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The Invisible by Anneke Sherry

A reflection piece for Histories class:

Rock Sound, a settlement in South Eleuthera, is grounded by the history of generations living there. During settlement day 1, my group wandered around for a little bit until we found something that we thought really stood out to us as a part of the community, softball. By observing and analyzing on our own, we started to scratch the surface of what this place is like and what it’s made of. Afterwards, we came together to talk about the different things we observed. As a product of this, we also saw how worldview impacted the things we observed and how we interacted with the playground and softball practice.

Anneke Sherry's first High Rock jump
Anneke Sherry’s first High Rock jump

My worldview has been shaped and molded by a hodgepodge of different major life events, all affecting me on a large scale in one way or another. It first started when I was little. My oldest brother has ADHD and autism, my older brother has ADHD, and my mom also has ADHD. These things are only titles, but my experiences that came of these things, these annoyances, amounts to a whole lot. My young life didn’t revolve around me. I was only a small gear in a very large chain of gears making the clock tick. The big gears were my brothers and parents people, but sometimes, they lost a cog. Time stopped in these moments. I was also the fixer, the fixer of the clock, the fixer of time. I had to spend hours tinkering away, trying to find a way to put the cog back in place without putting anything else out of balance. Even from a young age, I was very self aware and detail oriented, knowing how to read facial expressions and body language. I had to prepare for when something was about to go down. I ran around in the background making sure everything worked. There was no glory, but it was what my family needed to have done. Even though it put me through the wringer, I am glad I had those years to teach me how to act. It gave me a piece of mind, a sense of the real world not being all flowers and unicorns like my peers thought. Of course there were some major downfalls to this situation, like being more closed off and not having a strong family dynamic, but but over time I learnt to deal with these things.

A few years passed and I had gotten tired of my hometown. In 8th grade I decided to go to boarding school, but not any boarding school. I had applied to the most prestigious and most intense prep schools in the country; I wanted to go to Andover or Exeter. After much work and debate, I got into both but decided Andover was the place for me. I wanted the intensity, revolutionary exposures and mind blowing adventures. I had no idea what I started for myself. I had not anticipated the economic status of my fellow students and the institution, the hard questions I would have to ask myself about what it means to be me or face and challenge the politics and events about race, gender, sexuality, religion, and more. Although these were hard to deal with, especially as a teenager, it opened my eyes to the cruelties and possibilities of the world and forced me to delve deeper into what it means to be a human in this day and age. I gained close friends that were personally affected by many forms of oppression happening outside campus, and a community to lead me through dissecting these moments and attacking these problems. The people gave me inspirations, and the little things from Andover – community service, cycling, living in a dorm, and more, showed me another dimension of the world – both good and bad. I gained a very large slice of perspective and an additional slice of self-awareness that was unable to be given to me back home. Without Andover, I have no idea where I would be, but definitely not on this island and not even close to the level of thinking and point of view I currently have.

As another product of attending Andover, I left the country for the first time. This summer I went on a 2.5 week language, hiking, and cultural immersion program in Peru. I spent the first month of my summer traveling around Peru, experiencing Peruvian life and nature in the raw. Despite my love for travel, I was always held back by the limitations of my brothers. Even though I had exposed to a lot of the world problems in the U.S., I had never been exposed to another country in the same manner. On one hand, I extracted massive appreciation and information about Incan history and the culture of small spots in Peru, and in turn cultures all around the world, those I haven’t even encountered. Hiking through the mountain ranges for days, fully accepting and diving into the natural world. I also saw just the magnificent power of the human mind and capability. On the flip side, I saw how modern tourism and pollution is destroying these precious ancient site.

