Ayla’s Voyage Blog

Publish Date: Friday, February 27, 2009

Whenever I hear the words “boarding school”, I often think of schools Little Princess style. You know, fancy uniforms, strict and dark classrooms, and all sorts of student/teacher drama. Well, that is NOT the Island School! This school is incredible! Imagine spending a semester learning to scuba dive, learning to do celestial navigation, doing reports on real environmental issues, and having a ball with friends and counselors! That is the Island School.

My family and I just finished enjoying a fun-filled four days at this wonderful place! It is truly amazing. The whole school runs on wind and solar energy as well as bio-diesel from…cruise ship vegetable oil! They grow a lot of their own food too, in the PooPoo garden! Yes, the PooPoo garden is…must I explain? Not only that, but they have a garden where they recycle the water from their sustainable fish farms! You should see the size of their lettuce and basil! That fish water is powerful stuff!

It isn’t only the super environmentally friendly part of the island school that makes it wonderful. It’s the learning they do! Any day you start with a gorgeous sunrise and a snorkel on a pretty reef is going to be good! Swimming, running, hiking, biking, diving, and snorkeling is a HUGE part of Island School daily life! In fact, one of the assignments is to run 13 miles, or swim 4! I love schools where you can be outdoors challenging your body. It isn’t just the physical part! The math curriculum is celestial navigation! That is…learning how the ancient mariners navigated. Often…that was luck. However, at the island school, you learn all about using a sextant, the stars, and longitudes and latitudes.

Another great quality the Island School has is their sense of community with the local bahamians. In fact, they started a middle school for the kids in Deep Creek and surrounding neighborhoods! Everyone at the school is really friendly and welcoming. I was able to give Save Our Seas there. It was such an honor Thank you Deep Creek!

The Island School is a truly amazing place. There are fun people, fun learning, and fun things to do every day! Maybe one day I’ll be back as a student!