Churchill Road fifth grade teacher Rick Woler and his students loved the visit from Gatsby, the bull python. Pictured clockwise from left are: Mackenzie Wicker, Catherine Zavela, Madeleine Dees, Hannah Nguyen, Michelle Du, Yeefay Li, Halasya Malladi, Gabin Vernon, Rebecca Zhang, Edward Wang, John Bassam, C.J. Vuono, Tovliyah Bewry, Kendall Sano, Pratyush Jaishanker, Tomas Torterola, Billy Oh, Abby Lackey, Benson Han and fifth grade teacher Sue Lackey. Photo by Kim Moran
Churchill Road fifth graders in Sue Lackey and Rick Woler’s science classes had a special visitor on the day before spring break. Mrs. Lackey’s daughter Abby, a senior at West Springfield High School, brought in her pet ball python, Gatsby. Although a strict look but don’t touch policy was in effect, the students were fascinated by the reptile. They had a multitude of questions, and learned about what and how often he ate, what causes his skin to shed and his expected life span.