While in Rock Sound for my settlement day, my group wandered down to the Whale Hole in an attempt to find some locals. Despite the beauty of this spot, there were no people there since it was a Saturday. Just around the corner, schoolyard peeked out. Lead by the voices of a few young kids, we found a softball practice happening in the school. This was the place. This was the topic we wanted to learn about. I tried to take in everything from the details in the setting to why kids were playing softball in the first place. As Fiona Ross describes, anthropology is “a form of disciplined curiosity” (Teen Die Pad Die Bas, 9). I was simply sitting there, letting my mind run about anything I saw. I then tried to find relationships between what I was seeing and how it has shaped softball and baseball, or been shaped by their progress in Rock Sound. Fiona Ross cites Thomas Hylland Eriksen, who said the main task of anthropology is “to create astonishment, to show that the world is both richer and more complex than it is usually assumed to be” (Teen Die Pad Die Bas, 14). The first settlement day was initiating these thoughts and connections, but the second day allowed me to delve deeper into the bigger picture and the role of baseball and softball in the community. Both of these settlement days created my own astonishment. Saturdays are a rest day, suggesting to me that it would be calm and not much would be happening. But in fact, there was so much happening that I couldn’t absorb it all. The worldview of the locals in Rock Sound and past locals have shaped the physical land that we were interacting with, but also the people on the field. Everything they did from why they were playing ball to how they were playing. The locals we talked to gave us their version of information, a version created with their own worldview. Worldview was all around us. Unseeable and physically intangible, but it was surrounding us in the form of everyone who makes up the community of Rock Sound and any predecessors. This seemingly dead place surprised me, enhancing my own world view, but also those those of my group members.

My peers observed mostly the same things as me, but there were little snippets of information that missed my radar as I was observing something else. For example, I hard a few cars honking but I didn’t notice that they were honking at the kids, encouraging them and showing support. In another sense, I think I picked up on things they missed. I spent a little bit of my time exploring how the softball fit the natural world and how the natural world was interacting with this school. According to Fiona Ross, “all knowledge is produced in relation to others – those with whom we work, those with whom we share our ideas, those against whose ideas we set our own findings, and so on” (Teen Die Pad Die Bas, 12). By using the information that I missed from my peers, I got a more comprehensive grasp of the place. Although there was much similarity, just the difference in a few things helped tremendously. What creates these differences is by our worldview.

Our worldview tells our mind what details to pick up on, where to focus our attention. Our past experiences draw our focus into certain aspects to find connection between ourselves and the thing being studied. In The Cartographer Tries to Map A Way To Zion, Kei Miller explains the relationship between a local and newcomer, and how their worldview changes what is seen about the place. Where the cartographer sees a road, the rastaman hears the songs and history of the roads (The Cartographer Tries to Map A Way To Zion, 31). I tried to grasp everything while in the playground watching the softball practice. My attention to detail about the practice came from paying attention to my brothers, interpreting their every move. In a similar fashion as what I did for my brothers, I analyzed the softball player’s emotions and the coaches style of teaching. My care about the environment and the environmental interaction came from being in the outdoors. I naturally pick out the birds and the wind in the background, the trash on the ground, the plant and grass conditions from constantly having to be connected with the earth around me while hiking, cycling, and exploring. I made a lot of connections with Peru. Seeing what condition Rock Sound was in and the role tourism plays was very similar to that of the Peruvian sites that were once pristine and were now overrun by tourists and their residue. I found myself asking a lot of “What” questions, but more often I followed up with “Why” questions, even though I didn’t write them all down, I always took the next step into thinking. Andover has trained me to think about the motives and the explanation for my findings. Although I tried to remain unbiased, I think my bias came out when I was trying to find those answers. I didn’t know all that much about Rock Sound, so I had to use my best guesses from the Island School, back home, and anywhere else I had visited for an extended period of time. If I were to remain unbiased, I should have left those questions unanswered but being me, my mind automatically needs to probe around and think of possible answers before moving on. I knew they were only speculations, so I tried the best I could to make accurate assumptions but knew there was a good change they were not the right answer. Worldview impacts me and my fellow students daily, even in other Island School classes.

