1. Garden night is every Wednesday evening 5-sunset.  
We have a task list including a wide variety such as seed gathering, harvesting, hauling, chopping, digging, building, planting, and painting signs.  After the work, we (if the weather and other factors are favorable) often share a meal. (potluck, no nuts)
 
2.  Saturday, September 22, from 10-2:00 Waters will host a 
 Fall Garden Day and special participatory 1st Reading of Pete Leki's new picture book: "The Fight Between Quiet and Noise"
 
The weather forecast suggests a beautiful Fall Day.

Please join us for this celebration of the season!
 
It is hard to know how many people will show up.
But we will need lots of help:
1. setting things up (tools, tables, cooking fires, etc)
2. Leading work activities for new volunteers
3. Setting up the food prep area
4. Cooking and serving
5. Cleaning up
 
Please bring your own eating utensils, in order to cut down on throw away cups and forks.
 
Besides our classic quesadillas,
We will try to buy quantities of sweet corn (and butter)
and will order some rice and beans from 5 de Mayo.
 
We plan to have a 5 gallon cooler full of Waters berry juice on ice!
 
It man be necessary for someone to run to the store depending on crowd size.
The book reading and discussion won't take long, 
and afterwards Mr. Leki will be signing books.
The price is $10 with a portion going to the Waters Ecology Program.
Let us know if you can help. 
Thanks.
 
There will be some work activities from 10-12.
Book reading, song and discussion at Noon.
Then around 12: 30 or 12:45 sharing of food: quesadillas, pico de gallo, corn, and garden juices.
 
3.  Sunday, September 23  Riverbank Workday 12-2 and Equinox Gathering 4-6:30
 
Sunday, Sept. 23 is the Autumnal Equinox.
 
Riverbank neighbors will be hosting a rivrbank stewardship event from 12-2 at Berteau Street and the River.
 
Then we will take a break to freshen up and rest, 
and re-meet at 4pm at the Farm, 2549 W Hutchinson, for a pot luck  celebration, 
with fire and song, 
and food and drink, 
and conversation, news, and friendship. 
Please join us. 

details:
-please leave nuts at home because there are several adults and children who are deathly allergic
-please bring your own plates, utensils, and cups to cut down on the clean up and avoid use of "disposable" items.
 
 
4.  WGN video featuring Riverbank Neighbors' connection toWaters Garden & Ecology Program. 

Some Waters parents might like to see this nice little 4 minute video featuring the connection between  Riverbank Neighbors and  Waters Garden and Ecology program with Pete Leki, myself, and other Riverbank Neighbor leaders. Gratitude to Jen DeSalvo of WGN for this piece. Viewable here, on the Riverbank Neighbors Website.

Dear Friends, 
It was good to see a lot of Waters families at the ribbon cutting for the Horner Park Natural Area. Both the The Horner Park Jazz Band and the Bullfrogs Community Choir performed, and many political leaders thanked each other for a job well done. At the end a group of Native Americans in regalia led a procession through the flower bedecked prairie, along the long pathway from Montrose to Irving Park, finally finishing off in the oak savanna area where an effigy mound will be built.  If you have not taken this walk yet, please do. At times you are completely out of sight of the modern city, surrounded by a soft and fragrant Nature. 
A full week of activities ahead!
Tomorrow, Monday September 17, 1st Grade will do its leaf collection of 11 species of Waters School Trees. We will do all three Rooms after lunch.  Look for exact times later today or in the morning. Help is greatly appreciated to keep these little ones safe (off the streets), away from dog droppings, and to help them write the names of each tree. 

On Wednesday, September 19, Room 309, 7th Grade will take the CTA to Montrose Point and the Corinthian Yacht Club to begin their year long study of Lake Michigan and dune ecology.  We leave at 9:00 and should be back by 1:30.

On Thursday, September 20, the 8th Grades will come out to the garden. First class goes from 8:30 - 9:30. The second class comes out from 11:30 - 12:00, then breaks for lunch and recess, and returns from 12:45 - 1:15. Come out and witness these hardworking young people care for our gardens. 

On Friday, September 21, Room 311, 7th Grade repeats the trip to Montrose Point. We leave at 9:00 on the CTA, and  return around  1:30.

Saturday, September 22, is Fall Garden Day, from 10:00 until 2:00.
We will start out with some garden work activities, from 10:00 until 12:00.
At noon we will gather together for a participatory first public reading of "The Fight Between Quiet  and Noise", a picture book for ages 3-90+, by yours truly, Pete Leki. The book will be for sale at the event and a portion of the proceeds will go to fund the Ecology Program.
After the reading, we will enjoy food together. If you would like to bring something to share, please do. We will need lots of help to keep the quesadillas coming, and the whole kitchen and clean up on track.  Please let us know if you can help.

