Construction of the Brown Recycling Center is ongoing and moving along quite quickly. Last week we poured concrete for the belt course for the first floor, which tied all of the internal and external walls into a solid unit. The next steps include beginning the front porch and putting joists in place for the second floor, which should begin in mid-October.
1,000th Blog Post!
Hello friends, family, alumni, scientists and everyone else who has been clicking, reading, commenting and following on this blog. This is our 1,000th blog post! Without you all out there, we’d never have made it this far! THANKS & KEEP ON READING!
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Underwater Essays
In a recent Marine Ecology class, students were asked to stay still, underwater, on SCUBA, for half an hour, focusing their observations on one specific area of reef. They then wrote underwater essays on their dive slates, addressing the prompt: Why (or why not) is there so much life on this area of reef. Enjoy these examples: deeply thoughtful analyses written deep under water…
by Chapin Atwood:
I arrived at my patch of coral reef and sank to my knees as I began to watch all the components of this ecosystem react. Watching the fish, busily flipping their tales around pieces of coral reef and sponges, I was amazed at the beauty of this small piece of reef. This reef looked very healthy with life bursting out of it.
After a few moments of enjoying its beauty, I began to study the components of the coral reef in depth. I began by looking at the biotic factors of the reef, such as the different types of sponges and algae and fish species. I noticed large patches of Encrusting sponges as well as the Rope sponges and Tube sponges. All of these species of sponges have a similar niche in the ecosystem, to filter the water and take out nutrients and oxygen from the water. They get their food by filtering the water, which means that they are heterotrophs because they amass organic matter from other sources. I noticed the small holes on each of these sponges, placed in different places for the different species. These holes were the oscula, in which the filtered water came out of. When looking closely at some of the Encrusting sponges, I noticed this layer of green algae that covered the sponge. I wondered what its name was? I also wondered if it has a severe effect on the health of the coral reef? Continue reading
Admissions Reception in Boston Tonight!
And Now A Word From the Students…
In an effort to bring you more videos about The Island School student experience, today we have a video of a few Fall 2012 students talking about their Island School experience so far:
Introducing New Director of Admissions, Sharon Jarboe!
The Island School is pleased to announce that a new director of admission, Sharon Jarboe, has joined the leadership team. Co-founder and former Director of Admission Pam Maxey is excited to pass the torch on to Sharon, who takes on the new role this fall. While Pam remains in New Jersey working with the admission team this year, Sharon’s hire will enable Pam’s transition into a broader role including more development work and more time on-island in Eleuthera.
Sharon joins The Island School having just received her M.Ed in educational leadership from the University of Pennsylvania. Most recently she served as associate director of admission and financial aid at The Pennington School in New Jersey. At Pennington, Sharon spearheaded initiatives using strategic events, travel, and financial aid in order to increase the diversity of the applicant pool and student body at the school. She also designed, launched, and taught two Mandarin language programs there and brings a history of helping students bridge cultural differences by working creatively within an institution.
Sharon joins our team eager to work collegially and help us take the admissions work to the next level. It was apparent during the interview process and her participation in The Island School’s summer Teacher Conference that Sharon shares The Island School’s forward thinking approach to experiential learning and educational philosophy and practices. Sharon remarked with enthusiasm, “I believe that I found my dream job, as I can not imagine a more rewarding opportunity to support young people as they embark on this transformative journey.”
First Ever Monster Run-Swim!
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This weekend marked the first-ever Monster Run-Swim event at The Island School. The event took place on two courses: the normal Island School run-swim course, a sprint run-swim course with 1.7km of running and 0.5km swimming, and a ‘Monster’ course featuring a 7.4km run and a 1.65km swim. Rooted in a uniquely Island School morning exercise, the run-swim drew alumni and friends of The Island School from the U.S. and Nassau, including Alumni Advisory Board members Meg Bunn (F’01), Nick Del Vecchio (F’02), Kate Parizeau (F’03), and Johann Schdeit (SP’02). Many participants relished opportunity to revisit the course, sometimes for the first time since being a student, while at the same time knowing they were supporting the Deep Creek Middle School.
Despite some difficulty for participants to reach the remote location, the first installment of the Monster Run-Swim was a success. Including some Island School students and staff who participated in the event, 64 individuals tested their ability to truly cross train. Finishing first overall was Scott Aland (SP’05), who completed the long course in just over one hour, and the first woman across the finish line was Island School student Hope Logan (F’12), who finished only a couple minutes behind.
Be sure to join us in the future for the next Monster Run-Swim!
Student Update September 25, 2012
Hey everyone! It’s about that time again; when we transition from cleaning toilets to feeding pigs, from measuring cisterns to filling the GORP bucket, and for me personally, going from sweeping the girls dorm for morning chores, to sitting down watching the sunrise and talking to all of you! My name is Fiona Cerf, and I’m a student here at the Island School, and I’m from Seattle! A little about me, I absolutely love getting to know new people, banana pancakes are my favorite breakfast meal (Mooch, if you’re reading this… please?!), I’m recently finding that I really enjoy creative writing, and I’m also having the time of my life here. I’m so excited to write the blog for the next couple weeks because it’s an honor to inform you all of what we’ve been up to here on Eleuthera. 
I guess it’s been a few days since my buddy Kelly wrote, so I’ll fill you all in! Saturday was a big day for everyone at the Island School; from students, to staff, alumni, visitors, scientists, you name it. Saturday was the MONSTER run swim! We had the option of doing the spring run-swim at 630 or participating in a 4 mile run – 2 mile swim, Monster. The feeling of support and energy we all experienced while participating in either was astounding. Continue reading
CONCHtribution Has Begun!
CONCHtribution, the annual alumni giving campaign that raises money for the Cape Eleuthera Foundation’s Annual Fund, has officially begun! This year, the theme is Look Back, Give Back. While reflecting upon your experience as an IS student, we encourage you to look through old photos from IS and send a photo of yourself to alumni@islandschool.org, along with a current photo and a short description of where you are and what you’re doing. We will then post them on our new Pinterest page where other alumni can “look back” and be inspired to “give back” to this place that means so much to them. Click here to “Look Back” and here to “Give Back” now! Remember, it’s all about PARTICIPATION!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=kEiG8Zpiiu0
SP’12 Human Ecology Project on CEI’s Aquaculture Program
At the conclusion of every semester, Island School students break into small groups to focus on a single final Human Ecology project based on an particular interested that has developed throughout the semester. Spring 2012 students Brendan James, Liz Ellinger, Paul Henderson, and Kyle Forness studied the Cape Eleuthera Institute’s Aquaculture program and its history and created an informational and professional video for educational purposes. Check it out!