We are sad for the loss of the great George Miller who served The Island School as our first literature teacher 1999-2000. George, who had come out of retirement as a Headmaster returned to what he loved most, working with young people and sharing his passion for good prose. George helped students navigate the awesome challenges of Walcott’s Omeros with humor and an “everyone-pulling-together Pirate mentality”. George even looked a little like a pirate as he often ran in the heat of the day with a bandanna protecting his head. We will all miss George and yet his great stories that he told and was a part of will live on in the hearts of his many Island School friends.
Every summer, The Island School welcomes a group of talented and motivated educators to their annual Teachers Conference. One of our attendees from this past summer, Mark Dewart, a science teacher at Park Tudor School in Indianapolis, shared some beautiful remarks at morning circle one morning:
“Reading “The Rediscovery of North America.” and being at the Island School leaves me thinking that we not only need to “rediscover” North America but we also need to “reinhabit” the continent. All of the teachers here come from communities that have thousands of inhabitants but how many of these inhabitants are living sustainably and joyfully in our home towns? There are currently 7 billion people on the planet with another 2 billion on the way before our students reach our age. We aren’t even close to figuring out how we are going to do this. How do we build communities that are sustainable and joyful to live in AND protect the wild places we have seen this week and the beings that live there? The important work of “rediscovery” leads to the important work of “reinhabitation.”
At the Island School we experienced first-hand what it looks and feels like to live in a joyful and sustainable community . We were comfortable and well-fed by food, energy and water producing systems that ran off of massive amounts of cleverness and ingenuity rather than tons of coal and barrels of oil. We spent a week on an island where, in the last 500 years, the people have had everything thrown at them from recurring hurricanes to the calamities of guns, germs and steel that the voyages of “discovery” brought to this part of the world. In the people living on these islands, around the hydroponic and tilapia tanks or in the ocean creatures we saw or held, all week we have felt the drumbeat of the universe beating strongly in Bahamaland. As we return to our home communities, like propagules falling from a mangrove tree, that drumbeat will animate our efforts to help our students and communities “rediscover” and “reinhabit” North America and the planet. “
We began the day with morning circle at 6:30am. The sun was shining brightly and the wind was blowing strong. When all 33 of us who weren’t on the tourism and development road trip were done singing the national anthem, we gathered together on the dock near the boat house to start our mile swim to the pole. One by one we all jumped in the warm water instantly we began freestyling to the pole. Some were slower than others. Me (Sahara), was one of the slow ones, while Abraham was in a swimming class because of his little experience with swimming. But he is getting better! When it hit around 7:15am, the teachers told us to swim back. This was pretty difficult because we had to swim against the current. Once again, some took longer than others but we all arrived back at the school at 7:35am. After the workout everyone began their daily chores. When all the chores where done at 8:00am all the students started their personal space in there dorms. At 8:15 am everyone lines up for breakfast but since our group, the Saber Tooth Blennies, was on dish crew we had to arrive at the dining hall at 8:00am to set up the dishes. When breakfast was over at 9:15am, the students split up into two groups; the marine ecology class and the food class.
Students learn about permaculture in the wet lab at the Cape Eleuthera Institute.
In the food class, we studied about permaculture, a self-sustaining farming system. Following our introduction to permaculture, we went to the farm where we observed and noted down the self-sustaining methods in the farm. We also got the chance to make a heap of compost. Each of us was assign to a site to analyze the plot and re-design it based on what we had learned within the week.
It seems like yesterday we all unpacked our bags to begin are journey here at the Island School but now it’s quickly coming to a close. Everyone including those who had no experience with swimming before coming to the Island school, is training and looking forward to the “monster run- swim”, where we will do a four mile run and one mile swim on Sunday the 27th.To those who are nervous- don’t be! We know you can do it!
