The Nantucket Community School team took to the water at Folger’s Marsh this past Tuesday for a kayak tour through the extensive salt marsh between Polpis Road and Nantucket Harbor.

Under the guidance of Neil Foley, Interpretive Education Coordinator/Ecologist at the Nantucket Conservation Foundation, we learned that this is a habitat for a variety of shorebird species and colonial water birds that migrate through the area to feed in the spongy peat and mud flats. Keep an eye out for egrets and herons and an active osprey nest on the property.

We are incredibly thankful to Neil and to the staff at the Egan Maritime Institute who let us utilize their property and launch our kayaks from their Shipwreck and Lifesaving Museum located at the edge of the marsh. This was a fun and interactive way to learn about this valuable ecosystem, and none of this would have been possible without our island partners!

It was a perfect morning for the Swim Across America-Nantucket Island Open Water Swim!
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The annual event brings swimmers of all ages and skill levels to Jetties Beach to help support cancer treatment, cancer research, and patient care on Nantucket.
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Team Nantucket Community Pool showed up in a big way again this year, raising over $20,000 to-date! As of this morning, the Nantucket chapter has raised a record $825,000👏
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There is still time to donate! Visit the link in our bio for additional information!

Say hello to Fervon Phillips, an integral member of the Nantucket Community School team! Fervon is a coach for our basketball and football ACKventure Sports Clinics.
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Born in Puerto Rico and raised on Nantucket, Fervon’s history with NCS began in 2011 when he became an ACKventure Camp counselor in training. In 2022, he became the football lead and basketball lead instructor. Fervon started playing basketball and football in the second grade on Nantucket, and from a very young age, he knew he wanted to coach.
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Fervon holds a degree in Psychology and has been working with our island’s youth for the past 10 years. As a new dad, he looks forward to his son being able to join our sports programming and being a part of our community.
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Thank you for all that you do, Fervon!

Our Summer Boost program is in full swing!
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Summer Boost is for students with no previous preschool experience and is designed to help children prepare for kindergarten. We currently have 29 students enrolled in two classes, representing more than 25% of the incoming kindergarten class.
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Our primary objective is that 90% of the registered participants will show improvement in their kindergarten readiness skills (letter and number recognition, fine and gross motor skills, verbal expression, etc.).
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This program would not be possible without the generosity of the Nantucket Education Trust, the Community Foundation for Nantucket, and the Siasconset Union Chapel, allowing us to offer this program at a significantly reduced rate to families. Thank you!

This morning, ACKventure day campers ages 5 and 6 were in the water at the Nantucket Community Pool receiving swim lessons as part of their weekly camp schedule. These lessons are given to all campers ages 3.5-8 on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings in alignment with our Learn-to-Swim program. Caregivers receive weekly progress reports on their child’s swim progression.
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Limited spots are still available in ACKventure and LTS for weeks in July and August! To register, visit our website (link in bio).