Dear Friends, 
We enter our first full school week of the new year!
I wrote a little note to myself, sealed it in an envelope, and placed it on my desk, facing me. 
"Open on first day of school 2021".
Last year the note said : "What happened?"
That is THE question. What will happen? And will we be able to shape our future? Will we have effect? We will see. Here we go.

On Monday, the two 8th grade classes will carry on a tradition of processing mint leaves that they harvested and hung to dry in the shed.  They strip the leaves and push them through a colander to create a fine tea mixture. Other kids spoon it into paper filter bags and staple shut.
While they are doing that, other students prepare mint tea in pots, and serve it to their classmates as they work. The tea is paired with small slices of french bread dabbed with gooseberry jam made from our berries. 
Still other students will spoon roasted pumpkin seeds into small envelopes that will be gifted to staff and the 8th grade. These seeds were taken from the left over pumpkins from harvest day, cleaned, spiced and roasted over my wood burning stove. 
It is a nice ritual, remembering the past seasons, and work done.

First Grade tree study will be up and running again, as well as rehearsal for the Snake and Turtle performances.  Snake and Turtle have a new address, on the south side of the big net by the sports field. 8th grade will be working on the finished installation in the Spring. The backs of Snake and Turtle adorned by beautiful mosaic paving stones created and donated by my neighbor Liz Chase.

I will be scheduling  prep classes for the winter field ecology program. The schedule is up and running on the Waters School site. 

Waters Ecology Incorporates!
Sounds scary, huh? Last year I was asked to create an entity that could receive funds from Waters Today, our fundraising organization. So, I created Waters Elementary Ecology, L3C.  Thanks to Jamie and Adi for doing the filing and translations. This is all new stuff to me. I will have to do some more filings, and due diligence on the book keeping side of things. I am wondering if anyone out there has experience or knowledge about what is required, what is urgent, and where you find Form llc49-3876-c9 (joke!).
Anyway, if anyone has a suggestion or a moment to consult, please let me know. 
Happy New Year to all, 
Mr. Leki

​Dear Friends, 
This Friday we will perform the Water Cycle necklace activity with Rooms 204 (11:30) and 203 (2:15). This is a kinetic demonstration of the random  flight of a water molecule through nine possible places where water is found on earth: ocean, clouds, glaciers, lakes, rivers, soil, groundwater, plants and animals. So we create nine stations, each one equipped with its own unique die (singular of dice) and bowl of beads. The students start at one of these stations carrying a cord, knotted at one end. They take a bead from the bowl and thread it onto the cord. Then they roll the die. The die tells them where their water molecule will go next. For example, from ocean to cloud. The student goes to the cloud station and threads a cloud bead, then rolls the cloud die. It might land in such a way that it instructs the student to go to cloud. That means the student stays at cloud station, threads another bead and rolls again. The student rolls 20 times, creating a unique trail, a unique story about the motion and experience of one water molecule in this world. After twenty rolls, we attached barrel clasps on each end of the cord to create a necklace, suitable for gifting or keeping. The students also write about their molecules' journey. Part of the profound meaning of the water cycle is its endless dynamism, a masterpiece of recycling. We can tell the students with a good degree of certainty that some of the water molecules currently in their bodies were once in clouds, glaciers, dinosaurs and spiders. Truly we are all part of everything in this living world. Another wonderful realization is that the water cycle is powered by two fundamental forces: the Sun to raise the water to the skies, and gravity to return it to Earth. Also, the great flow of waters from the Mississippi into the Gulf carries with it the taint of our civilization: eroded soils, fertilizers and chemical pollutants of every sort. The Water Cycle, Mother Nature, bails us out by evaporating that spoiled water, thereby distilling it, and returns it to us as pure, drinkable water. How lucky can we be? 
One can imagine 30 students cycling through nine stations, rolling (throwing) 9 large dice, threading beads and accidentally letting their beads slip from their cord. It is very kinetic! Volunteers are greatly appreciated. If you can help, you will witness a very fun an important lesson.
I teach the kids a song about water and us. I borrowed it from Yoko Ono and added my own verses.

We're all Water
(Ono / Leki)
We're 90% water
We're like the plants and algae,
We're mostly water
We're 90% water
Like the surface of our planet
Our Mother Earth.

(Chorus)
We're all water from different rivers
That's why it's so easy to meet
We're all water in this vast, vast ocean
Someday we'll evaporate together.

