Cacique Update

Cacique Update May 15, 2011

by Caciques Nick Manning and Izza Drury

When I write about The Island School, it no longer feels like I’m documenting an experience, but like I’m describing my home. The lethargic pace of a Sunday, an uncommon feeling around here, is like a deep breath during a busy schedule. We visit our usual spots around the Cape, and get the chance to enjoy each other’s company without the ominous, foreboding horizon of a deadline. With nothing to do, we are almost the most productive because we focus on each other, and although the day may not be so eventful, it is these memories that will stick with us. With a week full of parents and chaos, we enjoy the calm before the storm, even with all our excitement.

Cacique Update

Cacique Update May 13, 2011

M-Morning Exercise hit us hard with Bizzaro Tracks. Swim Track ran the loop, Run Track Swam to the Triangle before sprinting at Water Polo.

A-After works outs, chocolate chip pancakes greeted us warmly in the Dinning Hall with a guest appearance from Granola.

Y-Yesterday’s homework proved helpful in class.  Math made connections as we calculated our latitude.  Continue reading →

Cacique Update

Cacique Update May 12, 2011

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by CaciquesKelly Duggan and Arben Ukperaj

Although yesterday was a normal day of classes, we learned something unique in literature class. As we were sitting there wondering what we were going to talk about, David Miller showed us how Omeros could relate to our lives here at The Island School and also, our lives in general. In the chapters we’ve read recently, Walcott took a break from the story and revealed some of himself to the reader. Then he completed this journey and went back to the story of Omeros. This related to our kayaking journeys as we took a three week break from our regular class schedule. I remember standing around our 6:30 am circle waiting for everyone to depart. Continue reading →

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The Space to Lead

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This morning I am thinking about space.  I am thinking about space and proximity and power.  Last week I returned from a Down Island Trip, a three day road trip around Eleuthera supported by the Histories Department looking at tourism and development.  I was one of the four staff members that accompanied K1, the very first of S11’s students to embark on the epic voyage of 8-Day Kayak.  They returned from their 8-Days and in a matter of less than a day, were back in their Island School uniforms being shuttled around in vans and Harknessing on command.  This transition back from kayak to land proved difficult for some, inspired frustration and even resentment from others.  Tension grew between students and faculty.  On our last night, in a circle, under the stars, camping in a grassy field adjacent to Preacher’s Cave, students gave voice to their frustration. Continue reading →

Cape Eleuthera Institute, News, research

It is official, Gobies clean brood stock cobia!

What an exciting Monday morning for aquaculture! We now have 3 goby breeding pairs that have all laid eggs this week. Our most recent pair needed to be separated from the two other resident gobies, so we decided to experiment. It has been relayed by word of mouth that gobies will clean parasites off the cobia. Nothing is ever that easy at CEI, so we needed to see it to believe it.

Nine thirty this morning, Marie and I decided to take the leap of faith and place the 2 gobies into the brood stock cobia tank. No one knew what to expect. Would the gobies like their new home? Would the cobia know to stay still so the gobies could clean them? How long would it take until we would observe the gobies actually cleaning the cobia?

Continue reading →

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Introducing: Jon on Blog Chores

by Jon Vredenburg

The feel on campus is completely different now. The eight days spent on the sapphire waters, three days of venturing down island, and eight days of rigorous work broke the pattern of classes we had built into over the course of the semester. With our human ecology projects decided and talk of finals week becoming increasingly common, I realize the end is near. I am honored to have been chosen to edit the cacique blogs for the next two weeks. To me, this is another 30 minutes every day to reflect on the previous day of The Island School experience.

Cacique Update

Cacique Update May 9, 2011

by Caciques Jessica and Austin

Today was the first academic day with the entireIslandSchoolstudent body reunited! It was a typical Monday, except for the fact that we kicked off our morning with a 3-hour Human Ecology Class. This was not a normal class.  We came up with ideas for our Human Ecology Final Projects.  Students thought of problems they saw around campus and also greater issues of Eleuthera and The Bahamas, and created a project to try to solve them.  It is cool to have a class where the work you are doing actually makes a change in the world. Continue reading →

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Deep Creek Middle School

The Deep Creek Middle School (DCMS) is an independent school for Bahamian students in grades seven through nine located on the southern end of the island of Eleuthera. DCMS, a grantee of the Cape Eleuthera Foundation, offers an experiential approach to the Bahamian curriculum for students in South Eleuthera.

DCMS was founded in September 2001 with the goal of increasing access to educational resources for people of South Eleuthera. DCMS works closely with The Island School and the Cape Eleuthera Institute to offer students and staff a unique experience that connects them more intimately with their environment and on-going efforts for sustainable development and environmental stewardship in South Eleuthera.

The cost of education for a DCMS student for one year is $8,500.  Families of students contribute up to $1,500 per year; the rest of the tuition is financed by generous individuals or foundations who choose to sponsor a student during their time at DCMS through the Cape Eleuthera Foundation.

Over the past several years, DCMS has had 16 alumni attend boarding school in the United States. Five of the current grade nine students will travel to the US this fall to study at The Lawrenceville School (NJ), Wilbraham and Monson Academy (MA), Lawrence Academy (MA), The Pennington School (NJ), and Perkioman (PA). These students will receive in total almost $1,000,000 in scholarship and aid packages over their four year high school studies.

Students at The Island School work with the students of Deep Creek Middle School on community outreach projects each semester. The partnership offers Island School students the opportunity to serve as mentors to DCMS students and to develop strong bonds with local families. This semester the students are working together on community initiatives developed by grade 9 students at DCMS, ranging from raising awareness for the need for better medical care on Eleuthera to developing a speaker series directed at young men on Eleuthera to reduce school drop-out rates.