Yikes! More! On Sunday, September 23, Riverbank Neighbors will host a celebration of the Autumnal Equinox from 4:00 until 7:00 at "The Farm" 2549 West Hutchinson. It is pot luck, with a grill going, song sharing, and and our talking circle, where everyone shares their news.  Join us to mark this turning of the seasons, the beginnings of Fall.

Thanks to all, 
Pete Leki

​on the inside.....
we made good progress last week. 
The 7th and 2nd grade journals are ready to go, 
all the components of the 6th grade River journals are ready for assembly.
The new Mighty Acorns journals are in, 
and ready to be pasted up and covers and spines taped.
There are activity schedules from the Cook County Forest Preserve that need to be counted out and brought to classrooms. 
Last week we did a pretty good job monitoring the sorting line in the lunch room. 
Many thanks to Vanessa and Amy for help.
We did the training for new recycle captains, 
so we are up and rolling with that.
So many thanks to the volunteer folders and staplers: Amy, Vanessa, Deb, Nancy, Julie and more. 
Any one with a few minutes is welcomed to come see me any time during this week. 
Thanks, 
Mr. Leki

Dear Friends, 
Blessed rain and cool has broken the August drought!
We are in Babya Lata, Woman's Summer, 
something magical in the air, 
and spiders displaying dew be-decked webs every morning.
Prepare your web wand (a stick) to avoid being caught in one of them. 

Our field ecology schedule is mostly set, and attached below.
And we look forward to using openings in the  schedule for the next two weeks to get as many classrooms into the gardens as possible.
One new idea is that a classroom teacher can request our help, 
divide their class into two smaller groups, 
and engage in a teacher directed activity,
alternating with some garden activity led by myself or Ms. Peterson (Garden Co-ordinator) and invaluable volunteers like your self.

Last week we took out one of the 2nd grade classes, Room 203, for an observation / journaling activity with Ms. Frieswyk, alternating with bean planting and acorn gathering.
The day was beautiful, the kids were thrilled (I observed).
We began with a song from 1st grade:

Who has seen the wind?
Neither you nor I
But when the trees bow down their heads, 
The wind is passing by!  
(Poem:Christina Rosetti; Music:Yoko Ono)

Before going back in, the kids lined up to take part in a platter of sliced cucumbers and cherry tomatoes. Three little ones were stragglers, and by the time they reached the plate, only tomatoes were left. One girl burst into tears : "I love cucumbers but I don't like tomatoes!" (A small platter of sliced cucumbers was delivered up to the room. Crisis managed!)

This week the 8th grade will be coming out to do garden management and sampling of the harvest. We have wood chips to move, weeds to weed, fruit to harvest, and walkways to sweep.  I will send out the time and day asap. Please consider signing up with CPS as a volunteer if you would like to help.

Next Saturday, September 15, from 12-3 Waters School families, Riverbank Neighbors and the Bullfrogs community Choir  will be taking part in the formal opening of the Horner Park Riverbank Trail. We started working on this project in.... 1998!!! At long last it is open, and spectacularly beautiful. We will find a way to incorporate this area into the Waters Ecology program. The Park District will be forming a local "stewardship" group to maintain this area, like on the east bank. Please let me know if you would like to be part of it. (See flyer below)

The next Saturday, September 22, from 10-2:00 Waters will host a 
Fall Garden Day and Participatory 1st Reading of my new book:
The Fight Between Quiet and Noise.
It is a picture book for people from 3-90+ years.
A portion of the proceeds from book sales will support the Waters Ecology Program. 
There will be some work activities from 10-12.
Book reading, song and discussion at Noon.
Then sharing of food: quesadillas, pico de gallo, corn, and garden juices.
Please join us for this celebration of the season.

The very next day, Sunday, Sept. 23 is the Autumnal Equinox.
Riverbank neighbors will be hosting  a stewardship event from 12-2 at Berteau Street and the River.
Then we will take a break to freshen up and rest, 
and re-meet at the Farm, 2549 W Hutchinson, for a pot luck  celebration, 
with fire and song, 
and food and drink, 
and conversation, news, and friendship. 
Please join us. 

Dear Friends, 
We'll be putting some finishing touches on the garden on Monday, Labor Day, from 12-2.
Please join us if you have time.
On the first day of school, Tuesday, Sept. 4,I am looking for helpers during lunchtime (11:15 - 12:45) 
to monitor and assist in the sorting of lunch waste. New students need to learn the procedures 
and our returning kids will need reminding.
Our lunch staff does a great job, but during these first days (and weeks) a little extra help can keep the lines moving.
It is a wonder to see a kindergarden child standing in the lunchline,
completely bewildered by the rush and flow of humanity,
water welling up in the eyes, 
until some kind soul takes her or him by the hand
and leads the way through the lunch line,
and to the assigned table. 

