Last night over 70 prospective students and their families, recent alumni, and even a few incoming Spring 2015 students gathered at Nicole & Kevin Kelly’s beautiful home (Madeleine S’13, Margaret S’15) in Concord, MA. Attendees learned more about The Island School from speaking with alumni and staff, as well as hearing from S’14 Master Teacher and Thayer Academy Science Department Head, Don Donovan.
This was the largest turn out of accepted students we have ever had at an admissions reception! Ten Spring 2015 students who are eagerly awaiting their March 2nd arrival on Eleuthera met at the reception for the first time.
Ten students from the Boston area who are headed to Eleuthera for the Spring 2015 semester gathered at the Boston reception.
A HUGE thank you to the Kelly’s for opening up their home for the reception. Our next admissions reception is tonight in New Canaan, CT. Email taylorhoffman@islandschool.org for questions or to RSVP.
Our admissions season kicked off with the first reception in Grand Rapids. Island School alumni, interested students and families, and participants of our Teacher’s Conference gathered at the home of Dave and Bev Verdier, Cape Eleuthera Island School board member and alumni parents of Renee S’03, Travis S’05, and Eric S’09. There was a great turnout at the event and many of our alumni left feeling inspired to continue to spread the world about The Island School in their home towns. Please check out our Upcoming Events to see if we will be coming to a town or school near you!
Maxey with 2014 Teacher Conference participants: Kara Kits (Grand Rapids Christian School), Keith Ver Beek (The Potter’s House School), and Bruce Macartney (Forest Hills Eastern High School).
What a whirlwind week it has been! On Tuesday morning, we left Burlington, VT and headed to Middlebury, VT. We met with prospective students at Middlebury Union High School in the morning where some of our recent alumni (Emily Robinson, F’12; Katie Holmes, F’12) had recruited a bunch of prospective Island School students. That evening, the Robinson family hosted an admissions reception at their beautiful, cozy home just outside of Middlebury in Weybridge, VT. We were happy to meet incoming Island School student and her family, Faith Isham, as well as catch up with some alumni!
On Wednesday morning it was back in the car and hitting the road! The team split up when we reached Hanover, NH. Cam and Taylor set up a table for interested students at Hanover High School, thanks to Elizabeth Keene in guidance, while Sharon drove to Kimball Union Academy in Meriden, NH. At Hanover, we were thankful for our alumni Sam Hastings (F’12) and Abby Smith (Su’13) for sharing their experiences at The Island School with their interested peers. Many friends of current student, Elsa Davis (F’13) also stopped by our table to find out more about The Island School.While in Hanover, we had the opportunity to check in all of our IS alumni at Dartmouth over lunch.
\Mackenzie Carlson (Su’11), Ben Martin-Katz (S’10), Caroline Vanacore (S’11), Gigi Anderson (S’11)
Meanwhile, at KUA, Sharon had a great visit all organized by recent Teacher Conference alumni Eric Russman and Erin Mellow. She also got to meet Tristan Wakeman who will be coming down to IS in Spring 2014, and caught up with Spring 2006 alumna and KUA teacher, Brit Hastings. From Hanover, we had a good 3-hour drive up to Portland, ME where we would stay for the remainder of our trip.
On Thursday morning, we had an appointment at Freeport High School where we met with a number of interested students. A special thanks to Dana Clark in guidance who supports our program and is welcoming us back on 11/12 for her Semester Abroad/Gap/Summer opportunities fair! The rest of the day was filled with visiting IS alumni at colleges in Maine. We had lunch with our Bowdoin alumni in Brunswick and dinner with our Bates alumni in Lewiston.
Christiana Whitcomb (S’09), Hallie Schaeffer (S’10), Julia Rew (F’10), Mik Cooper (F’07)
The Island School admissions and alumni teams are on the road again! Sharon Jarboe, Cam Powel, and Taylor Hoffman are hitting the pavement this week, traveling throughout New England visiting sending schools, holding admissions receptions, and visiting Island School alumni enrolled in colleges throughout the area.
