Today was action packed, we did a ton of SCUBA and Freediving. Free divers went to The Saddle and saw an octopus, and SCUBA went to multiple locations, including Cathedral. Both locations provided Continue reading →

Today, a few of us did some free diving in our own backyard. We snorkeled and dove around the reef balls in the girls’ dorm cut. It was amazing to see about ten different species without going too far out in the ocean. At one point one of our instructors dove Continue reading →

Today, all 47 Island School students accomplished a very large task–becoming SCUBA certified or completing their first kayak exploration. Our community became one again as the kayak group pulled into the harbor, reuniting with their friends. The SCUBA groups all Continue reading →

Yesterday was the second day of SCUBA week. We got to sleep in a little bit and everyone was on time to morning circle at 7:30 which means we are one pebble closer to a party! Yesterday all the SCUBA groups went out for two dives. In the morning, two groups saw a hammerhead shark at the Saddle, and in the afternoon another group got to also see the hammerhead. Most groups made it down to 35 feet at Tunnel Rock. From what we’ve heard everyone had a great experience diving and can’t wait to get back out today. Props to G-Rap!

-Maddie H. and Luke S.

Today was the first day of SCUBA/Kayak week and the IS community was divided into two separate groups. Some left for the beginning of their first 3-day kayak expedition, good luck to them!  SCUBA started for the rest of us, and for many was the first breath underwater we had ever taken.  The amazing underwater world, where we all gazed at Continue reading →

Friday night and Saturday were like a breath of fresh air to The Island School. I felt like everyone had been holding their breath from the day we got here, and it took a rural Bahamian softball game on Friday night to get us to let it out. Last night and today got us to relax, Continue reading →

I never pictured a math class consisting of taking a boat to a sandbar, rubbing sand on my face and learning about ooids, but that was exactly what we did for our first math class here at the Island School. The class really showed me how hands-on my experience Continue reading →

We began day two with a wonderfully late start- we only got up at 7:30 for an introduction to our daily chores. After breakfast we had our first history lesson entitled “When are we?” where we enlightened each other with the Bahamian facts we Continue reading →

By 7:30 a.m. all 47 students had successfully lapped Triangle Cut for our first time. We woke up to a cold and windy morning but by the time we were in the water at Triangle Cut, we remembered that we were in The Bahamas. In order to refuel, we got a little creative with our oatmeal: Nick put peanut butter and jelly on his! We had a long day establishing our senses of place and community by first learning Continue reading →

Today was the first formal day of The Island School.  Our day began at 6:30 am; students had to meet in morning circle around the flag, where as Caciques Helen and I did count off, announcements, and led the group in singing the national anthem. After that we took a short jog to boys dorm beach where we circled up once more to do some IS jumping jacks, followed by putting on snorkels and masks, and plunging into the icy water (it has been colder than usual, so this required extra wits). Tthe group did some underwater exploration, and swam out into about 6 feet of water to see a boat wreck, where we observed several different species of fish, Continue reading →