If you would like to help, 
make sure you have Registered on-line as a CPS Volunteer at Waters School.
Here's the link, again:
https://cps.edu/FACE/Pages/VolunteerPrograms.aspx 
 
 . 
Thanks, 
Mr. Leki 

​Dear Ecology Volunteers, 
For the first time, this year, anyone that is willing to volunteer to help on field trips with our students must fill out a CPS Volunteer form. For persons having less than 10 hours of contact time per week with students, this only means filling out a form on line. and turning it in to the school.  When  you come to school next time, stop in at the office to make sure your name is on the list. Bring an ID. Then you are good to go on the next trip. 
https://cps.edu/FACE/Pages/VolunteerPrograms.aspx. 

For the ecology program, parent and community volunteers have been an integral, indispensable part of making trips work.  In our ecology program, parents are considered fellow learners and explorers. Over the course of 9 years at Waters our parent and community volunteers become a cultural force in our community: restoring, conserving energy, composting, recycling, and acting to protect our precious natural and human communities. 

I sincerely hope that the new requirements for volunteering do not dissuade anyone from being part of our journey.  If anyone needs help accessing the Internet to fill out required forms, please let me know so that we can assist you. We need YOU to make our school successful. Please sign up asap. 

Mr. Leki

​Dear Friends, ecology volunteers old and new,
We have a new crop of students in our school, and a new crop of asters and goldenrods, sunflowers and obedient plant bursting into bloom to greet them. We have a new field ecology schedule ready to go. New recycling captains are being selected for each room (except Kinder). We have a new Garden Coordinator, Ms. Julie Peterson, on board to help us create new opportunities for classrooms to visit the gardens, to enjoy its beauty, learn its secrets, and to help it grow. We have created two new areas in the gardens with groupings of benches to invite parents and students to meet, talk, read, relax.  We have a new kiosk near the entrance to Snake and Turtle to post information about the gardens, its ecology and history, its art and poetry. And we have mounted one of the new Little Libraries in the playground to encourage reading and sharing. Thanks to all who created these amenities for our school.

We are doing our best to have our garden at its finest for the first day of school. I would like to invite you to a special Labor Day Garden event where we will haul chips and compost, straighten up the sheds, rake the pathways, trim what needs trimming, weed, and in general tidy things up. Afterwards we'll cook up some food on the grill and celebrate the working people of this world that hew and haul, create and make all possible. We will start at noon and end at 3:00.

As the school field ecology program unfolds, I will be racing to prepare materials for our students:
2nd Grade: Trip journals need to be printed and folded
3-5th: 90+ new Field journals need to be prepared with spine labels, oak leaves, songs and maps
6th Grade: River Studies field journals need to be prepared, folding and stapling materials together
7th Grade: Lake Studies Field journals need to be prepared, folding and stapling materials.
If you would like to assist  in any of these mundane but necessary tasks, please let me know. 
With gratitude, 

Mr. Leki

​Dear Friends, 
Finally, with a break in the field ecology schedule, we've been able to schedule garden outings for classroom. 
Four today! Planting, lettuce tacos and silent reading. Beautiful day, beautiful kids. 
Tomorrow, Thursday, June 7, there are two more outings.
At 10:30 a.m., 4th Grade Room 204 will visit to do as above.
At 1:15 p.m.,  8th Grade, Room 211 will be out to do various other arduous  tasks:
moving compost to a new squash hill;
installing a new bench plank to replace the decrepit old one by the fire circle,
and to install one more length of split rail fencing.
Any extra supervisory help would be greatly appreciated. 

And on Friday, June 8, Field Day, – I know already saturated with requests for volunteers –
we will be treating our fantastic ( actually, fantastic and other) Recycle Captains to a pizza lunch with garden salad, fresh fruits and Waters organic lemonade (Rhubarb and Aronia). I am seeking help from 10:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. to set up. serve, fetch pizza, and clean up. Anyone game? These are Lil Cesar's pizzas, not Rick and Co's, but the kids will love it anyway. 

Heads up for next week:
Monday and Tuesday, June 11 and 12,
Room 301 and Room 303 respectively 
will visit Montrose Point to fish and learn about Lake  food webs.
Wednesday, June 13 is the First Grade Tree Olympics.
Thursday, June 14 is all-day – 8th grade will have their pizza, aronia lemonade blast with the help of dear alumni parent Clayton Miller.

Days fly by ...

Mr. Leki