Semester 1

How has your Planning Form (Big Idea/ Inquiry Question) [embedded above] changed in the classroom so far this year? What have students added to the inquiry?

This year our inquiry question was concerened with learning about and contributing to healthy animal ecosystems within our garden. Some of our specific goals were not met due to funding (fixing the pond, building a prairie in collaboration with scientists from Loyola University). However, we were pleasantly surprised to see more animals in our garden this year: many snakes, a family of ducks with 12 ducklings, a group of adult rabbits and baby bunnies, and an increased population of beneficial insects (lacewings, ladybugs, mantises, monarchs). Students, as well as school staff and neighbors, have been very excited by the increased animal sightings and motivated to keep working towards making the garden a more habitable space for all. We've come to think of our garden as an oasis within our largely industrial surroundings. 

What are the specific school needs identified by your group in the December PD? How will you use the class’ Big Idea/ Inquiry Question/ Artmaking Practice to address them? Please be as specific as possible.

Students at North-Grand need:

• Safe spaces for students to be after school, either at school (CAPE, other clubs) or in the neighborhood

• Positive interactions with adults 

• Spaces for peer-to-peer sharing and community building

• Adults to go to for emotional support and home-environment challenges 

• Homework help and academic support

• Feeling like they are part of something positive within their school and community

(These are all things students find through participation in CAPE clubs)

Challenges faced in meeting these needs:

• New, strictly enforced food policy: students are not allowed to bring food into the school, which means they must choose between getting food, or participating in after school clubs

• Security culture: security staff stand inside and outside the building at dismissal and yell at students that they must leave the school premises immediately. Students are not allowed to leave (to eat mostly) and come back into the building

• Students face challenges with their home environment, including housing precarity as housing prices in the neighborhood increase (economic struggles at home make paid programs more appealing)

• Students face challenges with transportation home from clubs, as many rely on parents or finicky CTA busses

Building a welcoming community space within the classroom (for our CAPE students) and in the North-Grand Garden (for all students and community members) has been a goal for us this past year. We are facing new challenges due to increasing strictness of school security policies, but hope to push through and see continued student and community involvement in the Spring. Students have been making public signs for the garden that express positive, welcoming messages, and inform community members on how to access free food from the garden. 

We struggled with attendance at the beginning of the semester, so we put energy into organizing celebrations and events within the club to alert more students to our activities. We also participated in several school-wide events this semester, and found that herbal medicinal tea was a popular way to engage with students, so our students have been focused on picking, drying, labeling, and mixing tea in addition to regular garden maintenance. 

Below, share photos and/or videos of select class activities. Specify what students are engaging with and learning (artistically, academically, and/or SEL), in reference to your Big Idea/ Inquiry Question. You may add different blocks from the right-hand side menu.

Semester 2

How did students respond to their involvement in the Perspective(s) exhibition? This may include: artmaking, curation, visiting CAPE Family Days or Teen Night, discussing their experience, or other.

Students made free take-away seed packets, painted signage, and picked out photographic documentation of themselves working on the garden for the exhibition. They were really excited to attend Teen Night, felt proud of their work and enjoyed looking at other’s work. They came up with ideas of more things they want to contribute next year (seedlings? tea? more drawings? a participatory planting workshop?). 

What skills did students leave your class with?

Students learned how to grow food from seed through several seed-starting methods. They also learned garden maintenance, and how to identify plants and animals in the garden. Many students have started growing plants at home wherever they can find space. 

Students also learned how to build community with each other, and how to co-exist respectfully with animals in the garden (snakes, rabbits, ducks, bees, etc.). We learned a lot about how different animals contribute to the garden space (bees pollinate our plants, worms add nutrients to the soil, snakes keep the rat population in check) to help with students face wildlife with less fear. Students also spent lots of time talking with each other and discussing both school and family life. Students learned how to respond / react to each other without conflict. They also found points of convergence and mutual suport when talking about family struggles and inter-personal conflicts at school. 

Show evidence of this learning through photos and/or videos of select class activities. Specify what students are engaging with and learning (artistically, academically, and/or SEL), in reference to your Big Idea/ Inquiry Question. You may add different blocks from the right-hand side menu.

Cultivating

Students learn how to grow food and medicinal plants from seed to fruition. 

Community Outreach

Student share their gardening knowledge, produce, and spirit at in-school and out-of-school events, including the Garden Club Halloween Party, North-Grand STEAM Fest, a Seed Swap, CAPE Teen Night, and the CPS Reverberate Festival!

Ecosystems

Students learn to commune respectfully with animal life in the garden and work towards making the garden a habitable oasis.