Category Archives: Deep Creek Middle School

Deep Creek Middle School, Events, News

DCMS and ELC Students Compete in Jr. Junkanoo

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Hours of practice and hard work paid off for Deep Creek Middle School students last Saturday night at The 2014 Eleuthera Jr. Junkanoo held in Governors Harbour.  Accompanying DCMS for the first time, the pre-schoolers at The Island School’s Early Learning Center joined in the annual competition, leading the group down the new Queen’s Highway route.  The group took home top prize in the Junior High category finishing with 948 points.  Congratulations team!

Below is a photo essay highlighting their journey:

(Photographs by Erik Kruthoff and Will Strathman)

A late night pasting session at DCMS
Mr. Will Simmons, a teacher at DCMS, served as leader of the group

 

A DCMS student pastes a head piece
Members of the entire Island School Community lent a hand in preparing for the event.
DCMS students teaching the ELC pre-schoolers the proper steps.
Practicing in front of school
Practicing at The Island School.
Cowbells and drums. The signature sound of Junkanoo
For many of the ELC students, this was their first Junkanoo rush.
A student tries his hand at the trumpet.
Dancers practicing.

 

After-school drum practice.
A student dancer showing off his moves.
A volunteer pastes a shoulder piece.
Adding the preschoolers to the group made for some laughs.
Assembling the group on the day of the competition.
Mr. Simmons making last-minute preparations.
DCMS dancers pose for a group shot.
Drums are warmed up next to a bonfire.
DCMS drummer crew.
A male dancer shows off his costume.
Ready to go.
The Early Learning Center students lead the way, showcasing the school’s core values: Exploration, Individuality, Creativity, Growth, and Imagination.
The DCMS Banner “The Future Leaders of the Bahamas” with their core values: Responsible Citizenship, Leadership, and Academic Growth.
Lead dancers with the banner.
DCMS dancers.
DCMS Core Values “Graduates”
“Prime Ministers of The Bahamas” piece.
A colorful shoulder piece.
DCMS brass section.
Trumpet player in the brass section.
DCMS Trombone player.
“School of First Choice” shoulder piece.
Dancers with cowbells and scrapers.

 

DCMS Drummers.

 

Drummers beat out the unrelenting sound of Junkanoo.
DCMS & ELC took home top place for the Junior High category, finishing with 948 points.

 

Deep Creek Middle School

DCMS Eco-Club Chosen to Attend 2014 POPS Youth Summit

Deep Creek Middle School students have been chosen to attend the 2014 Plastic Ocean Pollution Solutions (POPS) International Youth Summit to be held March 22-23, 2014 at the Ocean Institute in Dana Point, California. They are one of 21 teams, representing 5 countries, who won a bid to attend the comprehensive educational program designed to engage, mentor, and activate youth leaders across the United States and abroad in developing and launching action-oriented solutions to reduce plastic waste in their home communities.

You can learn more about the conference here: http://www.algalita.org/ship2shore/2012InternationalYouthSummit.php

Deep Creek Middle School

Boarding School Admissions Officers Visit the Cape

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Each November, admissions officers and school leaders from around the United States come to Eleuthera to get more familiar with The Deep Creek Middle School, The Island School and Cape Eleuthera Institute. On November 18 & 19, visitors from Perkiomen, Cushing Academy, The Christchurch School and Camden Hills Regional High School spent time visiting our Cape Eleuthera campuses.

The visit helps schools understand the innovative best practices of the schools, get familiar with the caliber of the programs and allows them to consider partnering with us in the future. For many DCMS students, these visits can result in scholarships and placements for students who wish to continue their secondary education in the U.S. In DCMS’s 12 year history, it has sent 30 students to US boarding schools, earning over $3.25 million in scholarships.

Deep Creek Middle School

DCMS New England Boarding School Tour

Each year, qualified students from Deep Creek Middle School visit New England Boarding schools in the hopes of earning a scholarship to continue their study abroad. This year, Zachary Carey and Demetria Humes toured at sixteen schools in five different states (The Hill, Taft, Deerfield, Pennington, Perkiomen, Cheshire, Cushing, Miss Halls, Wesminster, Northfield Mount Hermon, North Yarmouth Academy, Lawrence Academy, Kents Hill, George, Berkshire, Wilbraham and Monson, and Winchendon)! Zachary and Demetria will join over 30 other alumni who have earned over $3.25 million dollars in scholarships from partner schools.

For more information on this trip and DCMS’s relationship with US boarding schools, email Joanna Paul at joannapaul@dcmsbahamas.org.
Deep Creek Middle School, Educational Programs

Round Square Students Join DCMS Eco Club for Plastics Seminar

TeamworkA group of 17 high school student visited DCMS for the first ever DCMS-Round Square Plastics Seminar in early October. Round Square is a world-wide association of schools that works to develop young people and their approach to life through experiential learning. Visitors were paired with DCMS Eco Club members to share perspectives on plastics pollution and have some fun.

New Friends“My buddy goes to boarding school in Massachusetts, but she’s originally from China,” said Eco Club member Marinique Leary, grade 8. “She is going to make posters for beaches and spread the word about preventing plastics pollution back in Massachusetts.”