A main part of the marine ecology course is scuba diving at Harbour Rocks and observing a specific part of coral reef life each week. As the classes progress, I gain a more comprehensive understanding of the coral reef. These dives are very similar to settlement days. The better I pay attention to the rock, the more little details become apparent. If my mind wanders or I don’t spend the appropriate time looking at something, crucial elements are lost. Some of those moments are very rare opportunities, so it is critical that I keep my eyes peeled and attentive. Even though I have to keep eyes on the task at hand, I also have to always be aware of my surroundings and my own boundaries. If one isn’t attuned to the things around them, there can be serious consequences. In there same way, settlement days need full attention or else things can be missed. Although there isn’t a life threatening aspect to settlement days, surroundings are just as important and knowing the boundaries to show respect for the culture are critical in these situations. Although my job is to learn, I have to keep my comments and questions within reason.

My time at the settlement has been extremely positive, and I am so happy this project exists because otherwise I would have never known about the places like this on Eleuthera and the history behind them. Not only has it taught me things about the connections inside and outside of Eleuthera, it has taught me about my interest in culture and worldview. I never really thought about how and why we see different things, and that those things could be so deeply rooted in us as humans. Whether or not we use our worldview is not up to us. It is omnipresent. It has personally shaped each and every one of us into different people. My worldview has greatly shaped my time in Rock Sound observing and absorbing, as well as the locals who have provided me with the culture which I am learning and growing from. I hope to continue delving deeper into the ideas of culture and worldview with experiences such as these.

Rays and Lightning by Belle Buroker

At home, thunder and lightning doesn’t bother me. In fact, I kind of like it. It’s cool to watch and experience from the safety of my home or another solid building. Here at The Island School you never know where you’re going to be when a thunderstorm hits. You could be in the dorms, the dining hall, out in the field, or out on kayak.. Watching from the dining hall or the dorms can be fun. Watching storms while on kayak trips or out in the field is less fun but much more of an adventure.Belle2

This past Monday I was out in the field catching and tagging rays with my research team. Seas were choppy as we headed out on the boat to our research site and in the distance you could see the storm clouds rolling in. Eventually I was dropped off to investigate a bit of sediment that was kicked up. It was hard to tell whether or not it was a ray simply because it was so big. Pretty soon I figured it out though. It was a huge ray, the biggest we have caught yet. We used both a barrier net and black hand nets but this ray could barely fit. As we caught the ray and secured its barb we felt rain begin to sprinkle. By the time we started taking measurements of the ray it was pouring and Nick, an Island School teacher, and Owen, our research advisor, were counting the seconds between thunder and lightning. More than 30 seconds. We were in the clear just then but kept counting.Belle4

I had to run to the boat to get a notebook and sprinted the whole way. The water kept getting deeper and by the time I reached the boat it was up to my waist. I grabbed the notebook and started back, I have never been more scared in my entire life. We continued counting the lightning and the gaps were shorter and shorter. Finally we released the ray and everyone started sprinting back to the boat. We all reached it safely. It was a huge relief but adrenaline was still pumping through us. The five students all sat in the front of the boat facing each other. We talked and laughed and relived the moment that had just past. I realized the experience had brought us closer as a research group and taught us the power of mother nature.

For more photos of stingray and lightning adventures, follow our research team’s activities on the Island School Flickr page!

Goggles or Sneakers? It’s Track Time by Christian McIntosh

When people think of Island School they usually think of the sustainability, kayak trips and maybe even lightning position, but rarely do we think of the run and swim tracks that accompany our daily routine.

The six o’clock wake up time may be brutal but once we are out the door the energy of the morning sun soon energizes the faces around morning circle. However, the real fun starts after circle when we go off into our chosen tracks to either run or swim.Christian1

Run starts off with a little warm up around the horseshoe: generally a light jog dotted with stretches for the running muscles. Then we often head off of campus for the two miles to High Rock across the Cape. The path is a snake of concrete road which has even more potholes than the average Bahamian road. The run can seem endless with a false sense of hope, encountering decoy turn-offs to High Rock around every corner. Almost as soon as we complete the journey there, we’ll then turn around for the two mile return trip back to campus where the flagpole finish line greets us with a familiar feeling of satisfaction.

