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2013 October Road Trip Wrap-Up

top: Brandon Gell (F'10), Taylor Hoffman, Cam Powel, Emily Peters (F'11), Sharon Jarboe; bottom: Faith Isham (S'14), Emily Robinson (F'12), Rachel Shapiro, Kate Isham
top: Brandon Gell (F’10), Taylor Hoffman, Cam Powel, Emily Peters (F’11), Sharon Jarboe; bottom: Faith Isham (S’14), Emily Robinson (F’12), Rachel Shapiro, Kate Isham

What a whirlwind week it has been! On Tuesday morning, we left Burlington, VT and headed to Middlebury, VT. We met with prospective students at Middlebury Union High School in the morning where some of our recent alumni (Emily Robinson, F’12; Katie Holmes, F’12) had recruited a bunch of prospective Island School students. That evening, the Robinson family hosted an admissions reception at their beautiful, cozy home just outside of Middlebury in Weybridge, VT. We were happy to meet incoming Island School student and her family, Faith Isham, as well as catch up with some alumni!

photo 3 (9)On Wednesday morning it was back in the car and hitting the road! The team split up when we reached Hanover, NH. Cam and Taylor set up a table for interested students at Hanover High School, thanks to Elizabeth Keene in guidance, while Sharon drove to Kimball Union Academy in Meriden, NH. At Hanover, we were thankful for our alumni Sam Hastings (F’12) and Abby Smith (Su’13) for sharing their experiences at The Island School with their interested peers. Many friends of current student, Elsa Davis (F’13) also stopped by our table to find out more about The Island School.While in Hanover, we had the opportunity to check in all of our IS alumni at Dartmouth over lunch.

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\Mackenzie Carlson (Su’11), Ben Martin-Katz (S’10), Caroline Vanacore (S’11), Gigi Anderson (S’11)

Meanwhile, at KUA, Sharon had a great visit all organized by recent Teacher Conference alumni Eric Russman and Erin Mellow. She also got to meet Tristan Wakeman who will be coming down to IS in Spring 2014, and caught up with Spring 2006 alumna and KUA teacher, Brit Hastings. From Hanover, we had a good 3-hour drive up to Portland, ME where we would stay for the remainder of our trip.

On Thursday morning, we had an appointment at Freeport High School where we met with a number of interested students. A special thanks to Dana Clark in guidance who supports our program and is welcoming us back on 11/12 for her Semester Abroad/Gap/Summer opportunities fair! The rest of the day was filled with visiting IS alumni at colleges in Maine. We had lunch with our Bowdoin alumni in Brunswick and dinner with our Bates alumni in Lewiston.

2013-10-25 14.02.21By the time Friday morning came around, Continue reading

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Flats Research Project Update

The Flats group has begun running our shuttlebox trials to determine how climate change will affect Bonefish, Yellowfin Mojarra, Schoolmaster Snapper, and Checkered Puffer Fish. For our experiment, we have a shuttlebox, which consists of two circular tanks that are connected by a short swim-through area. For our experiment we are heating one of these tanks and waiting until the fish ‘shuttles’ to the other side. We have run a number of trials on both the Snapper and Mojarra. In some of these trials, we place a Lemon Shark in the unheated tank to play the role of a predator. Unfortunately we haven’t had any excitement; there have been no fish fatalities.

We do other things besides just shuttlebox trials. One day we cleaned the tanks with the Early Learning Center. Andrew and Charlie worked with the kids to clean the Bonefish and Mojarra tanks. The little kids were either really excited or a little bit scared to clean the tanks. Some of them jumped right in the bonefish tank but a few hesitated. In the end, the kids had a good time and the tanks got a good scrubbing, a success on all fronts.

We’ve spent lots of time in the wet lab recently but the other day we went out fly-fishing. This was only half of the research crew; Dale, Andrew, Krissy, and Hayeon, because the rest were on kayak rotations. Dale was the only one of us who had any previous angling experience but Aaron gave the rest of us a quick crash course on fly-fishing. We learned how to cast and single haul. Unfortunately, we didn’t catch anything on this trip. Better luck next time!

New York Sun Works at PS 333

Yesterday, Maxey visited PS 333, a Manhattan public school that brings green thinking and green food to its students. The most notable feature of the school is this magical rooftop greenhouse designed and constructed with curriculum by New York Sun Works (www.nysunworks.org).  NY Sun Works offers summer internships that some of our alumni may be interested in. Visit their website to find out more information!

Chris is with directors of NY Sun Works, Sidsel Robards and Manuela Zamora
Chris is with directors of NY Sun Works, Sidsel Robards and Manuela Zamora
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SMURFs Research Update

On our first day of fieldwork, the team went out to our sites at the Patch Reefs. This was the first research dive for the SMURF team of Fall 2013. As half of the team dived, the other half observed from the surface while snorkeling. This dive was to learn the collection process and really get to know the overall feel of the procedure. It is generally a two or three person process: one person sprays clove oil over the unit to stun the fish, and the other two people move the basket to allow the first person to close the collection bag with our samples. We each were able to try both jobs and the whole experience was very interesting.

After collecting the specimens from two different sites, the team brought the samples in collection bags back to the lab. We sorted the specimens from each collection bag and took data of its length and species. It was really cool for us all to experience the research process from both the field in the water, and also the data aspect in the lab.

