Tag Archives: Island School

Island School, Student Update

Student Update: Community Outreach

Gus and his buddy hard at work while JJ and Stephen look on.
JJ, Stephen, Gus and DCMS student Cristian hard at work during Community Outreach.

At the beginning of the semester, each Island School student is paired up with a ‘buddy’ from Deep Creek Middle School. Every Thursday at precisely 1:10 we meet at the flag pole and prepare to travel to DCMS to help them work on their final projects. There are a variety of projects ranging from AIDs and HIV awareness, to self-image for girls. Each group is a team of 6, three Deep Creek Middle School students (9th, 8th, and 7th graders) and their three Island School buddies.

This past Tuesday was no ordinary Community Outreach. Our group piled into a van and headed over to Tarpum Bay primary school for our drug awareness event led by Patron, a 9th grader at DCMS. Our group of 6 stood up in front of a class of 6th graders for the culminating event. We performed a short skit to educate about peer pressure and drug use. After the skit, Patron asked the kids questions about what they had just learned. It turns out we had left the questions we prepared at the school so we all had to wing it and come up with questions on the spot. The kids were eager to participate and with each question, around 10 hands shot up. After we exhausted the questions, Patron took the kids to the basketball court to show them the safe and fun alternative to drug use. We played three different basketball games which lasted around an hour and a half. Towards the end we got to take a break and cupcakes, lollipops, and lemonade were handed out. The kids were very excited to be outside, and it turned into a family event where cars stopped to watch and siblings came to join us. Although it veered a little from the drug education, overall everyone had a great time and Patron was so proud of how well his big event came together.

The group came back to the school with a sugar high and exceeded expectations. We had missed advisory time but it was well worth it. Our class had turned into an adventure and our buddies had become our close friends.

-Colleen McGuinness

Colleen and her DCMS buddy are all smiles.
Colleen and her DCMS buddy Kenvado pose for a picture at the end of Community Outreach.
Island School, Student Update

Student Update: Fishing

Research fun day: a highly anticipated day by all groups, everyone trying to out do the other. Our schedule was set, leave at 1:15 and stay out on the water until 7:15, fishing and trawling with a little snorkeling mixed in. With dinner and snack in abundance, bait and lures, and life jackets for all we set out into the Sound for a day of fishing and fun. The fist highlight of the day came when 5 minutes out of the dock an eagle ray jumped out of the water right in front of our boat. This set the tone for the next 6 hours- complete and utter awesomeness. Another hour of trolling with no luck was quickly forgotten when 2 pilot whales were sighted off the right side of the boat. The chase was on, but soon it wasn’t us being chased, both whales turned right at the boat and in moments were 10 feet away. Spirits high we set out and soon after the whale episode two Mahi hit the line simultaneously and Jeremy and Delphine landed them both. Cooler stocked we continued toward the evening sun at 7 knots, and feasted on sandwiches, GORP and cassava chips. More pilot whales appeared in front of us, and then a few behind us, and another to the left, and soon all around the boat was a school of 20 pilot whales feeding. The moment was short lived however because the sought after sound of the line being pulled whizzed by and a 4ft silky shark soon joined us on the boat, before we let it go. A patch of seaweed ripe for snorkeling appeared and a few of our team took the opportunity for a dip, only to get the opportunity to see a 5 ft Galapagos shark. Quickly back on the boat and a nice sunset ride home close what was a particularly memorable Island School evening.

-Ethan Pierce

Dakota, Ali and Ethan on the boat.
Dakota, Ali and Ethan on the boat.
Island School, Staff Spotlight

Staff Spotlight: Mik Cooper

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Name: Mik Cooper

Where are you from? New York City

Where were you before this? Directly before arriving on Eleuthera I was in New York City but before that I was at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine.

What brought you to The Island School? I was a student here in the Fall of 2007 and then returned in June of 2011 to work at CEI for the summer. After graduating from college I returned to the Cape once again to work for the Communications Department and Alumni Relations as well as serve as an Island School faculty member. It’s been great being back here and working for the organization in a professional capacity.

What is your favorite dining hall meal? Easy: french toast and bacon. Though I’m a big fan of breakfast in general.

Name one thing that not many people know about you: I’m absolutely terrified of flying but have been taking lessons to try and get over it. I used to love to fly but for whatever reason as I got older, I got increasingly more terrified. So now I’m trying to understand how planes work and through that hopefully become a less nervous flyer.

What is your favorite word? That’s tough, I’d have to say it’s a tie between “bogus” and “whacky”

What profession other than your own would you like to attempt? My closet dream is to one day be a writer for SNL or any funny show like Broad City really.