Yesterday marked our last day off before our parents arrive and our final academic rotation begins. For all of us still here on campus, we slept in as late as our bodies would allow us, which for most of us wasn’t past 7:30 AM. However, one group woke up in a bit of a different setting…on their 24-hour solo on the beach. Everyone returned happy and well in the morning from their solos and the rest of campus was very excited to welcome them back after their long-anticipated arrival. Even on our days off at the Island School, the whole student body is always busy, never wasting a minute of our time here. Some of us searched the exploration grounds for the famous “Banyan Tree,” others relaxed at the beach, and a group even went to the nearby town Deep Creek with Peter for a game of basketball. After dinner, we congregated for the usual 7:15 PM night class, but this was no ordinary class. Whit and Nick took us to the boathouse to teach us a few swing dancing moves! No matter how experienced we were, we all managed to learn some of the motions and have a laugh while doing so. We all got our energy out and slipped right back into the academic mindset for study hours to prepare for the busy week that lies ahead.
Students are all smiles on their Down Island Trip
Our campus is full of mixed emotions as we get underway with this week—we are all eagerly anticipating the arrival of our parents, but we are also sad to see our time here coming to a close. I think we are all surprised by how close we have become in just three weeks and the thought of leaving each other is unnerving. However, our fellow student Emily Jenkins reminded us this morning at Morning Circle to make the most out of it and recited a quote to us: “Don’t count the time, make the time count.” This quote encourages us enter this week with the best attitude possible, because we have so much more to look forward to. We still have another week of classes, the Monster Run-Swim, and Parents Weekend to take on with full force.
“Don’t do it because it’s easy, do it because it’s difficult”
As the sun rose yesterday morning, anxious kids climbed out of their beds and feared the morning ahead. What kids would be doing in twenty minutes time would be the longest morning exercise they have seen this summer. It consisted of a two- mile run to High Rock, a quarter mile swim to 4th Hole and a drenched mile and a half run back to the flagpole. This was a challenge even for the most athletic kids. Although everyone was exhausted from the course, people still cheered their classmates on with enthusiasm until everyone finished.
This group of students holds up deepwater Isopods (Bathynomus giganteus) during their afternoon research session.
The energy was high at breakfast, which set a positive tone for a full day of research. Seventeen kids were split up into three groups: Lemon Shark, Stingrays, and Deep Sea. The Lemon Shark group went out into the artificial mangrove and collected two tagged lemon sharks to study at CEI. In the afternoon they ran a swim tunnel test on the sharks to see how they respond to stress. The Stingray group spent the morning catching rays at the Saddle where we were able to catch five Yellow Stingrays. From there, we pumped saltwater into their stomachs to see the contents inside. They were able to find shrimp, worms, and crabs in the Stingrays stomach and digestive system. The Deep Sea group set out early to extract isopods from 1,500 meters. They extracted DNA to differentiate the species from one another. Yesterday was a prime example of all of the opportunities The Island School has to offer for their students. We have ten days left, let’s make the most of it and continue to push ourselves to the limit!
Waking to another gorgeous Bahamian sunrise, we gathered at the flagpole to prepare for… The pole swim. After tightening our goggles and stretching to loosen our muscles, we dove off the dock into the turquoise seas. The mile swim deemed quite challenging for many swimmers as we struggled to freestyle against the current. After everyone reached the docks, we were all rewarded with muscle soreness, salty skin, and a delicious breakfast. The down island trip was greatly missed at the swim.
In the marine ecology group, we designed a “video game” called Coral of Duty: Polyp Revenge. We discovered how Brad Polyp and Algaelina Jolie worked together to save the ocean reefs with their children, zoo zoos and nee nees. We also went on an extravagant dive to get a close look at the varieties of Bahamian coral on Tunnel Rock. We were all amazed at all of our unique patch reefs with abundance of cool biodiversity.
After reflecting on our time underwater, we were able to realize that we must protect the reefs, especially the corals that offer so much to the underwater ecosystem. We completed a long night of homework and quickly fell asleep after a tiring yet exciting day.