Similar to run track, swim track starts off with some stretching before their early morning plunge into the ocean. Now that it’s the third week of tracks, our classmates are now up to a mile-long, “Pole Swim” from Boathouse Cut to the Marina pole, usually they are given twenty minutes to swim there and 20 minutes to swim back. Much of the time swimmers encounter a current that can either make you feel like Michael Phelps or like you are actually swimming backwards, depending on the tide.

Both tracks show great energy and focus for their respective goals–to run thirteen miles for run track or swim four miles for swim track. What may have seemed like an impossible task in the beginning is slowly becoming possible with hard work and dedication, just two of the many qualities The Island School will instill in each student over the course of the semester.

Island School Teacher Conference 2015

Would your teachers at home thrive at The Island School? We tested the idea again for the 18th time this summer when a group of 24 teachers came together at Cape Eleuthera to live the life of an Island School student. It was a week of extremes – first scuba dive, jumping off of high rock, run-swims, as well as practicing and discussing experiential education and project-based learning techniques. 

“I faced some fears, which I ask students to do all the time. I networked almost around the clock, gleaning information from Island School colleagues. I stayed healthy in mind body, and spirit. I discussed pedagogy with a variety of teachers from different backgrounds” said Holly Houston, a veteran art teacher from Yarmouth Maine.
“The first morning of our conference we met in bathing su
its and snorkeled a shipwreck. I saw starfish, lobster, a stingray, got some morning exercise, and learned about the ecology of the area- even before introducing myself to the group” said a 4th year teacher at Berkshire School, who attended with a colleague. 
There were 3 school systems that sent 2 teachers: The Hill Sc
hool in Pottstown, PA, Trinity College School in Ontario, Canada, Father Ryan School in Nashville, TN, and 3 teachers from the wider Grand Rapids public schools. Many of them came as a result of Island School parents promoting the opportunity. 
Just like for every group of visitors, our Cape Eleuthera Institute researchers, staff, administrators, and Island School leadership got involved in all kinds of ways. In particular, participants lauded the

contributions of Island School alumni back on campus sharing their expertise. Stan Burnside, Fall ’07 provided comic relief in between natural history, George Giannos, Fall ’10 played the role of Dad, Alexio Brown, Fall ’07 led the exploration of inland ponds, Mackey Violich, Spring ’06 showed off her deep ocean bathynomis research, and Taylor Hoffman also Spring ’06, as Director of Admissions, helped teachers see the student perspective.  

Anderson Cabot Family Leadership Gift takes Sharing Solutions Campaign to the Crest of the Wave

Ed Anderson and Linda Cabot with Chris Maxey at the Anderson Cabot Hall dedication ceremony.
Ed Anderson and Linda Cabot with Chris Maxey at the Anderson Cabot Hall dedication ceremony.

Ed Anderson and Linda Cabot step up to the top of our giving pyramid with a $2 MM total pledge. In addition to helping us build the new Anderson Cabot Graduate Hall, the new leadership pledge allows us to focus on our campaign promise to Share Solutions. The commitment will help us leverage over $1 MM toward our endowment and $350 k toward developing a communications journey that will enable the school to share best practices with a wider community. In addition, funds have been allotted to collaborate with From the Bow Seat and help build awareness around the serious global challenge of plastic pollution in our oceans. Lastly, there is an effort to develop a film that can help call attention to the successful model and power of experiential and collaborative learning. In the gift letter Linda sums up their desired outcomes,

“Ed and I believe in the Island School mission and the transformational power of experiential learning. At the Island School students tackle real world sustainability issues, conduct independent research, engage in collaborative learning and challenge their personal best. These powerful experiences develop meaningful skills that will help students thrive in the real world and protect our natural environment. This is why we are proud to make a gift that will help sustain the curriculum and enable the school to inspire and share best practices with learning communities around the globe. We hope our actions inspire others to give generously as we believe that community efforts yield the largest and most positive effects”.

Grad_Hall-6
Linda Cabot cuts the ribbon and welcomes everyone to Anderson Cabot Hall.

