Above: Everyone in B basement during the tornado warning; below: Gracie, Claire, and Kelly displaying their winning egg launch creation.

The SEAScape crew was very excited yesterday as they arrived one by one to their new home for the next three weeks! After a variety of ice breakers led by enthusiastic RA’s were done, the group started to get to know each other and went to play volleyball and badminton on the grass. We then enjoyed a comfortable first meal on the picnic tables and had some free time to relax after a busy first day. Some students went to the Madden Center to watch Blue Planet and then made their way back to B-House to hear Alex read a bedtime story, the childhood favorite, Rainbow Fish. And of course, the night would not be complete without a tornado warning! We all headed down to the safe basement and played games while waiting for the storm to pass and then went back to our rooms for a nice night’s sleep.

As the next day came to a beginning, we were welcomed with a delightful breakfast. As we filled up, we were then sent to learn our chores and have a watch meeting. In the watch meetings we learn miscellaneous tasks as well as group bonding. From there we went to our first class. In oceanography we grouped terms into the five oceanography categories. In the class we were interrupted by another tornado warning, to which we were sent to the basement for our safety. After the warning was lifted and class was dismissed we had a plentiful lunch and got to talk with our fellow community. Lunch was followed by an additional class where we were put into beach sampling groups for our upcoming field trip. Students then had the option to make bracelets, cookies or hang out in their rooms. Finally, the day was concluded with a nice dinner alongside a cool exploratory activity led by RA’s, in which we designed egg protectors out of recycled materials and then dropped the eggs to see which survived- they all did!

So far, it's been an amazing experience and we can not wait to tell you more about it in the upcoming days.

- Bronwyn Addy, Grossepointe South High School & Claire Cohenuram, Fairfield Warde High School