Students make a circle at the surface at tunnel rock
As the sun began to rise above the boathouse, we boarded Red Rising and set out for a free diving excursion at Tunnel Rock. Swimming down 40 feet beneath the surface, we explored the underwater world. There was so much to be seen on this reef, from schools of Bar Jacks, swimming to and fro, to Stoplight Parrotfish, munching on algae. We broke the surface of the water, leaving that world behind as we prepared for the long Island School day ahead of us.
Freedive down to the reef
For the third day in a row, campus felt empty without our friends on the down island trip, yet we powered through the exciting and packed day ahead of us. The Food Systems group spent the morning at Edrin’s farm, a 6oo acre two-man operation, and the Marine Ecology group spent the morning diligently working in class and preparing for their afternoon dive. In the afternoon, some explored the island by land, at Joseph’s slash-and-burn farm, while others explored the ecosystems in each of their patch reefs on ocean floor. As our second academic week comes to a close, we are shocked by the amount of time that we have passed together, and sad at the prospect of the dwindling days remaining, but excited to show our parents the island that we have come to call home.
For the Island School summer term, six students had the opportunity to work with Dr. Jocelyn Curtis-Quick researching invasive lionfish. In one day, the students became professionals at cast netting, dissecting lionfish, conducting behavior observations, and data analysis. They dissected fourteen lionfish, with body fat ranging from% 0.58- %2.1 and the discovered of various prey items in the stomach including crabs, grunts, and blue headed wrasse. Shockingly, there were twelve fish in one stomach; proving the voracious eating habits of the lionfish. The students are now knowledgeable invasive lionfish researchers. Of course, the students love to eat lionfish and recommend everyone do their part to stop the invasion by eating them.
Students help conduct lab observational experiments.Summer term Island School students dissect lionfish.
After almost a week long without everyone at the Island School, the Flying Gurnards group was finally able to join the rest of the school and enjoy the much needed day-off. The group had just returned from their 24-hour solo in which they were spread out along the beach and had no interaction with other humans for an entire day. I spent my day reflecting on my down island experience as well as singing, building sandcastles, attempting to make a shelter, and napping in the soft sand. It was an amazing experience until the skies opened up and everyone got drenched. Although people woke up with soggy sleeping bags, after the solo experience we all shared a laugh as stories were exchanged about everyones adventures and activities during the 24 hours.
The second day-off of the summer term proved to be a great day to get out and explore. Groups of students could have been found all over the cape seeing what this place has to offer. The activities included, cave exploration at High Rock, free diving at the Saddle, soccer games at boys dorm beach and much more. A group headed out to find the fabled Banyan Tree and discovered it deep in the inner-loop. After a morning shower, people went swimming and relaxed on the beach. The day was enjoyable as it was nice to catch up with the people who had been gone all week and hear stories of solos and the trip.
With only 14 days left of the summer term, students are looking to accomplish all they can in the closing two weeks. Tomorrow brings the start of a new rotation of classes and even more experiences are yet to come.
Yesterday we woke up to a special occasion, swim class and campus sprints! As the days go by and we continue to get stronger, the morning work-outs continue to get harder in preparation for the monster run-swim. After a tiring work out we all went to chores, and then to breakfast. The dining hall was filled with talk of the departure of sixteen students about to embark on their much anticipated solo experience. Once the students left to be alone for twenty-four hours the campus became much more quiet.
The students of marine ecology and food systems remained on campus to attend their last class of the first academic week, although we were sad to already have finished our first rotation we are extremely excited for the next two weeks to come.
To finish off the day, we used up all of our energy in extreme excitement for a late night. The evening activity? A bonfire and wading for bio-luminescents! The night began at eight thirty when the students gathered around the flagpole to head to boys dorm beach. Loth and Abraham first showed all of us who sat around the fire how to make a fire, and then the scary stories started. After a quick game of “tiger uppercut” in the water, we all headed in out of exhaustion. As always, the late night was a wonderful bonding experience and a great way to end the long day.