Students got to know one another through ice breakers and games. “Mingling with the students was a nice experience because we got to teach them some of our customs and show them some of the activities we do at school when we have free time,” said Eco-Club member Patrick Johnson, grade 9.

Students Meet BuddiesThe seminar was an opportunity for round table discussions on plastic pollution and how it is affecting the environment and our bodies. Students spent the afternoon at Wemyss Bight beach conducting plastic surveys for researcher Kristal Ambrose’s ongoing comparative research project on South Eleuthera’s beaches.

“It was great to have different ideas about how to handle plastic pollution. I think it was really fun to show the Round Square students a native beach and how clean it looks, but then show them how dirty it actually is,” said Eco Club president Zachary Carey, grade 9.

During their four days on island, Round Square students also spent time with researchers at CEI assisting with experiments, such as lionfish dissections with the lionfish crew. Students and educators alike are hopeful about the possibility of the seminar becoming an annual event.

Deep Creek Middle School

DCMS Beach Clean Up

DSC05888September 21st marked the 28th anniversary of International Costal Cleanup Day—a day spearheaded by the Ocean Conservancy where groups from across the world are empowered to take action in their local communities to assist cleaning their local beaches, while at the same time tallying debris in order to contribute to a world wide data set that will determine the current major pollutants in marine ecosystems.  Last year more than 2,500 individual cleanup/ tally efforts occurred on this day.

Though Eleuthera has never before taken part in this event, sixty-four people gathered at Northside Beach last Saturday to be the third island to represents the Bahamas in International Costal Cleanup Day. Students from DCMS joined students from the Island School, and a few local families to clean up the beach and catalog debris. The event was organized by DCMS’s Eco-Club, in conjunction with a plastics survey run by Kristal Ambrose from CEI.

In the end, it was clear that the major pollutant on Northside Beach was plastics. Plastics were more than seven-hundred times as prevalent as other debris, with styrofoam pieces/parts coming in second. On just ¼ mile of beach, 15 trash bags were filled with debris.

DSC05858Last year, through the green school recertification process, students from DCMS identified single use plastic elimination as a necessary step in order to ensure sustainable practices within the school.  Though styrofoam has been “illegal” at the school for years, with violators paying an “Earth Destruction Fee”, the prevalence of single-use plastics has been harder to combat. The elimination plan rolled out this month with a ban on single-use drink bottles, and will continue next quarter with the elimination of single-use plastic snack wrappers.

DCMS’s  Eco-Club would like to thank all who participated in this event, which highlighted the degree to which plastics pollution is a problem on the island, as well as anyone who participates in similar events in the future. By taking part in International Costal Cleanup Day, students and families took the step to clean up their own community while at the same time working with others from around the world to make positive change.

Data from this event gives credibility to the need that the Eco-Club slogan proudly states, “Plastics Free by 2014″.

Deep Creek Middle School

Three DCMS Students Earn Scholarships to US Boarding Schools

Every year, a number of Deep Creek Middle School students get the opportunity to apply to boarding schools in the US through our Boarding School Placement Program. This program continues to serve students in their quest for continuing the progressive education received at DCMS. The school has sent 28 of its graduates to boarding schools since the inception of its Boarding School Program. This fall, we proudly sent three graduates to the United States for boarding school earning $74,000 in scholarships.

Three students from the class of 2013 have earned $100,000 for their education at U.S. high schools next year. With each student we send abroad, we are bridging the gap between The Bahamas and the US and are working to establish global citizens that will help ensure a viable and sustainable future worldwide and in The Bahamas.

Keneisha Pinder of Tarpum Bay will be attending Hebron Academy in Hebron, ME.
Keneisha Pinder of Tarpum Bay will be attending Hebron Academy in Hebron, ME.
Breanna Leary
Breanna Leary of Rock Sound will be attending The George School in Newtown, PA.
Shawnea Neeily will be attending the Darrow School in New Lebanon, NY.
Shawnea Neeily will be attending the Darrow School in New Lebanon, NY.

 

Deep Creek Middle School

DCMS End of Year Student Awards 2013

The faculty, staff and families of DCMS would like to congratulate the following students for exceptional performance during their second semester. These students are examples amongst their peers. They have exhibit true qualities of future leaders in our community and The Bahamas. Congratulations!!

keneishaSAND DOLLAR AWARD: Keniesha Pinder (Tarpum Bay)

The Sand Dollar Award is presented to the ninth grade student with the highest cumulative grade point average (3.72) during their time at DCMS. Keniesha’s diligence, perseverance and passion for learning has enabled her to rise to the top and will guarantee future success.

 

lanceFOUNDER’S AWARD: Lance Pelecanos (Tarpum Bay)

The Founder’s Award recognizes the ninth grade student who best exemplifies the core values of the school: academic growth, responsible citizenship, and leadership. This award goes to Lance Pelecanos who has experienced exceptional personal and academic growth by taking full advantage of the opportunities offered at the school. He has demonstrated responsible citizenship through outstanding leadership within the school community in the classroom, in extracurricular activities and on the field. In addition, he is a role model for young people in the larger community. Lance was unanimously selected by the teachers and principal.