Last week, Chris and Pam Maxey visited the African Leadership Academy (ALA) in South Africa. They met with founder Chris Bradford and faculty leaders to share ideas for how The Island School can work together with ALA in the future to help define great school leadership. ALA and The Island School are excited to model creative assessments that celebrate mastery and community work that makes a difference.

Pam and Chris also reunited with Nirina, Summer Term ’15 and Ben who arrives this week to join Summer Term ’16. Nirina is graduating and taking a GAP year to build a commercial scale aquaponics system back in his home country of Madagascar. Ben is motivated to learn more about our waste to energy systems this summer and how he can bring similar ideas to fruition back home in Gabon.

After a great tour of campus, Nirina shared his senior thesis presentation. During the presentation he asked the audience to practice yoga with him in order to explain his journey at ALA in a unique way. He discussed the importance of balance and learning how to lean on one another and how this was especially true at The Island School.

The Island School aims to be a truly global base camp where young leaders can lean on one another, where they can learn to better understand the opportunities and challenges faced by their generation. Our work with ALA is a strong step forward towards achieving this goal.

Friend of CEI and research collaborator Nigel Hussey made a recent trip to the arctic and snapped this photo:

Those ice sheets almost look like waves off our Eleutheran shores…might we see an Island School research expedition to the arctic someday?!

DCMS ninth grader, Simeon Bethel, represented The Bahamas today at the Sea Youth Rise Up campaign. This campaign brought seven youth leaders to New York City and Washington, D.C. to present a call-to-action for ocean conservation. Thousands of students across the world, including DCMS seventh, eighth and ninth graders, watched Simeon and his peers streamed live.

This spring, Island School alumna Paityn Wedder (F’15) produced a video project for her high school’s Diversity Week. It focuses on tenants of Positive Psychology, gratitude and its impact on happiness. Watch her classmates’ reactions when she tells them they have had a positive impact on her life.

The project was also covered in an article by a local news source, check it out here! Great work, Paityn.

The Literature Department is proud to announce the latest edition of TIDES, The Island School’s online literary and art magazine with submissions from members from every corner of our community. Check it out here!

During eight-day expedition rotations this spring, students Emily Bhatt, Annika Goldman and Josie Cummings put together this whimsical tour of campus. Enjoy!

Spring 2016 students Rob Titsworth and Ian Connelly produced this amazing time-lapse film of Rob’s rock sculpture on Boys Dorm Beach the other morning. Check it out!

Last year, the Cape Eleuthera Institute welcomed United Nations ambassadors from ten countries to the Cape to learn more from research scientists about the latest discoveries in shark ecology and conservation. Through the efforts of the marine conservation leadership of The Bahamas, this year marks the fifth year of the nation’s designation as a shark sanctuary. 

“Our nations are not small-island states, they are big-ocean states” said Eric Carey, director of the Bahamas National Trust, which has been at the forefront of Bahamian marine and land conservation for decades. “There are considerable conservation opportunities if we are working together, within the country and at a regional scale. Efforts like these, including the existing prohibition on the commercial harvest or trade and use of any shark fins or parts within the The Bahamas, ensure that that sharks can continue to thrive for generations in our waters, one of the world’s best places to see sharks.” 

We did it! The results for yesterday’s 1 for 100 giving day are in, and we want to thank everybody who took the leap to donate. We far exceeded our goal of 100 gifts and received over 340 donations yesterday, raising $95,000! Thank you all for helping to make a difference!

Every week at The Island School we get around 5 hours of exploration time to explore the area around the school. While many students just go to the marina store and buy sugary snacks there are loads of other activities and things that you must do during your time here. Below are some of the top 10 activities to do during the free time you are given.

1. Get lost in the inner loop
2. Explore the old clubhouse
3. Check out the golf cart graveyard
4. Find the banyan tree
5. Snorkel in the High Rock caves
6. Snorkel on fourth hole beach
7. Find the water towers
8. Find the abandoned pool and hot tub
9. See the sharks in the marina
10. Check out No Name Harbor

You only have 100 days here and you get very little exploration time every week so it is essential to spend every minute of your exploration time effectively. You can spend your time eating sweet food when you get home and you are only at The Island School for one semester. Make every second count and take advantage of all the opportunities during exploration time so you know you made the most of your 100 days at The Island School.