Construction of the Brown Recycling Center is ongoing and moving along quite quickly. Last week we poured concrete for the belt course for the first floor, which tied all of the internal and external walls into a solid unit. The next steps include beginning the front porch and putting joists in place for the second floor, which should begin in mid-October.
Category Archives: News
Introducing New Director of Admissions, Sharon Jarboe!
The Island School is pleased to announce that a new director of admission, Sharon Jarboe, has joined the leadership team. Co-founder and former Director of Admission Pam Maxey is excited to pass the torch on to Sharon, who takes on the new role this fall. While Pam remains in New Jersey working with the admission team this year, Sharon’s hire will enable Pam’s transition into a broader role including more development work and more time on-island in Eleuthera.
Sharon joins The Island School having just received her M.Ed in educational leadership from the University of Pennsylvania. Most recently she served as associate director of admission and financial aid at The Pennington School in New Jersey. At Pennington, Sharon spearheaded initiatives using strategic events, travel, and financial aid in order to increase the diversity of the applicant pool and student body at the school. She also designed, launched, and taught two Mandarin language programs there and brings a history of helping students bridge cultural differences by working creatively within an institution.
Sharon joins our team eager to work collegially and help us take the admissions work to the next level. It was apparent during the interview process and her participation in The Island School’s summer Teacher Conference that Sharon shares The Island School’s forward thinking approach to experiential learning and educational philosophy and practices. Sharon remarked with enthusiasm, “I believe that I found my dream job, as I can not imagine a more rewarding opportunity to support young people as they embark on this transformative journey.”
First Ever Monster Run-Swim!
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This weekend marked the first-ever Monster Run-Swim event at The Island School. The event took place on two courses: the normal Island School run-swim course, a sprint run-swim course with 1.7km of running and 0.5km swimming, and a ‘Monster’ course featuring a 7.4km run and a 1.65km swim. Rooted in a uniquely Island School morning exercise, the run-swim drew alumni and friends of The Island School from the U.S. and Nassau, including Alumni Advisory Board members Meg Bunn (F’01), Nick Del Vecchio (F’02), Kate Parizeau (F’03), and Johann Schdeit (SP’02). Many participants relished opportunity to revisit the course, sometimes for the first time since being a student, while at the same time knowing they were supporting the Deep Creek Middle School.
Despite some difficulty for participants to reach the remote location, the first installment of the Monster Run-Swim was a success. Including some Island School students and staff who participated in the event, 64 individuals tested their ability to truly cross train. Finishing first overall was Scott Aland (SP’05), who completed the long course in just over one hour, and the first woman across the finish line was Island School student Hope Logan (F’12), who finished only a couple minutes behind.
Be sure to join us in the future for the next Monster Run-Swim!
AML Foods Presents Check to BESS Program
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To mark their continued relationship of support, AML Foods, through their Solomon’s Fresh Market Brand presented the Bahamas Environmental Steward Scholar program (BESS) with a $5,000 donation. Renea Knowles, Vice President of Marketing and Communications for AML Foods, presented the check to a grateful group of scholarship award recipients and partners, which included Franchesca Bethell and Cristina Roberts 2012 BESS students Trueranda Cox, (BESS alumnae 2010), Garneisha Pinder (BESS alumnae 2010), Charlene Carey, Environmental Educator at BREEF, and Kalin Griffin, Chief of Staff at The Island School.
Solomon’s Fresh Market demonstrates its dedication to fostering Continue reading
Welcoming Chris Brown and the Golden Knights Back to The Bahamas!
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This past Wednesday South Eleuthera hosted a homecoming for local hero, and Olympic Gold medalist Chris Brown, and his three teammates, Demetrius Pinder, Michael Mathieu and Ramon Miller. The four men, nicknamed “The Golden Knights” toured Eleuthera starting early in the morning in North Eleuthera and worked their way up the island before reaching Weymss’ Bight park for a ceremony and celebration in their honor.
For The Bahamas, the gold medal was their first in the 4×400 relay race, with the four quarter-milers finishing ahead of the United States, covering the mile in just over three and a half minutes. The ceremony was emceed by The Island School’s own Danielle Gibson, with presentations by Kalin Griffin and others, followed by performances including the Rum Runners.
After the official programme, the athletes availed themselves to supporters by signing autographs, posing for photos, and discussing their memorable triumph. Thanks to the Golden Knights for allowing some Island School, DCMS, and CEI folks to pose for their own “golden” moments.
