By: Kasey Johnston
Ms. Head, one of Madison High School’s chemistry teachers, once owned a friendly Rosy Boa. Ms. Head first started off by working at Wilson Middle School where she acquired a baby rosy boa from one of her co-workers. When she began working at Madison, she brought the snake with her.
Since Ms. Head is a chemistry teacher she didn’t think it fit to keep the snake in her classroom. She would loan her snake out to Ms. Edwards so the students could learn more about wildlife and snakes.
On Friday January 8 sometime in the afternoon, the snake cage in Ms. Edwards’ classroom was broken into and Ms. Head’s beloved Rosy Boa was stolen. Ms. Head cannot see why anyone would want to steal the snake. She can’t imagine it would have anything to do with animal rights because the snake was bred and born in captivity.
When Ms. Head loaned the snake out to Ms. Edwards her class named it Slytherin. Andy Ryan, a junior, worked really hard to secure the snake cage. Ms. Edwards bought locks and took time to help Andy secure the snake cage to make sure that nothing happened to the snake. But his hard work went to waste.
Another snake that Ms. Edwards and her class really loved was a Python by the name of Monty Python. It was gifted to Ms. Edwards and it lasted a month until someone found out how much the snake was worth and stole it right out of her classroom. “A couple of kids may ruin our class pet situation because of their abuse of animals.” She commented looking longingly at her empty snake cages.
Bear, the class hamster has also been mistreated. Two students placed the hamster in a hamster ball and proceeded to bowl with the ball. Consequences were enforced.
Ms. Edwards was also breeding some of the mice to feed to the snakes but several have been stolen from their cages. “We’re all really sad. You come into my classroom and there is a palpable personality to this classroom’s learning environment. When we take care of something together we are creating a learning environment that works. We’re really sad. We want them back. If anybody knows anything, call me at extension 4501 or leave a note in my mailbox.” Ms. Edwards commented.
For those of you who don’t know, Rosy Boas are practically harmless. They are tiny boas. They are friendly and enjoy slithering around. They do not bite and they only squeeze you when they are either frightened or believe they are in danger.
“I miss my snake,” Ms. Head commented with a sad look on her face. She also hopes that someone will come forward with information on where her snake is. She will gladly accept the return of her snake.