The Cape Eleuthera Institute Winter Newsletter went out earlier this week. Take a peek to see all the amazing things going on over at the institute! Also be sure to visit their blog to keep up with daily happenings.
Spring 2014 Arrives Safe and Sound!
We are so excited to welcome the Spring 2014 semester! It’s going to be an amazing 100 day journey with all of you!
Alumni Newsletter
Every year we send out a newsletter to our Island School alumni, highlighting things happening on campus and alumni spotlights sent to us by our amazing Island School graduates. We sent out the winter 2014 edition of the annual Alumni Newsletter today–be sure to check it out!
DCMS Presentations of Learning a Success!
DCMS students showed off their final School without Walls (SWW) projects last Thursday evening during Presentations of Learning (POL) at the DCMS campus, marking the end of a seven-week experiential learning unit. The opening ceremony was held before students’ families, friends, teachers, and mentors on the basketball court at 5 p.m. Representatives from each grade level gave guests a brief overview of projects before the two-hour open house began.
“Presentations of learning were very exciting because of the support from the community and family and friends,” said Grade 9 student Patrick Johnson. During SWW students go into the community to gain hands-on experience with the social and environmental aspects unique to South Eleuthera. Students and teachers alike dive full throttle into the kind of place-based curriculum that CEF is known for.
“I liked SWW because it was a once in a lifetime experience,” said Grade 7 student Charleston Darling. “Other schools don’t really let you do stuff like that.” Grade 7 students studied marine ecology, taking several trips into the field to tag turtles with CEI researchers, snorkel among fish of all kinds at Cape Eleuthera, and camp in the Exuma Cays with Captain Ron, Chris Maxey, and Grade 7 SWW teachers Odette Pretty and Meghan Maloney. Students ultimately produced a nonfiction report about a local marine habitat and organism.
Grade 8 students were immersed in the study of plastic pollution in The Bahamas and the world at large, hoping to find and implement viable local interventions with the help of CEI plastic pollution researcher Kristal Ambrose and Grade 8 SWW teachers Angela Schatz and Emma Sparrow. POL guests were treated to students’ persuasive anti-plastic seminars.
Grade 9 students learned firsthand that a more equitable and just society requires taking action. Teachers Will Simmons and Jaclyn Jones paired each student with a social or environmental activist in the South Eleuthera community to hone in on an injustice and craft a project proposal to be carried out during the forthcoming Community Outreach class.
The presentations were well-attended and an air of celebration was undoubtedly in the air. “I’m constantly impressed with the level of work our students put forth during Presentations of Learning,” said Grade 8 SWW teacher Emma Sparrow.
TK Foundation Visits Campus
On Wednesday, February 19, we were pleased to host Mr. Arthur Croady and Mrs. Esther Blair from the TK Foundation on campus. The TK Foundation is our largest Bahamian supporter and helps makes the great work we do at DCMS and with the BESS program possible. Their day-long visit featured tours of campus sustainable systems, class visits to DCMS and discussions with researchers and educators about their experiences and future outreach programs.
New York Harbor School Visits The Island School
Last week the New York Harbor School, located in the heart of New York Habor, visited The Island School for their 6th consecutive year. Each year NYHS sends a group of students with instructors Joe Gessert and Liv Dillon to participate in a week of intense SCUBA training. In addition to the two instructors, NYHS sends down a student Dive Master and student Dive Master in-training to help organize and help out with dives.
Over the course of the week, all of the visiting 10th and 11th grade students completed their PADI Advanced Open Water SCUBA certification, participated in daily morning excercise, and explored Eleuthera. With over 20 group dives led by Ron Knight, the director of waterfront and SCUBA operations, the group collectively logged over 300 dives! These consisted of both shallow water reef dives and deep water dives of the wall of the Exuma Sound, as well as navigation and several night dives.
