Notes from Mr. Leki

Three trips Go, one Xed out and our Choir Singing for thousands

2/19/2019

Dear Friends,
All three 6th Grades will go on a bus tour of the River system this week,
to learn, and physically witness how the parts fit together:
the sewage treatment plant,
the effluent flow,
the Wilmette locks,
and the Evanston Water Treatment Plant.
It is a wonderful and very valuable trip
and I invite any in our adult community to accompany us,
both to help supervise,
and to learn along with the rest of us,
the secrets of the water system.
Tomorrow, Room 304 leaves at 9:00 and returns at around 2:00 - 2;30
Wednesday, Feb, 20, Room 305, and
Friday, Feb, 22, 310.

Thursday's Mighty Acorns trip, room 207 has been postponed until March 6.

This Saturday Waters School Choir will open a large Conference of Environmentalist, scientists and restorationists,
The Wild Things Conference in Rosemont is a wonderful opportunity for our students and our school.
Please wish them well. We will sing three songs to open the conference,
and run a slide show about our Ecology Program, the Garden and our recent mobilization to save our oak trees. Wish us well!

With Gratitude,
Mr. Leki

Slush and water, cold and snow

2/15/2019

February 14, 2019,
Valentine’s day

We had boots on ALL the kids!
Yes!
2nd grade, new walk,
along the Horner river path.
We had our tiny little journals,
Small enough to fit into their pockets.
We had a great crew of parents to help.
It was 40 degrees out!
No problem with cold.
We sang.
In the classroom.
We waited and waited through infinite delays,
Until the kids sweated through their clothes and were
SO ready to get out into the Wild.

So we went.
And within the first minutes,
The kids found the first slush-puddles
And blasted into them like bulldozers,
Or ice breakers,
They were wearing boots,
But,
Snow boots,
Not fireman’s boots.
The slush
And icy water soaked their pants and snow pants,
Their coats and gloves, their cute little books,
infiltrated into their boots,
Their socks, and feet.
They didn’t care.
They were pumped up and ready to go.
I shrieked,
And cajoled,
and pleaded,
And explained, …
All to no avail.
By the time we got to Horner
The kids were drenched.
But, it was 40 degrees, hey!
By our readings.
But soon it was 38, then 36,
And the wind picked up, and it was very, very cold.
Most kids didn’t notice.
They wandered the trails,
Some journaling,
Some trailing tattered journals.
They climbed trees,
Higher and higher,
Oblivious,
Of wind and cold, icy branches,
Rotten branches.
On the way home we were truly pirates singing our pirate song
“River”.
But when kids kept scooping soggy snow into balls
and dunking them into slimy water,
They clutched the icy dripping blobs to their chests,
Or heaved them into puddles,
They paid no heed to their “Captain”
They would do what they willed!
We got back to school soaked and frozen.
I,
Grateful that no one perished,
Grateful that the teacher herded the last of the sheep into the shelter of school.
Quickly,
It registered with the kids,
That their toes were “frozen”
Socks soaked,
Boots full of water.
I gave out a couple dozen emergency pairs of socks,
Dry and warm.
Teacher said that socks littered the room in the morning,
Soggy, fetid, kind of gross.
These kids taught me a lesson.
They are bold.
They are unafraid.
They want to GO.
My job is to teach them…
That they are human,
Live in a real world,
And need to traverse it with care.

It was 40 degrees,
And treacherous.
I realized that I had failed to warn them,
To prepare them,
For this particular, weird, condition.
Dangerous.
38 degrees and dangerous.
I saw the danger in the faces of the parent volunteers,
Awed, and cold,
And freaked at the capacity of the little ones to endanger themselves,
without heed.
Like running into a street,
Or into an unfamliar lake.

By the next day the temperature had dropped to the low teens with wind chill below zero.
I woke cursing.
Having to struggle through the decision about our trip to Sauganash.
It was 5:30.
By 10:00 the temp was supposed to rise into the 20’s
(okay, with a sub-zero wind chill)
I held my voice,
On email.
At school I met the teacher and I said “GO” and she deflated like a helium balloon in the polar vortex.
I made my case,
One point of which was that,
On this particular day,
It would be good to stick to schedule,
And get out into Wild Nature,
With fresh snow,
Sun,
And Cold.

It was a hard call.
With promises of warm bus shelter,
Close to our activity center.

