Cody HS needs pond fish

[DetroitTeacher]

Cody Upper HS has been working on the urban garden that was left in a state of disrepair. Our Art teacher and her students have gotten the urban garden up and running. The veggies will be used by the nutrition teacher for her class and the plants will be used by the science teachers. Most of the work was done by cognitively impaired students who are very proud of their garden. We have a pond that we have gotten back to working order. Now, we need some fish. We really don't care what kind [[but prefer the giant goldfish or Koi). If anyone has any unwanted fish they could donate to us [[or I could pay a nominal fee for them), it would be much appreciated and we'd love for you to come and see our garden and pond. I've inluded a picture of the pond. Any questions, feel free to message me.

[Blueidone]

DT:

Can you get to the GSCC Prayer Vigil on Thursday, August 18th at 7:00? If you can, I will happily give you a cash donation to pay for a couple of koi. Or to the BackPack Giveaway on Sunday, August 28th? See our website for details: www.georgiastreetcc.com My first name is Phyllis...I will have my GSCC shirt on which has my name on it.

And let me say that I think your dedication to your students and your profession is terrific. You seem to be one of the many who are very commited to your students and to helping them learn. In today's economic climate, I understand how difficult this is and what you have to sacrifice to do your job.

What a great project for the kids! Looks like they have done a great job.

[DetroitTeacher]

Phyllis: Thanks for your offer but we aren't accepting cash donations. Believe it or not, there has been an abundance of replies to my request [[I also put it on craigslist) and we are now over-run with fish donations [[and some more plants for the garden). It's amazing that people who don't even know our kids will offer to donate! I am so touched by the response to this request. Another teacher and myself are taking some kids to pick out some fish from a generous donor [[she said we could take as many as we want). Another is delivering some to us [[so she can see the garden and pond). You should see the look on the kids' faces when they see the produce that they planted! Some kids had never seen squash in its natural form!! We also have some melons, tomatoes, cucumbers, and tons of other veggies and herbs. We have oodles of flowering plants and bushes. It's really an awesome spot at the school [[and it's gated so weird people can't get in there and trash it). I can't wait to utilize the garden for class projects and a serene spot!!

[Blueidone]

That's terrific, DT...I'm glad for the terrific response. If you know of kids who need backpacks for school, if they can get to GSCC next Sunday, the 28th, we can provide a few. Please call Mark and register their names and ages. Those kids will have first choice and the rest will be first come, first served. I know they may be not be from our area, but that's ok. If they can get there, they are welcome to come. We will have free haircuts too. I think we are giving away hot dogs and chips and pop too, but don't hold me to that.

You seem to be a very inspiring teacher....keep up the good work. Children are our most precious commodity.

[DetroitTeacher]

Blue: Thanks but I have no idea which kids are returning and which kids aren't. I don't have that info over the summer. I doubt that they could get over that way, anyway. It's a pretty far stretch for most of our kids. But, thanks for the offer! I know we are doing something similar for them through some donations we received.

Thanks for the kudos but my kids are the ones who inspire me! I try to do what I can for them and to show them that there are really great people out in the world and that they have to be part of it and give back. It's because of folks like you, who generously offer time, money, fish, backpacks, school supplies, clothing items, haircuts, etc that I can convince the kids that there are folks out there who care. You guys make my job easier and many of my kids do grow up and give back, much like you are doing with the backpack giveaway. I can't do it alone, so thank you for fighting the fight with me

[pkbroch]

DetroitTeacher are you going to overwinter your fish in your school pond?

[DetroitTeacher]

I don't believe it's deep enough to leave them in so we are currently looking for large tanks to house the fish indoors in the winter. We have an awesome greenhouse that stays warm, even in the winter months. We were going to try to contact the folks at Belle Isle to see if they had any spare aquariums. Any other suggestions would be great. Right now, we are waiting on the kids to get back to actually go and get the fish [[we have donors that would love to meet the kids who worked so hard on the garden and pond). If we can't find tanks, we have a group of teachers who are going to chip in and buy some from craigslist or the like.

DetroitTeacher are you going to overwinter your fish in your school pond?

[redvetred]

If your green house is warm, you can use cheap plastic kiddie pools which will work fine. You will need an aerator for each pool. If your outside pool is 3-4 feet deep it would be adequate with an aerator also.

[DetroitTeacher]

Kiddie Pools! We didn't even think of those! Thanks It's not 3-4 ft deep...more like 2. We really don't know too much about ponds and such but we are learning. One of our new building engineers knows about pumps and such so we are hoping we can get him to donate some of his time and hook us up with a neat waterfall and pump/aerator thingy.

If your green house is warm, you can use cheap plastic kiddie pools which will work fine. You will need an aerator for each pool. If your outside pool is 3-4 feet deep it would be adequate with an aerator also.