On our second research dive, the students got to lead the process and the teachers mostly supervised and advised. The collection was a success and the team found our target post-larval stage reef fish as well as some larger juvenile fishes. We also found some other interesting specimen, such as Mantis Shrimp. We can’t wait to get back in the water next week and see what else we can find!

Blog post 1.1

Flats Research Project Updates

September 11, 2013: On a Wednesday afternoon, The Flats research group, consisting of Charlie, Dale, Andrew, Cam, Krissy, Haeyeon and Nani went on an exciting expedition to Paige Creek. There, we snorkeled amidst the mangroves with the inwards current and the rising tide, to do an analysis of the species in 50 meter areas. We conducted a rapid ecological assessment (REA) which consisted of taking the pH, salinity, dissolved oxygen, and temperature of the water, at different places in the creek, as well as noting the different type of species that called this area home. Snorkeling along, we came face to face with Yellowtail and Schoolmaster Snappers, juvenile Sergeant Majors, Red, Black, and White Mangroves, Turtle Grass, and many more species of algae, fish, and plants.

After conducting three REA surveys in various sections of the creek, we returned to the “base camp” we set at the mouth of the river. From there, the group split into two with Dale, Cam, Andrew, and Nani staying at the mouth of the river to test their fishing skills and hand catch some Schoolmaster Snappers to bring back to the wetlabs. At the same time Krissy, Haeyeon, and Charlie got onto the boat with Aaron, and went to check out a nearby reef patch. There, it was primarily made of Rose Coral with a lot of Mustard Hill Coral. There were hundreds of Schoolmaster and Yellowtail Snappers, as well as many Sergeant Majors. This awe-striking reef was incredible to see, with all the diversity living in such a small, shallow pocket of the ocean, with no Network Algae growing on it. Back at the mouth of the river, when we returned, nobody had caught any fish, even fishing master Dale hadn’t been able to get anything due to the fact that we were just using lines with a hook. But against all odds, as we were about to leave, Cam caught one Schoolmaster Snapper, and allowed us to go home not totally defeated in the fish catching aspect of our trip.

September 18, 2013: It was 4:20 at low tide and on the count of three, armed with flailing nets and kicking feet, our army of young researchers stampeded through the fish infested flats. Between the open ocean and the mouth of the creek, lay a 100 meter net which would engulf the schools of frightened fish.  Six Lemon Sharks, one giant Bonefish, countless Mojarras and Schoolmaster Snappers were caught in a panicked frenzy as the net trapped them from all sides. Immediately, Nani and Krissy ran to shore to grab some containers as Dale, Hayeon, Cam, Charlie, and Andrew began to sort out the captives one by one. Some of these fish were destined to be brought back to the lab for future experimentation, while others, like the sharks, were tagged and measured before being released back into the ocean. Everyone received a chance to touch, measure, record data, and tag the feisty, juvenile Lemon Sharks, an experience we are sure not to forget.

This field day was dedicated to capturing twenty Mojarras and Schoolmaster Snappers as well as two Lemon Sharks. We needed these fish for our wet lab experiments, which are geared towards studying the effects of climate change on our mangrove inhabitants. Wading around in the water, we could feel the stinging warmth of the shallow salt water and could only imagine how toasty it must feel for our ectothermic friends. The more we get to know about the habitat we are studying, the more we anticipate being able to contribute to their preservation.

 

Celebrating Veteran IS Educators

It’s always good to give thanks to those who helped The Island School get off the ground! Last week a number of veteran educators who helped plan the original curriculum for The Island School (which much of it still stands today!) came by the Maxey’s to say hello and celebrate with the Cape Eleuthera Foundation board. Thank you to everyone who helped us get to where we are today!

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Chris Maxey, Sam Kosoff, Jim Jordan, Giant, Kari Ostrem, Leita Hamill, Allen Fitzpatrick, Christian Henry, Pam Maxey

Student Update October 4, 2013

by Carly Shea

This morning the Caciques planned a run to High Rock and back. High Rock is a rocky ledge about 2 miles from campus that you jump from into the ocean. We did this at the beginning of the semester and before we jumped off high rock Peter talked to us about immersing ourselves in the semester. He told us to jump into the semester and think about why we were here. With that we jumped into the water and ran the two miles back to school. Now that we are almost halfway done with the semester we did the same run again and one of the caciques Ella told us while we were running to think about a goal we wanted to accomplish before the end of the semester. Some goals were to finish the half marathon under two hours or complete their Human Eco project. My goal was to be proud of my semester and everything I accomplish here. As we all jumped into the water we thought about what it was that we wanted to accomplish for the rest of the semester and took a big first step.

Admissions Season Kicks Off in Grand Rapids, MI!

Each fall, The Island School admissions team travels around the country and holds admissions receptions at the homes of Island School alumni to give interested students and families a better idea of what The Island School is. Last week, we kicked off this admissions season in Grand Rapids, Michigan. On Thursday September 26, over 70 prospective students and families, alumni, and supporters of The Island School gathered at the VanderWeide’s home (Cheri VanderWeide, parent of Ben VanderWeide S’13) to hear about The Island School program and other updates from the Cape. The alumni in attendance were especially helpful during the presentation in giving their account of their Island School experience. The following night, alumni parents David and Rae Green (Jacqueline S’04, Alec S’11) hosted a dinner at their home where friends and supporters once again came together, united by their love for The Island School.

To see where we are headed next, check out the upcoming events page on our website here: http://www.islandschool.org/admissions/upcoming-events/. If you are interested in hosting an event in your area, want us to visit your school, or for more information, email admissions@islandschool.org.