Patrick suits up for SCUBA

Wednesday began when Kayak groups 3 and 4 packed up their boats and left campus for their 3-day trip.  The rest of us woke up to a fun game of water polo for morning exercise: K1 vs. K2.  It was a lot of fun.  After chores and breakfast, we had our first SCUBA class for NAUI open-water certification.  In the afternoon, we actually got to go in the water and practice some skills. Even though we only went down 12 feet, it was so cool! Unfortunately, Zach could not join us in the water, so he helped out at the middle school for the afternoon. Thursday morning we did not have morning exercise so we got to sleep in.  We had another SCUBA lecture in the morning followed by another class at the marina in the water after lunch (again, without Zach- he did helped with some work projects instead).  A few of us jumped off the end of the dock into the marina for some added fun.

Zach, hanging out on campus

Morning exercise on Friday was a “psycho”: a combination of running and calisthenics.  It was tiring, but awesome.  Our last SCUBA class was in the morning and then we took our NAUI certification test.  We all hope we all passed!  During free time, people searched for their querencias (a place where students “gather their thoughts” for Humanities class), got ice cream at the marina store, or just hung out on campus.  When Kayak groups 3 and 4 returned to campus, all of us were thrilled to have everyone back together.  Then we had a cookout at Sunset Beach with the entire community. The food was delicious, especially for the returning kayakers. After our cookout, we gathered and ceremoniously marked the end of our orientation period and the beginning of the new semester. We all decided what great characteristics we as individuals wanted to bring to the Island School community. Later we signed our names, promising that we would do our best to bring those positive attributes into our community all semester long.

Kate and Jen lounging at the sand bar

Saturday was our first free day of the semester!  We got to sleep in as long as we wanted, although breakfast was offered at 8:15am.  Students spent their day writing letters, doing work, and again going to the marina store and their querencias.  That night, a group of us watched Starsky and Hutch on DVD, while the rest of us hung out in the boy’s common room or under the stars.  We also had a feed of brownies, made by Jen, Dave, Taylor, and Mary.  They were amazing!

Sunday started out nice and early at 6:30am with the pig making a lot of noise outside boy’s dorm; somehow it escaped from the pen!   After falling back asleep for several hours students enjoyed free time until brunch. The afternoon held some short orientation classes about the logistics of what the week would be like.  Also we had a fun class learning about cultures and their differences.  To cap off the day we had a coffee house complete with performances of people’s talents.

Monday was a day of firsts.  We visited high rock for morning exercise.  The exercise consisted of running two miles up to the cliff, jumping off and running back.  It felt so good to jump into the water after sweating for two miles! We also had our first day of classes.  The highlight of the day was science class where we got to go snorkeling and make observations while snorkeling.  Everyone liked the idea of having class in the ocean.  We had advisee lunch and a busy night of homework.

Cam, out on the water

Tuesday morning started off with a “Govia”.  Despite the strange name, it is no more than a run to the cut, a swim down the cut, and then a run back to the beginning of the cut.  After our regular morning chores we had an amazing breakfast of eggs and bacon. It was exactly the fuel we needed for the exciting day that was to follow.  After classes we had lunch, world-famous Dr. Sylvia Earle spoke to us about sustaining the ocean’s fisheries.  Dr. Earle is an “explorer in residence” for National Geographic and she is a pioneer in deep ocean exploration. We watched several National Geographic movie clips about her during her talk.  Several certified divers got an opportunity to dive with Dr. Earle after her talk. The other highlight of the day was that we finally got into our research groups and talked about what our groups would be doing for the semester. Everyone is very excited to begin the projects on bonefish, conch, patch reefs, aquaculture and sustainable systems. Overall we had a good week of orientation and the beginning of classes.

This weekly update was done by Patrick, Cam, Kate, and Zach!

Patrick:  Hey Mom, Dad, John, and Andrew what’s up?  L’ville what’s goin on? and have fun.  Dickinson guys have fun.  Wilton buds I’ll be home in a couple months.Cam: Hi Mom, Dad, Linds, Read, Whit!  Hey everyone back home in Cleveland- my girls at HB!  Hope you all are having a great fall- write me!  I’m having so much fun down here!  I’ll be home in December! Kate: Hey dad, mom, craig, and caroline- I miss you so much! Hey to everyone at Newton and everyone else- you know who you are! I miss you and can’t wait to see you when I get home! (its so awesome here!) Zach: Hey mom, dad, Max, and Kobe. Hope everything is cool at home. Whats up to all my boys in the neck. Its sick down here. See you in a few months.