The Island School is committed to providing a progressive and dynamic environment for visiting groups and students of all ages to engage in experiential learning. Through their Visiting Programs, or short courses, they instill within group members a sense of place and leadership that enables them to make meaningful changes in their own communities. Implementing primary research, working with sustainable systems, learning about the island habitat and incorporating outreach with the local community makes the Visiting Programs a transformative experience for all participants.
Day 1
After a long travel yesterday, the first full day for our Huskies in the Bahamas is in the books!
Our day started bright and early with a little team bonding on the beach. The group, led by our gracious guide Rachel, participated in three activities that challenged collaborative, communicative, and leadership skills. The first activity was a version of Red Light Green Light. We were tasked with retrieving Rachel's water bottle and returning it past the designated line all while keeping her unaware of who currently had the water bottle in their possession. At first, we hastily raced to the water bottle and Rachel's guessing spoiled our attempts. We were forced to slow down, communicate, and execute a plan before we were successful. Lesson learned. For the second activity, we were tasked with standing on a small sheet and flipping it without anyone stepping off. We carried the lesson from the last activity into this one and were successful when a few leaders emerged and a plan was forged. It was an impressive feat!
For the final task, we stood in a circle and locked hands with two people across the circle. One couldn't see. One couldn't talk. The mission was to unpretzel the interweaving we found ourselves in. Again, leadership and communication led us to a swift victory and a sense of accomplishment before breakfast!
After breakfast, we headed down to the ocean for a swim test! Since we stepped off the plane, we had all been very eager to get into the water! After swimming for about 200 yards and treading water for 10 minutes, we all passed our test and felt the benefits of the good exercise! We also participated in a scavenger hunt that facilitated some good conversations with the people of the Island School. We met some of the primary school students, learned how to blow a conch shell, and learned some creole phrases that I won't dare to try to spell. We also did our part in keeping the island clean by picking any trash we found along the way and crushing some cans to be recycled. In the afternoon, we bicycled around the island, enjoying the sun and seeing the sights. We stopped to hike through the ruins of the resort the abandoned on this part of the island about a half century ago and the 'Golf Cart Graveyard.' Our final destination on our bike tour was '4th Hole' where we got a chance to get back in the water, this time with our snorkels. We snorkeled around the reef and observed the bright tropical fish that call Bahamian seas home. Our interactions with the marine life continued after dinner when we learned about marine invertebrates from our instructor Maddy. Flashlights in hand, Maddy took into the water to find and observe whatever invertebrates we could. We found brittle sea stars, sponge, sea cucumbers, and sea urchin. Some of the brave even held them! Tomorrow, we look forward to more opportunities to learn about the island and its surrounding marine life.
Day 2
Day two for our Huskies at the Island School is coming to a close and it was another jam packed one! We started the day at 6:30, when we teamed up with the visiting students from Deerfield and several Island School instructors for the Run Swim! It started with Maxey, the founder of Island School, teaching us about the moon as we stretched out and got acquainted with each other. Then we were off! We followed our guides down the trail until it ended at the waterline and the only way was through! We swam to the other shore and those that finished early cheered on the ones still in the water. It was a team building experience as well as a workout! When we hit a wall, we had to use teamwork to climb it. That running and swimming pattern continued all across the Island School's beautiful campus with a few bodyweight (and rock weight) exercises scattered in. Just after the midpoint, the highlight for many was jumping off a small cliff back into the water to commence our next swim! It was a great workout and we all felt ready for the day after it!
After breakfast, we headed to the boathouse for another biology and ecology lesson. Our guide Rachel taught us about Coral Reefs: the symbiotic system they rely on, the threats to their wellbeing and biodiversity, and tactics we can use to ensure the coral stay healthy. After our lesson, we headed out on the boats, snorkel in hand, to investigate the reef for ourselves. At our offshore destination, we snorkeled and observed the coral reef, its habitat, and the colorful tropical fish that call it home. Everyone went to lunch feeling they had a bit deeper of an understanding of coral reefs, their importance, and their threats.
In the afternoon, we set off in the van to explore beyond campus around the greater Eleuthera area. We stopped at Cathedral Caves, the Boiling Hole, the Ocean Hole, and a great Banyan tree. In the caves, we saw leaf-nosed bats and learned that Banyan trees grow from the top down! The hanging roots that were dipping into the caves will one day harden like the trunk. The Boiling Hole, a blue hole, earned its name because the illusion of heat waves emanating off the water gives it a boiling appearance. In Bahamian cultures, spots like these are considered sacred gateways into the afterlife: the reason a church is located just across the street. The Ocean Hole gets its name because it is over 600 ft deep! The last and longest stop on our trek across Eleuthera was a Bahamian primary school. The children are preparing for their upcoming Junior Junkanoo, a Bahamian festival. As we arrived the children were practicing their Junkanoo drum line; they played their percussion instruments with such spirit it was hard not to dance along. The girls playing on the playground almost immediately swarmed Avery and anointed her their newest best friend! Once Junkanoo drum line practice ended, it didn't take long for the rest of the group to blend with the children and/or find some way to help with Junkanoo preparations. Tonight, we are slowing down a bit, spending quality time with each other, and watching a documentary called Chasing Coral which details why coral reefs are vanishing. It is a nice wrap up after a coral reef research this morning!
