are useful in the classroom, in the field, or during extracurricular activities.
After Island School, I focused more on the courses I was passionate about. I became happy and eager to go to class and do the work. I was even willing to do more and go deeper into matters on my own time because of curiosity and fascination. I had a new mindset of being excited to learn. “Education” took the place of “school” in my vocabulary. I forgot about a letter grade and focused on the information in front of me. I thought about how I could use that information to pursue my dreams and make a change in the world.
One big idea at the Island School is “leadership affecting change.” Currently, I am volunteering at Newport Hospital in the Emergency Room. Continue reading