We went out into a wild place freshly coated with the brightest of snow,
The freshest of tracks,
The most bracing air,
The most brilliant Sun.

This was Medicine.
The temperature was 20 degrees.
The snow was dry and feathery.
The ground was firm and frozen.
The kids were bruins,
Small polar bears,
Comfortable with the snow,
The ground,
The tools, the work.
Their faces beaded with sweat,
With effort,
With the great and abiding joy of important work.

We received the gift of a place newly set,
New clothes of the most perfect white snow.
An invitation to be part of a newly laid table,
A gift,
And invitation,
A new day,
Hope and hopefulness. We did that!

Off to the Lake, but...

1/29/2019

Dear Friends,
Tomorrow's trip to the lake is "On"! I like to think about it as an opportunity to visit the Moon: to good to turn down. But, have your spacesuit on.
Our 7th graders will hustle from warm school to warm bus,
from warm bus to warm Yacht Club where we will have a lesson.
Then, bolstered and swaddled we will make for the Point, the Lake, the Moon.
We will judge the extent of the cold,
take in the scene,
the bracing shocking air,
and run back to the Club.

Wednesday's and Thursday's trips have been canceled and will be re-scheduled.

Mr. Leki

Full Frosty Week in Ecology! What about Cold?

1/28/2019

This last week of January 2019 was jam packed with outdoor adventures, many re-scheduled for these dates because of previous cancellations for Cold. And now, a quick look at the weather prediction suggests we may lose all three trips this week. Truly bitter cold can be a dangerous, if awesome thing, to witness, to experience.
So what are our parameters for calling off a trip because of cold??
Firstly, our school has long cherished and valued the exposure of our students to the rigors, and beauty, that winter can bring. It cannot be experienced in book, or video, or in told stories. It has to be experienced, in person, face to the wind.
We cannot do our winter trips in spring. It would be like teaching Spanish in English.

That said, we still have the problem that small mass humans, poorly dressed for the cold, can find themselves in a dangerous place. Part of our educational goal for winter excursions is to instruct, head on, how to be prepared for frigid temperatures. How does the junko and cardinal handle it? Talk about small mass! These animals and all cold hardy animals wear the finest furs and insulated garments ever invented. They have evolved coping systems to keep their "naked" feet from freezing, the "rete mirabile" which reduces the temperature of blood to the feet so that heat is not lost!
We can learn from these brave and fearless animals by imitating their basic strategies. Cover up with fur and down! Prevent heat exchange from happening especially from out parts of us that stick out: the feet and fingers, the ears and nose.
And we teach the kids to "play the piano" with their toes and fingers inside boots and mittens. We tell them to run, 100 yards, to get warm blood circulating through the system. Jumping jacks. We tell them to be cognizant of their own condition, and that of their class mates. A child with purple lips that is shivering and crying, has lost the fight with Cold. Time for a re-set in a warming center.
On all Mighty Acorn Winter trips our bus is on stand by to serve this role. They must be accompanied by an adult volunteer, thus re-emphasizing the importance of this venerable role. After warm up, students are often happy to face the challenge once again.
Similarly on Lake trips, we have use of the Yacht club as warming shelter. The spectacular beauty, the raw icy power of the Lake is not to be missed. Exposure might need to be limited, but the experience will never be forgotten.
We have been doing these trips for many, 25+, years, and are very much aware of the challenges that we face. The most bothersome to me, is when we are forced by circumstances to cancel a trip, and try to re-schedule before we run out of Winter.
Predictions can change. Ten degree weather with Sun and no wind, can be very comfortable. Thirty-five degrees with a cold, persistant wind and rain, can make for alot of misery. So I think we need to be calm, and patient and prepared.
The predictions for this Tuesday are for temperatures to go above 32 degrees! Perfect for a Mighty Acorns trip. Will that "warm" air shift into Wednesday??? We don't know.
I have an impressive selection of winter boots, extra socks, snow pants, coats, scarves, hats and gloves available for student use. Our job is to make sure our kids are outfitted with winter gear, and cold weather strategies, so that they can safely venture out.
I remember once stand by the breakers at Montrose point during a giant storm, Waves were crashing and blasting up into the sky, then back to earth with great power and music. For the first time ever I was dressed in full, heavy duty rain gear, and was able to stand right in the path of this drama, dry, and warm. It was spectacular.

