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Sam and Logan perform at the |
Hello from the last week of academics before kayak trips!
Last week began with research projects on Wednesday. Because the five-page introductions to our paper were due at the end of the week, the faculty gave us time to work on them. The introductions were a real lesson in how to work together! A lot of effort went into combining all of the group ideas. But we learned from the experience and everything worked out in the end. After Community Outreach that afternoon, a bunch of people from the nearby settlement of Waterford came down to The Island School basketball court for a couple games of street-ball.
Wednesday night featured our first “coffeehouse,” or Island School talent show. Under a nicely decorated dining hall deck, students and faculty showed off their acts. Brookie recited poetry, Kelsey and Renee dazzled us with their amazing singing voices, and Logan and Sam made and us laugh with a song that discussed all of our silly traits and habits. All the acts were great, but John Schatz’s long awaited “SchatzGood” homemade peanut butter spread on warm brownies really stole the show!
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Who was Kira's model for conch art? |
We began Thursday with our longest run yet at six miles! We were amazed at how well everyone did and what good shape we are in compared to the beginning of the semester. Everybody completed the run in far better time than they thought they would. Our class day included working on our Omeros English papers and a discussion on slavery in history, where we compared the depictions of slavery presented in the movie Amistad, in Omeros, and in one of our history textbooks, The Story of The Bahamas. We also had a lecture on water when Jack told us about earth’s precious molecule: water, and how it affects what organisms live where and why.
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Broq Maxey shows how to |
Saturday was Conch Day! We went free-diving for conch and took them out of their shells, skinned them, and tasted the meat! In art class we shared our altered conchs, and the Rev. Farmer Brown, a longtime resident of Eleuthera, came and talked to us about the evolution of conch fishing since his boyhood. We also had a PowerPoint presentation on conchs and their life cycles. For dinner, we feasted on conch fritters and conch salad! Yum…..what fun! That night, we gathered in the Boys’ Dorm, and Chris Maxey told us a story about a conch fisherman. As our evening activity, we enjoyed the upbeat drumming of a Junkanoo band on the beach with a bonfire. Many people went wild and crazy dancing!
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Melissa separates conch from shell |
Sunday passed leisurely. We slept in, hung out at the beach and worked on art projects. The girls rearranged their living space in the afternoon. North is completely redecorated and looks amazing! Now there is a ton of space, and it was a great bonding exercise.
We had a surprise on Tuesday. After we woke up for breakfast, faculty gave us a great surprise! We were given the day off from classes! We had all morning to ourselves in our querencias. (Students picked a querencia for themselves in the beginning of the semester. A querencia is a spot off campus where we are supposed to go for a little bit of solitude away from school.) After lunch, we had more free time where we all just relaxed. The evening featured a Bahamian scientist speaker, Mr. Leno Davis, who spoke to us about birds and land conservation in the Bahamas. Overall, it was a very relaxing and great day in another busy week!
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Lizzie, Courtney and Madeline relax |
Meredith Carpenter- Hey Mom, Dad, Stephen, Matt, Gram, Gramps, cuz’s, and everyone else! I am writing you from the Bahamas. Can you believe it??? Love ya lots.
Sky: Hey everyone, here’s a shout out to all my fellow Conistonians, my family, Katie, Beth, Megan, Ali, Mike, Noah, Matt, and yes, even you Wes! Love you guys tons!
Lizzie- Hi Mom, Dad, LJ, Lucy! HM girls: LOVE YOU and MISS YOU (write more) Kilinskys and Samuels–I miss you! Annie LOVE YOU! Hi Ganis’ Hurwitz’ Gellmans.
Ryan- Hey Mom, Dad, Coop, Xander, Caitlin and the rest of the fam! I’m having a great time here in Eleuthera, and I will see you all soon. All the guys back home, get ready…