Building Bridges Abroad: Bradley and Garneisha Return From Training in China
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The Island School and The Embassy for the People’s Republic of China celebrated a growing partnership this summer as the Embassy welcomed Bahamian Environmental Steward Scholar alumni (BESS) and Island School alumni Garneisha Pinder (F’10) and Bradley Watson (F’08). Pinder a rising sophomore at The College of The Bahamas and Watson a rising senior at College of Charleston, attended the Training Course on Bio-gas Technology for Developing Countries on May 15th – July 9th. You can hear more about their experiences on Continue reading
Henry the Boathouse Pigeon
If anyone has been in The Island School boathouse within the last 2 months, then you have most definitely met our new pet pigeon, Henry. Henry came to us one day in June, with a tag on his foot and decided to hang out for a while. Little did we know, Henry was part of a group of pigeons racing from Lille, France to Leeds in the UK. For some reason Henry got a bit off track, a couple thousand miles off track, and ended up here! Henry’s amazing journey has already made into some local news stories in the UK and his fame is only continuing to grow. You can watch this video clip about Henry and read more about him here.
CEI’s Kristal Ambrose Sets Sail
Over the course of three days in early February, 5 Gyres scientist Marcus Ericksen hosted a conference at the Cape Eleuthera Institute for educators on the impact of marine plastic pollution. Eriksen gave presentations detailing voyages to these gyres to study their makeup and movement. His passion inspired CEI’s Kristal Ambrose to action. Motivated by the dilemma of plastic marine debris in the local waters of the Exuma sound and oceans around the world, Kristal pursued an opportunity of a lifetime.
The CEI aquaponics intern decided she wanted to accompany him on one of his voyages. Following a series of fortunate events Ambrose got her chance. Thanks to efforts on her part to secure funding and support from Chris and Pam Maxey, Christian Henry, Josh Shultz , Annabelle Brooks, The Nature Conservancy, and Bobbie Hallig, she will be headed to the Marshall Islands to begin her Journey. Then, from May 1-23, Kristal will be joining Marcus Eriksen and his team on a research expedition to sail across the pacific ocean from Majuro, Marshall Islands to Tokyo, Japan to study the Japan Tsunami Debris.
Organized by the 5 Gyres Institute, Algalita Marine Research Foundation, and Pangea Exploration, the expedition seeks to answer questions that explore what happens Continue reading
Hallig House Grand Opening!
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The Cape Eleuthera Institute (CEI) welcomed government officials, Bahamian dignitaries and esteemed guests to the grand opening of its Hallig House. The event was celebrated within the context of the One Eleuthera Foundation’s Earth Day Weekend, as a symbol of how community partnerships with shared vision can support a future of sustainable development in The Bahamas.
Chris Maxey, co-founder of the Cape Eleuthera Island School, encouraged event guests to envision the impact of innovative green design technologies: “Imagine building systems that are a net exporter of energy and water, that use the sun to heat water and to cool living spaces, that process waste in a responsible way that helps restore ecosystems and beautify the seascape.”
Hallig House was designed as an educational model for island nations. Led by Warren Wagner of W3 Architects and designed by a team of conservation systems specialists, the building features innovative elements, which solve specific regional issues. The building’s structure and shape, construction materials, and renewable energy and waste management systems all demonstrate how local and national development can maximize locally available resources while minimizing impact on local environments.
The opening marked the first time that the Cape Eleuthera Island School has been honored by the presence of His Excellency Sir Arthur Foulkes Governor-General to the Commonwealth of The Bahamas. He gave the keynote address at the event, seen in the video below. Continue reading
Lionfish Research in The Bahamas Makes Global Spotlight
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Since its creation just over one year ago, the Lionfish Research and Education Program (LREP) at CEI has strived to become a hub for lionfish work in the Caribbean. Recently, LREP has taken some exciting steps toward reaching this status! Just last week, CEI hosted three producers and videographers from ZED (www.zed.fr), a major French documentary company that is working on gathering footage for an upcoming TV series featuring invasive lionfish. Specifically, the documentary team was interested in learning about Bahamian lionfish research and management initiatives. Luckily, visiting scientist, and partner of LREP, Nicola Smith was able to come over from Nassau to support the week’s activities and be featured in the film! Nicola is the lead coordinator for the Bahamian-wide lionfish research project that operates under the Bahamian Department of Marine Resources (DMR) and partners with CEI.
ZED producer, Jerome Segur, sound engineer, Olivier Pioda, and underwater videographer (and former member of Jacque Cousteau’s prestigious dive team!) Didier Noirot, joined Nicola and LREP researchers in the field to get a closer look at lionfish and to better understand the project’s research objectives. Continue reading