So standby!
Enjoy the fierce, fine cold.

Mr. Leki

Stellar trip today, but tomorrow...

1/23/2019

... and Friday have been called off for the cold.
So sorry for those of you who took time off work.
More info soon.

Stay warm,
Mr. Leki

Good to go this morning...

1/23/2019

Room 204, 5th Grade, will venture out in the wintry weather to explore, experience and do stewardship. Dress up warm. Bus leaves at 9:30, back by 12:45.
Volunteers will meet in the Conference room at 9:00 for a briefing. Extra boots, snow pants, gloves, jackets and scarves are available from me,

Mr. Leki

King Week!

1/21/2019

Dear Friends,
I hope that when I am challenged to confront hatred and evil,
that I will have some of the courage that Dr. King carried with him during his too short life. Happy birthday, amazing man.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGKW3O6EpMo

In the glow of Dr. King Day, and the gorgeous orange lunar eclipse, and the stunning snow and bracing air, we start the school week with:

8th Grade Tea Party! On Tuesday, January 22, at 8:30 Room 301 will be stripping dried mint leaves from our garden, and stuffing them into paper filter bags for tea. A sub group will be brewing tea for the class and serving it with crispy bread, butter and our own organic mixed berry jam. Quite a lovely tradition. If anyone would like to help, and experience High Tea, please join us. Room 303 with repeat the affair at 11:30.

On the same day the three 6th grade classes will begin a project to take new steps to reduce our waste stream. They will watch "What a Waste," a Waters-produced film that documents the beginning of our composting program. At that time we used all styro-foam lunch trays, thousands and thousands of them. Today all our paper trays are composted. But what else can we do? At school? At home? Stay tuned for our students' campaign.

On Wednesday, January 23, 5th Grade Room 204 will visit Sauganash to count deer and cut buckthorn. Bundle up and join us. Briefing at 9:00. Bus leaves at 9:30, and returns by 12:45.

On Thursday, January 24, 5th Grade Room 209 repeats the adventure above.

On Friday, January 25 our 7th Graders in Room 309 will venture out to the Lake to regard the wonders of that wonder of the world. They have been studying geology in science class, including the glaciers of the Pleistocene that carved out the Lake basin. They will also learn Mr. Leki's 10 Amazing Facts About Lake Michigan.
I will share two with you.
1. If you stood the John Hancock building in the deepest part of the Lake, only the antennae would show above the water.
2. The Hancock Building is about 1,200 feet tall. The glaciers that rose out of the Lake were 6,000 feet tall. A glacier would literally sweep the city away and grind it up into bits. Don't mess with Mother Nature!
We will travel on a school bus leaving at around 9:00 and returning around 1:00. Dress warm. Winter Lake weather is extreme, but definitely worth experiencing.

Trip date switches:
The Room 207 Sauganash trip scheduled for last Friday, January 18 has been rescheduled for Thursday, February 21.
The Room 211 3rd Grade Sauganash trip has been re-scheduled for Tuesday, February 5.
Please remember that volunteers must be registered with CPS. Check your status in the Office.

Many Thanks,

Mr. Leki

Just to say...

1/20/2019

...all day they were saying that the sky would be cloudy.
But,
tonite,
just now,
the Moon is full and beautiful.
It's cold,
but,
peak out every few minutes,
to see something very beautiful!
Mr. Leki

Launch!

1/15/2019

Dear Friends,
It is time to launch the Winter Field Ecology Schedule!
We are blessed with frozen grounds, a cover of fresh snow,
and relatively mild (seasonal) temperatures.
Please remember to bundle up your child for these outings,
so that they will be happy and comfortable.
Also remember that you need to be registered as a CPS volunteer to join us on these trips. Check in at the office.