The week on the road began in Wellesley with an incredible admissions reception hosted by the Baker family (Shawn, Beth, Erin S’10, Julia S’13). It was one of our best attended receptions in history with over 70 people (including 25 prospective students!) gathered in the Bakers’ beautiful home to hear about The Island School or catch up with some familiar faces. A huge thank you to Shawn and Beth and the rest of their family for hosting such an amazing event!
Still buzzing with energy from Sunday night, we headed north for lunch at Phillps Exeter Academy where we caught up with some of our more recent alumni and some interested students. We were so thankful for Dr. Sydnee Goddard (parent F’08) who is a great faculty member resource not only for Exeter students interested in applying to The Island School, but also for the students who return to Exeter after their IS experience! She was nice enough to host our pizza party in her classroom on Monday afternoon.
Sydnee Goddard, Brian Byun (F’12), Hope Logan (F’12), Nora Cullen (F’12), Kelly McCarthy (F’12), Caroline del Real (Su’13), Haley Stokas (Su’13), Josie Russ, Taylor Hoffman, Julie Lord (Su’13)
We then continued onward to arrive in Burlington, VT in time to get dinner with all of our alumni at University of Vermont.
Last night, Island School alumni as well as prospective students and families in the San Francisco area gathered at the home of Laura & Terry Hunt, parents of Griffin Hunt (F’11 and CEI intern Su’13) for an Island School admissions reception. The group had a great time showing videos Griffin created during his internship this past summer. The most recent student to return from The Island School, Hector showed some of his videos and photos from IS, including pictures of the IS spiral garden he dug into his front yard upon returning home.
Kelsey Moody (S’06), Aly Boyce (F’10), James Boyce (F’12), Hector Altamarino (Su’13)
To find out where we will be next, visit our website. For any questions about admissions or admissions receptions, email admissions@islandschool.org.
Each fall, The Island School admissions team travels around the country and holds admissions receptions at the homes of Island School alumni to give interested students and families a better idea of what The Island School is. Last week, we kicked off this admissions season in Grand Rapids, Michigan. On Thursday September 26, over 70 prospective students and families, alumni, and supporters of The Island School gathered at the VanderWeide’s home (Cheri VanderWeide, parent of Ben VanderWeide S’13) to hear about The Island School program and other updates from the Cape. The alumni in attendance were especially helpful during the presentation in giving their account of their Island School experience. The following night, alumni parents David and Rae Green (Jacqueline S’04, Alec S’11) hosted a dinner at their home where friends and supporters once again came together, united by their love for The Island School.
To see where we are headed next, check out the upcoming events page on our website here: http://www.islandschool.org/admissions/upcoming-events/. If you are interested in hosting an event in your area, want us to visit your school, or for more information, email admissions@islandschool.org.
Liz Ellinger (S’12) talks about her IS experience.
Friend, host Ben VanderWeide (S’13), Peter Cusack (S’13), friend
Brenda & Bruce Thompson (Parents of current student Max F’13)
Scott Morehead (Teachers Conference ’13), Kathleen, Madison, and Michael Mahacek (S’13)
David Lundeen, Kevin Cusack, Julie Cook, Chris Maxey
Rae & David Green, friend of Dave Verdier, Dave Verdier
Last night The Island School hosted their final Admissions Reception of the season. It is hard to believe that we first kicked off the receptions way back on September 27 in Boston! Last night, prospective students, families, and alumni from the Lawrenceville, NJ area-and beyond! (including Annie Obrecht and Joe Enyck, Spring 2012, who came up all the way from Maryland!)-gathered at the Lavino Field House at The Lawrenceville School to hear about The Island School semester and summer term programs. As you can see, there was a great turn out!
Thank you to all of the families that hosted The Island School’s Admissions Receptions throughout the fall and winter! The Island School is accepting applications through February 15th. Please click here if you are interested in applying or share this link (http://www.islandschool.org/admissions/applynow/) with any potential Island School candidates you may know!
