Many years ago, the Chicago River ran under the land that is now Waters School. The Legend of Snake and Turtle, a play about the river, was performed by and for our students, with the help of Mr. Leki and Ms. Belmares. If you were unable to come and see our version of this story, you can learn the legend here:

Long ago there was a river.
Children splashed and fish swam in it.
A big Turtle and Snake lived there.
They were friends.
One day the water started to go away.
A heron came by and said,
They’re digging a new river and taking all the water.

What will we do? Said Snake.
Follow me, said Turtle.

Before they could go far a big truck came,
And covered Turtle and Snake with asphalt!
Many years later, at Waters School, the children wanted to make a garden.

They used big hammers and crow-bars to break the asphalt.
Underneath the asphalt they found Turtle and snake.
Hey! They said, Let’s plant things for them to eat,
And flowers for them to smell,
And lets make a fence so that nobody bothers them.
And that’s what they did.
Today, if you look closely, you can still see Turtle flowing Snake to safety.