Amongst their favorites, one that stood out for many of the students (and was often requested!) was diving The Cape Eleuthera Institute’s offshore aquaculture cage, also known as “The Cage”. The Cage is a massive underwater structure located a mile off the coast of Eleuthera at a depth of about 80ft. When diving The Cage one is transported to a surreal underwater landscape, which includes what looks like a giant space ship to the west and the 3000 ft depth of the Exuma sound to the east! With the opportunity to see various species of sharks, schools of horse-eyed jacks, and a massive grouper that is known to reside below the cage, it’s no wonder The Cage was a favorite dive for many of the students!
Another notable dive was Hole in the Wall, a deep dive along the wall of the Exuma Sound. This dive includes a swim-through of a bus sized tunnel that starts on top of the reefs at 70 ft and exits along the wall of the Exuma Sound at 100 ft looking out into the 3000 ft blue abyss. You can check out a quick timelapse of their dive at Hole in the Wall on our Instagram! NYHS finished their week with a trip “down island” snorkeling at the Green Castle Blue hole where they spotted a school of eagle rays!
The New York Harbor School and the Island School have a strong history of partnership with the facilitation of thier annual diving program at The Island School and NYHS sending students to the Island School Semester Program. Here’s to many more years!
Below is a photo essay of NYHS’s last dives at The Cage and Hole in the Wall:
(Photographs by Will Strathmann)
We Hope to see you next year!
Alumni Spotlight: Jean Fernando (Su’13)
Last summer, the African Leadership Academy (ALA) sent a student to The Island School Summer Term, Jean Fernando. ALA is a member of our City Bride Program, which connects inner city schools to The Island School and gives them the chance to step out into a whole new world. City Bridge was born out of The Island School’s dedication to expanding our program’s reach and making it available to anyone who wants to apply. Our partnership with the African Leadership Academy is particularly special because it is our first City Bridge connection outside of the US or Bahamas.
We recently received an update from Jean who is so inspired by his learnings and experiences at The Island School, that collaborated with four ALA peers to create a fully functioning organic farm that produces vegetables for the community. Check out the video on their project:
DCMS and ELC Students Compete in Jr. Junkanoo
Hours of practice and hard work paid off for Deep Creek Middle School students last Saturday night at The 2014 Eleuthera Jr. Junkanoo held in Governors Harbour. Accompanying DCMS for the first time, the pre-schoolers at The Island School’s Early Learning Center joined in the annual competition, leading the group down the new Queen’s Highway route. The group took home top prize in the Junior High category finishing with 948 points. Congratulations team!
Below is a photo essay highlighting their journey:
(Photographs by Erik Kruthoff and Will Strathman)
Fall 2009 Alumnae Reconnect in South Africa!
Despite living only 2 hours away from each other back home in Massachusetts, it took Liza Morse (F’09) and Maggie Schneider (F’09) four years and thousands of miles away from home to finally reunite for the first time since their Island School semester. Through Facebook, they realized that they both were spending their fall semester abroad in South Africa and arranged to meet up at a farmers market in Cape Town!
Have you reunited with any fellow Island Schoolers lately? If so, we want to know! Email alumni@islandschool.org with any photos or stories!
The Cambridge Rindge and Latin School Connection
The Island School has many connections with Cambridge Rindge and Latin School in Cambridge, MA. One of their graduates, Emma Alexander, now is in her second year of teaching histories at IS. CRLS marine biology teacher, Paul McGuinness, attended the annual Island School Teacher Conference in 2004 and is responsible for connecting dozens of students to The Island School. Paul also guides CRLS’s Marine Conservation Club. Inspired by their experiences at The Island School, alumnae Tessa Tracy (F’11) and Danielle Heims-Waldron (Su’13) started the Marine Conservation Club, which has been so successful since its inception a few years ago, hosting numerous fundraisers and events in an effort to raise money for the North Atlantic Right Whales who are dangerously close to reaching distinction. Their hard work was rewarded by the New England Aquarium when they received the 2013 Ocean Stewardship Award. You can read more about their efforts, and watch a video on North Atlantic Right Whales in our alumni spotlight on Tessa Tracy here.
We always love to hear about how The Island School has helped clear a life path for our alumni. Continue reading