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This news just in from South Caicos!

May 6Last day! Students leave the island and begin their journeys home.
May 4Students begin preparations to leave South Caicos.
May 3Day off! Final soccer game of the semester! SFS students win by a score of 11-2 and take home the trophy.
May 2Community presentations! Students present the results of their research to the South Caicos community.
May 1Students finish up final DR presentations.
April 30Morning: students make formal presentations on directed research to class-mates and staff. Afternoon: DR group makes formal presentations to TCI government officials on Grand Turk Island.
April 29Directed Research paper first drafts are due today.
April 28Student field journals are due today (field journals document daily field work, thoughts and ideas, new fish seen and drawn, etc., in an informal but scientific manner).
April 27The cistern is filling up with even more rain. Students break up their work schedule with recreational snorkels and scuba dives.
April 26Still more rain! Students work hard on their DR projects.
April 25More rain. Kitchen Olympics begins to see which group of students can make the best breakfast!
April 24It rains on SCI for the first time in a while! Professor Mark Nolan goes to Grand Turk with Environmental Impact Assessment DR students (Chris Furey, Kalla, Jess, & Tom).
April 23Last day of finals! The environmental education DR group takes a trip to Provo today (after the test) to get firsthand experience with Provo's National Parks.
April 22Today is the first day of two days of final exams; students take a snorkel to the south end of Long Cay and come within touching distance of a ten-foot hammerhead! It swims between two students and Jenny, the intern divemaster heading the snorkel, and then charges a pod of eagle rays the students were following.
April 21Today is the last day of data collection for directed research projects. Casita DR group makes one last check on how many lobsters have moved into the artificial homes that were put out in Bell Sound during the last few weeks and months.
April 20Class lectures are over! Students will spend the rest of the semester completing their directed research projects (data collection, analysis, final paper).
April 19Day off. Staff and students have a volleyball tournament.
April 18Sea Day!! Research center puts on a festival for the local community celebrating the sea. Activities include face painting, touch tank, garbage art, environmental videos, information booths, and an East Bay trash clean-up.
April 17Students go "On the Air!" Local radio station interviews a group of SFS students for an hour. Students answer questions and make announcements about Sea Day celebration.
April 16Students stage a debate between "developers" and "environmentalists" as part of their Resource Management class.
April 15Students with the conch DR visit the inside of the fisheries plant and weigh conch that have been brought in by the fishermen. The plant operators have not allowed this to happen in many years!
April 14Ben Mahnke, student affairs manager, gives an informal presentation to the students on possible environmental career options.
April 12Happy Easter! Students and staff celebrate the holiday with an Easter egg hunt!
April 10Staff members see a pod of pilot whales during an early morning boat ride.
April 9Field exercise #12 day! Staff and students take a trip to Long Cay to do an assessment of Long Cay as a center for tourist development.
April 8Students go on deep morning dives early this morning as part of an advanced scuba certification course being offered by Jenny Stowe (senior intern and dive instructor).
April 7Students go on night snorkels in preparation for night dives later in the semester.
April 6Staff members go out fishing in the early morning and see whales. Students re-do Field Exercise #11 today, which uses transect and random sample methods to do a coral/fish analysis (dive site assessment field exercise).
April 5Day off!! Students and staff have a sandcastle-building contest down at East Bay. All had a great time and built some amazing sculptures. No one remembered to do any judging or award-giving!
April 3Four students and three staff members take a boat trip to Grand Turk Island to conduct a mini environmental impact assessment of land that is part of a $600 million development project.
April 2Chris Furey travels with professors Alex Tewfik and Mark Nolan to Provo to assess the environmental impact of clearing out a seagrass bed near one of the major hotels to support the hotel's expanded tourism plans.
April 1Students continue with classes and directed research work.
March 31Students begin Field Exercise #10 (practicing methods for analyzing the health of dive sites). Students see dolphins CLOSE UP!
March 30Field Exercise #9 presentations due (practicing underwater mapping technique using manta tow).
March 29Day off.
