Ms. Czajkowski, Advisor, and Coco Ramirez, Around the Horn
Thursday, November 18 was unlike most quiet Thursdays at North High School. On this day, the halls were filled with shrieking, the pounding feet of desperate runners, and an ominous flapping. We had a visitor--a bat was hanging out in the second floor of the Main, and Ms. Beck was the unlucky teacher to discover it.
North's Principal, Dr. Leonardatos (ironically, donning a Batman mask), explained that in retrospect "It was a really batty morning," and while he is correct, our entire North community worked together to capture our furry friend and save our school. Assistant Principal Ms. Watt sounded the Bat Alarm over the PA. The second floor was sectioned off with caution tape, and security guard Tim Piacente was our very own Batman, stopping students from entering the stairways. Students in World Language and English were relocated. It was time to "bag the bat."
School Resource Officer Brian Calore worked with Head Custodian Jimmy Rohe and another police officer to extract the bat. Calore describes what he saw, and what happened: the bat was clinging to the ceiling and Animal Control had advised them that using the spray from a fire extinguisher would allow them to incapacitate the bat, while leaving it unhurt. After the bat fell, the men were able to collect it for Animal Control. Calore wants to stress that while the bat remained unhurt, and while bats themselves are harmless--they will not fly at people. Their urine and saliva, however, can be dangerous to humans, so it was essential to remove the bat as quickly as possible. Calore says that bats at North are uncommon--usually, we get raccoons, squirrels, and opossums, oh my, but not bats.
North's Bat Games were no joke, but our team worked together to save the day and secure our halls and classrooms. The Avengers have nothing on our superheroes!