We're cousins to the glaciers
The raindrops are our aunties
Because we're water
We're like the streams and rivers,
The lakes and ponds and oceans
Because we're water

Chorus

Hope you can join us!
Mr. Leki

​...between Thanksgiving and Xmas,
for me means, 
the rate of the shortening of days slowing, 
coming to a halt on December 22,
when the slow climb to Spring begins. 
This time of year, after the fall Field excursions,
I spend time reading and responding to field journals (with parent and volunteer colleagues);
doing post-trip classes with 6th, 5th and 4th grades;
doing water and watershed classes with the 2nd grade, culminating in the watershed necklace activity that follows the random path of a water molecule through this earth-home of ours. 
I will be introducing Kindergarden to the Spider plant and its song, and each of them will have one to raise up and pot in the spring for Mothers' Day. Thanks to all who brought baby spiders in!
I am trying to keep a dedicated focus on Climate Change, 
what things we can do in our own lives everyday (less use of carbons!),
and politically, urging code changes to require every new and renovated building to be carbon neutral, disinvestment of government from fossil fuels, etc. It occurred to me that if the buildings in our neighborhood that are being "bumped up " by developers, were required to be carbon neutral, and have complete rain catchment (no rain water in the sewers), these building could have a positive impact in the future. Oftentimes, in the past,  buildings that were supersized for a single family, were eventually converted to apartments, condos, boarding houses as the economy evolved. Emergency means doing everything we can, as soon as possible, to secure our beautiful planet for our children. 
Next Saturday is the Maker (Craft) Fair at Waters . I will have a spot selling my little book "The Fight Between Quiet and Noise", a fable about simple living, 
to support the Ecology program. ($10)
Please consider buying some for holiday gifts. I will do a reading on Saturday as well. 
December! What happened? Last Thursday when the winds were howling, tearing free the sad grey leaves from trees, 
I remembered the Robert frost Poem:
Oh Hush October morning mild, 
thy leaves have ripened to the fall, 
tomorrow's wind, 
if it be wild, 
will waste them all"!
I saw them being thrown and "wasted", 
and I felt the very real shove of north wind at my back.
I saw three crows flying valiantly into the wind,
and....!!!!
going backwards!
Such a metaphor! 
Are we going forward?
Or are we stuck in a relativity where we just think we are?
A song lyric I wrote long ago:
"We are going forward, 
but we're not going nowhere (repeat many times)
(add on top)
the rain falls down, 
then it goes underground, (repeat many times)
Keep singing till we find a solution, 
Mr. Leki

Dear Friends, 
We got in two river trips, 3 tree classes and the Recycle captain's luncheon this week. Hurray! Room 311's river trip will take place (fingers crossed) on Tuesday Nov. 26.
I have a couple of RFHs (Requests for Help)
One is to ask someone to chop up the rosters for the three 1st grade files boxes that will hold all the materials for their Field Guides to Waters School Trees in June.
AND, if any one has any spider plant babies, 
the miniature plants that hand from long arching stems,
and eventually drop off to form new plants,
please consider bring a few in.
These we will be growing to mature size with our Kindergardeners. 
The song associated with this project says:
Spider took a walk
And saw a lovely palm tree, 
The palm tree said to Spider, 
"Would you like to crawl on me?"
Soon they were married
And had alot of children.
The children were all Spiderplants
One, Two and Three.

Finally, we have cooking pumpkins left over from harvest day.
Usually we would have the 8th graders open these to capture and clean the seeds, 
which will be seasoned and roasted and shared out. 
I hope to do this on Wednesday. 
If anyone would like some fresh pumpkin flesh, 
seeds and membrane removed, please contact me.
We have about 20 pumpkins, 
great for pies and stews, etc. 

Thanks to Elaine and Alison for acting as "peppers" and servers at the luncheon today. And all the parents that helped on the field trips.
Mr. Leki

​Peppers and servers desperately needed.
We will start setting up at 10:00. Lunch starts at 11:00.
So, we will have to pick up pizzas at 10:50 or so.
Last captains will leave by 12:45.
Many thanks, 
Mr. Leki

Dear Friends,

​it is unusual for us to not have the required number of volunteers to accompany this class. But, things happen. Any one free to spend the morning at river park with us (and lunch).?
We are scheduled to leave at 9:00, won't go until we have our 3rd adult.
Thanks, 
Mr. Leki

​Hope you can join us. 
more later. Lovely trip today!
Mr. Leki

.​..Room 310.
We don't have any volunteers for tomorrow's river trip.
It will be a beautiful day and trip.
So, take a day off work, 
cancel the laundry day, 
postpone the grocery shopping.
Come with us to River park, 
newly restored and beautiful. 
We leave at 9:00.
Mr. Leki

​Dear Friends, 
We  had a great week in ecology last week, 
weird weather not with standing.This week we are doing re-scheduled 6th Grade river trips, in chilly, wet weather. 
We'll see!
Tomorrow, Monday, November 18, I begin weekly 1st grade classes on Trees of Waters School.
2/3rds of the leaf books have been pasted up. There is no rush to finish, 
but if you would like some rubber cement / coffee, down time, 
let me know. 
On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday
all three 6th grades will venture to River Park to do water quality testing.
Hope we can make this happen. Help welcomed. 
we leave at 9:00 back at 1:30.
On Friday, we will be doing the Recycling Captains Luncheon, during the Captain's regular lunch time, in the Conference Room. 
More on this in a day or so!

Mr. Leki

​Dear Friends, 
We are in need of an adult to accompany us on our trip to Montrose Point this morning with Room 305. We will be on the CTA. It will be chilly but it will be beautiful. We leave at 9:00 and return around 2:00. We take our lunch and warm up at the Yacht Club. 
Let me know if you can help out!
Mr. Leki