Alec and Caroline decided to change up their bit of the Weekly Update with a rhyme: On Wednesday, K1 and K4 ventured down island,  Leaving their friends on campus for a whilened. Wednesday started off with quite a treat, Candy and ice cream you just can’t beat.          K1 ate Henry and Cora Sands’ award-winning bread,  And were stuffed to the brim with conch, they said.   K4 went exploring through ancient caves,   And looked out at Glass Window Bridge’s monstrous waves.    K3 headed out on their extreme 8-day kayak trip,  Paddling like crazy and then taking a dip,  They passed High Rock plus more cliffs,   They were seriously missing the cooking of Tiff’s.   K2 was just finishing their 7th day of 15km paddling, They were experienced kayakers – no more lolly-gagging. The last night was spent together around the campfire, Where stories, laughs, and singing were shared that will never tire.   Thursday brought a new day, K4 had their scavenger hunt through Cupid’s Cay. K1 had a “sermon” at Preacher’s Cave, They captured moments that they will always save,   K3 paddled onwards to the next location, The beautiful water was such a sensation. K2 arrived at campus – their destination spot, Just in time because their clothes had started to rot.   They were reunited with Nina and Kevin, Arriving back home felt just like heaven. For K2, Friday was full of relaxation, For K1 and K4 it was a temptation.   K1 and K4 returned with a smile on their face, Until they took a look at their dorm personal space. K3 was getting closer to Lighthouse beach, Where 48-hour solos were just beyond reach.   K4 started to pack for their 8-day expedition, While K1 and K2 were getting into clean condition. Work was just around the corner for those who had returned, The SAT was one of the major concerns.   Wednesday through Friday went by quick, We hope the rest of the semester will be just as SICK!!!
	Stephen gets a much-needed haircut
	At Preacher's Cave - where the Eleutherian Adventurers once stood
	Charlie covered in cave mud

Now, Nick and Alice patch up some details and cover the rest of the week…in prose:

K2 was greeted back on Thursday by an empty campus. The peace and quiet was just what we needed to re-acclimate ourselves to civilized life and clean up for the arrival of K1 and K4 on campus. The best night’s rest in a week (we finally had beds), was followed by a nice relaxing day in which twenty-two of our favorite people in the whole world were returned to us. Hugs and discussions of who had a better Kayak and Down Island Trip ensued, but over the superficial bragging there was definitely the feeling that it was nice to be back together. K4 however, immediately abandoned us for the high seas, bringing our numbers back to twenty-two for the beginning of Academic Rotation.

Saturday signaled the resumption of academics, something many of us had been dreading over the course of our eleven days of intense, schoolwork-free, traveling. About fourteen of the twenty-two students had the special treat of taking the SATs off campus, and left at morning exercise, not to appear again until after lunch. The rest of the students were subjected to a “Bike-o”: the cycling version of our infamous “Psycho” exercise. Later in the morning we had the chance to start our costumes for parents weekend Junkanoo celebration, finally seeing how impossible it actually is to make the intricate outfits we’ve studied. SAT-takers missed out on the rare treat of watermelon, but luckily for everyone the next four meals included it as well. We also had a number of Bahamian High School students visit The Island School. They toured, and chatted with those who were still on campus, and got a general sense of things here. Hopefully we’ll see a few of them return as students in future semesters.

Sunday morning was in no way a day of rest. After sitting in either a kayak or van for eleven days, we thought we needed a track exercise. Runners ran a timed four mile loop, while swimmers swam for who-knows-how-long (it depends on the current). After a rejuvenating breakfast (including our favorite grits), each student taught and led a discussion of a section of Omeros. Despite fear… nay, terror… on many students’ parts, everyone did an acceptable job. The afternoon was filled with Research: everyone got to see how much their counterparts in K3 and K4 loved them, when we scrutinized all of the work that had been done while we were gone.

Monday morning lie-in was followed by a SCUBA navigation class in the marina. Of course, with each pair’s wonderful sense of direction, absolutely everyone got lost. Not for long however, because we were due back at campus for a pre-lunch Junkanoo dance class. Students apparently make better dancers than navigators because it turned into quite the party. We jammed out to dance instructions brought to us by Dennis after we perfected our Junkanoo routine. In the afternoon, we had a science demonstration about overfishing and depletion of fish stocks. Jess used M&Ms to represent the amount of fish, and we had to divide them amongst us. We all enjoyed eating the M&Ms and started craving more candy so many of us ventured to the marina store during free time for a sugar fix.

An enthusiastic Junkanoo practice in the Dining Hall

Tuesday morning was filled with intense exercise. Runners ran six miles to prepare for the eight that they will run on Friday. Swimmers swam all the way to the big bridge and back to campus. After another tiresome but fun day of academics, some students joined Kathy for yoga on the dining hall deck to stretch out their sore muscles from running. Then we prepared for our night dive. Shortly after dinner, we headed to the marina and prepared our SCUBA gear. We saw an amazing sunset as we headed off to Tunnel Rock. With our dive lights ready, we descended into the dark ocean. The night dive was amazing!!!! Many of us saw a turtle that swam around all of us and just hung out for a while. We waved our hands around and could see the bioluminescence light up like fireflies. It was incredible to see the difference in the reef at night, with the coral polyps out as well as squirrelfish, a huge crab, and moray eels.

Shout Outs:

Nick – Hey Everyone! I miss everyone back home and elsewhere; no matter what my lack of letters looks like. Hello and best of wishes to (in no particular order): Ms. Cjecka, Adrien, Sam, Hunter (and related Higgisons), Katie, the other Nick, Dad, Mom and Bart, Gilly, the other two in the ‘Trio of Trouble’ (Jallen too), the Kloss consortium, the Derosiers crew, my family spread across the country, my ever-supportive teachers, those others that made this possible, and… really, everyone. I’m having an absolutely amazing time; but I still can’t wait until I see Maine again. And don’t expect many presents beside the return of my smiling face.

Kendra and Annie paddle out in a double

Alice—Hey everybody back in Florida!!!!! What’s going on Mom, Sar, Rob, Pablo, kip, & lucky!!!! I’m having an incredible time here….but I still miss all of you. I can’t wait to see you on Parent’s Weekend. Hey Big Dane, Callahan, Syd…my fav people ever!!! Jackie~ I miss you so much and I love all your letters ;) keep writing and send pictures! I’ll see you all really soon…I can’t believe there’s only 3 weeks left!!!

Caroline – Hey Ya’ll! Mom, Dad, Lash, Candy, Chrissie, and all of the awesome juniors at MBHS, I love every one of you and miss you bunches! I cannot wait for parent’s weekend which is just around the corner.  I am having the time of my life here and enjoying every moment.  I can’t believe that I will be home in a month!  I hope ya’ll are all doing awesome and having a blast back at home.   I can’t wait to see my visitors for parent’s weekend, I am so excited.  To all the juniors I will see you when I get home on June 8th! I miss everyone so much and cannot wait to see ya’ll soon!!

Alec – Hey EVERYONE!!! I’m having a blast down here but can’t wait to see you all…Mom, Dad, Austen, Aubrey- that means soon! To the rest of yall- one more month till the road trips begin. I hope prom was amazing-I want pictures! Junior year is almost over- just a few more weeks! Good LUCK! Mom, Dad- the house down here is already bought. Austen- get ready to be pampered (except not at all). Aubrey- I’m sooo psyched to bring you up to camp! Love you all and miss you like no other. MWAH!