March 27Students return from vacation ready to resume studies and research.
March 21Students leave for mid-semester break. Most go to the Dominican Republic.
March 19Students in environmental education DR clean the barnacles and sea growth off of the information plaques at the underwater nature trail at Admirals Aquarium.
March 16Students in the environmental education directed research project give a presentation at the local high school on the importance of mangrove trees.
March 15Day off. Students spend the day studying for exams and resting.
March 14Today is the first day of final exams on Case Study #1 (a study of fisheries development and management in the Turks and Caicos islands.
March 12Today's morning lecture was presented by the Turks and Caicos Islands governor and Norman Saunders (one of two South Caicos ministers to the TCI government).
March 11Students conduct Field Exercise #6 (habitat of East Bay using a new assessment technique).
March 10Students give Field Exercise #4 presentations. The work is piling up!!
March 9Students give presentations for Field Exercise #3.
March 8Day off! Students win weekly soccer game 4-3.
March 7Weather turns sunny! Students begin more intensive work on directed research projects.
March 6Students begin Field Exercise #5 (conducting a habitat assessment of East Bay)
March 4Students conduct Field Exercise #4 - underwater research techniques - and practice using the quadrat (a tool for assessing a habitat).
March 3Rainstorm in the morning; intermittent rain all day.
March 2Huge morning downpour adds three inches of water to the cistern!
March 1Day off! Most of the staff visits Grand Turk Island. Students play weekly soccer game and win 4-2.
Feb 28Nineteen students go on an overnight campout at Shark Bay.
Feb 27Field Exercise #2 presentations today; students get a briefing for Field Exercise #3.
Feb 25Last day of organism ID practice; students go out on snorkeling trip to Long Cay.
Feb 24Students see two hammerhead sharks while diving, one 5-foot and one 8-foot! The larger shark came within fifteen feet of the scuba divers!
Feb 23Students take their first midterm exam today - three hours of testing!
Feb 22Day off! Students and staff have a picnic at East Bay. Students play their weekly soccer game and lose 5-2.
Feb 21Students begin Field Exercise #2, headed by Mark Nolan, by making a visit to the local dump. Field Exercise #1 (study of the habits of local fishermen) are due on Monday.
Feb 20Students spend field time diving and learning to identify different coral species.
Feb 17Governor of the Turks and Caicos Islands visit the students and makes a brief presentation to them.
Feb 16More lectures and fish ID practice at various dive sites.
Feb 13Students visit the local lobster processing plant to learn what happens to lobsters after they are caught and brought to the plant.
Feb 14Valentine's Day! Students identify their secret Valentines!
Feb 13Students visit the local lobster processing plant to learn what happens to lobsters after they are caught and brought to the plant.
Feb 12Students go snorkeling at Shark Alley and Huey, Duey, & Louey (two dive sites) and see spotted eagle rays, barracudas, squid, coral, and lots of fish!
Feb 11Stormy weather ends, and weather returns to normal. Water is still chilly. Students have their first quiz about the geography of the Turks and Caicos Islands, South Caicos Island in particular.
Feb 8Students play soccer against local team and win 2-1!! Later in the day they select their Directed Research projects.
Feb 7Stormy weather continues, and students spend the morning in classes as each professor reviewed his Directed Research project. Afternoon spent in intercultural workshop. One student finds a young turtle crossing the road, rescues it and puts it back on the beach.
Feb 6Brian Riggs, curator of the Turks and Caicos Islands museum on Grand Turk, gives a guest lecture. Students continue scuba testing...this time underwater!!
Feb 5SCUBA testing begins...on land
Feb 4Weather curtails scuba testing again. Lectures meant for later in the week are presented and the students go snorkeling at mangrove island to start fish identification.
Feb 3Scuba testing canceled due to rough weather. Instead, the students get next lecture and go on island tour.
Feb 2Students have their first lecture today.
Feb 1Students take their swim tests and have a wonderful opportunity to watch the spout of whale several miles away. Also learn about lots of rules they need to follow.
Jan 31Students arrive on South Caicos Island!