Sunrise a la Island School

Now that we are into the second week of classes, a routine has begun to develop among the students and faculty.  Now that the introduction part of our Island School experience is over, the community is beginning to come together through both challenging tests and fun and enjoyable moments.

Arlene N. Ferguson at DCMS

Thursday and Friday were normal days of classes, except for a brief routine change to accommodate guest speaker Arelene Nash Ferguson.  Her speech was very interesting, and she enlightened us on the origins of some of the cultural aspects of Bahamian life.  She spoke in detail about Junkanoo and the festivities surrounding this ancient Bahamian holiday. 

Dustin With Pickaxe

Saturday began with a run to No Name Harbor, which showed us the other side of the Cape and gave us an idea what the longer runs would feel like.  Saturday continued with a combination of work projects / scuba rotation, followed by research projects later in the afternoon.  The work projects consisted of everything from working with kids at the Deep Creek Middle School to planting out an area in front of the girl’s dorm to marking and fixing the bikes in the bike bungalow.   For many of the students on the scuba rotation, the dive to Tunnel Rock was their first open water rock, and was a magnificent one at that.  The visibility in the water was near 75 meters, and the rock was occupied by all imaginable types of fish, including a few Great Barracudas as well as a number of other species that we had learned about during fish slides.  During free time, the girls dorm had ‘mandatory fun,’ when they played Kiznick ball, an Island School tradition, which is a rare form of kick ball entailing the use of your off-hands and feet only.  The dorm moms also made chocolate chip cookies for the girls, a rare and exotic delicacy here at The Island School.  All in all it was a rather fun-filled day, including original costumes that were donned at dinner circle later that night.  The girls continued the entertainment into Saturday night with an ice-cream / movie viewing party in the girls dorm.  It was a fun day for the girls. 

Sunday was a free day, spent mostly exploring our exhilarating environment and catching up on work, except for some who opted to attend the local Methodist Church and an offered dance class.  Overall, the students had a fun yet relaxing day.

On Monday, the boys woke early to attend to the dire need of a clean dormitory while the girls indulged in an intense run/swim/psycho led by none other than Hurricane Jack.  That was a nice sentence.  Monday was also the 24th anniversary of the Viking’s birth, a.k.a Chris Sommerfeld’s (the woodworker and tool-czar) birthday.  Monday was tainted by our first science reasoning test, an event the whole community thoroughly prepared and kept well hydrated for.  The day concluded with our third community meeting, which addressed issues of trust and the workload here on campus.  The mail came in - thanks for the letters!

On Tuesday, we each made our decision to partake in either the half marathon or the super swim and began training.  Our comrades Austin Hill-Kleespie and Chris Ying-Ling returned after their brief visits to Nassau and the States, both for medical attention.  We are thrilled to have them back safe and unharmed.  The outdoor showers were returned to their working condition; much to the joy of all.  Tuesday was also the day of our first Research Presentation, in which each group spoke to the community about the topics they would be researching this semester.  We also had our first math test, on the dining hall deck over looking Rock Sound, something none of us had ever experienced.  A math test nonetheless. 

Bonefish Research Presentation

Shout-outs:

Sam:  Jed Moose Mayrie Bruno Hamilton and Boddison, I wrote the update…so I get to give everyone a shoutout.  Dad, you’re probably reading this at work, print it up and bring one home.  Phone time tomorrow night, talk to everyone then.  Be well.  Nobles crew – if you read this, things are pretty tight as you can see.  Hope nobles is a good time, tell me what the weekends are like.  GO PATS GO SOX.

Lucy: Family! I know you’ll be reading this, I miss you, hope Nobles is fun O, miss you dad and see you soon mom! Aunt E- hope all is going well, I love you!!! Friends- Mol, dork, I bet your reading this unless junior year has actually gotten to you. All of you, I miss you SO much, have been writing as much as I can, but am loving it here too. Manchetser posse- hope new schools and places are amazing, this one isn’t too darn bad.  Oh, my letters did not all get through due to lack of return addresses, I still love you!

Dave: Hey Mom and Dad, Its great to talk to you every week. Can’t wait to see you on parents weekend. Hope you haven’t killed all my fish yet! Hey friends can’t wait to get home and see all of you, I need some of your addresses so I can send mail. O ya and I love pizza rolls!!!!

Cassie- Hey Mom, Dad, Jess, Kim- miss u guys so much, and I hope you’re having fun.  Happy late b-day Kim!!!  Good job keeping me connected to the outside world btw, keep it up… the baseball news and the magazines… good stuff … boo Yankees!!!  Hey all those people at New Hope, you’re probably not reading this but hey -  Kels, Tash, everyone I miss you guys so much, write me!!!! Luv ya babes, byes.