Ed and Linda’s leadership comes at a pivotal moment in our history as we look down the last year of our five-year campaign. With their gift we are approaching $17 MM and feel confident to be able to announce now that our new campaign goal is $20 MM. Mary Kate Barnes, Island School parent, Board Vice Chairman and Chair of our campaign shares, “It is amazing to witness a young school embark on a bold first campaign effort with the potential to stride so far past goal. Much of this effort is designed to build an endowment and strategic sustainable fiscal plan that looks out generations. I am also proud of the young development team, Mary Assini Sp 00 and Cameron Powel Fall ’04, both alumni living the mission of The Island School — Leadership Effecting Change.” The Cape Eleuthera Foundation Board thanks Ed and Linda for believing in us and helping The Island School strive towards a new level of sharing.

Both Ed and Linda are proud to say that their daughters Georgianna Sp ’11 and Noelle Sp ’13 both graduated as Class Caciques and to this day lean back on The Island School experience as the most transformative time on their journey through school.

Summer Term: See You All Soon!

Howdy everyone,

Wyatt playing with a new friend Scarlet lighting up the night As we near parents weekend, life at The Island School continues to be jam-packed. This morning, students ran for 40 minutes as they prepared for the monster run swim- only four days away! Students gave it their all, and everyone finished the run with cheers as they slapped the flag pole. The students have been hard at work, whether it means working on the farm to make compost, going on scuba dives to observe ecosystems or conducting interviews at Spanish Wells.

The final Sustainable System class enjoyed a short film on Cuba’s path to recovery after losing its energy sources in the 1990′s. After gaining some insightful knowledge from the documentary, the class walked over to the Floating Gazebo to discuss what would happen if the United States faced a similar energy-loss crisis. The discussion was both intriguing and thought provoking, allowing the students to tap into ideas they never thought they’d have. Afterwards, the class visited the school farm and even fed the pigs with one of the Dining Hall buckets! While munching on delicious coco-plums and tamarinds, the students and teachers began another amazing conversation about compost and its importance, both on campus and to the world.

The Marine Ecology class spent the morning in class. Students laughed as they pretended to be their assigned fish and went “speed dating” to meet other fish and marine life. They spent the rest of the morning learning about invertebrates. After lunch, they put their newfound knowledge to the test underwater. As they approached the diving site [Tunnel Rock], the excitement rose. Stepping into the ocean, diving pairs and trios began studying their respective coral reefs. Students examined their reef for information about invertebrates and the impact these creatures have in their habitat. The diversity of the reefs showed the students the importance of a balanced ecosystem.

As the last days of The Island School approach, students are filled with a bittersweet feeling of leaving their second home. With tomorrow being the last day of academics, students are cherishing what little time they have left. They wait anxiously for the return of their Tourism and Development classmates and teachers to return, making our campus full again. Additionally, everyone on campus cannot wait to see the parents! Emotions are running high as the summer term days come to an end.

See you all soon!

Your caciques,

Christine and Grace Halvey

 

Summer Term: Back After A Day Off

Good Morning from Eleuthera,

Students watching the sun go down on their Down Island Trip After a relaxing day-off we were so pumped to start off the day with another amazing run-swim! But before we began we took a moment to marvel at the magnificent sunrise. It’s crazy how we are so used to getting up with the sun. One of the morning’s surprises was a beached Lemon Shark- we are so excited to learn more about this creature in Marine Eco. While doing curls with rocks, Liz told us the reason why the Lemon Shark gets its name- the sides have a yellow appearance, making it a shark the color of a lemon. Our Monster 10k run-swim is coming up soon and we are so ready!

Today also marks the first day of our final academic rotation. It’s so crazy how fast the time is flying by! The Queen Triggers started our first day of Sustainable Systems. Today we learned about how we make biodiesel here at The Island School. This renewable resource powers all cars on campus! We get vegetable oil from cruise lines and we are able to convert it into fuel.