Tomorrow, Wednesday, January 16, 2019
4th Grade, Room 308 Mighty Acorns will travel to Sauganash
to hunt for an alien invader species: European Buckthorn.
As part of the prep, we showed the students how to identify trees in the wintertime,
without any leaves. So, students will be searching for trees with different bud and branching arrangements:
opposite (ash, maples, etc),
alternate (elms, oaks, basswoods, willows, etc)
whorled (catalpa, pines, etc)
and then the exceptions to the rule:
sub-alternate, not quite opposite, not alternate.
That is Buckthorn!
Also buckthorn has a small terminal thorn,
the cambium is orange and green, with a distinctive smell,
the female has black berries that persist through the winter,
and the young bark is smooth, becoming scaley with age.
If you come with on this trip,
maybe you could remind the kids,
or challenge them to look close at the trees and ID the bud arrangement.
At some point you will meet with me to remove this misbehaving tree
using loppers and saws.
Please join us. We meet at 9:00 by the fish tank.
Bus leaves at 9:30. Back at school by 1:00 for lunch in the classroom.

Wednesday evening:

I am looking forward to reading my book,
"The Fight Between Quiet and Noise"
at the Book Cellar, 4736 North Lincoln Ave,
7:00PM,
this Wednesday evening,
January 16.
It will be local authors night
and five of us will read, and then take questions as a panel.
It is wonderful that the Book Cellar celebrates our local authors,
and invites this community discussion.
Please join us,
and remember that a portion of Quiet and Noise proceeds goes to support Waters Ecology program.
Here is a link to the event.

Books are also available from me, at school, or through my home office.

On Friday, January 18, 5th Grade, Room 207, 5th grade will visit Sauganash. Same leave and return times.
They, too, will hunt for Buckthorn to cut. But their ecology lesson was about population dynamics. In classroom we graphed white tailed deer populations in Cook County from 1800 to the present. Early on populations were relatively low and oscillated in counterpoint to mountain lion populations. Large deer populations caused lion populations to rise, reducing the deer populations which caused lion populations to decline. But starting around 1830, both deer and lion populations diminished, while human populations soared. By mid century lions were extinct (in the County). And by the turn of the century the deer also disappeared. Then in the 1920's, deers re-appeared and their numbers have increased exponentially ever since. What happened?
2 things. Around 1918, the Cook County Forest Preserves were create, protecting land and wildlife. Deer entering from surrounding counties could not be hunted. Not by lions. Not by humans.
Good for deer? Not really. Without some control on populations resources and space become scarce. Deer become sickly and often starve during winter. Deers seek out new habitat by crossing roads, with fatal results. In the spring, desperate deer devour the spring wildflowers leading to impoverished plant communities. Clearly, the ecology is out of balance. Land managers are seeking ways to control the deers. Culling to feed the hungry? Re-introducing mountain lions or wolves? What to do? That's what we will be asking the kids to think about.

The best to you,
Mr. Leki

Spiderplants and baby food bottles

1/9/2019

Hello 2019!
Hope everyone is rested and revved up.
Our field ecology program is approaching and I, for one, am hoping for freezing temperatures and lots of snow.

I also have some special traditions to uphold:
Kindergarden Spiderplants ~I am going to have all the Kinder kids grow and care for some spider plant babies. Spider plants are those tropical plants that toss out these pretty white flowers that in turn become miniatures of the adult plant. Often a mature plant will have 30-40 of these little ones. They can be clipped off and put into water to develop roots. That's what we will do with the kinderkids. So, I have about 40 small plants, and I need about 40 more. Does anyone have any to spare? Also, I have about 20 baby food jars and I will need another 60. Anybody feeding babies out there.? If so, please pass the jars on to me. We have a song that goes with the project:
Spider took a walk
And saw a lovely palm tree,
The Palm tree said to Spider
"Do you want to crawl on me?"
Soon they were married
And had alot of children.
The children all were spider plants,
One, two, and three.

First Grade, Snake and Turtle
We will be performing the Snake and Turtle play with and for 1st grade. They will also perform for the Kindergarden and 8th grade. This play was originally created to enlist the younger students to help to protect (and not destroy) the Snake and Turtle effigy mounds that lie in the garden to the east of the playground. It is bittersweet that that entire site will apparently be destroyed by the construction of a new addition. I am hoping to relocate the mounds to an area south of the sports field, behind the net. I am also hoping that the contractors will dig up the 25 hazelnut trees that are planted there.
Snake and Turtle also have their own song.

8th grade Tea , bread and jam.
Our 8th graders will be processing the mint plants that they harvested in Fall. The bundles are hanging in the shed drying out. They will strip the leaves and sift them through a colander. Then they will pack them into tea bags, label and staple. While doing this, their classmates will prepare and serve mint tea, crispy bread with Waters School fruit jam. Very nice smells.

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