What are your top three movies of all time? Almost Famous, Forrest Gump, and My Cousin Vinny
What songs and/or bands have you been listening to lately? I’ve been listening to KC & The Sunshine Band a lot lately but also MisterWives and Chance the Rapper. Random but hey.

Island School, Student Update

Student Update: IS Hunger Games

Delphine and Patrick show off their impressive Hunger Games costumes.
Delphine and Patrick show off their impressive Hunger Games costumes.

It’s 6:00am. Usually, we sleep until 6:20, but this morning is different. Today we are playing The Hunger Games for morning exercise. Girls Dorm is filled with palpable energy as everyone scrambles to find their costumes and prepare for the ultimate morning. The 53 of us arrive early to 6:30 circle, eager to commence.  We have prepared extensively for this day—mastermind planning, strategizing, making alliances, enemies…

The words “may the odds be ever in your favor” are spoken and before I have time to react to what is going on, everyone around me sprints to the cornucopia filled with precious weapons consisting of wet socks and water guns. This is where the weak are killed off and the remaining are left to find shelter…

Never take your eyes off the playing field. Do you play offense and attack? Or defense and hide? You are never safe. Be aggressive, but don’t make yourself too vulnerable. Trust your allies, but never take your eyes off of them—never give them your weapons. This is a selfish game…. don’t forget that. Ever.

When the final round comes around and there are only a few teams left, you know it is time to attack. If you are going to die, you need to go down fighting your hardest. Leave everything on the playing field and, may the odds be ever in your favor…

-Ali Boutros

Island School, Student Update

Student Update: The Barge

Students relaxing on the Cobia on the way out to The Barge.
Students relaxing on the Cobia on the way out to The Barge.

Last Sunday, for the first time since scuba rotations, K3 and K4 went on a fun dive! We took the Cobia out to a site called the barge. Half of the group sat on the roof, with the sun warming us almost to sleep. When we finally arrived at our dive site, called the Barge, we went through our buddy checks, and then my group took the plunge. With the Cobia rearing up and down next to us, we slowly kicked our way to the mooring line, gave a thumbs-down/descend symbol to our buddies, and sank beneath the waves. The first sight of the barge was awe-inspiring. It looked like someone had just dropped a giant grey rectangle in the middle of the ocean and left it there for the reef to claim. Throughout the entire dive, though, the coolest thing that I saw wasn’t on the boat, but under it. When Peter gestured to the crevice under the barge, I initially had no idea what he was pointing at. But as my eyes slowly adjusted, the shape of a triangle head sporting an open mouth filled with jagged teeth came into focus. The eel stayed in the shadows, but I couldn’t help slowly drifting away from it.

The descent to The Barge.
The descent to The Barge.

I spent the rest of the dive peering into portholes that led only to blackness, looking at lionfish discretely blending into the surrounding coral, and watching the countless colorful fish always surrounding these reefs darting in and around each other. When we finally ascended into the rough water above, I didn’t want to leave. But with much calmer weather on the ride back, it felt so good to just sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride.

-Maddie Nystrom

Island School

Meet your Caciques of the week!

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Name: Gus
Where are you from?: Bloomington, IN
How did you find out about The Island School?: My brother went– SP12
Name one thing not many people know about you: I love ping pong
Name one thing you know about Island School that you didn’t know when you got here: Things are in constant motion- you’re always doing something
What is your favorite IS meal: Rice & Tilapia
If you could meet anyone in the world, past or present, who would it be?: Myself in 60yrs
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Name: Colleen
Where are you from?: Concord, MA
How did you find out about The Island School?: My dad went to Teacher’s conference and then I went on an EP last year.
Name one thing not many people know about you: I love to cook
Name one thing you know about Island School that you didn’t know when you got here: I didn’t know how challenging the workload would be!
What is your favorite IS meal: French toast, bacon & eggs!
If you could meet anyone in the world, past or present, who would it be?: Obama
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Name: Hadley
Where are you from?: Bethesda, MD
How did you find out about The Island School?: I was looking for a semester program and found IS online
Name one thing not many people know about you: People call me “mom”
Name one thing you know about Island School that you didn’t know when you got here: I didn’t know how much research we would have.
What is your favorite IS meal: Pizza
If you could meet anyone in the world, past or present, who would it be?: Marilyn Monroe
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Name: Brendan
Where are you from?: New Cannon, CT
How did you find out about The Island School?: My brother went– F13
Name one thing not many people know about you: I once threw a water balloon at a senator’s car when I was 10yrs old.
Name one thing you know about Island School that you didn’t know when you got here: That we are allowed to explore so much.
What is your favorite IS meal: Bagels
If you could meet anyone in the world, past or present, who would it be?: Jordan Spieth
Island School, Student Update

Student Update: Spontaneous Moments

Snorkeling in the deep blue.
Snorkeling in the deep blue.