In Tourism and Development the Blue Tangs split up in to research groups. One group worked on pond research. Despite getting lost a few times, the group had so much fun duck diving in the pond. We were able to swim with shrimp that may be a new species! The other group began their studies early this morning with bonefish research. In the afternoon, the group assisted with Lionfish research. This invasive species has come to the Bahamas from the Indo-Pacific. We then were able to assist the researchers by cutting off the poisonous spikes and then filleting the Lionfish, which can be eaten by humans.

Finally, the Sargent Majors had our first day of Marine Ecology. We began by learning about the power of careful observation. We put this into practice by using all five senses to discover an area in the mangroves. This later would come into play when we went out for our dives at Tunnel Rock this afternoon. Each buddy pair was assigned a coral reef ecosystem that they will focus on and become intimate with for the next week. We were in awe of the abundance of life. We took underwater notes on a slate, which would then be transferred into our placebook.

We are so excited to keep learning and stretching. We can’t wait for the days ahead!

Your Caciques,

Lucy and Doug

Summer Term: Jaws

Hello All!

Our days are going by faster and faster as we continue on our Island School journey. After yesterday’s challenging exercise, we had the choice between a fun game of water polo, or a relaxing yoga session in the boathouse. Both were nice ways of recovering from yesterday’s strenuous workout.

Today marked the last day of our second academic week, so classes are wrapping up. In Sustainable Systems we finished by presenting our redesign projects, where we walked all around campus sharing our innovative ideas on sustainable redesign. After presenting, we headed to the farm where Johnny and Joseph (the men in charge of maintaining the farm) helped us collect a variety of medicinal plants for our bush tea. We all had a glass, and it was surprisingly tasty! In the Marine Ecology class, students finished up the day with an amazing dive at Tunnel Rock where they saw many beautiful fish and even a big barracuda.  To finish the evening, all the students who were away on the Down Island Camping Trip in the Tourism and Development class returned back home!  It was so great to see everyone and be back together after three days.  We are still looking forward to hearing their amazing stories and being reunited as a family once again!

Tonight we are looking forward to a boathouse movie night! It will be a screening of Jaws, which we will be watching in the water as we float in the marina.  We are also looking forward to our last day off tomorrow, which we will spend exploring the island, and catching up with everyone’s week.

As we grow closer to Parent’s Weekend, we are realizing our time here is limited, so we are doing everything we can to live in the moment and stretch ourselves.  Everyday, we continue to make new friends and form new relationships that expand our Island School Family!

Sunset on campusYour Caciques,

Rylie and Miles

Summer Term: What A Treat!

Twenty minutes there and twenty minutes back. This morning all of us rose to our most challenging exercise yet. Together, we pushed our boundaries farther and farther back all the way to high rock and some, even farther. Running with our new best friends allowed us to complete this extreme expedition. The moment each and every one of us touched the flagpole cheers and screams exploded into the air as we celebrated this large feat.

For the Sustainable Systems class, it was a long hard day on the farm. Our farming expert Joseph taught us all about the composting process and even let us take a stab at it, with our pitchforks and machetes of course. In the afternoon we biked the 4 mile trek to Deep Creek to a farm to learn about farming techniques used on islands like Eleuthera. We were lucky enough to try some local sugarcane. After spending several hours in the hot sun, we cooled off with a refreshing cup of mouthwatering frozen mango or passion fruit popsicles. What a treat!

Today a third of the community is off on the down island trip having unique opportunities and experiences that they will never forget. Through jamming out in the Island School vans to being completely enveloped in the deep mysterious caves, these students are making memories that will last a lifetime. Each and every student comes back from this trip with dozens of stories to share with the rest of the community. All of us here cannot wait to here about their epic and eventful journey.

There are only eight more days until our families will be joining our wonderful community we have been establishing. We cannot wait for them to get the chance to experience all that the Island School has to offer and especially all that Eleuthera has to offer.

Your Caciques,

Megan Hooper and Drew GinsbergStudents at the bonfire Sustainable Systems students learning about aquaponics