Student Update

Student Update November 20, 2012

We did it! The Half-Marathon and the Super Swim were great successes. The first event was the Half-Marathon which took place on Saturday. After getting up at 5:00 in the morning, the supporters, consisting of the swimmers and faculty, each went to their respective spots along the 13.1 mile run. I was cheering the runners on at the 1.5 mile mark, and because the run was an out and back, I was able to see everybody at the very beginning and then as they were finishing. We gave each runner water, grapefruit, and plenty of screaming and shouting to keep them going. Maybe I went a bit overboard with my cheering. I did feel a bit sorry when I was screaming in their faces and jumping up and down as the exhausted runners began their final stretch. But all in all it was amazing to see the runners accomplish their big event after training so hard for it. Congratulations to all runners! “You is my hero” (words on the support sign I held up as they passed).

The next day, Sunday, was the Super Swim. Continue reading →

Student Update

Student Update November 23, 2012

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It’s the day after Thanksgiving (Happy Black Friday)! Yesterday at the Island School was a great day. It was full of laughs, giving thanks, as well as classes. In Human Ecology, we continued to work on our final projects. It was great to see each project coming together as the Human Ecology Extravaganza in the upcoming week approaches, where we’ll all be presenting what we’ve accomplished with our group. After classes, the whole community came together dressed up at dinner circle. Each one of us at circle went around saying what we were thankful for. I’m thankful for the opportunity to be here at the Island School and to be part of such a wonderful community.

After giving thanks, we all sat down in the dining hall. The walls of the dining hall were decorated with the hand turkey drawings we made, as well as the final touches of the Caciques and faculty. Continue reading →

Student Update, Uncategorized

Student Update November 22, 2012

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My name is Brian and I’m excited to be writing the student blog for the rest of the semester. Some random facts about me are that I like to run and I like eating grits with lots of peanut butter and jelly.

The past couple days have been a whirlwind of classes and schoolwork. On Tuesday in Histories class we all participated in a mock stakeholder meeting wherein we discussed the upcoming mega-resort Baha Mar which is being built in Nassau. Each student had different roles in the meeting ranging from the Bahamian government, local Bahamians, environmentalists, and the Chinese government. I was the role of a US businessman representing the hotels and the airlines involved in the development in Baha Mar. Everybody got really into these roles and many dressed up or even put goofy mustaches on to really fit into their roles. There was a lot of heated, but friendly discussion. We learned a lot about the different perspectives that go into making big decisions about local development. And, it was really interesting and fun to be someone other than Island School student.

On Wednesday, we continued to work on our final Human Ecology projects. Continue reading →

Deep Creek Middle School

Student Update November 20, 2012

Yesterday we had our final CO class with our DCMS buddies.  In Grade 9, we have been talking a lot about food on Eleuthera, and food in general, so our buddies came to Island School so we could watch a movie called King Corn.  The movie was about how a main ingredient of our diet is corn, and how corn has been genetically modified so it can be processed.  One thing from the movie that resonated with me was a scene where they took a piece of a man’s hair, and showed him that even his hair contained corn in it.  From soda to hamburgers to chips, most things that we are eating contain corn, and this is shown in our bodies.  We were not able to finish the movie and watch the section that talks about solutions to this problem, but I really enjoyed watching the movie because I didn’t even know how big of a problem this was.

After watching the movie, we went over to DCMS for the Basketball Jamboree.  [slideshow]We got out of the van, and the smell of conch fritters and fried chicken was in the air, music was playing, and kids were shooting around on the basketball court.  Continue reading →

Deep Creek Middle School

DCMS Grade 9 Visit US Boarding Schools

The Deep Creek Middle School supports some of our students as they apply for enrollment and scholarships at U.S boarding schools. Bronthaye Rolle (grade 9) writes about their recent trip:

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We had awesome tours at all of the schools we visited. We had a great time during our trip. We visited Wilbraham and Monson Academy (MA), Lawrence Academy (MA), The Putney School (VT), Hebron Academy (ME), Berkshire School (MA), Vermont Academy (VT), The Darrow School (NY), Kents Hill (ME), and New Yarmouth Academy (ME). All of these schools were beautiful and filled with talented students. We came to love them and hope to be enrolled in one of them next year. Personally, I had a really fantastic trip. I know that by working harder, achieving Continue reading →

Student Update

Student Update November 19, 2012

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Yesterday for our girls dorm activity, we practiced yoga and relaxation with Sharon, the new Director of Admissions for Island School, who was down here for Parents Weekend.  All 27 of us had our towels lined up on the dining hall deck, ready to relax after a long, and sometimes stressful, weekend.  She first instructed us on how to breathe correctly, inhaling through the nose, and then exhaling for twice as long through the mouth. Then we started with some yoga poses, holding each one for a few minutes to so our bodies could calm down and get relaxed.  I am not usually the biggest fan of yoga because I have terrible balance and flexibility, but I really enjoyed this because it was about relaxing and not just about accomplishing certain poses.

After completing the yoga poses, we did a relaxation exercise, Continue reading →

Student Update

Student Update November 18, 2012

After morning exercise on Thursday, all of the research groups gave their presentations, and they all went very well.  In the afternoon we met with our parents and our teachers to talk about our classes, and how we are going.  I thought this time was great because that is the only time the whole semester where my parents interact with both me and my teachers, and it was good way to communicate how I am doing in my classes, and where there is room for improvement.  On Thursday night when the parents were at a cocktail party, the students and siblings watched Finding Nemo in the Pres. Room, which was a nice break from the busy schedule we had been having.

Friday we went on a run/bike/walk to high rock, where everyone jumped in and swam around for a little bit.  We had a nice breakfast on campus before going to the directors’ presentation, and then Advisor meetings.  In the afternoon, we had optional activities, like seining and long-lining for sharks, scuba diving, snorkeling, and fly fishing.  I went scuba diving with my dad, which was a really cool experience because we had never done something like that together before.  Continue reading →

Student Update

Student Update November 15, 2012

All of yesterday, students were impatiently waiting for the arrival of their parents and families.  At 4:45, we finally were done with our last campus and dorm clean up, and were able to wait outside the steps of Girls’ South, to watch the cars pull in.  As the cars would pull in one by one, students looked to see whose car it was, and then one lucky student took off into a sprint towards the car to embrace their family.  I was standing on the balcony of Girls’ South, and even people whose families hadn’t arrived were crying, happy to see their friends reunited with theirs.  As families all connected again, it was so interesting to see how students interacted with their parents and families, because we have never seen that before.

After our parents arrived, we took them over to CEI to see the art show in the octagon.  The theme of our gallery was “branching out”, and we had branches and vines all over the octagon.  Inside the octagon, people were buzzing around looking at all of the students’ artwork. Continue reading →

Student Update

Student Update November 13, 2012

These past few days on campus have been filled with preparation for Parents’ Weekend.  We are spending a lot of time setting up the art show, and setting work done on our Human Eco projects.  Not just the students, but everyone on campus has been working hard to make sure campus looks its best.  Students have been talking about what they are going to do with their parents on Parents’ Weekend.  I am excited to go scuba diving with my parents and to take them to some of the sights that we saw on our Down Island trip, like the Hatchet Bay cave, and a snorkeling spot with seahorses.  It will be interesting to meet everyone else’s parents, too.  While I am excited for Parent’s Weekend, and can’t believe I get to see them tomorrow, it is going to be weird having my parents in a place that is so separate from my life at home, and often feels disconnected. [slideshow]

Yesterday afternoon we had one of our final Community Outreach classes.  Continue reading →