Every Island School student looks forward to 4:15 during the school week. Until 6 you are free to do whatever you want. The typical Exploration Time during the school week is a quick stop at the Marina store to get whatever you have been craving during the day and then off to Sunset Beach. This past Exploration Time, as me and two of my friends were getting ready to go the Marina Store and Sunset; we were stopped by Peter and asked if we wanted to go out on the Mary Alice and snorkel. In that quick moment, we jumped to the offer and ran back up to girl’s dorm to get our snorkel gear and GoPros. We then ran to the faculty office to sign out and then quickly ran and jumped on the boat. Once we were all set and ready on the boat us three along with three other kids and three teachers took the Mary Alice out into the open ocean. After going fast for a little bit, we came to our location: the cage. We all jumped into the flat blue ocean and looked below us where an abandoned cage sat. Some people spotted an unidentifiable shark sitting on the bottom, but I was unable to see it. After spending some time free diving and looking from the surface at the cage, we all got back on the boat and drove out a little bit more. Once we were stopped again we all kept jumping off the boat. Once we had enough of jumping and spending time in the water, we drove back. This was by far one of the most fun explorations I have had this semester and I wouldn’t have gone if Peter didn’t stop us while we were on our way out to the Marina store.

-Sophie Moore

Island School, Staff Spotlight

STAFF SPOTLIGHT: EMMA ALEXANDER

Name: Emma Alexander
Histories Teacher, Dean of Students

Where are you from? Cambridge, MA

Where were you before this? Cape Town, South Africa

What brought you to Eleuthera? I was specifically drawn to IS’s Histories department, which draws heavily on the discipline of Anthropology. I saw a position for Histories teacher posted and was so excited! I thought this was a great way for me, with a background in Anthropology, to get back into the world of education and working with high schoolers.

What is your favorite dining hall meal? mac & cheese!

Name one thing that not many people know about you. I was on sesame street when I was 10 years old. I was in a library song and carried books on my head.

What is your favorite word? Umbuntu– Bantu term used in South Africa roughly translating to “human kindness”

What profession other than your own would you like to attempt? Writer for Lonely Planet

What are your top three movies of all time? “Dog Town & Z Boys”; “Stealing Beauty” & “Dave Chapelle’s Block Party”

What songs and/or bands have you been listening to lately? D’angelo’s new album Black Messiah; Paul Simon’s Graceland and everything by The Roots!

Island School, Student Update

STUDENT UPDATE: FREEDIVING

Of all the experiences I have been fortunate enough to have here, free-diving has definitely been one of the most satisfactory so far. It has been an area where I have achieved vast improvement since my start, as well as let me see so much more of the Bahamian waters and marine wildlife.

Every Wednesday and Sunday morning, if possible, I get up early to go free-diving instead of sleeping. On Wednesday that means waking up at six twenty rather than seven fifty. If it was not worth it, I would never forsake that much sleep, but it is. One of the benefits of free-diving is that many animals, such as sharks, do not like the noise that SCUBA equipment makes underwater. But in free-diving, you have no equipment, so some animals might not be as repelled as they would have if you were SCUBA diving. Whether because of this, or just out of sheer luck, I have been able to see as well swim with many amazing underwater creatures. Some of the more extraordinary examples include: a ten-foot Hammerhead Shark, an eight-foot wide Spotted Eagle Ray, a Hawksbill Sea Turtle, a Reef Shark, and much more. These amazing creatures have sparked a love of not just free-diving, but also marine life and the ocean that was not nearly as strong as before coming to the Island School.

Secondly, since my beginning of free-diving, I have been able to quickly notice my improvement. When I started, we were going out to Tunnel Rock Reef, where the water was about 35 feet deep. The first time I couldn’t even get to the bottom, then the next time I reached the bottom. After that I reached the bottom many times and was able to “chill” at the bottom for a time. Finally, after that I was able to do a swim through. While we were going to Tunnel Rock, we also went to Cathedral Reef every now and then. Cathedral is about 55 feet deep, much deeper and harder than Tunnel Rock, with an extremely long swim through. After working at it for a while, I can now reach the bottom and wait at Cathedral as well as Tunnel Rock. This large increase in my free-diving abilities has come through help of the instructors as well as pushing my limits. It feels great to be able to see yourself grow, and this theme is present in many parts of the Island School, but for me it is greatest in Free-Diving.

I am extremely grateful to have this experience, and it has been made even better with all of the work and fun of Free-Diving.

Nick Brittain