Students building a foot bridge.

These last few days at The Island School have been intense. This was the first week of our five-week period of straight academics; it has also been exciting in many ways. On Wednesday scuba groups 1 and 2 finished up their certification while groups 3 and 4 were split up into various work projects, and then on Saturday the groups swapped. Some of the work projects included building a kayak shed, working on landscaping, finishing a foot bridge, and making reef balls. All of the projects are a lot of fun and everyone enjoys working on them. Also, scuba diving students were able to dive at cathedral rock and take there first ever trip to “the wall.”

"Swan Lake."

Our first coffee house took place on Saturday night.   The list of acts was small early in the day but as the evening grew closer the list continued to grow.   As the event went on the talents just kept building, and by the end everyone was taken aback by the many things they had seen.   A delicious snack followed the performances; everyone was surprised at how much they have missed nachos.   After our treat, the group went separate ways.   Some made their way out to the boys’ dorm beach for a bonfire and others headed to watch “Out Cold” in the presentation room.   The night was full of laughter, talent, and everyone was exhausted but excited for home stays the next day.

One big happy homestay family.

On Sunday all of the students set out in pairs to spend the day with local families. At first some were a bit nervous about their day, yet it was one of the best days we have had here. Many of the families set out to church in the morning around 9. The services were different than those that some students are used to at home, and it was the first time in church for others. The singing and prayers started our day and then each and every one of us was treated to a huge lunch. The plates were topped with piles of corn, rice, chicken, crab, and many other traditional Bahamian foods. The days varied for each student; some had many children to play with and others enjoyed talking to the elders in the community. We all learned new aspects about the culture of the island that we are living on, and it allowed us to reflect on our own culture in Humanities classes. Overall, the day was a huge success thanks to Kathy, who organized all of the logistics. We all look forward to the overnight with the families that will come later in the semester.

Monday morning exercise kicked off with a “fish group” bonding exercise. We divided up and were given a list of tasks we had to accomplish as a group. This included sprinting up hills, squats, push-ups, wheel-barrows, nellas, running and swimming. Tuesday morning we began our first exercise for either the “run track” or “swim track” in order to train for either a 13 mile run or a 5 mile swim at the end of the semester. The runners ran the 4 mile loop road around Cape Eleuthera and the swimmers swam the   hundred yard “cut” first with and then against the current.

Shout-outs:

Eleanor:   Hi Mom, Dad, Claire! I miss you guys so much and I’m thinking about you all the time. Mom – thanks for your advice the other day, I really took it to heart. It’s time to stop fighting it and start embracing it. Ever since then I’ve been more optimistic and less homesick. I love you and miss you so much. Claire – I hope you are having such a good fall you little foshie, you. Good luck with soccer and keep up with your homework!! Lol, love you. Dad – thanks for the boat log…? Haha, hope all is well with you and work. Here’s a big hug. Deerfield friends: I miss you all more than you can imagine, and I think about you all the time. I am having fun here now, but it’s hard when I think about what I am missing out on. KCH – love you + miss u so much! Tell everyone else I say hi and to check this site. KEEP WRITING ME LETTERS!!!!!!!

Drew Melby:   Hey family, mom, dad, brother and sisters.   I hope you all are doing great! I hope school is going awesome. Keep it real C.L.A. Grandma and Grandpa thanks for thinking about and praying for me. I am having an amazing time and loving every minute of it! I love you all and can’t wait to see you in December and tell you all about it-- we have a lot to talk about. Don’t worry, I’ll have plenty of pictures. See you soon!

Kylie Atwood:   Hey everyone at home! I cannot tell you how much I miss you all and seeing everyone’s face, but I am having a lot of fun here. I want to say to my family, all of you, Mom, Dad, Han, Soph, Chapin and T how much you guys are amazing for sending me so many letters- I love hearing about what is going on at home! Keep them coming J You guys are amazing and I hope all is going well at this hectic time of year, I send good luck to all the soccer games! I miss all the Dedham families too – a special hello to the Bardeens, I send all my best! And of course Nobles- how is everything going? I hope you guys are getting through junior year even though I am sure it is hard, you can do it! I love you all and everything is going well down here. XOXO

Caroline:   Hey everyone!! Mom, Dad, Suz…I miss you guys so much, thank you for everything!   Mom-your packages and letters always help, Dad-I hope you feel better soon, Suz-behave and I’ll be home before you know it-sleep where you want and I’ll always love you (show Ry this-2 nd sister…miss you tons, hope frosh year is treating you well).   All my GFA kids – I hope y’all are keeping it real.   Brownie (mission accomplished), Cassetta, Curren, Courtney, Jules-love you all and miss you so much.   Taylarse & JMoney…miss you both, you ladies better be good.   Jack, Coz, Kyle, Temps, Will, Japes…always in my heart, miss you all tons.   GirlsVSoccer…open up a can.   To the rest of the “farm”…I miss you all.   Donald…you better pick up next Thursday, I miss you more than you could know (December will come before you know).   Trav-late night talks are so missed, JFK on the 7th…miss you tons.   To everyone else, miss you and keep writing.   Lots of love…