Day 3
Our Huskies in The Bahamas have completed another awesome day here at the Island School! We started the day at the boathouse with some quiet gratitude and reflection as we watched the sun rising. The Island School has put a big emphasis on being deliberate and intentional all week and this was a good way to center ourselves as we started the day. Then, we took the boat out to one of the many sandbars that paint the coasts around The Bahamas. It was a magical sight seeing our Huskies seemingly walk on water! For our safety, we learned the Stingray Shuffle: we had to shuffle across the sand so we wouldn't step on and disturb the stingray that love the shallow water around the sandbars. We saw a few and got to share the water with them in harmony! Using some of the lessons from earlier in the week, we felt comfortable identifying sea critters and shells. We gathered as many shells as we could hold and headed back to campus for breakfast.
After breakfast, we set off for an all day expedition with the Cape Eleuthera Institute's Shark Research Team. We helped the team cast off the line, bait, hook, and bobbers. We cast five lines in a straight row to imitate the path of swimming fish and hoped that sharks would follow the path and go for our bait. After an hour of waiting or so, we would return to the lines to check if we had caught anything, rebait if needed, and recast if nothing caught. It took several cycles and almost all day but our patience and tenacity paid off; on one of the last lines of the day, we caught a juvenile tiger shark! The research team's demeanor quickly shifted into serious focus and we were standing by to help. Once, the research team secured the shark, Lewis helped measure her as Avery recorded the data. James collected a sample of the shark's skin for further study. Lola helped tag the shark so other researchers could contact the team with updates if the shark was ever caught again. Then, everyone on the boat got a chance to feel the smooth but tough skin of the shark's back. It was a sight to see! After the research team finished their observations and safely set the shark free, the head of the team taught us a bit about tiger sharks. Notably, they are a rare catch. The team had only caught a tiger shark twice before! After a long day in the sun, we returned to shore, took some time to recuperate, then came back together to recap what we have learned thus far in the week. In the journals we've been keeping throughout the week, we started thinking about how we can answer our essential question: "how might we redesign education to better prepare students to thrive in, and positively impact a rapidly changing world?" What was meant to be a quick 15-20 minute journalling session turned into a lively 45-minute conversation about all the lessons we've learned this week and what we want to take home to our New Hampton community. We're feeling excited and prepared to share some insights at the Project Week Symposium when we return to school. At the risk of giving too much away, it has a lot to do with living deliberately, intentionally, and in harmony with the people and environment around us. Tomorrow is our last day and we plan to start implementing those takeaways by going into whatever our guide has in store for us with energy and intentionality!
Day 4
On the fourth and final day of our trip to the Island School in The Bahamas, the main focus was to the recap the lessons we had learned and enjoy some of the special opportunities for one last time before returning home.
Our day started with sunrise yoga session led by our very own Mrs. Tyson. We focused on being aware of our bodies and of the sensations around us: the warmth of the sun, the cool breeze, and the sound of the ocean. It was a great opportunity to release some of the tension built up from our active week and sit with the connections we had formed. As the week concluded, we had to plenty to be grateful for.
After breakfast, we headed down to High Rock: a spot that holds transformative meaning for all who pass through Island School's campus. High Rock is a cliff jumping spot with a platform some 20 feet above the water level. Our guide explained to us that as we jumped off the platform we were jumping back into the world! Every Husky present bravely took the leap as the others cheered them on! Once we were all in the water, we enjoyed being in the ocean one last time. We snorkeled along the cliff's edge seeing more coral, tropical fish, a couple of huge lobsters, and even an eel! In the afternoon, we continued the Island School tenet of focusing on 'what you leave behind.' We took ownership of the spaces we had been occupying for the week and cleaned them ourselves. This type of community ownership is also reinforced in the Island School custom that all community members serve on the dish crew from time to time. Service towards fellow community members builds bonds and strengthens trust. For dinner, we headed into Deep Creek, a neighboring community, for a meal of Bahamian-American food at Sheryl's. We enjoyed a Bahamian soda, ribs, fish, chicken, Mac and cheese, and rice and peas family-style. One person goes up to the counter and brings the dishes of food back to the table to be passed around. The table is cleared in a similar fashion. We thanked Cheryl and headed back to campus for our final activity.
On Friday evening, we congregated on the beach and started our own bonfire with some help from our guide! Once the fire was lit and the sun was set, we went around the group and shared our takeaways: one high, one lesson, and one "seashell" or idea we want to take home. There were a plethora of highs throughout the week from the bonds forged between each other to the lessons learned about the ocean and ourselves. After some sharing of stories and thank yous, it was time to head back to the dorm in preparation for our long travel day on Saturday.
Credits:
Created with images by marksn.media - "Bahamas aerial panorama, Long Island" • Laura - "kayaks on the beach on Grand Bahama" • marksn.media - "Bahamas aerial panorama, Long Island" • icemanphotos - "Amazing sunset island landscape at Maldives.,Luxury resort water villas jetty.,Beautiful beach seascape with soft led lights colorful sky background for vacation holiday.,Panoramic tropical paradise" • franziskahoppe - "Steg auf Cayo Coco, Kuba, Karibik" • be free - "Palm tree, blue sea, sky in Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas"