Monday was our final day of a few of our courses for the semester. In literature class we shared our Hero’s Journey Poems, based on an IslandSchoolpersonal journey in the style of the poetic voice of Derek Walcott author of Omeros. Each student seemed hesitant to stand up at the podium, but someone had to go. When it came to my turn my heart started to race and my voice became us easy, but I got up there. I spoke of whole new world filled with guidance, consumed with challenges overwhelmed with goals, and facing the brink of return. It was my Island School, my passion about the transformation and confidence I have gained here guided my poetic voice. It seemed that each student that wearily waddled up to that podium left with passion and closure. Verbally you can share you vision, emotions, and passion truthfully and clearly. This realization will give me the confidence I need to embrace my future with faith that I can succeed come transitioning home.

“Grains” by Mattie McAlpin

It was silent. Nerves were racing in every limb.
No one spoke; perhaps they didn’t know what to say.
We dove in as one and now just a knee high swim. Continue reading →

It was an eventful weekend across campus, it was time for our final athletic events! I spent the evening before the half marathon staring up at the girls dorm ceiling and downing as much water as my body could take, questioning if I could make it all the way. We were up and awake, well kind of awake, at5:10Saturday morning it was pitch black except a few van headlights and lights from the classrooms peering out into the darkness. I was feeling awfully nervous, wondering if I could even see the road ahead of me. Before I knew it we were off, there was no going back now I just had to go for it. There was help along the way every few miles I had cheerful, beaming, encouraging friends of mine with kind words and a Gatorade in hand. I felt my confidence rise as I traveled along the winding route. It was their support and my running partner Annie that kept me going. I refused to walk, I refused to stop, I ran and I ran.

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With three miles to go I doubted my abilities, Continue reading →

It has been a dreary few days, days that are best for our cisterns. The rain doesn’t stop us from filling the whole day through though. Yesterday morning was an anticipated one. All 49 of us were dressed, somewhat awake, and hopefully ready for what was to come. It was the morning of the pig slaughter an experience that entailed a range of emotions. Some of us had welling tears, some were on deck for support, and for some this wasn’t the first time. The setting met to mood well with a raging fire and an ominous dismal gray morning. Although it was a sensitive morning I am always confident that there is plenty of support within our community to leave any experience knowing there are people around to comfort and encourage me and my peers in a time of need.

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Then yesterday afternoon was my last dive in Marine Ecology class; we dove CEI’s aquaculture cage. Continue reading →

Monday afternoon was our final Community outreach with our Deep Creak Middle School buddies. A day filled with both friendly competition among students and staff and a sad departure from a fulfilling and memorable semester with our bright buddies.  We started the afternoon with our final CO class, having little on the agenda we were given the block to exchange giggles and I choose to capture as many beaming faces on camera as it would take. After the students finished homeroom it was time for the basketball jamboree! The teams were jumbled with Island School students, DCMS students, and staff, with games lasting only 10 minutes. I was put in the first round of fierce competition and quite honestly feeling nervous that I would end up using my feet accidentally. But the moment the whistle blew I was in the zone and having a blast. I forgot how silly I must have looked out on court and just shared smirks and sweaty high fives with my teammates. When my game came to an end I was exhausted and dripping in sweat but still grinning from ear to ear as I watched my faithful teammates shuffle off the court in similar states. There was hot macaroni, conch fritters, bake goods, and frozen drinks welcoming us as we search for our water bottles. In my time at DCMS it has been a pleasure to see such a bright group of determined and thoughtful young students excel and grow before my eyes. I hope to keep in touch with my buddy Zach as I am confident that he will do great things in the years to come.

Hi my name is Matti McAlpin and I am new on blog chores this week. I am excited to be given the chance to share some of our final memorable experiences at The Island School as the Spring semester comes to a close. As parents weekend came to an end we took some time as a community to ease our way back into our hectic final weeks. This past Sunday we started our morning bright and early with an extra extended workout in preparation for our big athletic events in the coming week. I started the workout feeling particularly worn out and honestly quite discouraged. Two hours of running was not motivating this morning but as the run progressed and sweat began to drip down my every limb I became more and more confident in myself. The Half Marathon was just a week away and I’m feeling great! The CEI bridge was in plain sight and I pushed with all my might. I propelled every muscle in my body to the finishing pole and laid on the ground beaming up at the sky ready to take anything that was to come that day. Continue reading →

Yesterday ended up being a great day. In the morning Felipe and I, for our Human Ecology project, speared 30 lionfish. To put that in perspective – on Friday we caught 3, and were very excited about that. In the afternoon, students had Community Outreach at DCMS. The group I’m in, Domestic Violence, worked on what they were going to say during their informational meeting that night. It was neat to see all the work we put in over the semester be put into action. Last night, Island School and CEI had two guest speakers give separate presentations. One talked about climate change’s effect on tropical lizards and the other speaker talked about bonefish in the neighboring creeks. Both speakers were Ph.D students and were extremely informative when talking about their individual subjects.

Today we have Art class in the morning and Marine Ecology in the afternoon. In Art, we are continuing to prep for the Art Gallery in the Octagon. All the artwork, as of now, is in the Octagon, but it still needs to be set up. In Marine Ecology, we are discussing MPAs (Marine Protected Areas). We just read an article about an MPA in Madagascar, and now, are relating its similarities to South Eleuthera.

One day till Parents Weekend!

Weekend Recap: Saturday was an eventful day with Research in the morning and then Human Ecology in the afternoon. In the morning each research group presented to faculty and CEI in preparation for the presentation they will give over parent’s weekend. Every group received feedback on their Power Point Presentations and on their delivery. It was a great way to hear other points about our work and better ways to facilitate to others what we have done. Saturday afternoon we had a large chunk of time to work on our Human Ecology projects. Felipe and I went out with faculty guidance and speared lionfish. We are trying to show an alternative use of lionfish other then eating them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZpXZ4f_8xQ&feature=youtu.be

Our group is catching lionfish and then fishing with them to see if they are effective as bait. We will then facilitate that information to local fisherman. As of right now, most local communities still don’t know that lionfish can be eaten. Continue reading →

Enjoy this glimpse into post morning exercise chore time, hosted by your Daily Update blogger, Mac McDonald.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kFhLDEVrH8&feature=youtu.be

Yesterday, during art class, the student body officially set the Art Gallery in motion. On Parent’s Weekend there will be a showcase of the students’ artwork set up in the octagon. There are multiple committees in charge of different tasks for the showcase. Some of the committees include set up and clean up crew, appetizer crew, and printing labels crew. The curators, in charge of the overall process, are Matti McAlpin and Liz Ellinger. They take over the entire design of the extravanganza. All the students are excited for their parents to see the hard work they’ve put towards their artwork this semester.

Today is the final preparation day for our Human Ecology final projects. Continue reading →

Yesterday was the first day back into the swing of regular classes. We had a community meeting in which the new Cacique Council was named – Annie Obrecht, Ann-Marie, Rachel, Kyle Titsworth, and Brendan. The activity of the meeting was a kayak rotations themed relay race. Everyone was split into their kayak groups and had to run to stations which included putting on their spray skirt, life jacket, and singing “Row Row your Boat;” digging a Dead Man; and running to a van, getting in, and singing a Hannah Montana song (experienced during Down Island Trip). After the relay race, we split into random groups and talked about our individual goals for the rest of the semester. Some of the goals included: to finish the Super Swim or Half Marathon, to do better in class, or to beat their old Run-Swim time. It was a good time in which we officially ended our kayak groups and then came together as a community. Continue reading →